Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) median and (b) mean response time has been to passport queries sent by hon. Members on behalf of constituents to her Department in each of the last six months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Data about intake and performance in answering Hon. Members correspondence are published quarterly with the latest Quarter available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-q1-2022
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
On how many occasions she has raised the case of Abdul Kolim, who is imprisoned in Morocco, with the Moroccan authorities.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Consular officials remain in regular contact with Mr Kolim and his lawyer and last visited him on 13 April. The UK Ambassador has raised issue of delays in prison transfer process twice with Moroccan Minister of Justice in recent months. We continue to provide consular support to Mr Kolim and his family.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2022 to Question 626 on Abdul Kolim, when consular officials met (a) Mr Kolim and (b) his family; and what representations she has made to her Moroccan counterpart on Mr Kolim's case since 7 December 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Officials remain in regular contact with Mr Kolim and his family and are providing consular support. We continue to raise his case with the Moroccan authorities.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the deposit required for electric vehicles under the Motability scheme.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Department works closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. Therefore no assessment of the deposit has been undertaken by DWP.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the take up rate of Pension Credit in (a) Flintshire and (b) Wales; and what steps her Department is taking to increase take up of Pension Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently some 3,600 recipients of Pension Credit in Flintshire and 84,630 Pension Credit recipients in Wales.
We have already undertaken a range of actions to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up. Initial internal management information suggests that new claims for Pension Credit in the 12 months to December 2021 were around 30% higher compared to the 12 months to December 2019.
Earlier this year, we directly targeted over 11 million pensioners with information about Pension Credit and the additional support it can provide in the leaflet accompanying their annual up-rating notification.
However, it is more important now than ever before that we ensure all eligible pensioners claim the vital financial help which Pension Credit provides. That’s why on 3 April we launched a new Pension Credit awareness campaign. We are promoting Pension Credit in a variety of ways, including on social media – with advertising targeted both at potential recipients as well as their friends and family and also in key locations for the elderly, such as post offices and GP waiting rooms.
I have written to the editors of regional newspapers across England, Scotland and Wales calling on readers to check if they could be eligible and make a claim. This was done on repeat occasions in 2021. I have also written to all MPs, urging them to lend the campaign their support. MPs are well placed to promote Pension Credit to their older constituents and many already do so.
On 6 June there will be a further roundtable meeting with some stakeholders, who have reach and expertise, to identify other practical initiatives to encourage eligible pensioners to claim.
On 15 June, there will be another Pension Credit awareness media day of action with broadcasters, newspapers and other partners encouraged to reach out to pensioners to promote Pension Credit through their channels. We will also extend the campaign to include advertising in regional and national newspapers. This event was a success in 2021.
We know that one of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholders working in the community. We will be producing and distributing leaflets and posters which can be used across local communities, and we will also be updating our digital toolkit with information and resources that any stakeholder can use to help promote Pension Credit.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of privatising Channel 4 on the independent television sector in (a) Alyn and Deeside constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders across the UK has informed the government’s assessment of any potential impact of a change of ownership. The Government published its sale impact analysis on 28 April.
Channel 4 has done an excellent job in supporting the UK production sector and thereby delivering on one of its founding purposes. Forty years on, independent production in the UK is now booming, with revenues having grown from £500 million in 1995 to £3 billion in 2019. Companies are increasingly less reliant on Channel 4 for commissions - only 7 per cent of the UK’s independent production sector revenues come from Channel 4 commissions.
Channel 4 still has an important part to play in supporting the sector and our wider creative economy. Channel 4 will still be required to commission a minimum volume of programming from independent producers, in line with the quotas placed on other PSBs, and Channel 4’s existing obligations in terms of regional production outside of London and England will also be maintained.
Channel 4 has excellent relationships with independent producers right across the UK and there is no reason this should change. The Government expects a new owner to want to build on and develop those relationships.
The Government believes that in the long run the UK production ecosystem will benefit from a more sustainable Channel 4. A change of ownership that improves Channel 4’s access to capital could increase spending on production. For example, Channel 5’s overall content budget increased following its acquisition by Viacom in 2014, with first-run spending up by an average of 7% per year between 2014 and 2018.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 83249 on Morocco: Detainees, how many times (a) consular officials have met (i) Mr Kolim and (ii) his family and (b) her Department has raised Mr Kolim's case with the Moroccan authorities since 7 December 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are in regular contact with Mr Kolim and his family and are providing consular support. We continue to raise his case with the Moroccan authorities.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with charities supporting immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups to discuss what the Government will do to support them to live safely with covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have regular meeting with charities representing and supporting patients in immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups. The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, is the clinical lead for programmes supporting these patients and has met with charities at stakeholder engagement sessions.
On 4 April 2022, updated guidance was issued for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will carry out an impact assessment of the Government's Living Safely with Covid strategy on any potential risk posed by that strategy to people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed.
Answered by Maggie Throup
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to issue specific guidance for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed on how to manage their risk to covid-19 in the Living Safely with Covid strategy.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 4 April 2022, updated guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19 was published at the following link:
Immunocompromised individuals who are eligible to receive COVID-19 treatments will receive a letter from NHS England offering advice should they become symptomatic, which is available at the following link:
The letter also includes information on accessing free lateral flow device tests and should they test positive, how to contact a Covid Medicines Delivery Unit in and out of general practitioner surgery hours.