Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
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 help people in Ukraine who suffer from diabetes and are at risk of running out of insulin.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The United Kingdom has provided more than two million items of medical supplies to Ukraine as of 18 March 2022. We have delivered over 300,000 individual doses of medicines, as well as medical consumables such as syringes and needles. Further delivery of medicines to Ukraine is continuing, including several thousand doses of insulin.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure that people can book NHS dental appointments and (b) remove covid-19 restrictions to ensure further appointments can take place.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have sought to balance protecting staff and patients by setting minimum thresholds of National Health Service dental activity. The current threshold is 85%. Thresholds have reflected both attainment by the best performing practices and the impact of necessary infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures. The dentistry IPC guidance is based on national guidance for health and care settings, which is regularly updated to reflect the current evidence base. The latest version of the ‘COVID-19: infection prevention and control dental appendix’ was published in March 2022.
In addition, £50 million for NHS dentistry was made available in the last quarter of 2021/22 to provide access to dental appointments. NHS dentists have been asked to prioritise available capacity for urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children followed by overdue appointments.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What support her Department provides to older jobseekers to reskill or change careers.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s plan for jobs provides funding to ensure that more jobseekers of all ages get tailored support, including to reskill or pivot sectors. This includes programmes such as the Job Finding Support service, Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) and the Restart scheme, to help them find work. The JETS scheme in particular helps jobseekers update their digital skills, job searching tools and to identify transferrable skills, which has been extended to September 2022.
Additionally, as part of the £500m Plan for Jobs expansion, we are funding a new enhanced support package for workers over the age of 50 to help them to stay in and return to work. This offer has two strands – Older workers will receive better information and guidance on later life planning, helping them make informed choices and supporting them to plan their career and remain in work. For those who have lost their jobs, this funding will ensure that older job seekers on Universal Credit receive more intensive, tailored support as they look to take the next step in their career. A network of 50 Plus Champions across all 37 Jobcentre Plus districts will enable and encourage work coaches to direct suitable Plan for Jobs and local support to claimants aged 50 and over
The UK government are also investing £2.5 billion in the National Skills Fund in England to aid The Lifetime Skills Guarantee. From April 2021, adults of any age over 24 who are looking to achieve their first full Level 3 will be able to access fully funded courses which will give them new skills and greater prospects in the labour market. The free online Skills Toolkit also provides online learning focused on digital, numeracy and employability skills.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether planning permission is required for works undertaken as part of the Green Homes Grant Scheme for properties that are not in a conversation area.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is fully committed to encouraging homeowners to incorporate energy efficiency measures in their properties, to tackle climate change.
In order to be eligible for funding under the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme, applicants must have obtained the necessary consents and permissions from all relevant authorities and parties to install measures in their property. This is specified in the scheme’s Customer Terms and Conditions.
Furthermore, all works completed under the scheme must be compliant with building regulations and standards.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to reconsider the taxation of historic cars so that the date the law is calculated from is the registration date on the V5 document rather than the date the car was manufactured.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In recognition of the important role that historic vehicles play in the country’s heritage, the Government announced at Budget 2014 that it would introduce a rolling 40-year Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) exemption. This means that from 1 April each year, vehicles constructed 40 years before the 1 January of that year are automatically exempt from paying VED.
The Government uses the construction date of the vehicle as the main eligibility criteria for this VED exemption as it is most suited for determining the age of the vehicle. However, where a vehicle’s construction date is not provided on the vehicle’s record, the date of first registration is used to determine the vehicle’s eligibility for the exemption. There are no current plans to amend the basis of this VED exemption from vehicle construction date to vehicle registration date, but as with all taxes, VED is kept under review.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the process of applying for a Blue Badge for people in receipt of Attendance Allowance is as easy as the process for applying for working age benefits, such as Personal Independence Payments and Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping those with severe mobility issues. In order to qualify for a Blue Badge, a person needs to meet one of the eligibility criteria set out in the regulations that govern the scheme.
