Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost to Great British Railways of implementing the proposed EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Work is underway to design the form and functions of Great British Railways. Set up costs and future budgets will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Restart Scheme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department undertook a mixed-method, multi-strand evaluation of the Restart Scheme, delivered by external research providers Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ipsos. The research comprised three strands: a longitudinal cohort study, a survey of Restart Scheme providers, and case study research of 12 geographic areas. The report was published in May 2024 and can found on gov.uk here The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme - GOV.UK.
Official Statistics on the Restart Scheme are published bi-annually and can be found on gov.uk here Restart Scheme statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people not in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment daily living component will lose their entitlement to the health element of Universal Credit after the abolition of the work capability assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Pathways to Work Green Paper set out why we are scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). We want to end the binary categorisation of groups and labelling as either ‘can or can’t work’. Instead, any extra financial support for health conditions in UC will be assessed via a single assessment – the PIP assessment – and be based on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work. This will de-couple access to the health element in UC (current LCWRA rate referred to as UC health throughout) from work status, so people can be confident that the act of taking steps towards and into employment will not put their benefit entitlement at risk.
We are considering how any change of this kind could affect individuals who currently meet limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) criteria due to non-functional special circumstances; for example, those affected by cancer treatment, people with short term conditions that get better, women with a high-risk pregnancy and those currently classed as having substantial risk. Individuals in these categories may not be eligible for PIP, and therefore the UC health element, in the reformed system.
In the reformed system these groups will still be eligible for UC and for the proposed new higher rate Unemployment Insurance if they meet relevant eligibility criteria. Individuals who are nearing the end of their life with 12 months or less to live will continue to be able to access PIP through the existing fast track route (Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) to ensure we protect those who are nearing the end of their life, irrespective of the duration of their illness.
Further details on these changes will be set out in a White Paper in the Autumn.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help build more affordable accommodation for young people living in supported housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to gather accurate data on the number of people sofa surfing.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The English Housing Survey does not collect data on the number of sofa surfers, but does collect data on households who hosted someone in the previous 12 months who would have otherwise been homeless, and publishes these statistics annually.
The total number of households that hosted someone homeless in the past 12 months was 521,000 (2% of households).
By tenure, 3% of private renters (122,000 households) and 3% of social renters (120,000 households) hosted someone homeless in the past 12 months. This proportion was higher than for owner occupiers (2%, 279,000 households).
See The EHS 2022-23 rented sector report, Annex Table 3.21.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants under the age of 25 (a) live outside of their family home and (b) do not receive financial support from their families.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) economic and (b) social impact of loneliness.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are multiple sources of evidence on loneliness including research on the economic and social impact of loneliness.
The economic impact of loneliness
DCMS research estimates that the costs associated with loneliness based on the impact on subjective wellbeing, health and productivity of the chronically lonely individual can be represented as a yearly sum of £9,537 per person. Chronic loneliness refers to loneliness that occurs frequently over a period of time, this has been shown to have a negative effect on health and wellbeing.
This figure is our current best estimate. It is challenging to understand the economic impact of loneliness as it can be difficult to disentangle this from the impact of other drivers of low wellbeing. Further research is underway to enhance our understanding of these nuances.
The social impact of loneliness
DCMS research shows a bidirectional and cyclical relationship between chronic loneliness and mental health, with people experiencing chronic loneliness 3.7 times more likely to experience mental health distress compared to those who do not experience chronic loneliness. Furthermore, external research in the US and the Quartet Community Foundation Health and Wellbeing report demonstrate the negative impact chronic loneliness can have on physical health.
Loneliness has also been linked to poorer educational and employment performance by external research and DCMS research suggests those who are unemployed and economically inactive are more likely to experience chronic loneliness.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on the maintenance schedule for Branston Bridge in Staffordshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Asset management and safety, including information on maintenance schedules, is the responsibility of the owner of the infrastructure in question, which for this bridge is Staffordshire County Council.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
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 support people with long covid.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
I know firsthand how complex and debilitating long COVID can be, and I am committed to improving support for people affected.
Since 2020, specialist long COVID services have been made available. This includes setting up over 100 long COVID services across England.
We have also invested over £57 million in long COVID research, and I recently co-chaired a roundtable on strategies to stimulate further research into treatments.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to improve NHS dental provision in Burton and Uttoxeter constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population was delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. NHS dentists are required to keep their profiles on the NHS.UK website up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS111.