Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to reduce the processing time of up to 18 weeks to obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

UKVI are constantly seeking to improve efficiency and reduce processing times however, we need to clarify that the 18 weeks is a service level agreement (SLA) not the processing time and the majority of applications are processed well within this SLA.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current average time taken is to pay Access to Work suppliers for services delivered; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in paying suppliers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work payment processing is currently at 10 working days for generic payments and 15 days for special aids and equipment. We are upskilling additional staff to deliver payments and reduce processing times.

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 accessibility of the Disability Living Allowance claim form; and whether he plans to take steps to improve it.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

An accessible online version of a DLA1 (new claim form) is available to download from gov.uk.

All other DLA Child forms and letters are available as a reasonable adjustment for customers who require alternative methods to interact with the department. These include, but are not limited to, email accessible version, braille, large print, audio.

All forms and letters are regularly reviewed to ensure they provide the customer with the information required and support a smooth customer interaction.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of regulatory requirements for barbering businesses in ensuring that practitioners hold relevant qualifications and liability insurance.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Businesses in the hair and beauty sector including barber shops, hairdressers and beauty salons are required to comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations, which place duties on businesses to assess the risk of infection for employees and others affected by their work, including members of the public.

While the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are the policy lead for the hair and beauty sector, responsibility for enforcing health and safety legislation at individual businesses rests with the local authority in which the premises are located.

Where there is evidence that risks are not being properly managed, local authorities may intervene and take appropriate enforcement action to ensure employees and customers are protected.

Local authorities are also responsible for managing hygiene standards in businesses, but this is not within HSE’s remit.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the level of the threat posed by Russia to UK elections.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK electoral system is highly resilient, and to date, we have not seen evidence of successful Russian interference in UK democratic processes. But we know that the Kremlin seeks to sow discord in the West and undermine our institutions. Working closely with our NATO and G7 allies, we will continue to unmask Russia’s deceptive agencies, sanction their leaders, and impede their operations.

We continue to monitor the situation and have robust measures in place to counter any attempts at political interference.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve training for Child Maintenance Service call handlers on (a) vulnerable people and (b) victims of domestic abuse.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take the support of vulnerable customers, including victims and survivors of domestic abuse, extremely seriously.

All CMS Caseworkers receive comprehensive technical training, including specific modules on identifying and supporting vulnerable customers and victims and survivors of domestic abuse. This Domestic Abuse training is kept up to date through mandatory two year refresher training to ensure colleagues maintain the requisite skills and knowledge.

For the most complex domestic abuse cases, CMS uses a specialist team, which provides tailored support and reduces the need for victims and survivors to repeatedly recount their experiences.

All Caseworkers can access the Every Call Matters Hub, which provides access to supporting products and call standards to support confidence and quality when speaking with customers.

CMS aim to handle calls in a sensitive manner and ensure all customers get the help and support they need to use the service safely. This may include signposting to support organisations or reporting to the police where this may be necessary.

Further work is ongoing to strengthen quality assurance processes, including call listening, to ensure that vulnerable customers and victims and survivors of domestic abuse consistently receive the appropriate level of service. Insight from quality assurance outcomes is used to support ongoing training and learning.

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