Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 is enforced.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It is against the law to 'sell' honours or peerages - offering cash for awards - under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.
Honours are earned, not bought, and the Government does not endorse the use of fee-charging services when submitting nominations. All honours nominations are independently validated and assessed, regardless of the source.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent non-statutory advisory body with responsibility for vetting nominations for life peers in line with its published criteria.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that no children are harmed during the anti-vaccination protests outside schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is never acceptable for anyone to pressurise or intimidate pupils, teachers or the wider school community, and protestors engaging in this type of behaviour should immediately bring it to an end.
The department has provided guidance for schools on how to handle any misinformation or disruption, details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-resources-for-schools/covid-19-vaccination-programme-for-children-and-young-people-guidance-for-schools. In the event of a protest or disruptive activity outside a school, or if schools know a protest is planned, they should alert the School Age Immunisation Service provider, local authority and local police contacts to discuss the best way to manage the situation.
Should a protest contravene the law, the police have comprehensive powers to deal with activities that spread hate or deliberately raise tensions through violence or public disorder. This does not negate the right to peaceful protest.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the elderly can afford to heat their homes during this winter; and what plans they have to cut VAT on energy bills for six months.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
In recognition of the fact that families should not have to bear all the VAT costs they incur to meet their energy needs, the Government already maintains a reduced rate of 5 per cent VAT on the supply of domestic energy, at a cost of £5 billion per year.Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in the year 2019/20, and helps to fund key spending priorities, including on health, education, and defence.
Additional support is provided through the Winter Fuel Payment, which is designed to ensure that households where older people are living can be heated and kept warm during winter months.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young care leavers can pay their energy bills and do not fall into fuel poverty.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local Authorities must provide support to young care leavers, including help to set up a home until they are 25 years old.
The energy price cap will save 15 million households up to £100 on their energy bills this winter. The Government supports low-income and fuel poor households with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments, where eligible.
The Warm Home Discount scheme currently provides over 2 million low-income and vulnerable households with a £140 rebate off their winter energy bill. Warm Home Discount funding for 2021/22 year is worth £354 million.
In addition, the Government has announced an extra £500 million for local authorities through the new Household Support Fund to provide help to millions of the most in need.
The independent regulator, Ofgem has an objective to protect vulnerable consumers. Its Consumer Vulnerability Strategy 2025 includes activities to improve identification of vulnerability and supporting those struggling with their energy bills. Further details of Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy 2025 are available on Ofgem's website.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that families with members (1) in low-paid jobs, or (2) on zero-hour contracts, can pay their energy bills and do not fall into fuel poverty.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The energy price cap will save 15 million households up to £100 on their energy bills this winter. The Government supports low-income and fuel poor households with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments, where eligible.
The Warm Home Discount scheme currently provides over 2 million low-income and vulnerable households with a £140 rebate off their winter energy bill. Warm Home Discount funding for 2021/22 year is worth £354 million.
In addition, the Government has announced an extra £500 million for local authorities through the new Household Support Fund to provide help to millions of the most in need.
The independent regulator, Ofgem has an objective to protect vulnerable consumers. Its Consumer Vulnerability Strategy 2025 includes activities to improve identification of vulnerability and supporting those struggling with their energy bills. Further details of Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy 2025 are available on Ofgem's website.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the number of job vacancies in the (1) care, and (2) hospitality, sectors.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is continuing to work with the Department for Health and Social Care, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Devolved Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as other Government Departments to fill vacancies in adult social care, hospitality and other sectors, offering training for those who need it, and securing jobs directly for those ready to move into roles.
Two websites, JobHelp and Employer Help, were launched last year by the Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. JobHelp offers job search advice, showcases recruiting sectors, including adult social care and hospitality, and signposts to job vacancies to help people successfully find work.
The Department is continuing to deliver the Plan for Jobs, which is focused on providing a skills and employment offer which allows people to adapt and pivot into the job roles that employers need to fill. This includes targeted provision such as Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) (in England and Scotland), which comprise training, work experience and a guaranteed interview for a real job.
Launched in September 2020, the DWP Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion scheme to create thousands of 6-month jobs for 16 – 24 year-olds on Universal Credit, who have been hardest hit by the economic impact of the pandemic. As part of Plan for Jobs, Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) is now live across England, Wales and Scotland. JETS provides light touch employment support for participants who are claiming either Universal Credit or New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance, for up to 6 months within the first year of unemployment.
We have also just launched the Restart Scheme which will provide intensive, tailored employment support to help over 1 million Universal Credit claimants back towards sustained employment.
