Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with (a) Ministers and (b) officials on the (i) the transfer of workers from private Train Operating Companies into the Department for Transport Operator and (ii) the transfer of workers from (A) the Department for Transport Operator and (B) Network Rail into Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials regularly update Ministers as part of every transfer of train operating companies’ services into public ownership. This includes discussions about the transfer of staff to the new public sector operator, which will be a subsidiary of Department for Transport Operator (DFTO), under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) process.
Establishing Great British Railways (GBR) is a priority for the Government, so the Secretary of State holds regular discussions with Ministers and officials. These discussions would include the transition into GBR of DFTO and Network Rail.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including provisions for the protection of transport workers’ pensions during the transition to Great British Railways in the Railways Bill.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
After the transition to Great British Railways, we plan for the Railways Pension Scheme to continue to be the primary vehicle through which rail employees build up their pension provision. The protections within the 1993 Railways Act remain unchanged by the Railways Bill and consequentially pensions are not mentioned in the Bill.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the levels of challenges for transport workers in the transition to Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In accordance with TUPE regulations, I can confirm that existing train operator staff transferring to the public-sector operator will do so with their contractual terms and conditions protected. In the meantime, we are keeping trade union leaders informed on all relevant matters through the Rail Engagement Group.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the establishment of Great British Railways on the statutory duty to consult with the public on any significant change to Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are expected to maintain the ticket office opening hours set out in Schedule 17 to the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA). When a train operator proposes a "major change" to opening hours, they are required to undertake a consultation as set out in the TSA.
The processes set out in Schedule 17 of the TSA will continue to apply as operators transfer into public ownership. Importantly, any changes to the TSA can only be made with wider agreement across the industry, providing a strong level of protection and ensuring that established safeguards cannot be unilaterally altered.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prison rehabilitative projects have been (a) assessed, (b) approved and (c) refused by the National Frameworks Intervention Panel in each year since 2023.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not disclose the scores awarded by the National Frameworks Intervention Panel. These scores are commercially sensitive, both in relation to the Ministry of Justice’s own interests, and to those of third‑party providers, who are entitled to expect that any assessment of their performance will remain confidential.
It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to confirm which prison rehabilitative projects have been assessed, approved or refused. Details are not held in a single national record. Under the National Framework for Interventions, proposals are predominantly assessed at regional level, with only regionally approved proposals submitted for central consideration.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what scores were most recently awarded by the National Frameworks Intervention Panel for (a) the Time4Change programme and (b) the Sycamore Tree programme.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not disclose the scores awarded by the National Frameworks Intervention Panel. These scores are commercially sensitive, both in relation to the Ministry of Justice’s own interests, and to those of third‑party providers, who are entitled to expect that any assessment of their performance will remain confidential.
It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to confirm which prison rehabilitative projects have been assessed, approved or refused. Details are not held in a single national record. Under the National Framework for Interventions, proposals are predominantly assessed at regional level, with only regionally approved proposals submitted for central consideration.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will set out long-term, holistic support for funding for regeneration of homes, alongside new supply.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting estate regeneration schemes to transform neighbourhoods by delivering well designed housing and public space, a better quality of life and new opportunities for tenants.
While the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme focuses primarily on new supply, it will also continue to support some regeneration schemes that provide a net increase in homes on a site.
Our National Housing Delivery Fund will provide grant funding to unlock complex and low‑viability sites, including brownfield remediation and enabling infrastructure.
The £15 billion Warm Homes Plan will upgrade up to five million homes by 2030, reducing bills and improving living conditions.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to address the tax disparity that sees employing hairdressing salons pay 123% more tax than self-employed hairdressing salons for the same turnover.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the vital role that hairdressing salons play in communities and the wider economy.
An individual's employment status is determined by the facts and circumstances of the engagement between the worker and engager. This is based on case law. The Government recognises that firms in the hair and beauty sector operate under different business models.
The Government has taken steps to support small businesses. To protect the smallest businesses from changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) made at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government increased the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow. At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.
The Government keeps all areas of the tax system under review. Any changes to the tax system are announced as part of the annual Budget process.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of Capita in delivering and administering the civil service pension scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Angela MacDonald, Deputy Chief Executive at HMRC, is working with the Cabinet Office and Capita to lead and support delivery of a full recovery plan. This includes commitments, with milestones, to immediately deal with priority cases, restore service levels and improve communication with affected members.
Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract.
The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.
The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61881 on Western Sahara: Origin Marking, if she is aware that Tesco sells tomatoes from Western Sahara labelled as produce of Morocco and if she will take action to ensure change.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK maintains high standards on the information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions.
It is the UK position that where origin information is given for food products made or grown in the Western Sahara, it must give accurate origin information and cannot be labelled as Moroccan.
Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Defra officials will follow up on the matters raised so that the appropriate bodies can investigate further.