There are several automatic qualifying criteria, such as receipt of the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance or an award of Personal Independence Payment under specific mobility criteria. There is no mobility component in Attendance Allowance, difficulty in walking must therefore be established through further assessment.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question
What steps he is taking to promote investment in green spaces in preparation for COP26.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As part of the UK’s commitment to put nature at the heart of climate action, between 2021 and 2026 at least £3bn of UK International Climate Finance will be invested to protect, restore and sustainably manage nature, delivering strong outcomes for biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, and poverty reduction; creating jobs and sustainable economic growth for those communities acutely at risk.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on publishing a roadmap out of the covid-19 lockdown for people who have been separated from families and partners who live outside of the UK.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK is working with other countries who have programmes to allow vaccinated people to travel more freely, to lead global efforts to adopt a clear international framework with standards that provide consistency for passengers and industry alike. The Government is working closely with the World Health Organisation and other multilateral organisations like ICAO to help shape an internationally interoperable certification system. Additionally, we have been working with like-minded partners, to ensure people can prove their health status when travelling abroad, once international travel resumes from 17 May at the earliest.
On 9 April, a framework to chart the safe return of international travel was set out by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. The report, produced by the Global Travel Taskforce shows how international travel could resume from 17 May 2021 at the earliest, and commits to working with industry to do so in a safe, accessible and affordable way. This report shows how the UK will once again allow people with families and partners outside the UK to see their loved ones again.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) his Department's staff and (b) expat communities abroad receive a covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are closely following other countries' plans to roll out vaccines. We are providing information through Travel Advice pages and 'Living In' guides on gov.uk to inform British nationals of healthcare options available to them and how they can receive a vaccine locally. The UK is playing a leading international role to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines. For example, we have contributed £548m to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to ensure that the 92 most vulnerable economies have access to COVID-19 vaccines and I [Minister Adams] am delighted that this is starting to deliver.
In close alignment with the UK national programme, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry Of Defence are working together to provide access to Covid-19 vaccines for overseas staff and dependants for whom HMG has duty of care.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department are taking to ensure areas designated OFCOM area 2 can access Government schemes to improve their broadband speeds.
Answered by Matt Warman
The government’s ambition is to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible. We are working with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 but will seek to accelerate rollout further to get as close to 100% as possible. We expect that approximately 80% of UK premises will be delivered by industry commercially without the need for public subsidy. It will be more difficult to deliver gigabit connectivity to the hardest to reach 20% of the premises, which is why the government has announced £5 billion to deliver gigabit-capable connectivity to these premises as fast as possible.
For their proposed regulation for the 2021-26 period, Ofcom have defined two geographic markets: Area 2, accounting for roughly 70% of premises, where there is already some material commercial deployment by rival networks to BT Openreach or where this could be economic based on information provided to Ofcom by operators; and Area 3 - where Ofcom believes there is unlikely to be material commercial deployment by rivals to BT Openreach.
Ofcom has not yet officially confirmed the premises in these market areas as they are still under review following a consultation that closed on 8 December 2020. Ofcom expects to publish their final decisions by 31 March 2021.
DCMS’ £5 billion UK Gigabit programme will prioritise areas that are in the hardest to reach 20% premises in the country and, within that, the c.3% of premises that do not have access to superfast broadband. For this reason, our programme is unlikely to initially prioritise areas that are designated in Ofcom’s Area 2 as this will avoid the risk of crowding out commercial investment, and provide value for public money whilst delivering to those areas most in need.
However, DCMS will continue to conduct market surveys as part of the UK Gigabit programme, through which telecom operators provide detailed information on their commercial build plans. If it becomes clear that premises in Ofcom’s Area 2 are unlikely to benefit from a commercially delivered gigabit programme within a reasonable timeframe, then DCMS will take this into account when considering eligibility for government schemes.