Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
We the British People Request a Public Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Gov Responded - 5 Nov 2020 Debated on - 3 Feb 2021 View 's petition debate contributionsThe Home Secretary said what happened to victims of child sexual exploitation gangs was “one of the biggest stains on our country’s conscience.” Last year local authorities identified 18,700 suspected victims of child sexual exploitation. We want an independent public inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
Release the Home Office's Grooming Gang Review in full
Gov Responded - 19 May 2020 Debated on - 3 Feb 2021 View 's petition debate contributionsThe Government is refusing to release official research on the characteristics of grooming gangs, claiming it is not in the “public interest”.
We, the British public, demand the release of the official research on grooming gangs undertaken by the Government in full.
These initiatives were driven by Debbie Abrahams, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Debbie Abrahams has not been granted any Urgent Questions
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. a Bill to require public authorities to pay certain suppliers using project bank accounts; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require listed companies, public bodies and voluntary agencies to report annually on the number and percentage of people they employ who have disabilities; and for connected purposes.
Planning and Local Representation Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Rachel Hopkins (LAB)
Import of Products of Forced Labour from Xinjiang (Prohibition) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Brendan O'Hara (SNP)
Decarbonisation and Economic Strategy Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Caroline Lucas (GRN)
Compulsory Purchase and Planning Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Emma Hardy (LAB)
Pension Charges Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Angela Eagle (LAB)
Health Impacts (Public Sector Duty) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Luciana Berger (LDEM)
Cold Weather Payments Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Hywel Williams (PC)
House of Lords Reform (Exclusion of Hereditary Peers) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - David Hanson (LAB)
DWP has made a number of changes to the benefits system in response to the pandemic to ensure the right support goes to those claimants who are more vulnerable, have a health condition or have a disability.
To provide greater financial security at this time, we have automatically extended awards by 6 months for existing claimants that were due to be reviewed or reassessed.
We have also suspended all face-to-face assessments of disability benefits for 3 months but continue to accept new claims, requests for a review where asked by a claimant and, as usual, prioritise claims made under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness.
This Department does not hold specific information on the use of Project Bank Accounts. However, as the PBA policy lead we do engage with departments and their ALBs about their PBA usage, including indicative spend.
Whilst the use of PBAs was being established we collected data on the value of government contracts making use of PBAs. During that period (2011-2015) over £10 billion was spent on a wide range of construction projects using PBAs.
PBAs are the preferred option by government when it is cost effective and efficient, and departments have made a commitment to use PBAs unless there are compelling reasons not to. This has been restated in the Construction Playbook (December 2020), which sets out key policies and guidance for government departments and their arms length bodies on how public works projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered. PBAs are just one way the government supports fair payment as part of the Government's Prompt Payment Code.
This Department does not hold specific information on the use of Project Bank Accounts. However, as the PBA policy lead we do engage with departments and their ALBs about their PBA usage, including indicative spend.
Whilst the use of PBAs was being established we collected data on the value of government contracts making use of PBAs. During that period (2011-2015) over £10 billion was spent on a wide range of construction projects using PBAs.
PBAs are the preferred option by government when it is cost effective and efficient, and departments have made a commitment to use PBAs unless there are compelling reasons not to. This has been restated in the Construction Playbook (December 2020), which sets out key policies and guidance for government departments and their arms length bodies on how public works projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered. PBAs are just one way the government supports fair payment as part of the Government's Prompt Payment Code.
Government does not maintain a central estimate of late payments owed to small businesses.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic the Government has issued a number of procurement policy notes with the goal of supporting cash flow to suppliers by accelerating payment. These have included a range of approaches such as forward ordering, payment in advance/prepayment, interim payments and payment on order (not receipt).
Data on the use and value of Project Bank Accounts is held by departments, not centrally.
Data on the use and value of Project Bank Accounts is held by departments, not centrally.
Industry Initiatives provide valuable support to households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through a range of measures, including energy advice, financial assistance, and energy efficiency improvements.
To date, energy suppliers have only been required to report on the overall spending on Industry Initiatives measures to Ofgem. From the 2022/23 scheme year, suppliers will be required to report on the estimated value and proportion of Industry Initiatives spending on fuel poor households where someone has a disability or significant health problems.
Around 62% of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) recipients also receive one of the qualifying means-tested benefits and so would be considered low-income under the Core Group 2 criteria. Those with high energy costs would therefore be eligible for a rebate. The Government’s analysis shows that 160,000 more households, where there is a person with a disability or long-term illness, will receive a rebate each winter compared to the previous scheme. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has also announced a one-off £150 payment for people on disability benefits this year, alongside other cost of living support measures: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-living-support/cost-of-living-support-factsheet-26-may-2022.
Industry Initiatives provide valuable support to households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through a range of measures, including energy advice, financial assistance, and energy efficiency improvements.
To date, energy suppliers have only been required to report on the overall spending on Industry Initiatives measures to Ofgem. From the 2022/23 scheme year, suppliers will be required to report on the estimated value and proportion of Industry Initiatives spending on fuel poor households where someone has a disability or significant health problems.
While difficult to measure fully and comprehensively, the Government is aware of this important issue and continues to work with both officials and the Construction Leadership Council to implement a solution.
While difficult to measure fully and comprehensively, the Government is aware of this important issue and continues to work with both officials and the Construction Leadership Council to implement a solution.
The taskforce is on track to set up by summer 2022 and we are keen to engage in that process before drawing conclusions.
Data on business closures by size of business are not available. The data provided below covers all registered business closures in the UK for the periods specified.
According to the business counts published in 2020 by the Office for National Statistics in UK business: activity, size and location, 98.1% of all registered business are small (0 to 49 employees). Therefore, the vast majority of business closures are very likely to be small businesses.
