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Written Question
Social Services: Finance
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for social care.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government has made available up to £8.6bn in additional funding over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes £500m announced in January which has specifically been made available to support local authorities with the cost of social care in 2024-25 in response to representations from local government stakeholders. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care.

At Spring Budget, the government announced it is investing £165 million over the next 4 years to significantly expand the capacity of the children’s home estate in England, improving outcomes for looked after children and unlocking productivity savings by reducing local government reliance on emergency provision. The government is also exploring further ways to combat profiteering and bring down costs in the children’s care market. This is in addition to the £200 million the government has already committed in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.


Written Question
Financial Services: Learning Disability
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the financial inclusion of people with a learning disability.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government aims to ensure that all people have access to useful and affordable financial products and services. To promote financial inclusion, the Government works closely with the regulators and stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors.

The FCA’s vulnerability guidance requires firms to identify vulnerable customers, which can include those with a learning disability, and to consider the needs of these customers appropriately.

The Consumer Duty builds on this work by raising the standard expected from firms for all customers with a focus on delivering good outcomes and preventing harm.


Written Question
Cost of Living: Disability
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to provide financial support for disabled people with the rise in the cost of living.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable. Over the last two years, the government has provided support to help households with the cost of living totalling £96 billion – an average of £3400 per UK household.

Individuals who incur extra cost due to a long-term health conditions or disability may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment, which can be worth over £8,900 per year. This has been complemented in recent years with two £150 Disability Cost of Living Payments, to help the most vulnerable through the period of high inflation.


Written Question
Musculoskeletal Disorders: Health Services
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 17902, how many individual Musculoskeletal Physical Activity Hubs will be created as a result of the £12 million a year allocated as part of the 2023 Spring Budget.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The DHSC/DWP Joint Work and Health Directorate is actively exploring opportunities to increase access to, and hence the number of, MSK Physical Activity Hubs in the Community, and enhancing the interventions on offer by embedding vocational support and rehabilitation services. This includes how to maximise access for people with greatest unmet MSK need and people with MSK conditions living in areas of deprivation. We are exploring how to improve referral pathways so where appropriate people with MSK conditions get easier access. This will help inform new models of delivery and our thinking on scale.

We are currently undertaking extensive stakeholder engagement and anticipate publishing our approach over the next few months.


Written Question
Access to Work Programme
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were waiting for a decision on their Access to Work application on 1 March 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As of 1st March 2024, there were 29,871 applications awaiting a decision.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.


Written Question
Aviation: Disability
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to require airline staff to wear cameras to help prevent discrimination against disabled airline passengers by staff.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Air travel should be enjoyable and accessible for all, and discrimination against disabled passengers is completely unacceptable.

Government has been clear with the aviation industry that it must provide the best possible service, including ensuring disabled passengers receive the support they require.

UK aviation operates in the private sector, and it would not be for the UK government to mandate use of body worn cameras by airline staff.


Written Question
Aviation: Disability
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on the introduction of an airlines accessibility framework.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Civil Aviation Authority, the UK’s specialist aviation regulator, consulted on the introduction of an airline accessibility performance framework, which closed in July 2023. The CAA has been analysing the responses, and will publish its response to that consultation and next steps in due course.


Written Question
Department for Transport: Disability
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people sit on his Department's accessibility group; and of those, how many identify as disabled.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) currently consists of 10 members including its Chair. Of these, 7 members identify as disabled.


Written Question
Aviation: Disability
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of fare discounts for assistants accompanying disabled airline passengers.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government strongly believes that everyone should have equal access to air travel. While there is no legal requirement for airlines to offer free or discounted seats to an accompanying person, it is the CAA's view that it is best practice for airlines to do so where they require a disabled or less mobile passenger to travel with an accompanying person for safety reasons.


Written Question
Access to Work Programme: Musculoskeletal Disorders
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with arthritis and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore we are not able to make an estimate of the number of people living with arthritis and/or a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)