Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that information published about the total value of benefits paid to claimants, including available discount schemes and grants, can be readily compared with employee salaries, which are usually quoted before tax.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has no such plans. Independent, free and anonymous benefit calculators are available that can help individuals to see how their benefits are affected if they start work or increase their hours. Benefit calculators can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of the proposal to impose VAT on independent school fees on the parents of children supported by the Continuity of Education Allowance.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the education system.
Recognising the enormous sacrifices our military families make, the Ministry of Defence provide the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to eligible Service Personnel. The government will monitor closely the impact of these policy changes on affected military families and the upcoming Spending Review is the right time to consider any changes to this scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of residents of Ceredigion in Wales are currently in receipt of disability benefits.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below shows the number of claimants in February 2024 who are on the different disability benefits, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance, including the Child element (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA).
PIP | DLA | AA | Total |
4,449 | 1,293 | 2,785 | 8,527 |
This information can be found on the published datasets on Stat-Xplore - Log in (dwp.gov.uk)
The latest available population estimates published by the Office of National Statistics on Population estimates - local authority based by single year of age - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk) show that the estimated population of Ceredigion in April 2023 is 73,050.
This means that 12% of the residents of Ceredigion in Wales were claiming disability benefits in February 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when referencing benefits, they will gross up the value of each benefit to demonstrate a direct and fair comparison with salaries paid to people who are not claiming benefits.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of financial subsidies given to the creative industries over the past five years have employment conditions attached to them so that those working and seeking work in the creative industries do not need to rely on the benefits system.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
No financial subsidies given to the creative industries over the past five years have had employment conditions attached to them.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the benefits system continues to recognise polygamy in social security regulations and, if so, why.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Polygamous marriages are illegal in the UK
Universal Credit does not recognise polygamous households in the benefit system. Any adults living in the household would each have to claim as a single person on the basis of their own circumstances.
Benefits such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit do recognise a small number of polygamous marriages which took place in a jurisdiction where polygamy is permitted. This number is very small and declining, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second wives to the UK through the spouse visa route.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the environmental horticulture sector in helping the UK to reach its net zero targets.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Nature-based solutions, like restoring peat and planting trees, are key to tackling climate change and averting its impacts.
In recognition of the energy intensive nature of the sector, Controlled Environment Horticulture sites will be eligible to apply for Phase 3 of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund. Phase 3 will open for applications later this month.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fairness of staying time limits for UK visitors to the EU compared to those for EU visitors to the UK; and what plans they have to change UK staying time limits for EU visitors to match those for UK visitors to the EU, either by agreement with the EU or unilaterally.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The UK has a competitive offer for global visitors. All visitors to the UK from across the globe (including those from the EU) are permitted to come for up to 6 months maximum on any single visit as per our Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk),
There are no current plans to change the Visitor route duration period. The permitted length of stay for visitors to the UK does not depend on the length of stay available to UK citizens which inevitably vary globally. We operate our immigration system in the interest of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce requirements to prevent non-resident EU citizens from remaining in the UK for longer than 90 days out of 180 days, without obtaining a visa valid for 6 months at their own expense.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
All visitors to the UK (including those from the EU) are permitted to come for up to 6 months, regardless of their nationality or whether they require a visa in advance of travelling to the UK.
Nationals of EU Member States do not currently require a visa to visit the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is any policy in place, expressed or implied, that prevents or deters ex-armed forces personnel from being accepted into any part of the police force.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Police officer recruits are welcomed from all backgrounds, subject to passing the recruitment standards set by the College of Policing. This includes those who have served in the military and our unprecedented recruitment campaign sought to promote and amplify these opportunities.
The Police Uplift Programme engaged with relevant organisations to encourage applications from those with armed forces experience and a specific military access pathway pilot, led by Nottinghamshire Police, has recently concluded. Further roll out of this scheme is currently being considered by the College of Policing as part of wider work on police entry routes.
A survey of new police officer recruits, conducted in 2022 as part of the Police Uplift Programme, found that 3% of the preceding year’s recruits had military experience prior to joining the police. However, the Home Office does not hold data to allow an assessment of whether this proportion reflects the backgrounds of the wider police force.