Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the workplace culture at the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent from Government, meaning it is responsible for internal matters, including its workplace culture.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to help support train companies to (a) buy rather than lease trains and (b) purchase UK-made trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Rolling stock assets have an expected operational lifespan of between thirty to thirty-five years exceeding the duration of the operating contracts currently in place with train operators.
These long-term investments made by the rolling stock owners passes risk from the Government to the private sector. It also means that such capital does not need to be spent by the Government on rolling stock but can be invested elsewhere in infrastructure such as schools, prisons and roads.
Train manufacturing is a competitive, commercial market in which there can be no guarantee of orders to individual manufacturers. All contracts need to be assessed thoroughly to demonstrate a business need for the trains and comply with the law.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help increase domestic steel production.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government recognises the vital role that steel plays within the UK and has taken steps to increase competitiveness and a level playing field. We have provided over £730 million in energy cost relief since 2013; the British Industry Supercharger is now in place to reduce energy costs. The sector has been able to bid for Government funds worth hundreds of millions of pounds to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation, and we have announced a joint £1.25bn investment project with Tata Steel.
We have a robust trade remedies framework to protect domestic industries, including steel, from unfair trading practices and unforeseen surges in imports. Last April, we published an updated public procurement note to help the UK steel sector be well positioned when competing for public contracts. The Government is consulting on a UK CBAM to tackle carbon leakage risk.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage uptake in the use of hydrogen.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our regulatory and policy framework is designed to support offtakers to switch to hydrogen, and includes innovation funding, CAPEX and ongoing revenue support.
DESNZ’s Hydrogen Production Business Model will provide ongoing revenue support to incentivise production and use of low carbon hydrogen. The first in our planned yearly allocation rounds for the Hydrogen Production Business Model represented the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen projects announced at once anywhere in Europe, and the second round has already closed to applications. Our hydrogen transport and storage business models will link up production and demand, enabling security of supply for offtakers.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what comparative assessment she has made of trends in the levels of steel production between (a) the UK and (b) European Union Member States.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
In the latest data made available by the World Steel Association, the UK is estimated to have produced 6 million tonnes of crude steel. Crude steel production for the 27 EU member states is estimated at 136 million tonnes.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with homelessness stakeholders on measures within the Criminal Justice Bill.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities lead on homelessness and rough sleeping and as such have regular meetings with stakeholders. They reviewed the Vagrancy Act and determined replacement legislation was needed. They published the response to their public consultation on replacement in 2023.
The Home Office has additionally engaged with police, local authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and other organisations including the homelessness sector. This has highlighted that more direct tools were needed to respond to begging and rough sleeping where it causes nuisance to others.
These provisions will be supported by guidance highlighting that local authority outreach and engagement remain at the heart of our approach and that these civil tools support a staggered approach to enforcement where that is necessary.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of rough sleepers in England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The annual autumn snapshot statistics remain our official and most robust measure of rough sleeping on a single night given they are independently verified and are published in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The most recent snapshot showed the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2023 is 3,898.
The Government also collects monthly management information from local authorities, which is published on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure parity between (a) clinical and (b) recently insourced nonclinical staff in the one-off covid bonus payment.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The non-consolidated payments, agreed as part of the Agenda for Change pay deal, covered staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations, for instance staff on permanent and fixed term contracts, as set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms as of 31 March 2023. Those who joined the NHS after 31 March 2023 were ineligible for the award, regardless of their profession.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing a separate nursing pay spine on trends in the level of pay progression within the nursing profession.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The call for evidence in relation to a separate pay spine for nursing closed on 4 April 2024. A large volume of evidence was submitted, and analysis of this evidence remains underway. The Government will publish its formal response in due course.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to auditory-visual therapy for deaf children; and what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient access to that therapy as part of SEND support in schools.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s ambition is that all children and young people, no matter their needs, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department is creating a new single national special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system for how needs are identified and met across education, health and care. This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with hearing impairments.
Early intervention of SEND can allow children to thrive and the early years sector plays an important role in ensuring that the right support is put in place for children as they prepare for school. That is why Level 2 and 3 early years educator qualifications include SEND content. Alongside this, the Early Years Education Recovery Programme includes training for up to 7,000 early years special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and a variety of training offers with SEND content, including Child Development Training and the national professional qualification in early years leadership.
The department is committed to ensuring a steady supply of teachers of children with hearing impairments in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with hearing impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant Mandatory Qualification for Sensory Impairment (MQSI). There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh from September 2024. In addition, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is developing a new occupational standard for teachers of Sensory Impairment, expected to be available from September 2025. Finally, children and young people with special educational needs have more access to assistive technology (AT) following investment in remote education and accessibility features, which can reduce or remove barriers to learning.