Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) causes for delays in processing passport applications at HM Passport Office and (b) the impact of those delays on people in Birmingham Erdington constituency.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport as more than 5 million people delayed applying due to the pandemic.
Across the first 6 months of 2022 HMPO processed 97.7% of UK standard applications within 10 weeks.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to protect local government finances from the cost of living crisis in (a) deprived and (b) all other areas with high demand for services from local authorities.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is making available an additional £3.7 billion to councils in England in 2022/23, with the most relatively deprived areas having access to 14% more per dwelling in core spending power.
How inflation interacts with local government's finances is not straightforward and we are working with the sector to understand any impacts.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
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 impact of the Commonwealth Games on the people and communities of Birmingham.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will deliver a fantastic legacy for the people and communities of Birmingham.
A range of programmes are helping to boost jobs and skills; encourage more people to try sport; and engage young people in the Commonwealth through a National Learning Programme.
We have invested £21m in a Business and Tourism Programme to encourage investment and visitors to Birmingham and the West Midlands, which will help to grow the regional economy.
The significant core public investment in the Games of £778 million is creating a positive economic and social impact. It is creating new jobs, attracting visitors to the region and improving infrastructure that will benefit the local communities long after the curtain closes on the Games - like the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.
This public investment has also helped to unlock over £85 million additional funding from a range of public and third sector bodies including a £35m investment from Sport England to deliver a physical activity legacy and the £12m that has been invested in exciting arts and culture programmes across Birmingham, including £2m funding from Birmingham City Council for the Creative City Grants Programme.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to open the online portal for local authorities submitting bids to the second round of the Levelling Up Fund which was originally scheduled to close on 6 July 2022.
Answered by Lia Nici
I refer the Hon Member to the written statement made by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State (HCWS 207) on 15 July 2022.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) currently at pension age or (b) close to pension age have had their state pensions affected by National Insurance contribution underpayments in error in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In May this year, the Department published the report, ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system,’ available on gov.uk [here]. The detailed information requested is not available.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the causes for the backlog in issuing medical paper driving licences at the DVLA; and what steps he is taking to resolve that backlog.
Answered by Karl McCartney
The length of time taken to deal with an application for a driving licence where a medical condition must be investigated depends on the condition(s) involved and whether further information or clinical tests are required from medical professionals. The receipt of information from NHS professionals has been impacted by pressures on the NHS. Delays in this area were also exacerbated by six months of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, which was targeted at the areas that would have the most impact on the motoring public.
To reduce waiting times for customers, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has recruited more staff and opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham which are focused on medical applications. DVLA staff also continue to work overtime at evenings and weekends. These measures are having a positive impact and the DVLA expects to return to pre-pandemic levels for medical applications in September.
It is important to note that most applicants will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a robust mandatory licensing scheme for Exempt Accommodation.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
On 17 March, I announced the Government’s intention to address quality concerns in supported exempt accommodation, and introduce measures to put an end to unscrupulous landlords exploiting some of the most vulnerable in our society.
The package of measures announced include:
The measures are intended to mandate providers to deliver quality services and hold landlords to account where they are not doing this. We will bring these forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many entries have been made on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents in (a) England, (b) Birmingham and (c) Birmingham Erdington constituency since that database was established.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
There are currently 57 entries on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents.
There are currently no entries listed on the Database in the Birmingham and Birmingham Erdington Constituency.
Local authorities are responsible for uploading and maintaining records on the Database. Where records have expired, local authorities are required to remove the entry from the Database.