Data on business closures over the last 3 financial years are shown in table 1:
Table 1: Number of business closures by financial year, all registered businesses
Financial Year | Number of business closures |
2019/2020 | 383,000 |
2018/2019 | 348,000 |
2017/2018 | 351,000 |
Source: Office for National Statistics: Business Demography, quarterly experimental statistics, UK
Prior to 2017 data are only available for calendar years, rather than financial years. The number of closures in each calendar year is shown in table 2:
Table 2: Number of business closures by calendar year, all registered businesses
Calendar year | Number of business closures |
2019 | 336,000 |
2018 | 311,000 |
2017 | 346,000 |
2016 | 281,000 |
2015 | 282,000 |
2014 | 246,000 |
2013 | 238,000 |
2012 | 252,000 |
2011 | 230,000 |
2010 | 277,000 |
Source: Office for National Statistics: Business demography, UK statistical bulletin
There can be many benefits from local electricity generation, including greater consumer engagement with electricity and how it is generated.
In 2019, we generated record levels of solar and wind energy and continue to be the world’s leader for offshore wind.
I am deeply concerned about the growth and scale of online fraudulent and scam content. My officials are working closely on this matter with those from other government departments, including the Home Office (as the government department responsible for tackling fraud), the Treasury as well as with industry, regulators, and consumer groups with a view to tackling this issue in a cohesive and robust way.
My department has been considering how online advertising is regulated through our Online Advertising Programme, and we will be consulting on this issue later this year following an initial call for evidence in 2020. Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for citizens, businesses, and society as a whole. In particular, we want to ensure standards about the placement and content of advertising can be effectively applied and enforced online so that consumers are protected from harmful or misleading advertising.
We are deeply concerned about the growth and scale of online scams. My officials work closely on this matter with other government departments, including the Home Office as the government department responsible for tackling fraud, as well as with industry, regulators and consumer groups. Through an ongoing programme of work, the government is considering additional legislative and non-legislative solutions to effectively address the harms posed by all elements of online fraud in a cohesive and robust way.
Within my department, the Online Advertising Programme will be considering further regulation of online advertising to tackle harms including fraud. The government will launch a public consultation on measures to enhance how online advertising is regulated in the UK this year.
As set out in the Construction Playbook, the Department for Education (DfE) has committed to use Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) on its school construction projects unless there are compelling reasons not to. PBAs are just one way that government departments support fair payment as part of the Government’s Prompt Payment Code.
DfE has considered the use of PBAs for school construction projects delivered through the DfE Construction Frameworks. However due to the specific nature, size and volume of DfE’s school construction projects, the DfE has assessed that it is not practical, efficient and cost effective to use them on our construction projects. Therefore, there are compelling reasons not to deploy PBAs on DfE projects. Accordingly, the DfE does not hold any information on the use of PBAs for its school construction projects as the DfE does not currently use PBAs.
Every family has had challenges during this period but those families with disabled children face the greatest.
We have surveyed families, schools and local authorities to monitor the situation.
90% of special schools were open last week, and we have invested £10 million in the Family Fund and provided specialist online resources.
The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats. We are currently looking at how legislation could achieve this and considering next steps. Real progress is being made in promoting sustainable alternatives. We have urged landowners to adopt these and continue to work with them constructively.
We are working across Government with a wide range of stakeholders including land managers, conservation bodies and wildfire management groups to ensure that we promote better planning for wildfire locally and take measures to mitigate against the risk of wildfire. We undertook a review of the impact of wildfire and upland environments in 2019 and will publish the findings in due course.
The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats. We are currently looking at how legislation could achieve this and considering next steps. Real progress is being made in promoting sustainable alternatives. We have urged landowners to adopt these and continue to work with them constructively.
Biocidal products, including rodenticides and insecticides, have to be authorised under the Biocidal Products Regulation. The use of biocides must comply with specific terms and conditions, including on the placing of baits. Where the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has enforcement responsibility, it seeks to ensure that high standards of compliance with biocides are achieved and maintained. The Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS), operated by HSE on behalf of Defra, investigates the deaths, not just of wildlife, but also of livestock and some pets, where there is evidence that biocide poisoning may be involved. Where poison baits are used illegally to harm wildlife, such as raptors, responsibility for enforcement lies with the police.
The information is only available for financial years rather than calendar years.
Year | FTE |
2010/11 | 33.2 |
2011/12 | 24.3 |
2012/13 | 22.8 |
2013/14 | 16.0 |
2014/15 | 14.0 |
2015/16 | 11.0 |
2016/17 | 15.0 |
2017/18 | 11.0 |
2018/19 | 12.5 |
Natural England (NE) expenditure on monitoring sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) is set out in the following table.
Year | Expenditure |
2010/11 | £1,570,755 |
2011/12 | £1,517,691 |
2012/13 | £1,797,287 |
2013/14 | £1,420,892 |
2014/15 | £1,381,580 |
2015/16 | £900,633 |
2016/17 | £1,028,533 |
2017/18 | £700,452 |
2018/19 | £700,000 |
This includes NE staff time and the costs of specialist surveys.
This year NE is prioritising actions to address particular issues on SSSIs, especially those affecting upland SSSIs. NE continues to support and encourage partners in the work they do themselves to undertake SSSI monitoring.
NE is also developing an approach to the monitoring of SSSIs which will make better use of new technologies, such as remote sensing and greater partnership involvement. This is intended to improve efficiency of SSSI monitoring.
DfT, including its Arm’s Length Bodies, follow the principles of the Construction Playbook which sets out options to mitigate the risk of potential supplier insolvency, one of these options is the use of Project Bank Accounts.
DfT, including its Arm’s Length Bodies, follow the principles of the Construction Playbook which sets out options to mitigate the risk of potential supplier insolvency, one of these options is the use of Project Bank Accounts.
Project Bank Accounts are used to ensure fair payment terms on Government construction contracts. As these are specific to construction projects, they are not used by the Department for Transport nor its Agencies. However, the Department’s large non-departmental bodies engaged in construction works do use them to improve cash flow, mitigate risk of payment delay and to reduce the risk of supply chain failure. Use of these provide transparency and assurance over payments to suppliers lower down the supply chain in particular.
The attached table shows the Internal Process Reviews (IPR) information requested:
| July 2019 to June 2020 | July 2020 to June 2021 | July 2021 to June 2022 |
IPR Started - Death | 43 | 59 | 38 |
IPR Started - Serious Harm | 3 | 19 | 17 |
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IPR Completed - Death | 39 | 40 | 41 |
IPR Completed - Serious Harm | 3 | 12 | 16 |
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* Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide. | |||
** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’. |
Delivery of the Extra Costs Taskforce has been paused at the request of the Secretary of State Work and Pensions, while permission is sought to appeal the High Court's declaration in Binder vs Secretary of State Work and Pensions.
