Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people with the costs of energy bills.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We recognise the cost-of-living challenges families, including those with disabled family members, are facing and in response last winter we launched a package of support for households and businesses, spending £40 billion and paying around half a typical household’s energy bill last winter.
Since last winter, the outlook for energy prices has improved significantly. The Q4 2023 price cap of £1,834 has more than halved compared to the Q1 2023 price cap which stood at a high of £4,279. The Energy Price Guarantee will remain in place as a safety net until the end of March 2024, should energy prices increase significantly during this period.
Additionally, the Government is providing further cost of living support to vulnerable households, including a £900 payment for those on means-tested benefits and an extra £150 for people on an eligible disability benefit.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions officials in her Department have had with representatives of charities supporting disabled people with energy costs.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ministers and Officials in the Department have had numerous discussions with a variety of stakeholders, including charities supporting disabled people, on this very important issue.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of the number of anaesthesia associates on the quality of care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), which was published on 30 June 2023, sets out an expansion of new and extended roles to increase the breadth of skills within multidisciplinary teams, better meet the needs of patients, their families and unpaid carers, and enable more care to be delivered in primary and community settings. The National Health Service is determined to continue to invest in training opportunities and the development of career paths for the whole workforce. The LTWP set out that training places for anaesthesia associates (AAs) will increase to 250 by 2028/29. This will support our ambition to increase places to 280 a year by 2031/32.
We strongly recommend that employers only consider recruiting AAs who are on the AA Managed Voluntary Register (MVR) which is currently held by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA). It enables supervisors and employers to check whether an individual is qualified and safe to work in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer 20 September 2023 to Question 199155 on Asylum: Housing, how much funding has been returned to her Department by Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contractors because their profits exceeded the agreed contractual margin in each year since 2019.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is not appropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers. All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure best value for taxpayer. The Home Office closely monitors its contractors' performance, including financial results.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the amount Clearsprings Ready Homes Limited will repay to her Department for exceeding the agreed contractual profit margin for Asylum Accommodation and Support Services in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is not appropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers. All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure best value for taxpayer. The Home Office closely monitors its contractors' performance, including financial results.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer 20 September 2023 to Question 199155 on Asylum: Housing, what the agreed contractual margins are above which Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts contractors should pay all profits back to the Home Office.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is not appropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers. All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure best value for taxpayer. The Home Office closely monitors its contractors' performance, including financial results.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers at Pentonville Prison attended their shift on 17 July 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
On 17 July 2023, 1,179 prisoners were held at HMP Pentonville. 83 Band 3 Prison Officers were on duty in the prison on that day. Staffing levels were above the minimum staffing level required by the prison’s Regime Management Plan to deliver a safe and decent regime.
Other staff were not in attendance for the following reasons:
It should be noted that these figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The data is collated to reflect individuals that attended throughout the day, this will be culmination of varying shifts throughout the period.
The numbers who were on duty includes all staff that attended for all/part of a shift in the establishment, including any additional payment shifts & night duties. Those recorded in the category of ‘Other absences’ can include staff on Medical Appointments, Restricted Duties, Phased Return, Secondment, Maternity leave, Jury Service, Official Duty, Parental Leave, Suspension, Bedwatch, working at a different grade, time off in lieu and remote working.
We have taken a series of measures to increase the prison workforce. Despite a challenging labour market, the 12 months ending 30 June 2023 saw an increase of 701 Full Time Equivalent Band 3-5 prison officers. This means we now have 4,000 more prison officers than in March 2017. We are committed to recruiting up to 5,000 prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s.
We recently increased the pay of the vast majority of frontline officers by 7 per cent. Combined with other pay rises, this means starting pay for prison officers has increased since 2019 from £22,293 to £30,902 (on the basis of a national rate, 37 hour week with unsocial hours) or £23,529 to £32,851 (on the basis of a national rate, 39 hour week with unsocial hours).
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were held at Pentonville Prison on 17 July 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
On 17 July 2023, 1,179 prisoners were held at HMP Pentonville. 83 Band 3 Prison Officers were on duty in the prison on that day. Staffing levels were above the minimum staffing level required by the prison’s Regime Management Plan to deliver a safe and decent regime.
Other staff were not in attendance for the following reasons:
It should be noted that these figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The data is collated to reflect individuals that attended throughout the day, this will be culmination of varying shifts throughout the period.
The numbers who were on duty includes all staff that attended for all/part of a shift in the establishment, including any additional payment shifts & night duties. Those recorded in the category of ‘Other absences’ can include staff on Medical Appointments, Restricted Duties, Phased Return, Secondment, Maternity leave, Jury Service, Official Duty, Parental Leave, Suspension, Bedwatch, working at a different grade, time off in lieu and remote working.
We have taken a series of measures to increase the prison workforce. Despite a challenging labour market, the 12 months ending 30 June 2023 saw an increase of 701 Full Time Equivalent Band 3-5 prison officers. This means we now have 4,000 more prison officers than in March 2017. We are committed to recruiting up to 5,000 prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s.
We recently increased the pay of the vast majority of frontline officers by 7 per cent. Combined with other pay rises, this means starting pay for prison officers has increased since 2019 from £22,293 to £30,902 (on the basis of a national rate, 37 hour week with unsocial hours) or £23,529 to £32,851 (on the basis of a national rate, 39 hour week with unsocial hours).
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take steps to ensure that attendance allowance forms can be submitted electronically.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Attendance Allowance is currently in the private beta phase of development, where DWP are inviting a limited number of people to use the online claim service, so feedback can be gathered to improve the service. We will look to move from trialling to public beta in due course.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Independent Monitoring Board entitled Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Pentonville, published on 26 September 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
HMP Pentonville was most recently inspected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in July 2022. The inspectorate’s report was published on 18 October 2022. It can be viewed here: HMP Pentonville (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk).
Following consideration of matters highlighted in the recently published report by the prison’s Independent Monitoring Board, HM Prison and Probation Service has scheduled a Living Conditions Audit to be undertaken at HMP Pentonville and will be able to report its findings in due course.
HM Prison and Probation Service carries out a programme of audits across the prison estate, to ensure adequate operational standards are being maintained within individual establishments. This includes an audit of living conditions, which assesses whether the establishment provides safe, clean and decent living conditions that are in a good state of repair and fit for purpose.