Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with disabilities that impact their ability to work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has a wide range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget 2023, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
From 2025, we are reforming the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and greater employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions, whilst maintaining protections for those with the most significant conditions. Alongside these changes, a new Chance to Work Guarantee will effectively remove the WCA for most existing claimants who have already been assessed without work-related requirements removing the fear of reassessment and giving this group the confidence to try work.
People on low, or no income or earnings, who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do or prevents them from working altogether, and where they meet the entitlement criteria, can claim Universal Credit and/or New Style Employment and Support Allowance with medical evidence, usually a valid Statement of Fitness for work, commonly known as a ‘fit note’, from a clinician.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 188530 on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, whether it remains her policy to update the information on the NHS website on sudden unexplained death in childhood before June 2024.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 28 July 2023, the National Health Service United Kingdom website team updated its content on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) to distinguish between SIDS and Sudden Unexplained Death Childhood (SUDC), including a reference and link to the charity SUDC UK for further information.
However, a decision was made not to incorporate information about SUDC to the website content on febrile seizures. This was based on the lack of high-quality evidence connecting the two and is in line with the British Medical Association guidance and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summary. It was also noted that the primary advice and directives on seeking help for febrile seizures would remain unchanged.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending her Department's guidance on community benefit to include low-carbon electricity generation projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the Autumn statement, Government committed to review our approach to community benefits to ensure that we are being strategic in identifying key sectors where community benefits can support delivery of infrastructure. The result of this review will inform our assessment of the case for extending community benefits to include technologies such as electricity generation.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending community benefits to low-carbon electricity generation projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the Autumn statement, Government committed to review our approach to community benefits to ensure that we are being strategic in identifying key sectors where community benefits can support delivery of infrastructure. The result of this review will inform our assessment of the case for extending community benefits to include technologies such as electricity generation.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to review the £250 threshold for triggering a consultation procedure under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is designed to ensure leaseholders are better informed about proposals and costs of upkeep and maintenance of the building, and that they have more time to ensure they can make suitable finance arrangements. We will continue to keep the threshold for consultation under review.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of extending guidance on community benefit to low-carbon electricity generation on net zero targets.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the Autumn statement, Government committed to review our approach to community benefits to ensure that we are being strategic in identifying key sectors where community benefits can support delivery of infrastructure. The result of this review will inform our assessment of the case for extending community benefits to include technologies such as electricity generation and its impact on net zero targets.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 4 September 2023 to Question 195612 on Railways: Fares, when he plans that contactless pay as you go ticketing will be operational at all rail stations in Spelthorne.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working closely with Rail Delivery Group, Transport for London and train operators to ensure the launch of contactless PAYG to all stations in Spelthorne in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take steps raise awareness of (a) the levels of nicotine in and (b) the risk of addiction from vape devices.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaping is substantially less harmful than cigarettes and one of the most effective cessation aids, however due to the addictive nicotine content and the unknown long-term harms it is not recommended for children and non-smokers.
As part of the requirements under Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016, every nicotine vape packet must contain a health warning, “warning: this product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance”. Requirements also limit nicotine strength to 20mg/ml and limit refill bottle and tank sizes.
The NHS Better Health website provides information and advice on using vapes to quit smoking and includes advice on how to quit vaping.
The Government launched a consultation in October 2023 seeking views on our plans to crack down on youth vaping by reducing the appeal, availability and affordability of vapes to our children. This is live until 6 December 2023 and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to ban single use disposable vapes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is consulting on a range of proposals to tackle the rise in children vaping. The includes measures to restrict the supply of single use vapes, such as a potential future ban.
Details of the full range of proposals under consideration are set out in the Government consultation “Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping” which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping
The consultation is live until 6 December, and we will publish our response shortly after.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve support people with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder; and what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to improve support for carers of people with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government recognises that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) can have a significant impact on the early years development of children and their life chances, and is taking action to improve support for those living with its consequences. The Department of Health and Social Care published the FASD Health Needs Assessment in 2021, which set out further steps to be taken to address the needs of individuals with FASD.
The Department of Health and Social Care also commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a Quality Standard to improve the diagnosis and care for children and young people with FASD and highlight the importance of advising women to abstain from alcohol in pregnancy, in line with the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines. This was published in 2022.
The Department for Education is supporting kinship families through a £2 million contract with the charity Kinship to deliver high-quality peer support groups for kinship carers across the country. This provides a range of support for kinship carers, including support for carers of people with FASD.