The Department is committed to improving the way the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life and announced its intention to make changes in this area, in July 2021. The Department has made changes to Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance regulations to replace the current 6-month rule for determining who can claim under the Special Rules with a 12-month, end of life approach. These will come into force on 4th April. Similar changes will also be made to Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance as soon as possible, when Parliamentary time allows.
The Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) that have been started since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 123 |
Serious Harm** | 34 |
The IPRs that have been completed since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 103 |
Serious Harm** | 28 |
* Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.
** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th January to question number 104377.
The Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) that have been started since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 114 |
Serious Harm** | 31 |
The IPRs that have been completed since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 93 |
Serious Harm** | 21 |
* Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.
** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.
We currently estimate between 320,000 and 340,000 claimants will need their claims to be reviewed as a result of the MM judgment. Early estimates are subject to uncertainty and we will be refining this estimate as the exercise progresses. The exercise includes claims that were in payment on 6 April 2016 (the date of the original Upper Tribunal decision) as well as claims where DWP made a decision on or after 6 April 2016, including some claims where we did not award PIP. Where these claimants have made more than one claim for PIP each claim will need to be reviewed. The Department published updated guidance implementing the judgment from 17 September 2020, so new PIP decisions from that date already reflect the judgment and will not be reviewed as part of the exercise.
We are not planning to invite claimants for an assessment. However, we may contact them for more information, so that we can make a decision on their claim. We will write to all claimants whose claim(s) we review. Claimants entitled to more PIP following a review will have their award increased and will receive backdated payments.
It is too early for us to give a date by which we expect to have completed all the reviews.
This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work and Pensions.
Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to protect incomes, including additional spending of over £7.4 billion last year, to strengthen welfare support for people of working age.
The evidence shows having parents in work is the most effective way of tackling child poverty, which is why we have invested £407 billion in protecting jobs throughout the pandemic, and why we are spending over £30 billion on a comprehensive plan for jobs to help people back into work
Internal Process Reviews are internal retrospective investigations, focussed on organisational learning. They are internal reviews that check if process was followed, to encourage learning and to drive change through the Department. We have no plans to publish any Internal Process Reviews, but will continue to follow our duties under the Freedom of Information Act in line with the 2016 First Tier Tribunal ruling in relation to what information can lawfully be disclosed.
Our priority is that claimants get the benefits to which they are entitled promptly and receive a supportive and compassionate service. In the vast majority of cases this happens but when, sadly, there is a tragic case we take it very seriously and seek to learn any lessons as appropriate.
No such estimate has been made. The Managed Migration Pilot remains suspended as the Department continues to focus on delivering its part of the Government’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SDP transitional payments were available to eligible claimants who were previously entitled to the SDP as part of a legacy benefit and made a Universal Credit claim before the SDP Gateway came into effect on 16th January 2019. We have ensured that a transitional SDP element will be considered for those entitled to SDP who make a claim to Universal Credit following a change of circumstances on or after 27th January 2021.
The Department’s internal analysis was based on its INFORM volume forecast model and Policy Simulation Model. The underlying methodology was signed off by the Office for Budget Responsibility and set out in detail in the Welfare Trends Report 2018, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-trends-report-january-2018.
The Department will publish full analysis comparing the benefit entitlement of UC claimants and legacy claimants in due course.
HMT’s recent distributional analysis released in March 2021 showed that Government interventions in response to Covid-19 are supporting the poorest working households the most (excluding any earnings gains). The poorest 10% of working households had seen no loss to household income as of November 2020. This is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/966207/DA_Document_Budget_2021.pdf
The information requested for Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, the latest Universal Credit statistics: user engagement survey report does include a statement, in section 4, regarding the development of Universal Credit flows data, as part of the Universal Credit statistics release strategy.
The Department publishes ESA quarterly caseload figures and UC monthly caseload figures and these can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance for users is available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Table 1 below shows the number of claimants receiving PIP who ceased their PIP claim each month from March 2020 to October 2020, the latest data available, who were receiving PIP at the end of the previous month.
Table 1: Number of PIP claimants who ceased their PIP claim, March 2020 – October 2020
Month | Number of PIP claims that are ceased |
Mar-20 | 14,270 |
Apr-20 | 16,460 |
May-20 | 8,660 |
Jun-20 | 9,120 |
Jul-20 | 7,720 |
Aug-20 | 11,610 |
Sep-20 | 11,290 |
Oct-20 | 14,930 |
Source: PIP Atomic Data Store
Notes:
The number of people who have received an Access to Work payment broken down by financial year up to 2019/20 is available in Table 6 of the Access to Work statistics publications.
The information requested for 2020/21 is intended for future release in the 2020/21 Official Statistics publication.
The latest Access to Work official statistics can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics
(a)Universal Credit can be claimed by a range of working age people, some of whom have health conditions or disabilities, which may be degenerative or life limiting. The decision to claim Universal Credit can be prompted by a range of a factors, including when someone is terminally ill, so mortality figures should not be viewed in isolation.
Between 1st March 2020 and 30th November 2020, 12,600 or 0.2 per cent of Universal Credit claimants died. The number of people who received Universal Credit at any point during this period was 6.2million.
(b) The information requested for Employment and Support Allowance is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
(c)Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is claimed by people with a range of health conditions and disabilities, many of which are degenerative or life limiting and the Department treats the death of any claimant sympathetically. The cause of death of claimants on PIP is not collated centrally by the Department. The decision to claim PIP can be prompted by a range of a factors, including when someone is terminally ill, so mortality figures should not be viewed in isolation.
Table 1 below shows the number of claimants receiving PIP who died each month from March 2020 to October 2020, the latest data available, who were receiving PIP at the end of the previous month. Note that the numbers of PIP claimant deaths in March and April 2020 here differ to those presented previously in PQ 59467, due to a methodological update.
