Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has assessed the effectiveness of local authority homelessness prevention practices for young survivors of domestic abuse; and if she will review processes for identifying survivors at risk of homelessness, such as the evidential thresholds applied when assessing homelessness risk.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is determined to safeguard young people affected by domestic abuse whether within their homes, families or their own relationships, preventing homelessness and supporting victims, as part of its ambitions to end homelessness and rough sleeping, and halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
As set out in our National Plan to End Homelessness we are developing a Domestic Abuse Homelessness Prevention Toolkit to help councils prevent homelessness and improve support for survivors of domestic abuse, including young people. We have recently published a new youth chapter in the Homelessness Code of Guidance, which is clear that housing authorities should consider whether a young person’s homelessness arises from domestic abuse. The new chapter can be found on gov.uk here. We are also developing a national youth homelessness prevention toolkit to support councils to deliver services that meet the needs of young people.
Where remaining at home is not a safe and suitable option, Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires Tier 1 local authorities in England to assess the need for, and commission, support for victims and their children in safe accommodation. We are providing £499 million from April 2026 to March 2029 to support councils to fulfil these duties. The statutory guidance, which can be found on gov.uk here, is clear that local authorities should consider the needs of all victims, including children and young people, when planning and commissioning support.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the recommendation in the Climate Change Committee’s publication entitled The Seventh Carbon Budget on replacing high Global Warming Potential (GWP) inhaler propellants with lower GWP alternatives as part of a balanced pathway for the phasedown of F gases.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As stated in last year’s consultation on the proposal for HFC phasedown reform, the UK Government, in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, is committed to further exploring areas for F gas reform considered out of scope of the consultation. This includes consideration of policies as they might apply to metered dose inhalers.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential adverse impact of exempting Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs) from its F gas phasedown plans.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As stated in last year’s consultation on the proposal for HFC phasedown reform, the UK Government, in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, is committed to further exploring areas for F gas reform considered out of scope of the consultation. This includes consideration of policies as they might apply to metered dose inhalers.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the deadline for uncompleted inquests and civil litigation into Troubles-era offences under the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 on victims.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
From 1 May, victims and families can directly refer their cases to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery for review and I strongly encourage them to do so.
The Commission will have extensive powers to conduct thorough investigations and will deliver better outcomes for victims and families than the current system.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to section 6.26 of the guidance entitled 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth, published on 20 November 2023, whether her Department has been allocated additional resources to consider exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In the vast majority of instances, payments required under the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth will be affordable for companies, or can be mitigated by standard price increase processes. In exceptional circumstances only, the scheme allows companies to apply to increase their National Health Service list price, and for older medicines to reduce their top-up payment percentage, even when their wider portfolio is otherwise profitable. To qualify, a product must be demonstrably uneconomic to supply, there must be clear evidence that supply disruption would otherwise occur, and this disruption must have a negative impact on patients or the NHS. The Department already has processes and committees to consider applications for exceptional circumstances, established under previous pricing schemes.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance entitled 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth, published on 20 November 2023, what steps her Department is taking to apply the provisions of section 6.26 on exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In the vast majority of instances, payments required under the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth will be affordable for companies, or can be mitigated by standard price increase processes. In exceptional circumstances only, the scheme allows companies to apply to increase their National Health Service list price, and for older medicines to reduce their top-up payment percentage, even when their wider portfolio is otherwise profitable. To qualify, a product must be demonstrably uneconomic to supply, there must be clear evidence that supply disruption would otherwise occur, and this disruption must have a negative impact on patients or the NHS. The Department already has processes and committees to consider applications for exceptional circumstances, established under previous pricing schemes.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Council has received briefings on red-rated legacy computer systems used by Government departments in the last three years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The National Security Council (NSC) is a committee of Cabinet and is bound by the same rules and conventions as all Cabinet Committees. Information about discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees are not normally publicly shared.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reducing the number of platforms at the Euston HS2 terminus on commuters.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Following the rephasing of works at Euston announced in March 2023, work commenced on developing an affordable and deliverable scheme for the HS2 Euston Station including looking at options to reduce the number of platforms to match expected levels of service over time. This will continue under the new arrangements for Euston announced as part of Network North.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reducing the number of platforms at the Euston HS2 terminus on station capacity.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Following the rephasing of works at Euston announced in March 2023, work commenced on developing an affordable and deliverable scheme for the HS2 Euston Station including looking at options to reduce the number of platforms to match expected levels of service over time. This will continue under the new arrangements for Euston announced as part of Network North.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology on the basis of which he has concluded Euston HS2 station can be delivered without public funding.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Network North paper published by the Department for Transport on 4 October 2023 sets out that we will appoint a development company, separate from HS2 Ltd, to manage the delivery of this project. We will also take on the lessons of success stories such as Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, which secured £9 billion of private sector investment and thousands of homes. So we will harness the future growth that the station will unleash to support its development, to ensure we get the best possible value for the British taxpayer - and ensure that funding is underpinned by contributions from those people and businesses its development supports.