Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget of the Veterans Welfare Service is; and how many staff work for that Service.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Veterans Welfare Service forms part of Defence Business Services (DBS), and is not an independent entity.
Budgets and staff numbers are allocated within DBS at the delivery of veterans' services level referred to publicly as Veterans UK, and includes the administration of compensation claims, veterans' welfare services, pensions, some support to serving personnel and the running of Ilford Park Polish Home. It is not possible to break this information down to only the Veterans Welfare Service.
The Veterans Services overall budget for financial year (FY)2023-24 was £20.003million and includes the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card project delivery.
The average Full Time Equivalent (FTE) across all Veterans Services for FY2023-24 was 437.91.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan 2022-24, what steps the Office for Veterans Affairs has taken to improve veterans' access to social housing.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Veterans Strategy Action Plan sets out over sixty commitments from across government to deliver on the vision and principles of our 2018 Strategy for our veterans, including on housing.
The Government is committed to providing high priority access for social housing and temporary accommodation. To improve access to social housing, we changed the law so that veterans with urgent housing needs are always given ‘additional preference’ (high priority) for social housing, and that those who left the forces within the preceding 5 years cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection or residency requirement.
We have also published dedicated statutory social housing allocations guidance which sets out how local authorities can support veterans and their families to access social housing.
To ensure the sustainable supply of social housing, the £20 million Veteran Capital Housing Fund continues to award grants to fund the refurbishment of existing, affordable and social rental properties, as well as the development and delivery of new build projects.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual budget for the Office for Veterans Affairs is for the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year; and how many people work for the Office for Veterans Affairs as of 22 April 2024.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
This Government is investing record amounts to support our veterans and their families.
The Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan totals more than £70 million from across government, with an injection of a further £33 million in the Spring Budget 2023, topped up by a further £10 million in the Chancellor's Autumn statement. As of 22 April 2024, 58 people work in the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his immigration policies on universities.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities. Impact assessments are produced and considered when developing Government policies.
We have been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy goal of hosting 600,000 students per year by 2030, earlier than planned, and expect universities to be able to adapt to policy change.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans have been identified as Universal Credit claimants since the introduction of the new DWP marker.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”.
By 14th March 2024, an armed forces status of “served in the past” had been recorded for approximately 110,000 claimants with UC claims for which a statement had been generated. This figure includes some people who are no longer on the UC caseload, some who had a nil payment claim and some who subsequently reported a different armed forces status, e.g. “currently serving”. It should be noted that the available data does not allow a comprehensive estimate of the total number of UC claimants who are, or have been, veterans.
Notes:
1. The figure provided is for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. The figure provided has been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of veterans sleeping rough on 28 March 2024.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 29 February 2024, we published management information which showed that over the month in December 2023, four people sleeping rough in England had left the UK armed forces within the last 85 days. This data is available at Ending Rough Sleeping Data Framework, December 2023 - GOV.UK.
The next quarterly publication of monthly data up to March will be published in June 2024.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require broadband companies to gain the consent of (a) the local authority and (b) residents before erecting telephone poles.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Telegraph poles play an important role in delivering efficient and cost-effective coverage and connectivity to communities, particularly in hard to reach areas without costly and disruptive roadworks, or where existing infrastructure cannot be used.
Permitted development rights allow telegraph poles and lines to be deployed without requiring case-by-case approval from the local planning authority, and we have no plans to introduce legislation to change permitted development rights for telegraph poles.
However, we are aware of the concerns that residents in some parts of the country have about the deployment of telegraph poles. There are existing measures to minimise pole deployment and avoid inappropriate siting, and we are also taking further action to respond to those concerns.
For example, the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) set out the legal requirements operators must adhere to.
Already, Local Planning Authorities should be notified 28 days before poles are installed in many circumstances as set out in the 2003 Regulations, and can impose conditions on this installation which operators must adhere to provided that the conditions are reasonable. The 2003 regulations also state that operators should share infrastructure where practicable.
There is also a Code of Practice in place, which provides guidance on ways operators can ensure new installations are placed appropriately, and that local authorities and communities are to be engaged with regarding proposed installations.
