Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the two child benefit cap on people by ethnicity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of families that are affected by the two child benefit cap in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing the availability of real time bus information in Newcastle.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering the better bus services that passengers deserve, and as part of this, is working closely with bus operators and local transport authorities to improve the information available to passengers about their bus services.
The Bus Services (No.2) Bill’s information about local services provisions aim to enable public access to a new, central database of information, drawn from the existing bus registration process, and linked to the existing Bus Open Data Service (BODS). We hope that bringing these two data streams together will assist operators in complying with BODS obligations, leading to improved real time information about local bus services across the country. Bus operators are obliged to have working systems to provide real-time information for bus services in order to fulfil the requirements of the Public Service Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations.
In addition, as part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the government confirmed investment of over £1 billion in 25/26 to support and improve bus services and to keep fares affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities to support and improve bus services, of which the North East Combined Authority was allocated £23.7 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers. This could include investing in technology to provide passengers with better real-time information.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68388 on Parking, when she plans to publish a response to the pavement parking consultation; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing powers available to local authorities to (a) restrict and (b) enforce pavement parking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether cultural access to science falls within the remit of her Department, in the context of the UK's obligations under (a) Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and (b) Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK's obligations under Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concern cultural participation, science, and intellectual property, and are the responsibility of a number of Government departments. Obligations relating to science fall within the remit of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide funding for research into the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal disease in UK universities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government does not generally ringfence funding for particular areas of research but has funded a significant amount of applicant-led funding on arthritis and musculoskeletal disease.
In 2024, UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) committed over £17 million to research on these topics, including over £4 million for the University of Oxford, within UKRI’s £28.5 million Functional Genomics Initiative, to establish a research cluster focused on the use of functional genomics techniques to improve musculoskeletal health and disease.
UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of research with wider relevance, including in immunology and pain relief, and plays a key role in funding underpinning discovery research.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he science and discovery centres fall within the remit of his Department.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s Science and Discovery Centres have an important role in engaging the public, with science and technology and in inspiring young people, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to consider studying STEM subjects and related careers.
However, while some centres do carry out research in addition to their informal science learning activities their primary role is as visitor centres focussed on the role of science in the UK’s culture. While the department and partners such as UKRI have provided support for particular programmes managed by science centres, as institutions they do not fall within DSIT’s remit.
DSIT is currently planning to engage with DCMS to discuss how government’s relationship with these important institutions can best be supported going forward.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July to Question 67336 on Crime, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative in reducing (a) town centre criminality, (b) shop theft, (c) street crime and (d) anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office have developed a multi-strand analytical approach to measure the progress of the Safer Summer Streets Initiative (SSSI) to reduce shop theft, street crime and ASB.
PCCs and police forces are providing the Home Office with monthly light-touch monitoring data and qualitative insights related to the initiative. Additionally, Home Office analysts will analyse data already reported to the Home Office via the Police Annual Data Requirement (ADR) on crime volumes and positive outcomes related to relevant offences.
The department is actively monitoring the impact of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative (SSSI), capturing a wide range of enforcement and engagement activity, as well as tracking crime trends and positive outcomes in targeted town centre areas. While we are working closely with police forces and local partners to collect data, it is too early to draw conclusions about the initiative’s impact. The initiative concludes on 30 September, and meaningful assessment will require time to account for reporting lags and data processing.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of incorporating remote digital testing platforms into the forthcoming Home Office English Language Test contract on cybersecurity; and what steps she plans to take to ensure (a) data security and (b) fraud prevention across the 142 countries in which the test will be administered.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is conducting market engagement and research to help inform the English Language Test tender process. This includes assessing various testing methodologies and delivery options to ensure the most appropriate and secure arrangements are put into the tender requirements.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of adopting modes of English language assessment based on at-home proficiency tests within the planned Home Office English Language Test tender.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is conducting market engagement and research to help inform the English Language Test tender process. This includes assessing various testing methodologies and delivery options to ensure the most appropriate and secure arrangements are put into the tender requirements.