Table 1: Number of PIP claimants with entitlement who died each month from March 2020 – October 2020
Month | Number of PIP Claimant Deaths |
Mar-20 | 6,120 |
Apr-20 | 7,540 |
May-20 | 5,650 |
Jun-20 | 4,960 |
Jul-20 | 4,820 |
Aug-20 | 5,050 |
Sep-20 | 5,010 |
Oct-20 | 5,700 |
Source: PIP ADS and Customer Information System
Notes:
Under the Social Security (Notification of Deaths) Regulations 2012 and s125 of Social Security Administration Act 1992 date of death is provided to the Department for all registered deaths. Additionally, next of kin also provide information on the date of death of an individual and this information is used appropriately in the administration of Departmental benefits.
The information requested on number of applications received is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
However, the Access to Work statistics includes how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2019/20. Please see Table 3 of the Access to Work statistics.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2020
In April 2020, legacy benefits were increased by £600m (1.7%), and, as part of the Government’s annual up-rating exercise, we will ensure that benefits retain their value against prices by raising benefits by a further £100m (0.5%) from April, in line with CPI
This Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and has delivered an unprecedented package of support, injecting billions into the welfare system. We continue to monitor the impact on disabled people using existing and new data sources, whilst ensuring that they are able to access the support they need.
We are ensuring that disabled people continue to have access to disability benefits and other financial support, the food and essential goods that they need, as well as accessible communications and guidance during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government continues to support disabled employees to access assistive technology and other forms of support they need to remain in work.
Access to Work prioritises applications from disabled people who have a job to start within 4 weeks of their application. Recognising the impact of COVID-19 has had on disabled people, Access to Work has expanded the prioritisation to include those in the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable group, keyworkers and introduced a new more flexible package of support to enable flex to work from more than one location, the workplace and home.
The disability benefits are not means–tested, non-contributory and thus paid regardless of any income or savings. They are also tax-free and worth up to £151.40 a week. PIP and DLA were not subject to the benefits freeze and were most recently uprated by 1.7 per cent from 6 April 2020.
The Government has introduced temporary measures to support those hardest hit, including the furlough scheme, self-employed income support scheme, and the £20 UC uplift. We spend over £55 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions – This is around 2.6% of GDP. We have (up until the 20/21 year):
o Increased Employment and Support Allowance for people with the greatest needs – with the Support Group rate up by around £870 per year since 2010.
o Increased the higher rate of Attendance Allowance for people over State Pension Age who need someone to care for them – meaning around an additional £923 a year for disabled people since 2010.
o Increased Carer’s Allowance for those people who care for someone – meaning nearly an additional £700 a year for carers since 2010.
o Increased the rate of DLA paid to the most disabled children by over £130 a month since 2010, and spending more than ever on DLA for disabled children.
o Increased the enhanced rates of PIP which helps people meet the on-going costs of their disability – up by over £880 a year since its introduction in 2013.
o And there is a higher proportion of people on the top rates of Personal Independence Payment than there were on DLA – 33 per cent vs 15 per cent.
Our priorities are people’s safety and ensuring that they receive the support they are entitled to. We will contact anyone who has not engaged in a telephone Work Capability Assessment arranged since 2 November 2020 to establish if they have a good reason for not attending or participating. Claimants will be given the opportunity to explain why they did not, or could not attend or participate in the telephone assessment and where good cause is provided and accepted, support will continue
We have interpreted your question (a) as being failed to attend and the case returned to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). From the introduction of telephony Work Capability Assessments to 6 November 2020, 38 Universal Credit (UC) cases have been returned to the DWP due to failure of the customer to attend their telephone assessment.
We are unable to provide a figure for how many people have failed to participate in a telephone assessment because the information requested is not available.
Our priorities are people’s safety and ensuring that they receive the support they are entitled to. We will be contacting anyone who did not engage in a telephone appointment for a Work Capability Assessment arranged since 2 November 2020, to establish if they have a good reason for not attending or participating. Claimants will be given the opportunity to explain why they did not, or could not attend or participate in the telephone assessment and where good cause is provided and accepted, they will be given a further opportunity to take part in an assessment.
We have interpreted your question (a) as being failed to attend and the case returned to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). From the introduction of telephony Work Capability Assessments to 6 November 2020, 18 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) cases have been returned to the DWP due to failure of the customer to attend their telephone assessment.
We are unable to provide a figure for how many people have failed to participate in a telephone assessment because the information requested is not available.
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is claimed by people with a range of health conditions and disabilities, many of which are degenerative or life limiting and the Department treats the death of any claimant sympathetically. The cause of death of claimants to PIP is not collated centrally by the Department.
Table 1 below shows for each month from March 2019 – May 2019 and March 2020 – April 2020: (a) The number of PIP claimants with entitlement to PIP who died having had entitlement on the last day of each month.
(b) The total number of PIP claims with entitlement on the last day each month.
(c) The percentage of claimants entitled to PIP who died in each month which is calculated by dividing (a) the number of claimant deaths in each month by (b) the total number of PIP claims with entitlement in the same month.
Note that April 2020 is the latest month for which data is available.
Table 1: Summary of PIP claimants with entitlement who died from March 2019 – May 2019 and March 2020 – April 2020
| Month | ||||
Mar-19 | Apr-19 | May-19 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | |
(a) Number of PIP Claimant Deaths | 4,650 | 4,580 | 4,460 | 5,880 | 6,180 |
(b) Total PIP Claims with entitlement | 2,098,090 | 2,113,170 | 2,134,400 | 2,455,300 | 2,485,600 |
(c) Death rate of PIP claimants with entitlement | 0.22% | 0.22% | 0.21% | 0.24% | 0.25% |
Source: PIP ADS and Customer Information System and Stat-Xplore
Notes:
Under the Social Security (Notification of Deaths) Regulations 2012 and s125 of Social Security Administration Act 1992 date of death is provided to the Department for all registered deaths. Additionally, next of kin also provide information on the date of death of an individual and this information is used appropriately in the administration of Departmental benefits.
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit can be claimed by a range of working age people, some of whom have health conditions or disabilities, which may be degenerative or life limiting. The decision to claim Universal Credit can be prompted by a range of a factors, including when someone is terminally ill, so mortality figures should not be viewed in isolation.
