Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will end emergency authorisations of neonicotinoids which are poisonous to bees.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has been clear that we will change existing policies to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten bees and other vital pollinators by the next General Election.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
These figures can be found at part 6 of the Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to July 2024 and are published quarterly as part of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) statistics on GOV.UK.
As of July 2024, clearance times for normal rules new claims are 15 weeks “end to end” (from registration to a decision being made) and 10 weeks from the assessment provider (AP) referral to the DWP decision on entitlement.
The clearance times in July 2023 were 15 weeks and 10 weeks respectively. The clearance times peaked in August 2021 at 26 weeks “end to end” (from registration to a decision being made) and 21 weeks from the AP referral to the decision.
This was partly because claims that had been allowed a longer deadline for return of the PIP 2 form during the period late February to late May 2021 were reaching clearance, and partly because priority in some areas was given to claims that had been waiting longer for processing due to the COVID-19 disruption.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the way Personal Independence Payments are accessed by people with fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment is designed to take into account the impact of variations in an individual's level of functional impairment. The criteria consider an individual’s ability over a 12-month period, ensuring that fluctuations are taken into account.
Health professionals carrying out PIP assessments are required to assess individuals in line with the statutory criteria, including whether an individual can complete each of the PIP activities, the manner in which they do it, and whether they can complete each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.
The PIP assessment criteria were developed in collaboration with independent specialists in health, social care & disability, including disabled people. The Department aims to continually improve the assessment process through customer insight, stakeholder engagement and qualitative research. We are exploring the option of a Health Impact Record that claimants could use on a voluntary basis, in addition to other evidence, to capture the changing effect of their condition on day-to-day functionality. This could help claimants present evidence in a structured way at or preceding an assessment.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to reduce waiting times for driving tests.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to renovate HMP Grendon and Spring Hill in response to the Independent Monitoring Boards’ 2022 annual report, published on 12 May 2023.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Independent Monitoring Boards for HMP Grendon and Spring Hill have now published their annual reports for 2023, and I have written to them in response. In accordance with the usual practice, the reports, and my replies, are available on the Independent Monitoring Boards’ website (imb.org.uk).
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has committed £26.3 million in the period 2020-25 towards the renovation of HMP Grendon, providing fire safety improvements and night sanitation. HMPPS has also identified projects to replace cell windows and refurbish showers at HMP Grendon; and for structural repairs to the Diamond Centre and the refurbishment of the shower facilities at HMP Spring Hill. These will be considered for inclusion in future capital maintenance programmes.
HMPPS is continually reviewing the investment required across the estate, in this and for the next Spending Review period. The proposals will be underpinned by the data collected in recent condition surveys which assessed the fabric, cells, and critical assets at each prison. These will inform long-term forward maintenance registers, which can be prioritised against future capital budgets.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to change the personal independence payment assessment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics they collect about staffing in the rail sector.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Figures published by the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail indicate that approximately 100,000 people were employed in the rail sector at the end of March 2023, with 62,000 full-time equivalent employees across Train Operating Companies and 40,000 in Network Rail.
The Department for Transport also holds management information on the workforces within train operating companies. This is supplied in commercial confidence through a contractual requirement with service providers.
Alternative estimates of people employed in transport related occupations and industries sourced from the Office of National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey are also published in Transport Statistics Great Britain (Department for Transport)
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of train drivers under instruction.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Train operators are responsible for the operational movements of their train drivers. The Department does not hold information on the number of train drivers under instruction.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will require the Planning Inspectorate to reject any local plans which do not include a policy statement and target for wheelchair accessible new homes which are built to M4(3) standards to ensure that there are more wheelchair accessible homes nationally.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government has set out its intention to mandate higher accessibility standards for all new homes by raising the minimum standard in Building Regulations in England in due course. Councils can only adopt a plan that is sound; it should be consistent with national policy, be supported by evidence and take the views of local people into account. Each plan is subject to a public examination in front of an independent Inspector who plays an important role in examining plans impartially to ensure that they are legally compliant and sound.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to raise the regulatory baseline of accessibility for all new homes to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standards which was announced in July 2022.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government has set out its intention to mandate higher accessibility standards for all new homes by raising the minimum standard in Building Regulations in England in due course. Councils can only adopt a plan that is sound; it should be consistent with national policy, be supported by evidence and take the views of local people into account. Each plan is subject to a public examination in front of an independent Inspector who plays an important role in examining plans impartially to ensure that they are legally compliant and sound.