Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increased water bills on Thames Water customers in (a) Tooting and (b) other areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.
Ofwat’s five-yearly ‘price review’ sets the price, investment and service package for water companies in England and Wales. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn upgrade for the water sector.
Government expects water companies to put robust support in place for customers that are struggling to pay their bills. These include bill discount schemes such as WaterSure and Social Tariffs as well as financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements.
The Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported. Bills must remain affordable, and customers cannot be expected to pay the price for years of underperformance in the past.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the impact of increased water bills on Thames Water customers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.
Ofwat’s five-yearly ‘price review’ sets the price, investment and service package for water companies in England and Wales. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn upgrade for the water sector.
Government expects water companies to put robust support in place for customers that are struggling to pay their bills. These include bill discount schemes such as WaterSure and Social Tariffs as well as financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements.
The Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported. Bills must remain affordable, and customers cannot be expected to pay the price for years of underperformance in the past.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme on tourism.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) have been introduced to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK. ETAs will help deliver a more streamlined, digital immigration system which will be quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through the UK border each year.
The Home Office published an initial impact assessment on the introduction of ETAs, and a further Impact Assessment published alongside the Fee Regulations in March that increased the chargeable ETA fee (alongside other fees) - The Immigration, Nationality and Passport (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
The experience of other countries with similar schemes in operation shows that genuine visitors are unlikely to be deterred by the small additional cost. For example, the USA (which operates the ESTA scheme) has seen continued growth in overseas visitor volumes since the introduction of the ESTA in 2010.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve autism (a) awareness and (b) understanding among the adult population.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to creating a more inclusive society where autistic people are supported to thrive.
The Department is taking action to increase awareness and understanding of autism within health and adult social care services. From 1 July 2022, service providers registered with the Care Quality Commission are required to ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role, as set out in the Health and Care Act 2022. To support this, we are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Over two million people have now completed the e-learning module, which is the first part of the training.
The Government has also committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity, including autism, in the workplace. An independent panel made of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity, including autism, has been launched to advise the Government on fostering more inclusive workplaces. This will build on the recommendations outlined in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, which related solely to autism.
The panel will advise employers and ministers on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work, including for autistic people. The panel will consider mechanisms for change, making recommendations in the summer.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a higher stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers in inner London boroughs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a national tax in England and Northern Ireland charged using the same percentage rates in all areas. This ensures stable and predictable revenue for the Exchequer while maintaining fairness for taxpayers. The current structure of SDLT ensures that those buying the most expensive properties contribute the most. Introducing higher SDLT thresholds for first-time buyers in inner London boroughs could increase complexity and create distortive effects around borders, impacting property markets.
More broadly, SDLT continues to be an important source of Government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides. Any reforms to SDLT would have to carefully consider impacts on the Exchequer alongside administrative costs and simplicity for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help jobseekers manage their mental health while looking for employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment journey. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government announced an 80% employment rate ambition in the Getting Britain Working White Paper.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. My department therefore is investing in a range of support for individuals to help them stay in work and get back into work, including several that join up employment and health systems.
Additional Work Coach Support, delivered through our Jobcentres, provides disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This rollout has been informed by trialling in Jobcentres. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people and people with health conditions, to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.
Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, including mental health conditions, where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer. We will continue to ensure that every Work Coach has access to support from a Disability Employment Adviser.
The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme also includes the Mental Health Support Service which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. In 2023/24, 49,920 people were in receipt of a payment for an Access to Work element. Of those, 14,310 (29%) received one or more payments for the Mental Health Support Service element in the same period.
Work in partnership between the DWP and health systems, currently includes Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) a Supported Employment programme (using the place, train and maintain model) delivered in primary care settings and is aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities, both out of work who need help into work, and those needing support with their health issues to stay in work. IPSPC is integrated with an individual’s normal health treatment encouraging recognition of employment as an important driver of an individual’s health and wellbeing. We will be bringing this approach to all areas of England and Wales through the roll out of the Connect to Work Programme which will support 100,000 people a year from 2026/27. This complements the delivery of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness which is delivered in secondary mental health services by the NHS in England.
The Employment Advice in Talking Therapies programme combines the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Employment Advisors support patients in NHS Talking Therapies irrespective of their employment or benefit status. People who are looking for work will be supported to improve the quality of their CVs, complete application forms and improve the quality of their performance in interviews. If the client wishes, Employment Advisors can also work with NHS Talking Therapies clients and their employers to support returns to work following mental health-related absences. This could include suggesting coping mechanisms empowering clients to have better conversations with their colleagues or manager, or through suggesting workplace reasonable adjustments or a graduated return to work.
