Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

The Government is clear that equality and opportunity for all are at the heart of our programme of national renewal. This includes actively considering the needs of older people and ensuring that they are not discriminated against. The Equality Act 2010 is the means by which age discrimination against older workers and job applicants is prohibited. Since the abolition of the default retirement age, employers can no longer use a person’s advancing years as automatic grounds for dismissal. Requiring a person to leave their job on age grounds is only lawful where the employer can objectively justify their decision. We are committed to retaining these strong protections.

The Equality Act 2010 already contains strong protections for older people against age discrimination in a variety of settings, including work and the provision of services. The Act prohibits both discrimination because of age and harassment related to age.

We welcome the recent Women and Equalities Select Committee inquiry into the rights of older people, which made a number of recommendations relating to ageism. The Government’s response to this inquiry sets out our commitments to ensure the right support systems are in place for older people, including on employment, health care and digital inclusion. Ofcom, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Independent Press Standards Organisation have also responded to the inquiry, with Ofcom providing reflections on the report’s recommendations on broadcasting.

In advertising, industry codes applied by the ASA prohibit adverts from causing serious or widespread offence, and outline that particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of protected characteristics, one of which is age.

All the creative industries have an important role in holding a mirror up to nature, exposing and understanding our common prejudices and challenging the stereotypes that hold us back socially and economically. The arm’s length principle wisely prevents government from lecturing the arts about how and when they should do this.

Over the next five years we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock.

We are providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

Over the course of this Parliament we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their new State Pensions increase by £1700 as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock.

We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.

The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

With regards to the suggestion that Winter Fuel Payments are paid to pensioners according to their council tax band, this would not be possible as my Department does not hold data on people’s council tax banding. Additionally council tax band is not always an accurate reflection of someone’s income.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual data on the number of death registrations where sepsis was the underlying cause of death, and where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, in England and Wales, since 2001. ONS has not yet published the number of death registrations for sepsis for 2024.

The following table shows the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years:

Government responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.

The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with dementia, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

As an example, the Department, via the NIHR, is investing nearly £50 million into the Dementia Trials Network, a coordinated network of trial sites across the United Kingdom, which will offer people with dementia the opportunity to take part in early phase clinical trials irrespective of where they live. This is complemented by the £20 million Dementia Trials Accelerator, designed to position the UK as the destination of choice for late phase clinical trials in dementia and neurodegenerative diseases.

In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Alzheimer Scotland, the NIHR also delivers Join Dementia Research, an online platform which enables the involvement of people with and without a dementia diagnosis, as well as carers, to take part in a range of important research, including studies evaluating potential treatments for dementia.

The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, which is expected to have nearly £150 million of Government funding allocated to it, or aligned with it, aims to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia and neurodegenerative conditions by accelerating innovations in biomarkers, clinical trials, and implementation.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis, and remain committed to increasing diagnosis rates and ensuring that people can access any licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-recommended treatment and/or support they need.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10 Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

NHS England’s Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme led the development of resources to raise awareness of the specific dementia care requirements for people from ethnic minority communities, in order to improve access, experiences, and outcomes for people living with dementia from these groups. The resources include an e-learning module to support clinicians and a refresh of the Intercultural dementia care guide in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, which incorporates considerations around language and communication in the provision of culturally appropriate care. Work to update the guide specifically included focus groups with black African, black Caribbean, and south Asian communities, as the largest ethnic minority groups in England.

The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service in England to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

NHS England is working with partner agencies to support and inform further research into other diagnostic modalities, including blood-based biomarker and digital tests, which may help improve identification and management of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has already invested £13 million into a range of biomarker innovation projects, which include a broad range of biomarker technologies, ranging from an artificial intelligence tool designed to improve the accuracy of blood tests for dementia, to using retinal scans to detect early-onset dementia decades before symptoms. Some of these innovations could support improved diagnosis in the future, if validated for clinical use.

NHS England has established a dedicated national programme team which continues to actively monitor potentially promising new treatments in late-stage trials, and which is working to co-ordinate preparations for the potential roll out of new treatments. These plans include assessments of any additional diagnostic capacity or additional workforce that would be needed if new treatments are licensed in the United Kingdom and achieve a positive recommendation on NHS adoption by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Enhancing the skills of staff working in adult social care is also vital to ensuring that the care provided is of good quality, fair, personalised, and accessible.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10 Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not conducted a review into the activities of the Duke of York when Special Representative for Trade and Investment in Kazakhstan from 2001 to 2011.

The UK engages with Kazakhstan regularly, with The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty recently hosting the 8th UK-Kazakhstan Strategic Dialogue in London. Kazakhstan is the UK's largest trading partner in Central Asia; the total bilateral trade in goods and service was £2.8 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office records are retained and managed in accordance with its record retention and disposal policy, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. We take our responsibilities under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act very seriously. Each request is evaluated individually, and when sensitive information falls within the scope of a request, the relevant exemptions are applied. If a requester is dissatisfied with a response under the FoI Act, they have the right to appeal, and the appeal procedures are outlined in the response. We regularly provide advice and assistance in line with the Information Commissioner's Office guidance on how requests can be better framed to help requesters to gain access to the information they are seeking.

As required by the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, the next review of the Sovereign Grant will take place in 2026. The government has committed to bring forward legislation to reset the Grant to a lower level from 2027-28 once Buckingham Palace reservicing works are completed.

The requirements for the 2026 review of the Sovereign Grant have been set by Parliament in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. This requires the Royal Trustees to consider what percentage of Crown Estate profits should be used in the calculation of the Sovereign Grant for the period from 2027, once Buckingham Palace reservicing works are completed. The Act requires that the Royal Trustees report is laid in Parliament, and any change in the percentage used given effect by Statutory Instrument agreed by the House of Commons. In addition, the government has committed to bring forward legislation to reset the Grant to a lower level from 2027-28, which will enable further parliamentary debate on this issue.

The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including expenditure, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including expenditure, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

That it is a matter for Police Scotland. No request for assistance has been made.

A review with areas that could have been involved in supporting Prince Andrew in his role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, has not produced records of such briefings.

The government has no plans to introduce a compulsory requirement to vote.