Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Gardner of Parkes, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Gardner of Parkes has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Gardner of Parkes has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The law is clear that for care workers, and other workers, time spent travelling between assignments counts as time worked for National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) purposes. Furthermore, the Government issued statutory guidance supporting the implementation of the Care Act which specifies; “Remuneration must be at least sufficient to comply with the NMW legislation for hourly pay or equivalent salary. This will include appropriate remuneration for any time spent travelling between appointments.”
The Government has more than doubled the NMW compliance and enforcement budget to £27.4 million for 2019/20, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16. HMRC utilise those resources to follow up on every worker complaint received and to undertake proactive investigations. Last year (2018/19), HMRC identified over £6 million in minimum wage arrears within the Human Health and Social Work sector, owed to over 27,000 workers. This includes, but is not limited to, arrears relating to travel time.
Workers can call the ACAS helpline for free, confidential advice about their rights and entitlements. If they want to make a complaint through HMRC, they can do so in complete confidence, either via ACAS or using the online complaints form on GOV.UK. HMRC will protect their anonymity throughout the investigation.
The Department has published guidance to support all schools as they prepare for the return of all pupils from the beginning of the autumn term: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
The guidance provides schools with advice about how to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in schools. It also sets out how the department expects schools to operate, and where there is flexibility. For boarding schools the guidance encourages schools to keep children in their class groups, but also allows for the mixing of pupils in different groups residentially and during the school day.
Boarding schools will still need to meet the national minimum standards to safeguard and protect the children in their care and those that are independent schools will need to comply with the independent school standards.
Since the beginning of the vaccination programme, Public Health England (PHE) has been monitoring the effectiveness of the vaccines in the real world. PHE’s first analysis of the early effects of COVID-19 vaccination in England, using routine testing and vaccination data, was published on 1 March. The data shows effectiveness of a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 reaches approximately 60% in those aged 70 and over in the general population, reaching 85% to 90% after two doses in those aged 80 years and over. The data also shows a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine is 80% and 95% effective at reducing hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19, respectively, in those aged 70 and over. PHE’s latest vaccine effectiveness report can be found attached entitled, ‘Public Health England vaccine effectiveness report March 2021’
Since December 2020, the Government’s policy has been to offer people their second vaccine dose up to 12 weeks after their first dose. The decision to update the dosing interval will give as many people at the highest risk their first dose as soon as possible and it is in line with the conditions of authorisation from Medicines and Healthcare and Regulatory Authority for the vaccine.
This approach is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and four UK Chief Medical Officers and is designed to save lives. Analysis carried out by Public Health England suggests that the COVID-19 vaccination programme prevented 6,100 deaths in England up to the end of February 2021.
The Government is in constant contact with the vaccine manufacturers and remains confident that the supply of vaccine to the UK will not be disrupted, and will enable everyone to receive their second dose within 12 weeks of their first.
The Government has established a large number of asymptomatic test sites across higher education institutions. We are working to make the return to higher education as safe as possible. All students will have the opportunity to be tested on their return to university at the start of the spring term. The Government has provided guidance for universities to implement a staggered return of students over five weeks to minimise the transmission risk from the mass movement of students. Further guidance will be provided in due course, considering future developments and the relevant scientific advice.
National Health Service dental practices were able to restart face-to-face care from 8 June, with the aim of increasing levels of service for all patients, as fast as is safely possible, taking into account Public Health England guidance and continued infection risks.
Urgent dental care centres remain open to support the provision of urgent and emergency face-to-face care for dental patients and patients will be referred to urgent dental care centres, where needed locally.
Public Health England has not received any new funding for the prevention of transmission of the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receive data routinely from a variety of sources. This data supports compliance activity to reduce the size of the gap between the tax which is owed and that which is paid.
HMRC understand that the short-term property letting market is a rapidly evolving sector and are working in partnership with companies such as Airbnb to address the tax consequences of these changes, supporting taxpayers in ensuring they are aware of their tax obligations and pay the right tax at the right time.
HMRC are bound by a strict duty of confidentiality as laid down in the Commissioners for Revenue & Customs Act (CRCA) 2005 with respect to all of the information they hold in connection with their functions. HMRC officials may share information only in the limited circumstances set out in legislation, which include disclosures for the purposes of HMRC’s functions, through specific information sharing legislative gateways.
Almost 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 emergency. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
On 24 June we announced that we are?providing local authorities with?a further?£105 million?to enable them?to?best?support those placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic.?This commitment?will help?to ensure that as few of these people as possible return to the streets.
We also recently announced that £160 million of Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme funding will help ensure that 6,000 new housing units are put into the system, with 3,300 of these becoming available within 2020/21. We expect local authorities and registered providers to bring forward units of accommodation from a variety of sources and this could potentially include repurposing other buildings where appropriate.
Almost 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 emergency. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
On 24 June we announced that we are?providing local authorities with?a further?£105 million?to enable them?to?best?support those placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic.?This commitment?will help?to ensure that as few of these people as possible return to the streets.
We also recently announced that £160 million of Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme funding will help ensure that 6,000 new housing units are put into the system, with 3,300 of these becoming available within 2020/21. We expect local authorities and registered providers to bring forward units of accommodation from a variety of sources and this could potentially include repurposing other buildings where appropriate.
My Department has not discussed this specific issue with local authorities in Greater London since the 2019 General Election. However, my Department has regular contact with local authorities and remains open to discussing any concerns they hold.
While the Government does not require short-term accommodation providers to register, the Short Term Accommodation Association has developed an accreditation scheme, in partnership with Quality in Tourism, called ‘Safe, Clean and Legal’.
The Government has not made such an assessment. However, restrictions are in place to limit the use of residential property for short-term let in London. The Deregulation Act 2015 imposes a 90-day limit on any such letting within a single calendar year.
The sharing economy plays an important role in accommodating tourists, who make a huge financial contribution to the country. But there are also legitimate concerns about the impact on local communities. The Government remains open to hearing the views of all stakeholders on the matter. It is important to find ways to address these concerns without placing too great a burden on the growing sharing economy.
The Deregulation Act 2015 limits short-term lettings in London to 90 days per property per calendar year. We have not made any specific assessment of its impact on short-term lettings. As to the proposal by the Mayor of London, the Government has no current plans to introduce such a register. However, we are aware of the work by the Short-Term Accommodation Association as well as platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway and TripAdvisor to put in place their own procedures to avoid breach of the 90-day limit which we note with interest.