Between 1st March 2019 and 31st May 2019, 1,600, or less than 0.1 per cent, applications were made to Universal Credit where the claimant died. Over the same period the volume of people on Universal Credit stood at 2.3 million.
Between 1st March 2020 and 31st May 2020, 2,700, or less than 0.1 percent, applications were made to Universal Credit where the claimant died. Over the same period the volume of people on Universal Credit stood at 4.9 million.
Since August 2021, NHS England has met with dementia organisations on 19 occasions and held 44 meetings or webinars with dementia networks and stakeholders in England. In addition to planned meetings and events, NHS England has engaged with the Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and others on an ad hoc basis. NHS England has endorsed the Alzheimer’s Society’s revised dementia guide and delivered a joint webinar on the integration of dementia services.
This data is not available in the format requested.
The attached table shows the median average number of registered patients per full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioner (GP) in England and each National Health Service region in each year from September 2015 to September 2021. Data for 25 April 2022 is not held.
The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures to increase recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice. In December 2021, there were an additional 1,672 full time equivalent doctors in general practice compared to December 2019.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) enables Primary Care Networks to employ a range of roles for 100% reimbursement of salary and on-costs. Through the GP Contract framework, NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to review the effectiveness of the ARRS by 2023. We are currently on schedule to increase the number of registered nurses by 50,000, with nursing numbers 29,000 higher in January 2022 compared to September 2019. This commitment will be achieved through increased domestic and international recruitment and improved retention.
The North West was allocated £7,310,000 from the additional £50 million recently secured for National Health Service dental services in 2021/22. NHS England set regional budgets based on weighted 2020/21 baseline payments. NHS regional teams are now working with local providers to commission additional activity to improve access for patients in the North West, including Oldham and Greater Manchester.
On 7 September 2021 the Government announced £5.4 billion over three years for adult social care. This includes over £3.6 billion to reform the social care charging system and enable all local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care. These changes will remove unpredictable care costs and provide support to those who are currently not eligible for financial support with their care needs. Work is ongoing to consider the most appropriate approach for distributing this funding.
We are committed to ensuring that wider funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources. We will work closely with local partners to review challenges and opportunities before consulting on any potential funding reform.
No assessment has been made. The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) new strategy contains a core ambition to tackle inequalities in health and care, which includes regulating to advance equality and protect people’s human rights. As part of CQC’s commitment to drive improvement in quality, CQC expects services and local systems to address inequalities in access, experiences, and outcomes. Local authorities have a duty under the Care Act to prevent needs of the local population deteriorating.
We are committed to publishing a Health Disparities White Paper later this year which will set out a series of impactful measures to address health disparities and their causes, including those linked to geography, deprivation and ethnicity.
The white paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’, published on 1 December 2021, includes an enhanced assurance framework, data collections and additional funding to address inequalities by identifying and sharing good practice by local authorities and responding where standards are not being met.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan the care and support needs of their populations. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to shape their local markets to ensure a diverse range of quality, person-centred, sustainable care and support services are provided. Local authorities assess whether an individual is eligible for financial support to meet their care needs. Where individuals are not eligible for financial support, local authorities may assist them to make arrangements for care. From October 2023, we will enable more people who fund their own care in care homes to request their local authority to arrange care on their behalf.
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Mental Health Safety Improvement programme focuses on improving patient safety for those who use inpatient mental health and learning disability services. This work brings together individuals and organisations concerned with safer care and improved outcomes in mental health.
We are consulting on new duties to ensure the adequate supply of community services, placing Care, Education and Treatment Reviews on a statutory footing and putting in place a single point of Ministerial oversight. In any setting, local authorities must safeguard people with care and support needs who are at risk, in cooperation with the Care Quality Commission, care providers and other relevant organisations. These duties have remained through the pandemic and we have supported the sector with guidance, training and increased funding for local authorities.
We work collaboratively with leaders in local government to support sector-led improvement in safeguarding practice and fund the Care and Health Improvement Programme. We have supported experts including the Social Care Institute for Excellence to provide information and resources on safeguarding. The Health and Care Bill will introduce a new duty for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties, including safeguarding. The Department is working closely with the CQC and other stakeholders to design a system which will ensure the best possible outcomes for care users.
The Government recognises that access to breaks and respite provides important support for people with care needs and their carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have provided approximately £1.8 billion in specific funding for adult social care. This includes the £1.35 billion Infection Control Fund, which has been used towards supporting day centres to re-open safely.
We are continuing to work with local authorities, in collaboration with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure, where possible, the safe resumption of these services. In addition we have provided over £2 billion this year to the Better Care Fund which local authorities can access to fund social care services in their areas, including respite services.
The Government recognises that access to breaks and respite provides important support for people with care needs and their carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have provided approximately £1.8 billion in specific funding for adult social care. This includes the £1.35 billion Infection Control Fund, which has been used towards supporting day centres to re-open safely.
We are continuing to work with local authorities, in collaboration with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure, where possible, the safe resumption of these services. In addition we have provided over £2 billion this year to the Better Care Fund which local authorities can access to fund social care services in their areas, including respite services.
NHS England data includes information on patients waiting to start treatment for cancer and waits for subsequent cancer treatments including surgery, radiotherapy and anti-cancer drugs. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/
National Health Service trusts use local patient tracking lists to effectively triage cancer patients, including those already receiving surgery, radiotherapy and anti-cancer drugs and use this data to minimise any delays in treatment.
Stakeholders have made representations about an increase in the prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs to people with dementia during our regular discussions about the impact of the pandemic on people living with dementia and their carers.
NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor the monthly data published by NHS Digital on the prescribing of anti-psychotic medication for people diagnosed with dementia and continue to have regular conversations with regional clinical network leads and local services to understand the patterns in prescribing and potential reasons for trends being seen.
NHS England publish weekly data on the number of social care staff who are eligible for vaccination and the number of vaccines delivered to social care staff. The data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
The Department does not hold data on the number of care homes currently allowing a named family member to visit residents. New visiting arrangements will come into effect on 8 March. From that date, every care home should ensure that each resident can nominate one named person who can have regular, indoor visits.
