Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to review legislation on (a) aiding and (b) abetting suicide through the (i) online promotion and (ii) sale of lethal substances.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is already an offence to do an act capable of encouraging or assisting suicide under section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 where that act is intended to encourage or assist suicide or attempted suicide.
The Government has no plans to review that offence. There are also a number of criminal offences relating to the supply of regulated poisons to the public under the Poisons Act 1972. In addition, the Online Safety Act 2023 requires in-scope services to have proportionate systems and processes in place to prevent users from encountering illegal content via their service. This includes the online sale and promotion of lethal substances and illegal suicide and self-harm content.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of employment programmes on rates of poverty resulting from changes to Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans to mentor young people in (a) conservation, (b) rural training initiatives and (c) general.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is determined to ensure that the value veterans bring to civil society and UK businesses across all sectors is fully recognised, and that industries make the most of the talents they have to offer. This includes the opportunity for veterans to share the experiences, and the skills developed throughout their Armed Forces service, with young people.
The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is the Ministry of Defence's official resettlement programme and provides employment advice and support for those leaving military service, during the 'transition' phase, up to two years before and after leaving service. CTP also supports employers looking to recruit Armed Forces Service leavers into their organisations.
We have recently expanded the employment support available for veterans under Op ASCEND, which is run by the Forces Employment Charity. This service will align more closely with CTP and will provide access to specialised pathways for veterans and their families into nationally significant sectors of societal and economic value.
The Great Place to Work for Veterans Scheme encourages and supports veterans seeking opportunities within the Civil Service, including in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. All civil service employees, including veterans, have access to a broad learning and development offer and mentoring initiatives.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) coastal and (b) rural areas are not disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity as a result of welfare policy changes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is providing £1 billion, including Barnett impact, to extend the Household Support Fund in England and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) in England and Wales in 2025-2026. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or UC who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and DHP funding includes over £1m ring-fenced for the most rural LAs in England and Wales.
Alongside delivering on our Get Britain Working White Paper to support people into good jobs and make everyone better off, we’re increasing the Living Wage, uprating benefits and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit (UC) deductions to help low-income households.
Our reforms will ensure we can always protect people who need it. But, for those that can, we know that work is the best route out of poverty. Many sick and disabled people want to work and have been denied the opportunity. They deserve the same chances and choices to work as everyone else, and our £1 billion employment support package will start to provide that across the country, including in coastal and rural areas.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the capacity of Jobcentre Plus to support claimants in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, building on our plan for growth. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the fundamental reforms needed to realise our ambitions, including the vision to reform Jobcentres - to a new Jobs and Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers.
Across Great Britain, the new service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Central to the new service will be our use of technology, enabling us to reinvest time in supporting people more effectively.
We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service. We are currently running two large-scale tests testing reducing the frequency of engagement with customers and the mode of mandatory engagement for Universal Credit claimants that are looking for work or are in lower paid jobs. These will help us to better understand what will work best for the individual.
Residents of Southeast Cornwall are served by Liskeard, Launceston and Devonport Job Centres who are responsible for ensuring residents of Southeast Cornwall can access the Jobcentre offer and a wide range of programmes with partner organisations.
This includes the Work Well Pilot, delivering a range of tailored work and health support, the YEP! Programme (SPF), the People Hub working with people who are unemployed or under employed with a range of training and pre-employability help and the Restart Programme.
Area specific needs are met by a range of Jobcentre and partner bespoke offers, which includes Disability Employer Advisor outreach in GP surgeries, working with refugees in Torpoint and Saltash, and the IPS programme delivering support to those with addiction and Mental Health issues.
Recent Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) have assisted residents of Southeast Cornwall into security, retail and care work.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that welfare changes do not disproportionately impact (a) disabled people and (b) people with mental health conditions in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans to reform the health and disability and employment support system. As we bring forward changes, we will ensure that the most vulnerable and severely disabled people everywhere are protected, so that they can live with dignity and security.
We are taking steps to make sure that people, across the country, are supported. For those affected by the changes to PIP eligibility, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. For new claimants on the Universal Credit health element after April 2026, we are proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected.
We hope that a wide range of voices, including from your constituency, will respond to our consultation and as we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of proposed reforms to the Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility criteria will be brought forward via Primary Legislation, so that Parliament can fully consider, debate and vote on these changes.
We have and will continue to consider the potential impacts of our reforms, including through engagement with other departments. That is why, for those who are affected by the new PIP eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group. We will also work closely with the DHSC and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system.
We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.