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Written Question
HIV Infection
Wednesday 18th September 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) adults and (b) children are living with HIV in each (i) region, (ii) county and (iii) local authority area.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

While the information is not collected in the format requested, the following table shows the number of children in 2020, and the number of adults in 2022, living with diagnosed HIV infection in England, broken down by region:

Children with HIV in 2020

Adults with HIV in 2022

London

76

37,267

East of England

21

8,076

East Midlands

16

5,777

West Midlands

31

7,887

North East

3

2,151

North West

29

10,200

South East

22

11,680

South West

7

5,413

Yorkshire and Humber

21

5,946

England

226

94,397

Source: statistics are published by the UK Health Security Agency, and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-annual-data-tables
Note: children are counted as those under 15 years old and adults are counted as those 15 years old or over.

In addition, the following table shows the number of adults living with diagnosed HIV infection in England, broken down by local authority, in 2022:

Local authority

Adults living with diagnosed HIV

Barking and Dagenham

786

Barnet

856

Barnsley

281

Bath and North East Somerset

151

Bedford

302

Bexley

502

Birmingham

2,262

Blackburn with Darwen

114

Blackpool

449

Bolton

422

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

782

Bracknell Forest

144

Bradford

561

Brent

1,174

Brighton and Hove

1,760

Bristol

928

Bromley

570

Buckinghamshire UA

578

Bury

271

Calderdale

208

Cambridgeshire

711

Camden

1,505

Central Bedfordshire

306

Cheshire East

333

Cheshire West and Chester

334

City of London

87

Cornwall

379

County Durham

329

Coventry

913

Croydon

1,640

Cumberland

129

Darlington

84

Derby

472

Derbyshire

523

Devon

525

Doncaster

321

Dorset

251

Dudley

350

Ealing

970

East Riding of Yorkshire

156

East Sussex

810

Enfield

1,028

Essex

1,457

Gateshead

190

Gloucestershire

535

Greenwich

1,338

Hackney

1,506

Halton

91

Hammersmith and Fulham

1,160

Hampshire

1,175

Haringey

1,426

Harrow

464

Hartlepool

65

Havering

382

Herefordshire

125

Hertfordshire

1,500

Hillingdon

565

Hounslow

818

Isle of Wight

79

Isles of Scilly

Islington

1,379

Kensington and Chelsea

1,149

Kent

1,608

Kingston upon Hull

256

Kingston upon Thames

266

Kirklees

466

Knowsley

135

Lambeth

3,367

Lancashire

872

Leeds

1,544

Leicester

1,011

Leicestershire

542

Lewisham

1,853

Lincolnshire

560

Liverpool

835

Luton

626

Manchester

2,446

Medway

379

Merton

674

Middlesbrough

172

Milton Keynes

667

Newcastle upon Tyne

460

Newham

1,595

Norfolk

835

North East Lincolnshire

96

North Lincolnshire

108

North Northamptonshire

497

North Somerset

159

North Tyneside

163

North Yorkshire UA

362

Northumberland

162

Nottingham

841

Nottinghamshire

624

Oldham

290

Oxfordshire

501

Peterborough

356

Plymouth

313

Portsmouth

376

Reading

400

Redbridge

612

Redcar and Cleveland

64

Richmond upon Thames

315

Rochdale

316

Rotherham

267

Rutland

29

Salford

914

Sandwell

651

Sefton

261

Sheffield

843

Shropshire

212

Slough

356

Solihull

141

Somerset UA

374

South Gloucestershire

249

South Tyneside

85

Southampton

506

Southend-on-Sea

371

Southwark

2,880

St. Helens

148

Staffordshire

602

Stockport

297

Stockton-on-Tees

167

Stoke-on-Trent

411

Suffolk

655

Sunderland

210

Surrey

1,382

Sutton

357

Swindon

280

Tameside

340

Telford and Wrekin

182

Thurrock

290

Torbay

190

Tower Hamlets

1,854

Trafford

331

Wakefield

349

Walsall

454

Waltham Forest

926

Wandsworth

1,426

Warrington

174

Warwickshire

550

West Berkshire

109

West Northamptonshire

678

West Sussex

1,183

Westminster

1,837

Westmorland and Furness

93

Wigan

325

Wiltshire

297

Windsor and Maidenhead

182

Wirral

280

Wokingham

152

Wolverhampton

648

Worcestershire

386

York

128

England

94,397

Source: statistics are published by the UK Health Security Agency, and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-annual-data-tables

While the number of adults living with diagnosed HIV infection by local authority is available, the information on children is not held in the format requested. However, the number of children living with diagnosed HIV infection has reduced from 1,489 in 2013, to 225 in 2020. This is due to the success of antenatal screening, which has prevented vertical transmission of HIV, combined with the success of HIV treatment. HIV treatment has enabled those born with HIV to live into adulthood.