We will work with the sector to support care homes to provide the visiting opportunities set out in our guidance. Each residents’ circumstances will be different and decisions on visiting will need to be taken in agreement between the care home, the resident and family.
Multi-disciplinary teams use patient tracking lists to ensure patients receive timely treatment and NHS England and NHS Improvement use a variety of data sources to calculate the number of patients waiting longer than a certain period for treatments, as well as informing action to reduce these numbers. This data includes published cancer waiting times data on activity, referrals and waiting times, as well as management information which can give a week to week view of activity and the current scale of the waiting list. Any decision to reschedule cancer surgery will be a last resort and patients will be given the dates for their new treatment at the earliest opportunity.
The key aims of the Cancer Recovery Plan is to restore urgent referrals at least to pre-pandemic levels, to reduce the number of people waiting over 62 days from urgent referral. By ensuring sufficient capacity to meet demand and re-establishing COVID-19 secure cancer hubs and consolidating cancer surgery, prioritising people for surgery centrally on the basis of clinical need and drawing on the independent sector (IS) to increase capacity, urgent cancer surgery patients are the first priority for accessing IS services.
No recent estimate has been made.
It is a requirement for hospital trusts to report on new diagnoses of recurrent and metastatic breast cancer. Public Health England reports data on recurrent and metastatic breast cancer to National Health Service trusts to support improved data quality and ascertainment. Non-compliance with data standards is monitored through the local clinical commissioning groups.
No recent estimate has been made.
It is a requirement for hospital trusts to report on new diagnoses of recurrent and metastatic breast cancer. Public Health England reports data on recurrent and metastatic breast cancer to National Health Service trusts to support improved data quality and ascertainment. Non-compliance with data standards is monitored through the local clinical commissioning groups.
Public Health England produces comprehensive training and information materials for COVID-19 vaccinators. This includes information about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines and key messages for healthcare professionals to convey to those being vaccinated. All vaccinating staff involved in the deployment programme are required to complete training that includes modules on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Communicating about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine is a component of the process for gaining informed consent.
As COVID-19 app users are anonymous, we cannot determine who has or has not been contacted by Test and Trace contact tracers as well as receiving an app notification to self-isolate as a contact of a positive case.
From 10 December, app users who are identified as a contact of a positive case have been eligible to apply for the NHS Test and Support payment by exiting the app and registering with Test and Trace.
On 8 June new rules for international travellers were introduced in order to reduce the risk of new COVID-19 cases from abroad. An exemption to the requirement to self-isolate was added to allow registered health and care staff to return to England to provide essential healthcare, helping to strengthen the country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and save lives.
On 30 July the Government removed the exemption for registered health and care staff, thereby requiring them to self-isolate for 14 days on return from a non-exempt country or territory. The removal of this exemption ensure consistency with wider self-isolation measures and continue to protect public health.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) Regulations 2020 are clear in that they include an exemption for registered healthcare professionals from the requirement to quarantine, if they are required to return to, or start work within 14 days of arrival in the United Kingdom, if they are staying in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
These regulations and the exemptions are kept under constant review. The regulations make no exemption for direct care workers from the requirement to quarantine for 14 days.
We have no plans to publish an implementation plan for the review of the Challenge on Dementia 2020.
We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for the period 2020-2025 later this year.
In 2018 we undertook a review of the progress made in implementing the Challenge on Dementia 2020. This was informed by a call for evidence. Respondents told us that we were largely on track to meet our commitments. In a small number of areas additional or refined actions were identified to help ensure that commitments could be met. The report of the review was published on 22 February 2019 and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dementia-2020-challenge-progress-review
Implementation of the Challenge on Dementia 2020 actions is overseen by the Department‘s Dementia Programme Board which brings together all Delivery Partners and is chaired by myself.
We continue to make significant progress in meeting the commitments made in the Challenge.
The amount of expenditure for adult social care by local authority is not available in the format requested. Funding for adult social care comes from several sources, including central Government grants, council tax revenue, business rates, and National Health Service funding through the Better Care Fund. Local authorities are responsible for setting their own overall budgets for adult social care.
The attached table from the NHS Digital Activity and Finance Report 2018-19 provides an overview of expenditure in England on adult social care including a number of sources of funding. However, these are not available at the local authority level.
A local authority level timeseries breakdown is not compiled centrally. However, raw data for local authority level breakdowns of expenditure is available on the NHS Digital website in their social care collections. Not all sources of funding are available at local authority level, such as the Better Care Fund. Links to the reports are below and include 2009-10 to 2018-19.
2016/17 to 2018/19
Before 2016/17
In September 2019 Public Health England published an evidence review of medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal, including benzodiazepines and z drugs. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescribed-medicines-review-report
Alongside ongoing improvements to medicines safety and the use of prescribed drugs, NHS England is reviewing the recommendations from this review and other evidence to develop a set of actions to reduce and treat prescription medicine dependency.
A national review of overprescribing in the National Health Service is being led by Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Dr Keith Ridge and will be published in 2020. This will focus on people who take multiple medicines to ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment for their needs. The review will consider how to improve management of non-reviewed repeat prescriptions including prescriptions beyond guidelines, and the role of digital technologies in reducing overprescribing.
The Government is committed to growing the workforce by 6,000 more doctors in general practice and 6,000 more primary care professionals, including pharmacists. This is on top of the additional 20,000 primary care professionals NHS England are providing funding towards recruiting. Community pharmacists have a key role in monitoring the care and treatment of patients, and would be in a position to review a patient’s medication usage and prescriptions.
In September 2019 Public Health England published an evidence review of medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal, including benzodiazepines and z drugs. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescribed-medicines-review-report
Alongside ongoing improvements to medicines safety and the use of prescribed drugs, NHS England is reviewing the recommendations from this review and other evidence to develop a set of actions to reduce and treat prescription medicine dependency.
A national review of overprescribing in the National Health Service is being led by Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Dr Keith Ridge and will be published in 2020. This will focus on people who take multiple medicines to ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment for their needs. The review will consider how to improve management of non-reviewed repeat prescriptions including prescriptions beyond guidelines, and the role of digital technologies in reducing overprescribing.
