Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to HC debate on 9 November 2022 col 241, relating to Benefits of the Union, what the timetable for delivery in Northern Ireland of (a) the £400 energy support scheme and (b) £100 alternative fuels payment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households in Northern Ireland will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme (NI EBSS) this winter. The Government is working intensively with electricity suppliers to deliver a solution and to provide the support as soon as possible.
The Government has doubled to £200 the level of support for households that use alternative fuels to heat their home, which will be delivered as soon as possible this winter. The Government will provide this payment to all Northern Ireland households in recognition of the prevalence of alternative fuel usage.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to uprate benefits in Northern Ireland in line with inflation in the absence of an Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Welfare policy and the provision of benefits is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The UK Government will protect the most vulnerable in society by increasing benefits in Great Britain in line with inflation from April 2023. I am supportive of benefits being uplifted in Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK.
In the absence of locally accountable leadership in Northern Ireland, my department will work with the Northern Ireland Civil Service on the approach to benefits uprating in Northern Ireland, as has been the case throughout previous periods without a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the success of the New Decade New Approach investment in Health services in (a) implementing the Bengoa, the Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together, and the Power to People reports and (b) delivering more care in the community.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is acutely aware of the pressures facing the health service in Northern Ireland. A programme of reform at the devolved level is needed to tackle long-standing and systemic problems. Consecutive Executive Ministers have failed to adequately address this issue.
Through the New Decade, New Approach Agreement, the Government is providing additional funding of £245m to the Northern Ireland Executive for public sector transformation.
The absence of a functioning Executive is exacerbating severe delays to health reform in Northern Ireland. I outlined to Parliament on Wednesday 9 November, my intention to introduce legislation to enable Northern Ireland Departments to maintain delivery of all vital public services, including health and social care, until an Executive can be restored.
The Government’s immediate priority remains facilitating the restoration of a fully functioning Executive that can progress long-term solutions to transform healthcare in Northern Ireland and maximise value from the UK Government funds announced in the Autumn Statement which will see the budget to the Northern Ireland Executive increase by £650m over the next two financial years.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times the New Decade New Approach Joint Board has met since 22 July 2020.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Joint Board has met three times since 22 July 2020.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Answer of 7 November 2022 to Question 77502 on Schools: Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of young people who will be able to access the connected classroom programme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I am continuing to explore options for facilitating the establishment of a Connected Classroom programme, with the aim of providing young people in Northern Ireland with the opportunity to engage and collaborate with young people across the UK. Therefore, I cannot make an estimate at this time of the number of young people who will be able to access the programme.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2022 to Question 67265 on Housing: Fuel Oil, what were the values used in the calculation of (a) heating oil demand for a typical Northern Ireland home, (b) the Northern Ireland heating oil price and (c) a typical Northern Ireland heating oil bill.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As set out in the Impact assessment published on GOV.UK:
It is on the basis of these figures that we have calculated that the cost of an average heating oil bill in Northern Ireland over the past year, based on typical demand, was £820 at September 2021 prices, and £1900 at September 2022 prices.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings the joint taskforce for the £400 energy support scheme in Northern Ireland has had since 15 August 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Two taskforce meetings have been held to support the UK Government delivering £400 off energy bills in Northern Ireland this winter.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 22 to Question 36829 on energy bills rebate, what progress the Government has made in identifying a route for the delivery of the Northern Ireland energy bills support scheme; and what the timeframe is for that support being delivered.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households in Northern Ireland will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme (NI EBSS) this winter.
This will offer the same level of support as households in Great Britain are receiving under the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS). The Government is working at pace to deliver a solution which accounts for the Northern Ireland market and to provide the support as soon as possible.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant of the Answer on 13 October 2022 to Question 53449 on Fuel Oil, what was the rate of growth in heating costs for off grid households since last autumn in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the United Kingdom.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The annual cost of heating a typical household with heating oil rose by £903 in Great Britain (from £615 to £1,518) and £1,080 in Northern Ireland (from £820 to £1,900) from September 2021 to September 2022. This was an increase of 147% in Great Britain and 132% in Northern Ireland.
A payment of £100 will effectively limit the increase in heating costs to 130% for a typical household, in line with the benefit offered by the Energy Price Guarantee. A typical household is based on Government analysis of demand which takes into account the characteristics of the UK housing stock.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
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 waiting times for elective surgeries in Hove constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in Hove. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.