Written Question
Winter Fuel Payment
Monday 16th September 2024

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, if she will make an estimate the number of pensioners who will see a reduction in their disposable income as a result of her proposed reforms to Winter Fuel Payments by (a) household type, (b) age and (c) region and; what the average loss is.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The estimated number of pensioners who will see a reduction in their disposable income as a result of proposed reforms to winter fuel payments by age and region, for Great Britain are shown in below tables (1+2). This analysis is not available by household type and average loss.

This is the number of pensioners that will no longer receive Winter Fuel Payment as they do not claim Pension Credit. Therefore, we are assuming these people will see a reduction in their disposable income as they will no longer be receiving Winter Fuel Payments. These are based on the 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics and Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics (sources shown below).

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for each region and age group from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for each region and age group. Please note that the Pension Credit data that is used should be based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.

In addition to that, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.

Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).

Furthermore, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Source:

The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:

Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit data is published here: Pension Credit – Data from May 2018

Table 1:

Region (Great Britain)

WFP claimants pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit [an estimate of those who will no longer receive WFP]

North East

432,162

North West

1,123,461

Yorkshire and the Humber

857,346

East Midlands

800,580

West Midlands

914,627

East of England

1,062,241

London

778,851

South East

1,550,446

South West

1,090,058

Wales

539,092

Scotland

866,295

Table 2:

Age group (Great Britain)

WFP claimants pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit [an estimate of those who will no longer receive WFP]

Up to 69

2,369,989

70-74

2,708,756

75-79

2,275,970

80 and over

2,659,950


Written Question
Hospices: West Midlands
Monday 16th September 2024

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)

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 ensure that hospices in (a) South Shropshire constituency and (b) the West Midlands receive (i) adequate and (ii) sustainable funding.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs), including those in Shropshire and the wider West Midlands, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at the end of life.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth and range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.

The Government is going to shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community, and we recognise that it is vital to include palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in this shift.

We will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.


Written Question
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Friday 13th September 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average spend per pupil was in state schools in each year since 1994, broken down by region.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The table below provides per pupil funding units from 2018/19 to 2024/25, which represents the funding provided for schools in all regions, nationally.

The department cannot provide comparable funding data back to 1994, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. In particular, funding for schools was only identified separately from funding for high needs or early years in 2013, and funding for central school services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/19.

The figures below represent the core funding schools receive through the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). All the figures in the table, apart from those for 2018/19 exclude growth funding but include premises funding. They do not include additional funding that schools have received for pay and pensions, or other funding streams, such as the pupil premium.

Region

DSG Schools Block per pupil funding

2018/19 *

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

​East Midlands

£4,426

£4,477

£4,702

£5,086

£5,393

£5,698

£5,818

​East of England

£4,445

£4,447

£4,643

£5,021

£5,322

£5,616

£5,736

London

£5,383

£5,360

£5,529

£5,914

£6,240

£6,553

£6,656

North East

£4,618

£4,649

£4,828

£5,220

£5,538

£5,869

£5,993

​North West

£4,629

£4,653

£4,838

£5,221

£5,524

£5,835

£5,962

​South East

£4,335

£4,372

£4,589

£4,975

£5,268

£5,555

£5,681

South West

£4,346

£4,393

£4,614

£5,010

£5,317

£5,614

£5,734

West Midlands

£4,638

£4,652

£4,823

£5,198

£5,506

£5,815

£5,931

Yorkshire and the Humber

£4,590

£4,622

£4,819

£5,202

£5,508

£5,824

£5,949

* In the 2018/19 DSG, growth funding and premises funding were calculated together, so the 2018/19 funding figures include growth funding. All other years exclude growth funding.


Written Question
Crown Prosecution Service
Thursday 12th September 2024

Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, if she will publish the number of cases awaiting charging decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service, broken down by (a) whether they are (i) summary only, (ii) either way and (iii) indictable only offences and (b) by Crown Prosecution Service region.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Management information is held showing the number of cases with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which are awaiting a pre-charge decision.

