Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to protect vulnerable tax credit claimants who have accrued overpayment debt through no fault of their own.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government takes a considered and balanced approach to the recovery of benefit debt and HMRC has strong processes in place to support those that may be struggling to pay back tax credits overpayments with manageable recovery plans.
HMRC calculates tax credit awards across the financial year to ensure customers receive regular and consistent financial support. Customers are required to tell us of any change in circumstances and when they do, awards are recalculated and balanced across the remainder of the period. Customers are made aware of any overpayment that is generated as a result and the process to challenge the overpayment if they do not agree it is correct.
HMRC has a well-established approach to help tax credit customers who are having difficulty repaying a debt and require extra support, including offering its customers debt advice referral to the Money and Pensions Service Money Adviser Network for a free bespoke independent debt service.
HMRC will work with customers and can agree a temporary reduction in the rate of repayment based on their financial circumstances. In some cases, recovery of the debt can be paused. When customers and their tax credit debt move to Universal Credit, they can continue to access support through DWP.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent representations he has made to his Afghan counterpart on the treatment of women and girls in that country. .
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers do not engage with the Taliban. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers to reverse their harmful policies on women and girls. In January, FCDO officials raised the treatment of women and girls with Taliban acting ministers during a visit to Kabul.
We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's edicts that restrict the rights of women and girls, including through the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements. We will continue to work with the international community, including during UN led talks this month, to press the Taliban to reverse course.
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, how many civil servants are employed in roles relating to the administration of the Access to Work scheme as of 30 January 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 30 January 2024, there were 487.48 full time equivalent civil servants employed to administer Access to Work.
Please note that the data supplied is from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of eligible two year olds received free funded early education in each year between 2019 and 2023.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Data relating to government-funded early education and childcare is published in the annual ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ statistical release which is available on the GOV.UK website at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5.
The figures requested can be found at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/941bcc65-3f3a-4cc8-9712-08dc1cb7c782.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will introduce a minimum wage of £12 per hour for (a) early years and (b) elder care.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone. Through the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the National Living Wage (NLW), the Government protects the lowest paid within our society. The Government has accepted all of the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission.
From April, the NLW will increase for workers aged 21 years and over to £11.44 an hour. For workers aged 18-20, the NMW rate will increase to £8.60 an hour. For those under 18, and for apprentices under 19, the NMW rate will increase to £6.40 an hour.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to his Eritrean counterpart for the release of religious detainees.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We consistently raise the need to improve the human rights situation with the Eritrean Government. We advocate for national service reform and the end of arbitrary detentions, including detentions based on religion or belief. Eritrea is a priority country in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report and we support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2023. As we have stated at the Human Rights Council, all those who have been unjustly incarcerated must be released.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Eritrea.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We consistently raise the need to improve the human rights situation with the Eritrean Government. We advocate for national service reform and the end of arbitrary detentions, including detentions based on religion or belief. Eritrea is a priority country in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report and we support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2023. As we have stated at the Human Rights Council, all those who have been unjustly incarcerated must be released.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many additional staff he has (a) recruited and (b) transferred from other roles in order to process additional changes to National Insurance records arising from (i) the HMRC exercise to correct errors in records relating to Home Responsibilities Protection and (ii) the forthcoming online service on payment of voluntary NI contributions.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has recruited 42 FTE (Admin Officers) to support the 18 months Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) exercise, adding to the small core team in situ, there has been no transfer of operational resource to HRP. The forthcoming online service for the payment of voluntary NI contributions, will allow HMRC to see a reduction in the operational resource supporting the current route. In April 2023 we deployed an additional 200 FTE to support the payment of voluntary National Insurance in a telephony/post capacity.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) letters have been issued to people who are likely to have been underpaid their state pension as a result of their national insurance record not including the correct entitlement of home responsibilities protection, (b) responses have been received and (c) people have had their state pension increased as a result; and how much has been paid in arrears as of 30 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The main corrections exercise for the historic Home Responsibilities Protection issue began in Autumn 2023. HMRC and DWP are currently working through the initial responses at this early stage in the exercise.
The Government will publish key management information on the exercise, established between the HMRC and DWP regularly, beginning in the coming months.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations relating to minimum wage for early years and elder care in the University of Manchester report entitled Working Futures, published in October 2023.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of the recommendations in the report.