Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of keeping the UK on British Summer Time.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government believes the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.
While there is the potential for some benefits from a change in the current arrangements, there is also a real risk of negative impacts. A change to permanent summertime or double summertime may also have significant impacts on certain sectors and businesses.
Given the potential scale of impacts involved, an exceptionally wide-ranging cost benefit analysis would need to be performed to inform a decision on changing the current system.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
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 ensure that temperamental smart meters are not given as reasons by energy providers to prevent customers from switching suppliers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The energy supplier switching process will work as intended whether smart meters are operating in smart mode or not at the time of the switch request.
When consumers do request to switch they are protected through Ofgem’s Guaranteed Standards. Ofgem are responsible for regulating energy suppliers against these obligations in this area.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 194110 on Locums: Nurses, for what reasons locum junior doctors are able to contribute to existing NHS pension funds but nurse practitioners cannot.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational scheme, and both locum junior doctors and locum nurse practitioners cannot access the scheme if they are employed via an agency or are self-employed.
Junior doctors who perform additional work via a National Health Service staff bank can access the scheme, as they have a NHS contract of employment for this work. It would be possible for longer-term locum nurse practitioners to become substantively employed on fixed term contracts as a flexible resource, for instance by primary care organisations. In doing so, they would then hold a contract of employment which would allow them to access the NHS Pension Scheme.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2023 to Question 192241 on Cancer: Research, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure an adequate (a) level and (b) coordination of cancer research, in the context of the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is monitoring the situation through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council to ensure that the National Cancer Research Institute’s (NCRI) valuable assets, such as data, and activities, such as research groups, are not lost to the community.
The Government will also take necessary steps to support the cancer research ecosystem, in discussion with NCRI partners, if additional support is needed.
Funders will continue to work with the research community to deliver cancer research that meets the needs of patients and the public.
We recognise the leadership role that Cancer Research UK has in this area and will work in partnership with them and the patient community to improve care and outcomes for all.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to share with universities the number of dependents linked to an individual's study visa.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Information related to applications and dependants is contained across multiple systems and we do not publish data relating to the number of dependants per student by institution.
Universities have a direct relationship with their students during the academic application and enrolment process and the Home Office encourages institutions to use these mechanisms if they wish to gather data regarding family members of students.
We keep our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they serve the UK’s best interests and reflect our priorities.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that men with bowel and bladder incontinence have access to public sanitary disposal bins.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing locum nurse practitioners to contribute to existing NHS pension funds.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational scheme, and locum nurse practitioners cannot access the scheme if they are employed via an agency or are self-employed.
No assessment has been made of the impact of allowing locum nurse practitioners to join the scheme.
It would be possible for longer-term locum staff to become substantively employed on fixed-term contracts as a flexible resource, for instance by primary care organisations. In doing so, they would have access to the scheme.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Active Travel in England, published on 7 June 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department welcomes the report and will consider its recommendations carefully. The Department will provide its formal response following the scheduled Public Accounts Committee hearing.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on ensuring that active travel schemes funded through the Levelling Up Fund meet national guidelines.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Officials in the Department for Transport and Active Travel England continue to work closely with officials in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that active travel schemes funded in this way meet the standards outlined in cycle infrastructure design guidance. This is also included as a requirement in local authority grant awards. Active Travel England provides design assurance of Levelling Up Fund bids and will play a role in reviewing all scheme proposals as they develop. It will also work with successful local authorities to accelerate delivery, ensuring high quality, safe active travel infrastructure is built.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria for 30 hours free childcare to children at risk regardless of their parents' employment status.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The government’s 30 hours free childcare entitlement is intended to encourage parents back into work, or to take on additional hours, by helping them with childcare costs. Therefore, it is available to parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Minimum or Living Wage (currently just over £167 per week, or £8,670 per year), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.
In a two-parent family, both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance. In a single-parent household the single parent must meet the thresholds.
Parents who are unable to meet the income thresholds for 30 hours free childcare remain eligible for the universal entitlement to 15 hours free early education. This is available for all three and four-year-olds regardless of their family circumstances, and supports children’s development, helping prepare them for school.
Working parents on low incomes and in receipt of certain benefits (earning less than £15,400 and receiving Universal Credit or earning less than £16,190 and receiving tax credits), as well as disadvantaged children, including those with education, health and care plans and looked after children, can qualify for 15 hours free early education for two-year-olds.
Outside of the early education entitlements, working parents on Universal Credit may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare for children aged 0 to16, up to £646 for one child and £1,108 for two or more children.
The department continues to support the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children by investing in high-quality early education, family hubs and local services, and by helping parents to support their child’s early language development at home.
In future, working parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year from the point their child is 9 months, to when their child starts school. This offer will be rolled out in phases from April 2024 to September 2025. The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity, and we are working closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms.