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Written Question
Prison and Probation Service: Labour Turnover
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to help increase the retention rate of staff in HM Prison and Probation Service.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Safe, decent, rehabilitative prisons require excellent and experienced staff, as does supervising offenders in the community to keep the public safe.

We want them to stay in the Prison Service and to support retention, we have:

  • Accepted every penny of the Prisons Service PRB pay recommendations for 2023/24.

  • Injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to support Probation staff to deliver more robust supervision.

  • Rolled out BWV to every officer, to help protect staff by defusing volatile situations.

  • Introduced a New Colleague Mentor scheme to help new recruits feel supported in their early weeks and months.

Retention for prison officers is improving, with the staff resignation rate dropping from around 10.7% to around 8.3% over the last year to December 2023.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Women
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to formally respond to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.


Written Question
Disability: North East
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the working age population are disabled in the North East; and how many and what proportion were disabled in 2010.

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

The information requested is shown in the table below.

The definition of disability changed in 2013 therefore estimates for 2010 and 2022 are not directly comparable.

Number and percentage of disabled people aged 16 to 64 by country/region

Country/ region

2010

2022

Number of disabled people

Percentage of disabled people

Number of disabled people

Percentage of disabled people

United Kingdom

8,257,200

20.5

9,311,800

22.4

North East

399,400

24.0

429,500

26.4

North West

1,012,200

22.5

1,111,300

24.7

Yorkshire and The Humber

738,500

21.9

818,200

24.2

East Midlands

629,200

21.8

712,500

24.1

West Midlands

720,900

20.5

819,300

22.6

East

729,400

19.9

790,200

20.8

London

935,500

16.9

1,092,600

17.7

South East

992,100

18.3

1,144,800

20.4

South West

653,600

20.0

766,900

22.9

Wales

469,200

24.4

506,600

26.5

Scotland

746,500

21.9

861,200

25.0

Northern Ireland

230,700

19.9

258,700

22.1

Source: Annual Population Survey (APS) -Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)

Notes:

  • Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to one decimal place.
  • Totals may not always sum due to rounding and the exclusion of missing, unknown and not applicable categories.
  • Numbers shown are central estimates and subject to sampling variation. The precision of these estimates will be limited by sample size.
  • Annual Population Survey data has not been reweighted to incorporate the latest estimates of the size and composition of the UK population.
  • Estimates for 2010 are based on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) definition of disability. Estimates for 2022 use the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonised Standard definition.

Written Question
Arms Trade: Israel
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the use of (a) arms and (b) non arms exports to Israel.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Israel
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value of arms exports to Israel was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.


Written Question
Foreign Investment in UK: Science and Technology
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department supports foreign investment in science and technology by region.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Investment is at the very heart of the UK economy - it supports economic growth, creates jobs and enables improvements in productivity for new and existing firms. It is also essential for successful delivery of the Government's objective to make the UK a science and technology superpower by 2030.

The Department for Business and Trade promotes a range of investment opportunities across the science & technology sector. DBT works to attract foreign corporates to the UK, developing compelling investment propositions for DBT's international network to bring to prospective investors, this includes both sector-wide and place-based opportunities. DBT has dedicated based staff across the UK who work with the DAs/their agencies, wider DBT teams, Office for Investment and other UK government departments to deliver investment in priority areas, including science and technology. DBT teams work closely with partners to deliver events to attract investment, such as the Northern Ireland Investment Summit that was held in Belfast, September 2023.

The UK has 13 new Investment Zones which will benefit from £160 million each of Government funding to unlock foreign investment across priority sectors, especially science and technology, with a focus on driving innovation and creating quality jobs. These will be new hubs for investment and innovation across the UK and the funding spread over 10 years, will be spent on fiscal incentives and/or flexible spend to support attracting FDI. In line with the government's levelling up objectives, they are established in places with significant unmet productivity potential, where existing strengths and assets aligned to priority sectors can be leveraged to increase opportunities for local communities. Investment Zones will be established in partnership between central government, local government, research institutions and the private sector. The Investment Opportunity Fund is intended to double down on the objectives of Freeports and Investment Zones by providing a flexible, agile pot of funding that government can use to secure and respond to opportunities in these areas as they emerge.


Written Question
London North Eastern Railway: Fares
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the London North Eastern Railway Simpler Fares pilot scheme on the average cost to passengers.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department supported LNER to introduce its Simpler Fares trial and officials regularly meet with LNER to discuss progress. During the trial, the majority of passengers will find fixed or semi flexible fares to be the same or cheaper than the old super off-peak fare, and there will be more fixed fares available than before. LNER estimate as of 6th February that 55% of semi flexible tickets sold were cheaper than the old super off peak ticket.

The trial will be evaluated to understand its impact on passengers, and gather passenger feedback. The evaluation will be published in due course.


Written Question
London North Eastern Railway: Fares
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to respond to feedback from passengers on the London North Eastern Railway Simpler Fares pilot scheme.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department supported LNER to introduce its Simpler Fares trial and officials regularly meet with LNER to discuss progress. During the trial, the majority of passengers will find fixed or semi flexible fares to be the same or cheaper than the old super off-peak fare, and there will be more fixed fares available than before. LNER estimate as of 6th February that 55% of semi flexible tickets sold were cheaper than the old super off peak ticket.

The trial will be evaluated to understand its impact on passengers, and gather passenger feedback. The evaluation will be published in due course.


Written Question
East West Rail Line
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of East West Rail on science and technology activities in locations on that route.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has a strong desire to maintain and enhance our position as a global science and technology superpower and we recognise the importance of the Oxford-Cambridge region as a globally renowned hub of science, research and innovation, with businesses and universities that are leading the way in life sciences, space and green technologies. At the East West Rail Route Update Announcement in May 2023, it was reconfirmed that East West Rail would approach to Cambridge from the south, serving the new Cambridge South station, and promoting greater economic growth given the proximity of the Biomedical Campus to Cambridge South station.


Written Question
London North Eastern Railway: Fares
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London North Eastern Railway on the trial of the Simpler Fares pilot scheme.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department supported LNER to introduce its Simpler Fares trial and officials regularly meet with LNER to discuss progress. During the trial, the majority of passengers will find fixed or semi flexible fares to be the same or cheaper than the old super off-peak fare, and there will be more fixed fares available than before. LNER estimate as of 6th February that 55% of semi flexible tickets sold were cheaper than the old super off peak ticket.

The trial will be evaluated to understand its impact on passengers, and gather passenger feedback. The evaluation will be published in due course.