The Department is working with trade bodies from England (Skills for Care), Wales (Social Care Wales) and Scotland (Scottish Social Services Council) to actively promote opportunities in the care sector and with key Hospitality sector employers and trade associations such as UK Hospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association to promote opportunities in the hospitality sector.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) scientists, (2) care workers, and (3) volunteers, working with vaccines are kept safe while undertaking their duties.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Employers, including those involved in scientific activities such as the development, manufacture and testing of vaccines, are required to risk assess the activities they plan to undertake and implement controls to mitigate identified risks. Activities with certain types of vaccines (e.g. genetically modified organisms or biological agents), may require notification to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in advance of the work, providing details of the activity, and a summary of the risk assessment and key controls. Notifications are assessed by HSE before permission is granted.
HSE may carry out inspections of facilities involved in the development, manufacture or testing of vaccines to ensure that necessary controls are in place and workers, including scientists, are not put at risk while undertaking their duties. Inspections cover a range of topics including engineering controls, procedural controls, training and competence of workers and management of health and safety. If breaches of health and safety legislation are identified there are a range of enforcement tools (from verbal instruction to enforcement notices) available to help achieve compliance.
Care workers and volunteers are not involved in the administration of vaccines.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the tourism industry of abolishing the VAT Retail Export Scheme.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
On 11 September 2020, the Government announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage arriving from or going overseas (passengers) following the transition period. The following rules were implemented on 1 January 2021:
- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom (UK) can purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.
- Personal allowances apply to passengers entering Great Britain from any destination outside of the UK, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.
- The VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) in Great Britain has not been extended to EU residents and has been withdrawn for all passengers.
- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales for non-excise goods has been removed across the UK.
The Government published a consultation which ran from 11 March to 20 May 2020. During this time the Government held a number of virtual meetings with industry stakeholders to hear their views and received 73 responses to the consultation. The Government has also met and discussed these changes with many stakeholders following the announcement of these policies.
The detailed rationale for these changes was provided in the written ministerial statement and the published summary of responses to the consultation. A detailed technical note has also been made available to stakeholders.
On 25 November 2020 the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) set out their assessment of the fiscal impact of the withdrawal of the VAT RES.
Factoring in a higher-than-usual elasticity of 1.9 to account for spending on luxury goods, the OBR estimate that the withdrawal of the VAT RES will result in a significant direct Exchequer saving of around £400 million per year, once passenger numbers recover from the impacts of Covid-19. Based on the 1.2 million users of the scheme who received a refund in 2019, this includes an assumption that approximately 20,000 – 30,000 fewer tourists visit Great Britain a year. That is 0.07% of the 40 million visitors to the UK in 2019.
The OBR also looked at this package in the round when assessing the indirect impact on the economy – including the effects of extending duty-free sales – alongside the substantial support provided to the economy and retail industry.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with (1) carers’ unions, and (2) other bodies representing carers, before taking the decision to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for those working as carers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department consulted on making vaccination a condition of deployment in older adult care homes from 14 April to 26 May 2021 and received more than 13,500 consultation responses. The Department also conducted extensive engagement, including meeting with organisations representing paid and unpaid carers, and with individuals with lived experience of care. These discussions have formed a crucial part of our policy development.
Regulations were laid on 22 June to make vaccination a condition of entry in all Care Quality Commission-regulated care homes. Exemptions apply to service users and their friends or relatives; those under 18 years old; those providing emergency assistance or urgent maintenance work; those visiting service users who are dying or experiencing bereavement; and individuals who should not be vaccinated for clinical reasons.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional funding to local authorities for early abuse interventions following increases in domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we fully recognise the devastating impact it can have on children and young people. That is why the Domestic Abuse Act recognises children as victims if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse.
In the past year the Home Office has provided over £3 million to specialist services for children who have experienced domestic abuse. The local services funded provide interventions such as therapy, counselling and education schemes.
The Home Office has also provided funding to roll out Operation Encompass nationally. This innovative scheme facilitates schools and police working together to provide emotional and practical support to children affected by domestic abuse. It currently operates in all 43 police forces across England and Wales, therefore ensuring vital early intervention in all local areas.
We are also committing £25 million to tackle perpetrators of domestic abuse. From this, I am pleased to confirm that on Friday 21st May we launched a new Perpetrator Programme Fund for Police and Crime Commissioners to bid into totalling £11.1m. The purpose of this fund is to support the introduction of more perpetrator programmes in local areas. We have specified that one area we are particularly interested in funding is dedicated provision for adolescents who perpetrate abuse in their adolescent relationships. The competition will be live for six weeks, closing on 2nd July.
Finally, councils across England have been allocated £125 million funding to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children. The money will fund a new duty on councils to ensure victims and their children are able to access life-saving support in safe accommodation – a key part of the government’s landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
More broadly across Government we are determined to ensure that support is available at an early stage for all victims of domestic abuse. Departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Justice are providing funding this financial year for accommodation-based support and wider victim services respectively.