Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the National Archives, (b) other UK national archives, (c) local archives and (d) specialist archives on the presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) in their buildings.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks on 1 May 2019. Since then, individual organisations have been surveying properties and taking action in line with Institution of Structural Engineers guidance.
Government Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC on their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. This work is being co-ordinated by the Office of Government Property.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the National Records of Scotland are both under the jurisdiction of their respective devolved administrations, and their work is not overseen by the UK Government.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on how many buildings containing (a) the National Archives, (b) other UK national archives, (c) local archives and (d) specialist archives contain reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks on 1 May 2019. Since then, individual organisations have been surveying properties and taking action in line with Institution of Structural Engineers guidance.
Government Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC on their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. This work is being co-ordinated by the Office of Government Property.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the National Records of Scotland are both under the jurisdiction of their respective devolved administrations, and their work is not overseen by the UK Government.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181258 on Ageing, what assessment his Department have made of the adequacy of cross-government preparedness for an increase in the older population.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s changing demographic profile, of which our ageing population is a part, is a significant long-term challenge facing the UK.
Work to protect our older population is cross-cutting and stretches across the whole of Government. Individual departments take responsibility for the delivery of relevant policies in their jurisdiction. For example, policies that relate to the physical and mental health of older generations are delivered through the Department of Health and Social Care. In the Cabinet Office, the Equalities Hub leads on the Equality Act 2010 which provides strong protection from age discrimination across a variety of settings.
I also refer the Hon lady to PQ HL8000, which discusses the work occurring across the government, and my response to PQ 181258 that refers to the ‘The Future of an Ageing Population’ report from 2016.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure there is a sufficient supply of accessible and adaptable homes for older and disabled people who require such housing.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answers give to Question UIN 183870 on 11 May 2023, to Question UIN 187138 on 12 June 2023 and to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timetable is for (a) the second consultation on the decision to make the design standard for all new homes accessible and adaptable and (b) the implementation for that decision.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answers give to Question UIN 183870 on 11 May 2023, to Question UIN 187138 on 12 June 2023 and to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the targeted measures announced in the Budget 2023 on reducing economic inactivity among people aged 50-64.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Employment is up, vacancies down and economic inactivity has reduced since the Budget in March 2023.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish the 2023 report of the School Teachers Review Body.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of the normal pay round process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its report and recommendations to the Government on teacher pay for 2023/24. The Department is considering the recommendations and will publish its response and the report in the usual way, in due course.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to formally establish Great British Railways.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) and the sector and will progress legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Many reforms and tangible benefits for rail users can be delivered ahead of legislation, such as workforce reform, simplifying fares and continuing the rollout of Pay-As-You-Go ticketing, building local partnerships, simplifying industry practices and the publication of the first draft of the Long-Term Strategy for Rail.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to help ensure the accessibility of sanitary products for people in poverty.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2023/24, the Government will spend around £289 billion through the welfare system in the UK.
Overall, the government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living and has taken a number of steps to ensure that necessities like period products are available and affordable for all who need them.
Since 2020 the Department for Education has run a fully funded scheme which makes free period products available for all state-funded primary and secondary schools and college. The scheme gives girls and women easy access to period products at school or college, breaking down stigma and ensuring that no young person’s education is disrupted by their period.
In addition, period products are essential, which is why a zero rate of VAT applies. This is part of the Government's wider strategy to make period products affordable and available for all women.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to reduce waiting times for (a) GP and (b) hospital appointment waiting times for women with endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. The National Health Service led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.
The Government published its Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care on 9 May. This aims to reduce the number of people struggling to contact their general practice, and make sure that arrangements are made for patients’ care the first time they contact their General Practitioner (GP). It will achieve this by moving towards a new Modern General Practice Access model, building capacity to deliver more appointments, and cutting bureaucracy for GPs. This will help ensure that patients who need an appointment with their GP practice, including women with endometriosis, can get one within two weeks.
To support elective recovery, including for hospital appointments and gynaecology and endometriosis related surgery, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This funding is in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems last year to help drive up and protect elective activity. As part of the Autumn Statement 2022, the Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, this funding could deliver the equivalent of nine million more checks, scans and procedures and will mean the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it was before the pandemic.