Ofcom can take enforcement action in respect of breaches of the restrictions and conditions contained in the 2003 regulations. Ofcom have also stated that they would investigate any cases where poles are sited in a way which is not consistent with the requirements and guidelines in place – including where they block residents’ drives or where operators systematically fail to engage with local planning authorities’ suggestions. We encourage Local Planning Authorities to make complaints to Ofcom if they feel these criteria apply.
I recently met with Melanie Dawes, CEO of Ofcom, to discuss this, and to explore ways DSIT and Ofcom can work together to raise awareness of statutory roles and responsibilities and ensure better compliance.
I also wrote to all fixed line operators on 14 March, setting out the government’s concerns and emphasising the importance of infrastructure sharing. Specifically, I have asked them to do everything possible to share existing telegraph poles before installing new ones.
Separately, DSIT is considering how revisions to the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice might be delivered to promote better working practices.
I met interested MPs on Monday 25 March 2024, and I remain keen to hear and understand the concerns shared by MPs and their constituents. I am also meeting fixed-line operators to discuss these concerns.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of employing veterans in schools to provide courses on leadership and resilience for (a) teachers and (b) students.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A key principle behind the government's plan for education is to give teachers and school leaders the freedom to use their professional judgement to do what works best for their pupils. As such, headteachers are ultimately responsible for employment in their schools and the department trusts them to take decisions about the right mix of qualifications, skills and experience that they expect teachers in their schools to have.
The department recently reviewed the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) alongside each other and revised the ITT CCF and the ECF into the combined and updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This now covers the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career, and sets out the entitlement of every trainee and early career teacher (ECT) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching. The ITTECF is universal and designed to work for all teachers, across all phases and subjects.
Beyond this, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.
The government remains committed to supporting veterans with a passion for teaching to enter the profession, both in schools and the further education sector. The department is working with the Ministry of Defence to ensure veterans are aware of the range of programmes and support available through the department’s services and bursaries.
Veterans are eligible for a tax-free undergraduate bursary of £40,000 if they are:
Graduate veterans may also be eligible for a postgraduate scholarship or bursary if they are training to teach priority subjects.
More information on how the department support veterans to become teachers, including the offer of one-to-one support from a teacher training advisor, can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing veteran awareness training for teachers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A key principle behind the government's plan for education is to give teachers and school leaders the freedom to use their professional judgement to do what works best for their pupils. As such, headteachers are ultimately responsible for employment in their schools and the department trusts them to take decisions about the right mix of qualifications, skills and experience that they expect teachers in their schools to have.
The department recently reviewed the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) alongside each other and revised the ITT CCF and the ECF into the combined and updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This now covers the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career, and sets out the entitlement of every trainee and early career teacher (ECT) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching. The ITTECF is universal and designed to work for all teachers, across all phases and subjects.
Beyond this, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.
The government remains committed to supporting veterans with a passion for teaching to enter the profession, both in schools and the further education sector. The department is working with the Ministry of Defence to ensure veterans are aware of the range of programmes and support available through the department’s services and bursaries.
Veterans are eligible for a tax-free undergraduate bursary of £40,000 if they are:
Graduate veterans may also be eligible for a postgraduate scholarship or bursary if they are training to teach priority subjects.
More information on how the department support veterans to become teachers, including the offer of one-to-one support from a teacher training advisor, can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 17304 on Teachers: Veterans, how many people applied for the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary in the academic years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of undergraduate veteran teachers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Initial teacher training (ITT) providers are responsible for the management and administration of bursary payments, including assessment of eligibility. Trainees do not need to apply for a bursary and will automatically receive this from their ITT provider if eligible.
The undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is paid over the final two years of the course, with £20,000 payable in each year. In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, five individual trainees received the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary, three of whom received a bursary in both years. Figures may be subject to change due to ongoing data collection and assurance.
The department supports veterans into teaching in primary, secondary, and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has tailored support and communications for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information from Get Into Teaching is available here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran and here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/blog/from-the-army-to-teacher-training. More information from Civvy Street can be found here: https://civvystreetmagazine.co.uk/2023/05/bring-your-unique-perspective-to-the-classroom-get-into-teaching-2/.
Also available are bespoke webinars, and the opportunity to attend regional employer fairs with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and British Forces Resettlement Service (BFRS). More information about the CTP can be found here: https://www.ctp.org.uk/job-finding/directory/get-into-teaching. More information about the BFRS can be found here: https://www.bfrss.org.uk/profiles/companies/986419/.