The Government is committed to growing the workforce by 6,000 more doctors in general practice and 6,000 more primary care professionals, including pharmacists. This is on top of the additional 20,000 primary care professionals NHS England are providing funding towards recruiting. Community pharmacists have a key role in monitoring the care and treatment of patients, and would be in a position to review a patient’s medication usage and prescriptions.
The Department does not hold the information requested as the NHS Business Services Authority does not capture the duration for which a prescription is intended to be used.
In September 2019 Public Health England published an evidence review of medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal, including benzodiazepines and z drugs. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescribed-medicines-review-report
Alongside ongoing improvements to medicines safety and the use of prescribed drugs, NHS England is reviewing the recommendations from this review and other evidence to develop a set of actions to reduce and treat prescription medicine dependency.
A national review of overprescribing in the National Health Service is being led by Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Dr Keith Ridge and will be published in 2020. This will focus on people who take multiple medicines to ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment for their needs. The review will consider how to improve management of non-reviewed repeat prescriptions including prescriptions beyond guidelines, and the role of digital technologies in reducing overprescribing.
The Government is committed to growing the workforce by 6,000 more doctors in general practice and 6,000 more primary care professionals, including pharmacists. This is on top of the additional 20,000 primary care professionals NHS England are providing funding towards recruiting. Community pharmacists have a key role in monitoring the care and treatment of patients, and would be in a position to review a patient’s medication usage and prescriptions.
The UK continues to monitor the response to Covid-19 globally, including in Kashmir. The FCDO is working with global institutions, including the World Health Organisation, to ensure supplies are directed to those in greatest need. We are monitoring information on supplies in both India-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The UK continues to monitor the response to Covid-19 globally, including in Kashmir. The FCDO is working with global institutions, including the World Health Organisation, to ensure supplies are directed to those in greatest need. We are monitoring information on supplies in both India-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The UK does not consider waiving intellectual property (IP) rights to be an appropriate action to boost the manufacturing of safe, effective, and quality vaccines. The existing intellectual property framework has mobilised research and development to deliver a host of new medicines and technologies to detect, treat, and defend against COVID-19. We have not yet seen evidence of how such a waiver of IP rights would improve the current situation. The UK continues to engage in constructive and evidence-based discussions at the TRIPS Council on the waiver proposal, and to address the multiple factors outside of IP on which access to medicines depends.
The UK is among the biggest global donors on COVID-19, and committed to supporting rapid, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. We have pledged over £1 billion of UK aid to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks. To support global vaccine access, we have funded a range of international organisations with the expertise to deliver an 'end to end' approach from research, development, and clinical trials, through to supporting manufacturing scale-up and delivery.
As announced on Thursday 26 November, in order to maximise our strategic focus in the use of Official Develolpment Assistance (ODA) next year, the Foreign Secretary will lead a short cross-government process to review, appraise and finalise all of the UK's ODA allocations. Decisions on support for international migration and global peacebuilding will be taken as part of this process and based on assessments of need, and evidence of where UK ODA can make a difference.
There are several peripheral groups with neo-Nazi sympathies in Ukraine, some of which have made statements in support of white supremacism. We take seriously any reports of violent extremism and hate crime in Ukraine.
The UK is committed to pursuing a comprehensive human rights agenda in Ukraine, including taking action against racially-motivated hate crime. Since 2014, the UK has co-sponsored a UN resolution supporting quarterly debates of reports on Ukraine by the Monitoring Mission of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The UK Government provides financial support to the Monitoring Mission, which works to report and reduce human rights violations and abuses in Ukraine.
Whilst Ukraine has cooperated fully with the Monitoring Mission, we remain extremely concerned by the restrictions of access for human rights bodies to the non-government controlled areas of eastern Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea, and the resulting limited reporting on those areas. It is essential that independent investigations take place to deliver accountability for serious allegations of hate crime in all of Ukraine. We will continue to work closely with the Ukrainian government, our international partners and local agencies to support efforts to report, investigate and reduce incidences of hate crime in Ukraine.
The Government announced a package of support on 3 February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. This included a £150 non-repayable council tax rebate from April this year for households in England in council tax bands A-D and £144 million of discretionary funding to support households who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible.
Treasury Ministers carefully considered the equalities impacts of the Council Tax Rebate and had due regard to these impacts when making decisions, in line with the legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010.
The Government is providing significant financial support worth up to £350 to the majority of households. This covers more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support – worth £9.1bn in 2022-23 – is composed of:
The Chancellor has also confirmed plans to go ahead with existing proposals to expand eligibility for the Warm Home Discount by almost a third - so that three million vulnerable households will now benefit.
Ministers consider a range of evidence and analysis as part of policy development and when making decisions, including assessments of how options under consideration would affect members of groups with protected characteristics, in line with the Government's aims and statutory duties.
The Government is providing significant financial support worth up to £350 to the majority of households. This covers more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23, delivered through a new Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS), a targeted Council Tax rebate, and discretionary funds for Local Authorities.
Ministers consider a range of evidence and analysis as part of policy development, including assessments of how options under consideration would affect members of groups with protected characteristics, as part of the Government's aims and duties.
The EBSS is still under development. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy will publish a consultation on the detailed implementation of the policy in due course. Ministers will consider a full assessment of the impact of the EBSS as they make final decision on the detailed policy design.
The policy development for the Council Tax Rebate included an assessment of how groups with protected characteristics might be affected, in line with the Public Sector Equalities Duty.
HMRC previously produced an estimate of £4 billion to £7 billion for overseas expenditure in the year ending March 2018 out of £36.8 billion of the total Research and Development expenditure used to claim tax credits.
The report published at Tax Administration and Maintenance Day sets out further detail on the reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2021 and the next steps for the review. The Government has invited written responses and will be consulting with stakeholders on the final policy details. Any effects on the public finances will be scored once final policy decisions have been reached.
HMRC publish statistics on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) available at:
Table 5a provides a breakdown of claims by local authority.
The Government recognised that the introduction of the reverse charge will have an impact on cashflow for some affected businesses in the construction sector, and provided a long lead in time. The measure has also been delayed twice previously in order to allow businesses more time to prepare and also in recognition of the impact of COVID-19. HMRC have published guidance on reducing cash flow impacts and have written to affected businesses on three occasions signposting where to obtain information and outlining the steps they need to take to prepare.
