Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 June 2025 on Afghanistan HCWS703, if he will publish a list of people he is referring to when stating that his Department speaks "directly with Afghans and civil society to inform our policy and programming".
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To maintain the privacy and security of the people with whom we engage, including those based in Afghanistan, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will not be publishing a list of Afghan and civil society contacts. Ministers and officials will continue to engage regularly with a diverse range of Afghans and civil society contacts.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many in-person inspections were carried out by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority officers on farms in Scotland in 2024; and how many (a) workers and (b) workers on the UK seasonal worker visa were spoken to at each inspection.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In 2024, 18 in-person inspection visits were undertaken by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) officers on farms in Scotland. This figure includes compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint inspections with other enforcement bodies, such as UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The GLAA does not hold data on which visas are held by workers at these farms.
In England and Wales, the GLAA has responsibilities to investigate reports of modern slavery. In Scotland, the primacy for this lies with Police Scotland but the GLAA support this activity to target, dismantle and disrupt serious and organised crime.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) guidance, (b) training and (c) minimum standards are provided to work coaches supporting clients with learning difficulties.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All Work Coaches new to DWP receive mandatory learning to support vulnerable customers and complex needs as part of their induction and onboarding, this includes helping customer who need additional support.
DWP Work Coaches also receive comprehensive training to support individuals with additional needs. This learning begins with the core Work Coach learning journey, and is reinforced through ongoing, point-of-need learning throughout their role. Key topics include:
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 5 week wait for Universal Credit on housing arrears owed to (a) local authorities and (b) social housing providers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
The Government is reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to. Procedures are in place to support customers having difficulty in managing their housing payments. Payment of housing costs and rent arrears can be made direct to landlords. Direct payment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and can be considered at the start or at any point during the UC claim to support the tenancy for the home the customer currently lives in. The need may be identified in the Service Centre, Jobcentre or requested by the claimant, their appointee, caseworker, or landlord advising of a vulnerability, rent arrears or risk of eviction.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the (a) Special Envoy to Afghanistan and (b) Afghanistan department will be located within the Whitehall premises of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Special Envoy to Afghanistan and the Afghanistan department operate from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's headquarters in the UK. This arrangement ensures the UK can continue to engage effectively on Afghanistan policy, including with a broad range of Afghan stakeholders, while maintaining flexibility in how and where that engagement takes place.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish the expected advisory arrangements to the Special Envoy for Afghanistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Mission to Afghanistan in Doha closed on 30 June 2025. Mr Richard Lindsay was appointed as Special Envoy to Afghanistan on 17 June. He will lead a new Afghanistan department from the UK, taking on the duties of the current Chargé d'Affaires. These changes will not affect our resolve to support the people of Afghanistan, which is unwavering.
This new model will allow the UK to actively engage with a broader range of Afghans. The Special Envoy will engage the Taliban on UK priorities including counter terrorism, human rights, and humanitarian access; support intra-Afghan dialogue; engage women, religious and ethnic minorities who suffer at the hands of the Taliban; and work with regional countries on shared priorities.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections under the ECO 4 scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 insulation measures must be installed by TrustMark registered businesses, who are required to adhere to relevant industry standards. Installations of low carbon measures must be carried out in accordance with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) requirements.
Improvements to consumer protection are underway and we will set out plans for root and branch reform as part of the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to audit spending under the ECO 4 scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem is the scheme administrator and audits progress on the ECO4 scheme. It publishes regular updates on its website https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/energy-company-obligation-eco/contacts-guidance-and-resources/eco-public-reports-and-data.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the mean processing time was for Carer's Allowance applications in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Carer’s Allowance application Average Actual Clearance Times are measured weekly. For the Carer’s Allowance figures shown here, Average Actual Clearance Time (AACT) is calculated as the average length of time (working days) from the receipt of a claim to the date the first payment was issued. Please see attached annex for details of weekly Carer’s Allowance application Average Actual Clearance Times from week commencing 2 January 2023 to week commencing 2 June 2025.
Special Notes:
The Average Actual Clearance Time figures are unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Transport Secretary acts to make thousands of extra driving tests available each month, published on 23 April 2025, whether an estimate has been made of the number of number of DVSA staff members who will return to examining roles by region.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State (SoS) for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
The measures announced by SoS to make additional driving tests available each month were implemented on 1 June. It is too early to evaluate those measures, or their impact at a national or regional level.