Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for the future funding of independent legal advice for (a) parents and (b) kinship carers involved in the child welfare and family justice system after April 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
In the Legal Support Action plan published in February 2019 the Government committed to increase the scope for legal aid in family law cases to cover all Special Guardianship Orders in private family law cases; and removing the means test for those with parental responsibility to oppose placement or adoption orders in family law proceedings.
To support those with family law problems who are not in scope for Legal Aid the government is doubling the funding for the Litigants in Person Support Strategy to £3m for the next two years, to ensure those representing themselves in court understand the process and are better supported through it.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the local economy of his Department's decision to not support a finance package for Sirius Minerals' Woodsmith Mine project.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Sirius Minerals have recently made a statement to adjust their work programme and undertake a strategic review of the project. The Government will continue to monitor the progress of the work. Sirius Minerals have stated they will continue to find alternative sources of investment so that they can complete the Woodsmith Mine project.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to Sirius Minerals PLC of the decision by his Department not to support a finance package for that company's Woodsmith Mine project.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Sirius Minerals have recently made a statement to adjust their work programme and undertake a strategic review of the project. The Government will continue to monitor the progress of the work. Sirius Minerals have stated they will continue to find alternative sources of investment so that they can complete the Woodsmith Mine project.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish a report to Parliament on the Government's objectives for walking and cycling as set out in the statutory 2017 Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department for Transport (DfT) plans to publish the road safety statistics for England in September. As it would be useful to include this data in its progress report, and given the prorogation of Parliament, DfT is planning to publish the progress report over the autumn.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 the Government’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, by how much her Department plans to increase the proportion of green gas in the gas network; and if she will bring forward proposals to amend Section 3 of the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 to prepare for the increased use of green gas in the grid.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In this year’s Spring Statement, the Government stated our commitment to accelerating the decarbonisation of our gas supplies by increasing the proportion of green gas in the grid and to consult on the appropriate mechanism to deliver this commitment later this year.
The Gas Safety (Management) Regulations are the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive. Officials continue to engage with the HSE to support their ongoing assessment of proposals to amend Section 3 of the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the development of local food plans.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government works closely with the full spectrum of food and drink businesses across the country to promote growth, jobs, productivity and exports. We engage with businesses both directly and through trade associations, Local Enterprise Partnerships, regional food groups and other business groups. We support them in their efforts to address economic challenges and mitigate regulatory and compliance issues, and prepare successfully for EU exit.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much revenue the removal of the spare room subsidy has generated for the public purse since its introduction.
Answered by Will Quince
The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy has not generated revenue for the public purse. However, this policy has saved over £1.7bn since its introduction in April 2013. A breakdown by financial year is provided in the table below:
Total Estimated Housing Benefit RSRS Deductions, 2013/14 to 2017/18 (£m pa)
2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
385 | 365 | 355 | 335 | 320 |
Deductions figures do not take into account any additional savings due to behavioural change before/after the policy has been introduced, for example moving to a smaller property to avoid a deduction.
Figures do not include claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) deduction, as these data are not currently available.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to support female kinship carers who care as a result of alcohol misuse.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department for Education has advised that the Government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about supporting family and friends providing care for children who cannot live with their parents. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. It explains that support, can be provided under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. There is no limit on the level of support, that local authorities can provide. Local authorities are required to publish a policy setting out their approach to promoting and supporting the needs of all children living with family and friends carers, regardless of their legal status.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the safety of train passengers when train guards are removed.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Whilst decisions on staffing are for individual operators, the Government has been clear that it wants to see more staff on our railway, not fewer, and it is not aware of any plans by franchised operators to remove guards from train services.
With respect to the mode of train operation and guards, the ORR, the independent rail regulator, and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) have found that Driver Controlled Operation (DCO), where the train driver has responsibility for opening and closing the doors and dispatching the train from a station but a guard / second crew member continues to be rostered on the train, is safe.
An RSSB report also concluded that the introduction of DCO according to the standard safety management requirements that all rail companies routinely meet does not increase any other passenger safety risks and furthermore that cancelling a DCO train in the absence of its guard / second crew member is more risky than running it with only its driver.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of staffing reductions on levels of reported crime on trains.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department works with the British Transport Police (BTP) to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on the railways in Great Britain. Under their franchise agreements, Train Operating Companies are required to work with the BTP to manage and reduce railway crime. British Transport Police officer numbers have remained relatively stable on the network over the last five years and are currently (2017/18) nearly 3,100 by comparison to just over 2,900 in 2009/10.
With growing passenger numbers, the Department has been clear that it wants to see more train operating company customer-facing staff on the railways, not fewer.
The BTP keeps records of crime reported on the railways. Crime figures should be considered in the context of rising passenger numbers, with crimes per million passenger journeys remaining relatively low and having decreased overall between 2014 and 2017.
With regard to factors influencing the levels of report crime on trains, the BTP has run a number of successful initiatives in recent years to encourage more reporting of crimes, which is likely to be a factor in the numbers of crimes reported. For example, BTP has a popular dedicated crime reporting text service - ‘61016’ – which allows people to report offences to the police easily and discreetly.
The levels of crime that are seen on the railway broadly mirror those seen across society as a whole, as recorded by the territorial police forces.
A recent report by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) concluded that driver controlled train operation by comparison with conductor operation does not increase passenger safety risks.