The table below sets out the quarterly numbers for paid employees in England and the North West, from April 2019 to March 2020, from HMRC PAYE RTI data.
| April 2019 - June 2019 | July 2019 - September 2019 | October 2019 - December 2019 | January 2020 - March 2020 |
England | 25,578,000 | 25,873,000 | 25,800,000 | 25,737,000 |
North West | 3,272,000 | 3,306,000 | 3,305,000 | 3,291,000 |
Paid Employees in England and the North West
Figures rounded to the nearest thousand
It is not possible for HMRC to provide answers to the other aspects of this question due to the time taken to calculate these figures.
All Asylum Further Submissions lodged in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information.
We ensure those seeking asylum based on their Further Submissions are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken. We aim to make decisions on Further Submissions cases as quickly as possible whilst ensuring the required security checks have been conducted.
We do not comment publicly on individual cases.
The Home Office regularly receive representations from Greater Manchester child and migrants’ rights organisations on children seeking asylum in the UK.
The department most recently received a courtesy copy of an open letter dated 16 December 2021, from the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) in which 25 child and migrant rights organisations wrote to us and we replied to this on the 20 January 2022.
The department maintains a working relationship with GMIAU and other regional organisations through our strategic partnerships; including the Strategic Engagement Group (SEG) and National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF), who continue to work collaboratively to ensure asylum claims from children and young people remains one of our top priorities.
The Home Office have established two dedicated case working Hubs for deciding children’s asylum claims which are now fully operational. The hubs have established improved focus on and greater control of children’s cases to build expertise, identify efficiencies and provide a consistency of decision making (and quicker outcomes) for our customers.
We continue to work collaboratively with Local Authorities nationally on the remote interview process for Accompanied and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and young people utilising digital interviewing video capabilities to complement in person interviews.
Since May 2021 we have increased Local Authority opt in for digital interviewing to 108 Local Authorities helping to speed up processes, reduce delays and the numbers of children and young people who have an outstanding claim.
We are continuing to recruit additional decision-makers who will be trained to process children’s asylum claims to further reduce the number outstanding.
The Home Office already allows asylum seekers the right to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own.
Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee. We have no plans to change this approach.
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
We are not giving a running commentary on statistics of those in the scheme due to the continuing flow of people being welcomed. We will include this data within published resettlement statistics later in 2022.
The Home Office is unable to state what proportion of people crossing the Channel in small boats had existing family members in the UK in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021, as this information is not recorded in a way that is reportable.
The Home Office has written to Afghan families advising them of the next steps to progress permanent residence in the UK.
The Home Office has established a dedicated caseworking team, which is working jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. This team will contact those here in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy and those moving onto the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, to assist them to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain status.
While families are being accommodated in Bridging Hotel accommodation, we remain committed to ensuring that there essential living needs are being met.
We also have Home Office Liaison Officers (HOLO’s) allocated to Bridging Hotel Accommodation.
The role of the HOLO is to provide both face to face support and remote support when not physically present. They are reactive to the needs of those accommodated in hotels and can provide signposting to other government departments and Local Authorities and ensure safeguarding concerns are appropriately acted upon.
I apologise for the unacceptable delay. The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 13 January 2022.
The Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) portfolio is continually reviewed to ensure it reflects the most recent learning and understanding. The JESIP Joint Doctrine is in its third edition, and each version incorporates learning from operational incidents and exercises as well as inquests and inquiries. The effectiveness of JESIP is dependent on how well it has been embedded within each emergency service organisation, and how well it is applied during an incident.
In recent months the Home Office has worked to increase the JESIP content in the current inspection regime undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and further consideration will be made about the merits of commissioning another tri-service review of JESIP in the future.
The third edition of the JESIP Joint Doctrine was published on 11 October 2021. The refreshed Doctrine incorporates learning from evidence heard during the Manchester Arena Inquiry. It has also incorporated key learning from the other terrorist attacks, and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Joint Doctrine is updated as a process of continuous improvement and learning from the Inquiry’s Phase 2 report will be taken into consideration as part of this process.
Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue and we are currently reviewing this policy. The Home Office will be happy to discuss the content of the review once it has been completed.
There is already published, independent evidence showing that good economic conditions and essential services can create an incentive for people to choose to go to a particular country illegally. This is because it is easier to work under such conditions – and we cannot ignore that access to the labour market is among the reasons that so many people choose to come to the UK illegally, rather than remain in any of the countries through which they transit.
That is why it is important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here, who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Our wider policy could be undermined if migrants bypassed work visa Rules by lodging unfounded asylum claims here.
Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue. This is under review; it is crucial we take the time to get this right and we are listening carefully to the arguments and considering the evidence put forward on the issue. The Home Office will be happy to discuss the content of the review once it has been completed.
The Department does not collect information on the use of second homes that are liable for council tax. However, Table 2 from the 2021 Council Taxbase statistical release provides the number of second homes that are liable for council tax by council tax band. The release can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-taxbase-2021-in-england .
Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) are just one way that government departments support fair payment as part of the Government's Prompt Payment Code.
We do not hold data on PBAs if we have assessed it is not practical, efficient and cost effective to use them on our current construction projects.
Along with all government departments, and as set out in the Construction Playbook, we have committed to use PBAs on our construction projects unless there are compelling reasons not to.
Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Resilience Study for June-July 2020 shows that 7% of private rented households and 11% of social rented households were in rent arrears in June/July. The Department does not hold data to estimate the number or proportion of renters who are at risk of eviction in 2021 as a result of those arrears.
Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Resilience Study for June-July 2020 details rental arrears during the pandemic. It says that 7% of private rented households and 11% of social rented households were in rent arrears in June/July. The English Housing Survey Headline Report 2019-20 details rent arrears in the year before pandemic, finding that 3% of private renters and 11% of social renters were in arrears at time of survey.
The Department of Health and Social Care distributes the public health grant annually to local authorities in England. MHCLG Ministers and officials regularly engage with counterparts in DHSC, Treasury and local authorities on matters relating to local authorities’ finances.