WorkWell sites went live in 15 areas across England from October 2024, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Each area designs and delivers an integrated work and health support offer, that brings together partnerships between Integrated Care Boards, local government, Jobcentres and community partners, including mental health services. People can be referred via their GP, Jobcentre, via other local services or can self-refer. By Spring 2026, WorkWell is expected to support up to 56,000 disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, to get into work or get on at work.
Furthermore, in March we announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure mental health services are integrated into employment support programmes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment journey. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government announced an 80% employment rate ambition in the Getting Britain Working White Paper.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. My department therefore is investing in a range of support for individuals to help them stay in work and get back into work, including several that join up employment and health systems.
Additional Work Coach Support, delivered through our Jobcentres, provides disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This rollout has been informed by trialling in Jobcentres. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people and people with health conditions, to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.
Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, including mental health conditions, where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer. We will continue to ensure that every Work Coach has access to support from a Disability Employment Adviser.
The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme also includes the Mental Health Support Service which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. In 2023/24, 49,920 people were in receipt of a payment for an Access to Work element. Of those, 14,310 (29%) received one or more payments for the Mental Health Support Service element in the same period.
Work in partnership between the DWP and health systems, currently includes Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) a Supported Employment programme (using the place, train and maintain model) delivered in primary care settings and is aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities, both out of work who need help into work, and those needing support with their health issues to stay in work. IPSPC is integrated with an individual’s normal health treatment encouraging recognition of employment as an important driver of an individual’s health and wellbeing. We will be bringing this approach to all areas of England and Wales through the roll out of the Connect to Work Programme which will support 100,000 people a year from 2026/27. This complements the delivery of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness which is delivered in secondary mental health services by the NHS in England.
The Employment Advice in Talking Therapies programme combines the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Employment Advisors support patients in NHS Talking Therapies irrespective of their employment or benefit status. People who are looking for work will be supported to improve the quality of their CVs, complete application forms and improve the quality of their performance in interviews. If the client wishes, Employment Advisors can also work with NHS Talking Therapies clients and their employers to support returns to work following mental health-related absences. This could include suggesting coping mechanisms empowering clients to have better conversations with their colleagues or manager, or through suggesting workplace reasonable adjustments or a graduated return to work.
WorkWell sites went live in 15 areas across England from October 2024, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Each area designs and delivers an integrated work and health support offer, that brings together partnerships between Integrated Care Boards, local government, Jobcentres and community partners, including mental health services. People can be referred via their GP, Jobcentre, via other local services or can self-refer. By Spring 2026, WorkWell is expected to support up to 56,000 disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, to get into work or get on at work.
Furthermore, in March we announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of equalising VAT rates for (a) home and (b) public electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The supply of energy for domestic use attracts the reduced rate of VAT. (five per cent). Whilst this relief was not designed for charging EVs at home, it applies for all uses of domestic energy. Public EV charging is subject to the standard rate of VAT (20 per cent). This matches the VAT treatment of petrol and diesel, as well as all non-domestic electricity.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many were awaiting decisions from the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme under the Separated Families pathway as of 8 April 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Available data on the Afghan Resettlement Programme is published on a quarterly basis. The latest release is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of measures for protecting tenants experiencing anti-social behaviour in local authority housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Social landlords, including local authorities, already have a range of powers and enforcement tools to tackle anti-social behaviour including powers to evict perpetrators. We expect landlords to use those powers promptly and proportionately, putting the needs of victims at the heart of their response.
The Regulator of Social Housing has also published a revised Neighbourhood and Community Standard, which came into force on 1 April 2024 as part of the new proactive consumer regulation regime. This Standard will require local authorities to work in partnership the police and other relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods where they provide social housing.
Under the new consumer regulation regime, social landlords, including local authorities, will also be required to collect and publish Tenant Satisfaction Measures. These will include data on tenants’ satisfaction with their landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour, and the number of anti-social behaviour cases relative to size of landlord.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced tougher powers to tackle repeat offending, including the new Respect Order to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders. Police, local authorities and housing providers will be able to apply to the court for a Respect Order. Breach of a Respect Order will be a criminal offence and courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.