Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to raise the minimum income threshold for the spouse/partner visa to (a) £34,500 and (b) £38,700.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The first increase to the MIR took effect from 11 April 2024 when it was raised to £29,000. The dates for further increases to £34,500 and £38,700 will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of the provision of postal services in rural areas.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is responsible for the provision of a universal postal service. Its regulatory framework requires Royal Mail to ensure that, for the UK as a whole, the premises of not less than 98% of users of postal services are within half a mile of a post box and, in all postcode areas, the premises of 95% of users of postal services are within 3 miles of an access point (such as a post box, a Post Office or a Customer Service Point within a Delivery Office).
As part of its 2022 review of postal regulation, Ofcom considered accessibility of the service, including for rural users, and decided to maintain the existing regulations.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding medications related to (a) asthma and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the NHS prescription charge exemption list.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Government’s policy remains, that there are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, there are extensive arrangements currently in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone, including for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with heart disease may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on a low income can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. The scheme provides income related help to people who are not automatically exempt from charges, but who may be entitled to full or partial help if they have a low income and savings below a defined limit.
To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption or the NHS Low Income Scheme, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three month and 12 month certificates available, which can be paid for in instalments.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce A&E waiting times at York Hospital for residents of Selby and Ainsty constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our two-year urgent and emergency care recovery plan, backed by £1 billion of dedicated funding, was published in January 2023, to drive sustained improvements in urgent and emergency care waiting times.
At York Hospital, an expanded and redesigned emergency department was opened in July 2023. This has improved the provision of services, including same day emergency care (SDEC). SDEC supports patients’ access to timely diagnosis and treatment, without the need for admission to hospital.
The latest published data shows that at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the proportion of patients waiting 12-hours from decision-to-admit to admission has reduced by 6.9% in March 2024 compared to the previous year.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on allocating the £75 million additional funding for Internal Drainage Boards.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the National Farmers Union Conference in February the Prime Minister and Defra Ministers announced a new £75million one-off grant for internal drainage boards (IDBs) in 2024/25. This is following the winter storms and flooding and will be used to better protect agricultural land and rural communities. It will contribute towards helping IDBs recover and repair assets damaged from the recent flooding and will contribute towards modernising IDB infrastructure to lower costs and increase resilience to climate change.
Defra officials are working closely with the Environment Agency and the Association of Drainage Authorities (membership body that represents the interests of IDBs) on the details of the fund and application processes. We aim to allocate grants from June.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution by the Leader of the House in Business Questions on 21 March 2024, what progress his Department has made on the case of Mr Anthony Rock.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I cannot comment on individual cases for data protection reasons. A response to your letter of 22 February 2023, was sent to you on 11 March 2023 advising you of the actions we were taking on your constituent’s claim.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
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 reduce the daily standing charges for gas and electricity in Ofgem's (a) Yorkshire and (b) Northern regions.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
DESNZ Ministers and officials regularly discuss with Ofgem issues relating to the energy retail market.
Standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, although Ofgem regulates standing charges as they do with other elements of billing. This includes setting a cap on standing charges as part of the overall default tariff cap.
The variance in standing charge is mainly due to regional differences in energy distribution costs. These costs reflect the expenses of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers those costs are spread across. On 30 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering financial compensation to people affected by the collapse of BetIndex.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The collapse of BetIndex Ltd, the operators of the novel gambling product Football Index, had a significant impact on former customers, and we recognise the frustration and anger that this has caused. As a result, the Government announced an Independent Review, conducted by Malcolm Sheehan KC, which looked at how the company had been regulated and identified lessons learned for various agencies. These recommendations have since been implemented.
Company liquidation proceedings are ongoing, and former customers will be considered among the creditors as company assets are divided.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the process for the licencing of standard essential patents is equitable for small and medium enterprises.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the growing importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy. The Government has been actively working since 2021 to better understand how the SEPs framework functions to ensure the balance between innovation and competition is maintained. This included launching a questionnaire for small and medium businesses (SMEs) in March 2023, to better understand their SEP licensing experiences. Subsequently, the IPO presented recommendations to Ministers who are currently reviewing those recommendations with a view to ensuring Government helps implementers, especially SMEs, navigate and better understand the SEPs ecosystem and Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility criteria of the bereavement support payment to include separated parents.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment is available to those who are married, in a cohabiting relationship with dependent children, or in a civil partnership. Parents who are separated but still in a legal union may still access this benefit provided their deceased spouse or civil partner was not in a cohabiting relationship with dependent children on the date of death.
We currently have no plans to change the eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payment.