The table below shows the overall number of cases which were awaiting a charging decision or administrative triage (completed on files sent by the police to the CPS for a charging decision) as of 25 March 2024. This data is provided in line with the last quarterly data release in March 2024.

25/03/2024

Cymru Wales

1,354

East Midlands

1,107

East Of England

868

London North

803

London South

833

Merseyside and Cheshire

733

North East

852

North West

1,088

South East

912

South West

1,167

Thames & Chiltern

759

Wessex

631

West Midlands

1,571

Yorkshire & Humberside

1,019

Total

13,697

Data Source: CPS Pre-Charge Decision Workload Report

These figures do not include cases that have been referred to the CPS but that are currently with the police to action, having been sent back to them with a request for further information.

This count is of the number of cases, not suspects. A single case may cover one suspect or several.

No data is available in the report showing whether the alleged offences are summary, either-way or indictable only. To obtain this information would require a manual review at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Business: Staffordshire
Wednesday 11th September 2024

Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to (a) meet the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce to discuss further cooperation and (b) visit businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

DBT is committed to driving long-term, inclusive and secure economic growth in all parts of the country, and engagement with Mayors, businesses and communities in all regions, including the West Midlands, is therefore a priority.

DBT officials are in regular contact with Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce colleagues, helping to support their local businesses. The Ministerial team's plans for engagement, including regional and local visits, are revisited regularly.


Written Question
Employment: Young People
Monday 9th September 2024

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department will take to incentivise young people who live in supported accommodation to work more hours.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We acknowledge the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in supported housing. However, people in supported housing and in receipt of Housing Benefit are always better off in work than not working at all.

It is the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment. DWP is working in conjunction with West Midlands Combined Authority on a Proof of Concept which will test financial support for eligible 18–24-year-olds living in commissioned supported housing who move into work or increase their working hours and cease receiving Universal Credit. We are hopeful that this will provide new insight to inform future policy.

The Government’s Back to Work Plan is critical to growing the economy. This includes implementing a new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work alongside a Youth Guarantee. This will mean more quality opportunities for training, apprenticeships and help to find work for all young people aged 18-21 years old, preventing them from becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age.


Written Question
Commonwealth Games
Monday 9th September 2024

Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Commonwealth Games on (a) her policies and (b) grassroots sports in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The UK is proud to have hosted the Commonwealth Games twice in the past decade. This government welcomes the £1bn of Gross Value Added to the UK economy from the Games, including hundreds of millions to the local economy in the West Midlands. The Legacy Enhancement Fund from the Games continues to drive inward investment to and grassroots activity in the region, ensuring the area benefits from a lasting legacy of hosting the Games.

The Government is committed to developing grassroots sport and will work with our Arms Length Body Sport England to support projects which facilitate participation in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency. DCMS’s Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities and Park Tennis Courts programme have already had an impact in the area by investing in a new 3G football surface at Roe Lane Playing Fields, and will continue to deliver high-quality, inclusive grassroots facilities that help more people access sport wherever they live.


Written Question
East Midlands Railway and West Midlands Trains: Finance
Monday 9th September 2024

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to fund (a) rail infrastructure and (b) fleet modernisation projects at (i) East Midlands Railway and (ii) West Midlands Trains (A) during and (B) following their potential transition to public ownership.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The process of transitioning railway passenger services into public ownership should not impact investment projects. Existing projects can continue unless there is a good reason for review; with new projects being considered on their merits. The Department will work closely with private sector train operating companies and Network Rail during the transition process to understand the position of any investment programmes, and build these into transition planning if appropriate.

Railway passenger services currently operated by private sector companies under contract to the Secretary of State will transfer into DfT OLR Holdings Ltd (DOHL) when current contracts end, reach their contractual break point, or if they fail. DOHL is tasked with undertaking transfers efficiently and effectively, with no disruption to passengers and employees. It has managed four successful transfers in recent years and is scaling up to ensure the successful transfer of more services into public ownership.


Written Question
Railways: Greater Manchester and West Midlands
Monday 9th September 2024

Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans for the Pay As You Go train ticketing pilots for (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the West Midlands to begin in 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government remains committed to making ticketing simpler and more flexible for passengers and to working with local authorities to support integrated transport plans in their areas. Following the announcement in February that Pay As You Go (PAYG) pilots would be launched in 2025, we have been working closely with Transport for the West Midlands, the West Midlands Rail Executive, Transport for Greater Manchester and train operators to finalise delivery plans for the PAYG pilots including launch dates.