Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take legislative steps to tackle human right abuses in business practices.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct and supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent human rights abuses across their operations and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will maintain funding for the Choices Reproductive Health Supplies programme through a multi-year commitment of £400million from 2025-2030.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the decision to reduce the UK aid budget to 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI) by 2027, implications for individual programmes are still being worked through. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Official Development Assistance allocations will be considered over the coming months and will be published in the summer.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if (a) he and (b) his officials will have an on-line meeting with carers that have been unable to secure a place at the Pathways to Work consultation meetings.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are holding a series of face to face and virtual public consultation events across the country in relation to the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to help us hear from people directly. Details of the events are advertised online and can be found at Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK. These events are held at venues undergoing stringent health, safety, and risk assessment to ensure their suitability for DWP staff and members of the public attending these events.
The consultation will run until 30 June 2025 and members of the public are welcome to share their feedback on the proposals in the consultation in writing, online and via email, in addition to in person or virtually at these ticketed events. We have conducted five in person and three virtual events to date, which approximately 130 participants have joined. The consultation events have facilitated group discussions which will feed into the consultation response analysis. A full list of upcoming events can be found on gov.uk.
We hope a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation and we welcome all views, including those of carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people. Carers have also attended our events.
In addition to the Green Paper consultation and the accompanying events, we are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve people in our reforms, especially disabled people and their representatives. This includes through the PIP assessment review that I am leading, the Disability Advisory Panel we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, and our ‘collaboration committees’ which will bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of members of the public who will attend the Pathways to Work consultation meetings.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are holding a series of face to face and virtual public consultation events across the country in relation to the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to help us hear from people directly. Details of the events are advertised online and can be found at Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK. These events are held at venues undergoing stringent health, safety, and risk assessment to ensure their suitability for DWP staff and members of the public attending these events.
The consultation will run until 30 June 2025 and members of the public are welcome to share their feedback on the proposals in the consultation in writing, online and via email, in addition to in person or virtually at these ticketed events. We have conducted five in person and three virtual events to date, which approximately 130 participants have joined. The consultation events have facilitated group discussions which will feed into the consultation response analysis. A full list of upcoming events can be found on gov.uk.
We hope a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation and we welcome all views, including those of carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people. Carers have also attended our events.
In addition to the Green Paper consultation and the accompanying events, we are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve people in our reforms, especially disabled people and their representatives. This includes through the PIP assessment review that I am leading, the Disability Advisory Panel we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, and our ‘collaboration committees’ which will bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of publicity on the Pathways to Work consultations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are holding a series of face to face and virtual public consultation events across the country in relation to the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to help us hear from people directly. Details of the events are advertised online and can be found at Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK. These events are held at venues undergoing stringent health, safety, and risk assessment to ensure their suitability for DWP staff and members of the public attending these events.
The consultation will run until 30 June 2025 and members of the public are welcome to share their feedback on the proposals in the consultation in writing, online and via email, in addition to in person or virtually at these ticketed events. We have conducted five in person and three virtual events to date, which approximately 130 participants have joined. The consultation events have facilitated group discussions which will feed into the consultation response analysis. A full list of upcoming events can be found on gov.uk.
We hope a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation and we welcome all views, including those of carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people. Carers have also attended our events.
In addition to the Green Paper consultation and the accompanying events, we are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve people in our reforms, especially disabled people and their representatives. This includes through the PIP assessment review that I am leading, the Disability Advisory Panel we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, and our ‘collaboration committees’ which will bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have attended the Pathways to Work public consultation meetings.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are holding a series of face to face and virtual public consultation events across the country in relation to the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to help us hear from people directly. Details of the events are advertised online and can be found at Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK. These events are held at venues undergoing stringent health, safety, and risk assessment to ensure their suitability for DWP staff and members of the public attending these events.
The consultation will run until 30 June 2025 and members of the public are welcome to share their feedback on the proposals in the consultation in writing, online and via email, in addition to in person or virtually at these ticketed events. We have conducted five in person and three virtual events to date, which approximately 130 participants have joined. The consultation events have facilitated group discussions which will feed into the consultation response analysis. A full list of upcoming events can be found on gov.uk.
We hope a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation and we welcome all views, including those of carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people. Carers have also attended our events.
In addition to the Green Paper consultation and the accompanying events, we are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve people in our reforms, especially disabled people and their representatives. This includes through the PIP assessment review that I am leading, the Disability Advisory Panel we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, and our ‘collaboration committees’ which will bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to PIP on people claiming benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Alongside Spring Statement 2025, the Department published an Impact Assessment which assessed the impact of the changes to be made to PIP as part of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper reforms.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Changes to PIP will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be considered by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances. We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met.
After taking into account behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 in 10 of those receiving the PIP daily living component at the point that any changes come into effect will still be receiving PIP by the end of the decade.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I will lead. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed reductions to the Official Development Assistance budget on women and girls.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. Equality Impact Assessments - which consider impacts on women and girls - are an essential part of how we make decisions on ODA allocations.
The UK is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that official development assistance will be used to support the most vulnerable people from the 2027-28 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on a renewed approach.
We will continue to play a key humanitarian role in Sudan, in Ukraine and in Gaza, tackling climate change, supporting multinational efforts on global health and challenges like vaccination.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will (a) uphold funding commitments for (i) the Women’s Integrated Health Services programme and (ii) other sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes and (b) ensure that funding reaches grassroots (A) women, (B) girls and (C) youth-led organisations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent or gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. Decisions on individual programmes and thematic areas will be based on various factors including equality impact assessments.
Considerations will also take into account the vital role played by grassroots and women, girl and youth-led organisations to protect and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).