Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency plans are in place to address the potential increase in demand for services such as food banks in the event of the discontinuation of the Household Support Fund after March 2024.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”.
To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6m low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there have been any consultations with local authorities, charities, and community organisations regarding the impact of terminating the Household Support Fund; and if so, whether they intend to publish the responses.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024. The government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
We engage regularly with local authorities during their ongoing delivery of the current Household Support Fund. Ministers and officials also frequently engage with a range of stakeholders on areas relevant to the work of the Department.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out an analysis of the geographic distribution of Household Support Fund recipients.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Household Support Fund is allocated to all 153 upper tier Local Authorities in England. The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households, on the basis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) local population estimates and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores. Allocation amounts for upper tier Local Authorities in England are therefore reflective of population size and relative deprivation.
Management Information (MI) was published for HSF1-3 following the completion of each scheme. The latest MI covering HSF3 was published in August 2023. This MI shows the amount allocated to Local Authorities and how it was spent. We will similarly look to publish MI for the entirety of HSF4 following scheme completion and subject to quality assurance processes.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Barnardo’s report Double Discrimination, which looks at the differential outcomes Black children face both in and leaving care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. The department has a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers and is taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour, including through its work to improve school attendance.
Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with the MoJ to improve support and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system.
MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. The strategy will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system. MoJ are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.
The department will continue to work urgently across government and with local authorities to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter their age, race, ethnicity, or circumstances, are kept safe and receive the support they need. The department will engage with foster carer representative bodies to see how it can further support black foster carers, including considering developing a Black Foster Care Network whilst ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets out the department’s plans to reform the children’s social care system, including improving the education, employment, and training outcomes of children in care and care leavers.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome services commissioned by (1) Norfolk and Waveney, and (2) Suffolk and North East Essex, Integrated Care Board.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) services that meet the needs of their population subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021. A copy of the guidance is attached.
The Government has been consulting on ‘My Full Reality’, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME/CFS, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. The plan contains a series of actions to improve access to specialist ME/CFS services. The final plan will be published in due course.
The Government has made no assessment of the ME/CFS services commissioned by Norfolk and Waveney, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) have access to specialist ME/chronic fatigue syndrome services, and (2) increase funding available for such services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) services that meet the needs of their population subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021. A copy of the guidance is attached.
The Government has been consulting on ‘My Full Reality’, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME/CFS, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. The plan contains a series of actions to improve access to specialist ME/CFS services. The final plan will be published in due course.
The Government has made no assessment of the ME/CFS services commissioned by Norfolk and Waveney, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the incidence of HGVs hitting railway bridges.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has previously invested £3 million to help create a digital road map developed by Ordnance Survey for SatNavs, which includes information on height and weight restrictions.
In addition, the Department works with bridge owners, including Network Rail, to raise driver awareness of, and offer advice on, avoiding low bridges. It has published a suite of documents under ‘Prevention of bridge strikes: a good practice guide’ on the government website.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, whether the proposed new route alignment between Bradford and Huddersfield involves tunnelling; and, if so, what proportion of the route will be tunnelled.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is working closely with Network Rail to develop and programme the delivery of specific schemes announced by Network North. Further development work will confirm the preferred route between Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester. Options that have been considered to date do not involve tunnelling between Bradford and Huddersfield. Information will be shared once this work is more mature.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, what proportion of the proposed new route alignment between Huddersfield and Manchester will involve tunnelling.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is working closely with Network Rail to develop and programme the delivery of specific schemes announced by Network North. Further development work will confirm the preferred route between Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester. Options that have been considered to date do not involve tunnelling between Bradford and Huddersfield. Information will be shared once this work is more mature.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, whether the new Bradford railway station will replace Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square, or just Bradford Interchange.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is the government’s current intention that the new station at Bradford, would likely replace Bradford Interchange to provide improved transport links to Bradford City Centre. This investment will support Bradford to unlock further economic potential, supporting wider regeneration in the city.
The government is working closely with Network Rail and Bradford City Council to assess potential station options and locations. Further information will be shared when this work is more mature.