Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he made of the adequacy of the standard of service accommodation before setting the Defence Infrastructure Organisation budget for 2024-25.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Budgets for defence organisations, including DIO, are being determined as part of the Annual Budget Cycle process.
Currently, 96% of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) meets or exceeds the Government's Decent Homes Standard.
This Government continues to invest significant sums to improve the quality of UK SFA. The Defence Command Paper Refresh committed an additional £400 million over two years. In 2023-24, Defence allocated and spent £220 million to implement damp and mould remediation in approximately 4,000 homes, refurbished c1,000 long term empty homes, provided 3,000 homes with replacement windows and doors, 1,000 homes with replacement kitchens and bathrooms, and upgraded heaters and boilers in 1,500 homes.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 Not for EU labelling requirements in the dairy sector on levels of (a) food and (b) packaging waste.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A public consultation on not for EU labelling requirements was held earlier this year. The evidence is now being analysed and we expect to publish a response in due course. Excessive wastage of food or packaging were not raised as a significant concern in these responses or in any wider industry forums.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there are effective pathways for early detection of liver disease in Shropshire.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Early detection of liver disease is vital to enable interventions, and encourage behavioural changes that can potentially lead to recovery. Liver disease is one of the primary risk factors for liver cancer. Across the Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) area, the early detection of liver disease is led by primary care partners, and the ICB encourages general practitioners to follow best practice in the delivery of patient care pathways, to ensure the early detection of liver disease in patients. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is working with primary care partners to increase awareness and provide tools to support this work. The hospital also carries out active outreach into the community for drug and alcohol patients.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in its assessment of mortgage mis-selling complaints.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to pay compensation to customers who have lost money as a result of bad mortgage advice or been mis-sold mortgage endowments. The FSCS can only pay compensation if the firm, broker, or advisor that the customer dealt with was regulated and has failed. Any complaints about live regulated firms should be addressed to the Financial Ombudsman Service. For mortgage claims, the FSCS carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but is operationally independent of them. The FSCS publishes an annual report and levy class statements, including for the home finance intermediation levy class. The FSCS’s certified accounts and audit report are provided to HM Treasury each year, and copies are laid before Parliament.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of appeals to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme have resulted in an over-turned decision.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK’s compensation scheme of last resort and pays compensation to consumers when authorised financial firms fail. If a claimant is unhappy with the FSCS’s decision on their claim, they can launch an appeal which will be reviewed by someone independent of the original decision. The FSCS operates a 2-stage internal appeal process. In the financial year 2022-2023, the FSCS made just under 97,000 claims decisions, and 1,695 customers asked the FSCS to review its decisions. The FSCS does not publish data on the proportion of appeals that are upheld or rejected at each stage. Customers who are unhappy at the end of the FSCS’s internal appeal process have the option of seeking a Judicial Review of the FSCS’s decision on their claim.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of service accommodation.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Currently, 96% of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) meets or exceeds the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.
The Defence Command Paper Refresh 2023 committed an investment of £400M for SFA over two years. In 2023/24, the Ministry of Defence allocated and spent £220 million to implement damp and mould remediation in approximately 4,000 homes, refurbished c1,000 long term empty homes, provided 3,000 homes with replacement windows and doors, 1,000 homes with replacement kitchens and bathrooms, and upgraded heaters and boilers in 1,500 homes.
In 2024/25, £180 million is allocated to improve insulation in c600 homes, implement c1,000 long-term damp and mould remediations and refurbish 200 long-term empty homes. 1,700 minor damp and mould improvement packages are planned, and 30 more homes will receive upgraded heating solutions.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 provide financial assistance to farmers in debt.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recent ‘Balance Sheet Analysis’ publication highlights that average liquidity in the sector has been consistently improving over the latest five years of data and reached a ten-year high in the latest year of data (2022/23). This suggests that levels of debt in the farming sector are lower than average.
We support farmers in a range of ways to ensure they have profitable and sustainable businesses. This includes free business advice as well as access to a wide range of Government funding to improve business resilience, productivity and environmental performance.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1227 on Local Government Finance: Audit, how many new professionals have qualified to audit local authority accounts from the Chartered Institute of Public Accountancy; and how that figure compares with expectations for 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Local Audit Qualification was launched by the Chartered Institute of Public Accountancy. The department does not hold the requested information.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women were turned away from mammogram screening tests because they were unable to hold the required position for sufficient time in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold this information at a national level. NHS England is committed to improving the accessibility of the screening programmes it commissions and contractually, providers of National Health Service screening services are required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their services are accessible for people with disabilities.
Services make reasonable adjustments within the constraints of mammography equipment, to ensure that people with disabilities are offered the opportunity to have screening; However, there may be situations where this is not possible.
Local providers will have a better understanding of any accessibility issues for individual patients and will deal with these on a case by case basis. Providers will offer an alternative approach as necessary. For example, for women who are unable to have a mammogram, may be offered a referral to a symptomatic breast clinic for a physical check.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many councils had a completed audit on time for the financial year 2023-2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The deadline for councils in England to publish audited accounts for financial year 2023/24 has not yet passed.