Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a review of the Standard Industrial Classification codes that will be eligible for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme; and if he will take steps to include codes (a) 31020 for kitchen manufacturers and (b) 31090 for bathroom manufacturers in that scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. It will also provide businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.
Through the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government provided an unprecedented package of support for non-domestic users through this winter. The Government has been clear that such levels of support, unprecedented in its nature and huge scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt.
The new scheme therefore strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months, from April 2023 to March 2024, and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion based on estimated volumes. This provides long term certainty for businesses and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year. We will of course continue to monitor energy prices in the coming months.
Further details on the scheme, including information on eligibility and discount levels, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on subsistence payments for people awaiting a conclusive grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism for Modern Slavery in financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 to date.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) are currently recruiting a large number of new decision makers across the UK to increase capacity for NRM decision-making and reduce decision making timescales.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) does not publish payments made to victims of modern slavery and this does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics.
All victims who consent to receiving support will receive this via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in England and Wales which is delivered by The Salvation Army. Details of the MSVC Contract can be found in a redacted version of the contract requirements here: Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk)
All victims who consented to support under the previous Victim Care Contract are eligible for financial support under the same policy and a redacted version of the previous contract requirements can be found here: (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e03ceb15-27ad-4bad-b8ae-43dbc1e9481e).
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Home Office spent on employing caseworkers to make conclusive grounds decisions in the National Referral Mechanism in financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 to date.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) are currently recruiting a large number of new decision makers across the UK to increase capacity for NRM decision-making and reduce decision making timescales.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) does not publish payments made to victims of modern slavery and this does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics.
All victims who consent to receiving support will receive this via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in England and Wales which is delivered by The Salvation Army. Details of the MSVC Contract can be found in a redacted version of the contract requirements here: Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk)
All victims who consented to support under the previous Victim Care Contract are eligible for financial support under the same policy and a redacted version of the previous contract requirements can be found here (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e03ceb15-27ad-4bad-b8ae-43dbc1e9481e).
As of September 2019, following a CG decision, financial support needs for those in support are considered in a Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) as part of a holistic assessment of recovery need, as per the published RNA policy.”
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110727 on Slavery, if she will provide an example of what would be considered a piece of information or evidence that is based in fact in a case of child sexual exploitation; and if she will publish the guidance that decision makers use to identify an objective factor.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The updated Reasonable Grounds Guidance is expected to be published on 30 January 2023 as part of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will contain details of what constitutes an objective factor and how decision makers will use the guidance to consider all referrals, including child victims of sexual exploitation.
We also believe that this builds on and simplifies much of the current guidance to ensure decision making at the Reasonable Grounds stage is robust and consistent while still providing scope to consider instances where a referral may be received with very little additional information.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 11027 on Slavery, in what way her Department's new guidance and policy on consideration of evidence differ from what happened previously.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The updated Reasonable Grounds Guidance is expected to be published on 30 January 2023 as part of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will contain details of what constitutes an objective factor and how decision makers will use the guidance to consider all referrals, including child victims of sexual exploitation.
We also believe that this builds on and simplifies much of the current guidance to ensure decision making at the Reasonable Grounds stage is robust and consistent while still providing scope to consider instances where a referral may be received with very little additional information.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Immigration of 13 December on Update to Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance, HCWS441, what her definition is of objective factors; and how she expects this to affect decisions by case workers.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The updated Reasonable Grounds guidance will mean decision makers now base their assessments on objective factors to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is a victim.
An “objective” factor is a piece of information or evidence that is based in fact. This will ensure that decision makers can make timely and robust evidence-backed decisions and that assistance and support are focused on those who most need it.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on the organ donation waiting list in the West Midlands as of 28 November 2022; what the average waiting time was for an organ donation in the West Midlands in the latest period for which data is available; how many organ transplants took place in the West Midlands in the latest period for which data is available; and how many people were taken off the waiting list for an organ donation due to a clinical decision in the West Midlands in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The following table shows the number of patients on the transplant waiting list in the West Midlands as of 28 November 2022. Suspended patients refers to those who have been temporarily removed from the list.
Active | Suspended | Total | |
Total | 687 | 431 | 1,118 |
Source: NHS Blood and Transplant
NHS Blood and Transplant does not hold the data on the average waiting time for organ donation in the West Midlands or the number of people removed from the waiting list in the West Midlands due to a clinical decision.
The following table shows the number of transplants which took place in the West Midlands in 2021/22 and 2022/23 as of 28 November.
2021/22 | 2022/23 to date | |
Total | 377 | 260 |
Source: NHS Blood and Transplant
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the (a) Independent Review into the ways the Child Maintenance Service supports survivors of domestic abuse and (b) Government response to the review.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In autumn 2021, the Department commissioned an independent review of ways in which the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) supports survivors of domestic abuse. The Review was completed in April 2022.
The final report and recommendations are currently being reviewed by the department.
The CMS continues to take the safety of all its customers extremely seriously and has processes in place to ensure parents experiencing domestic abuse are supported and can set up a child maintenance arrangement safely.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's target timescale for making a Reasonable Grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism; and what is the current average wait time for a victim of modern slavery to be given a Reasonable Grounds decision.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:
National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's target timescale for making a Conclusive Grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism; and what is the current average wait time for a victim of modern slavery to be given a conclusive grounds decision following a Reasonable Grounds decision.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:
National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.