Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 ensure that self-employed people are adequately supported when using the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work is a personalised discretionary grant that provides support with workplace adjustments beyond an employer’s obligation as outlined in the Equality Act 2010, to support the recruitment and retention of disabled people into employment. In 23/24 the Access to Work Scheme supported 67,720 people with workplace adjustments to move into or stay in work. This includes a wide range of support including travel to work, support workers, and specialist aides and equipment, as well as the Mental Health support service which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their well-being.
Access to Work is available to self-employed people.To receive it they must satisfy the standard eligibility criteria for the Scheme and meet the business viability rules as outlined in Access to Work: staff guide - GOV.UK
The support a customer will get from Access to Work is dependent upon the support needed to do their job at the time they made an application. A case manager will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision. There is no set amount for an Access to Work grant. The amount awarded will depend on the specific case. More guidance and information on Access to Work applications and processes can be found on: Access to Work: factsheet for customers - GOV.UK
As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on how to improve Access to Work to help more disabled people into work and support employers, ensuring value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for dispensing GPs to offer electronic prescribing.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following its launch in 2005, the Electronic Prescribing Service (EPS) is now used in more than 96% of general practices (GPs). While GP IT services and funding do not cover dispensing services provided by dispensing doctors, EPS is used in prescribing and dispensing, so currently a dispensing doctor practice will receive funding for the prescribing element of its EPS systems but not the dispensing element.
Dispensing practices receive a dispensing fee, approximately £2.00 to £2.30 per item, which is intended to cover dispensing costs. This fee is calculated based on the forecasted volumes of prescriptions to be dispensed and the size of the funding envelope, according to a methodology agreed by the Department, the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, NHS Employers, and the Welsh administration.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of dispensing GPs matching the terms of the drug reimbursement agreement in place for pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dispensing doctors are reimbursed in line with the Statement of Financial Entitlement Directions, which sets out the reimbursements general practices (GPs), including dispensing GPs, are entitled to.
Dispensing practices receive a dispensing fee, approximately £2.00 to £2.30 per item, which is intended to cover dispensing costs. This fee is calculated based on forecasted volumes of prescriptions to be dispensed and the size of the funding envelope, according to a methodology agreed by the Department, the GP committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), NHS Employers, and the Welsh administration. An updated methodology was agreed between the BMA and NHS England to address the issue of continuing fluctuation between over and underspend year on year, the alternating pattern of over and under spends, and was implemented in October 2023.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to require (a) tree houses, (b) shepherds huts, (c) farm buildings and (d) other properties not suitable for (i) long-term and (ii) residential letting to be added to the national mandatory register for short-term lets.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Decisions on the specific scope of accommodation types covered by the registration scheme are still being finalised. Now that the second phase of development is underway, the Government is collaborating with industry leaders, including platforms, local authorities, and trade bodies, to create a robust scheme. Secondary legislation will be required to enact the scheme, and we aim to roll this out as efficiently as possible. Further details on which accommodation types will be included will be confirmed when an Impact Assessment has been completed.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned transition period for moving from the fire door safety testing standard BS 476-22 to standard EN 1634-1 on timber fire door manufacturers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognised the potential economic impact that could result from the withdrawal of testing standard BS 476-22 and the transition to the European Standard (BS EN 13501), including on timber fire door manufacturers, through the consultation response impact analysis.
In response, an extended five-year transition period was introduced for fire resistance classifications, running from 2 September 2024 to 2 September 2029. This extended period was developed in consultation with industry to allow sufficient time for retesting and certification under the new standard.
While concerns have been raised about the timing of the transition, we remain committed to the planned timeline. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will continue to monitor the impact of the change and support industry through the transition. BSR will keep these standards under review as part of their continuous review of Approved Document B, in line with their duty under the Building Safety Act to keep the safety and standard of building under review in England.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with the Electoral Commission on potential provisions for the planned elections bill.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has engaged with, and continues to engage with, various stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission, ahead of the publication of the Government's Strategy for Elections. As the independent regulator, the Electoral Commission offers valuable insight, and its contributions are helping to inform policy development in a number of areas.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 plans to extend Section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to apply to housing associations undertaking public sector contracts; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of this on the (a) (i) accountability and (ii) transparency of these contracts and (ii) accessibility of information relating to social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to increasing accountability and transparency in the social rented sector.
We will direct the Regulator of Social Housing (‘the regulator’) to introduce new Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) for private providers of social housing, including housing associations, to enable residents to request information about their housing management.
All registered providers of social housing are already required to deliver the outcomes of the regulator’s Transparency, Influence and Accountability standard, which requires registered providers to ensure that communication with and information for tenants is clear, accessible, relevant, timely and appropriate to the diverse needs of tenants.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 (a) include support for adults with autism and (b) help support (i) Integrated Care Boards and (ii) local hospital trusts with supporting adults with autism through the NHS 10 year plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to supporting people with a range of conditions such as autism, in all parts of the country.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Electoral Commission on automatic voter registration since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government officials are in regular contact with the Electoral Commission on a range of electoral matters including registration topics.
The government is committed to improving electoral registration. We are exploring a wide range of options to deliver on this manifesto commitment, including making greater use of public sector data and digital services. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and user research.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the evidential basis is for removing the national BS 476-22 classification for fire door resistance from Approved Document B.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The withdrawal of National Classes fire testing standards (BS 476) from Approved Document B in favour of the European Standard (BS EN 13501) aimed to enhance fire protection by simplifying compliance routes within the guidance. This change makes it easier and clearer to ensure products meet required standards and enables simpler performance comparison.
The suitability of BS 476 and the transition to the EN standard was scrutinised during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The EN suite of standards, unlike the BS 476 series, is constantly reviewed, periodically updated, and does not rely on withdrawn standards. The EN suite of standards is therefore seen as more suitable in the long term. The consultation response published alongside the Written Statement on 2 September 2024 shows a majority of respondents were in support of moving to the European Standard.
We recognised the potential economic impact of this transition, particularly for sectors such as bespoke timber fire doors, cavity barriers, and smoke vents, through the consultation response impact analysis. In response, a five-year transition period was introduced for fire resistance classifications, running from 2 September 2024 to 2 September 2029. This extended period was developed in consultation with industry to allow sufficient time for retesting and certification under the new standard.
While concerns have been raised about the timing of the transition, we remain committed to the planned timeline. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will continue to monitor the impact of the change and support industry through the transition. BSR will keep these standards under review as part of their continuous review of Approved Document B, in line with their duty under the Building Safety Act to keep the safety and standards of building under review in England.