Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Leader of the House when they will respond to the Report of the Procedure Committee of the House of Commons Commons scrutiny of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords (1st Report, HC 338).
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government responded to the House of Commons Procedure Committee Report Commons scrutiny of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords (1st Report, HC 338) on Wednesday 17th April 2024. A copy of the report can be found on the Procedure Committees website on the link below.
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/126/procedure-committee/publications/
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following statistics published on 21 March showing that the percentage of young carers who missed at least ten per cent of school is almost twice as high as that for pupils without caring responsibilities, what steps they are taking to improve the (1) identification of, and (2) support for, young carers in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young carers make an enormous contribution by caring for their loved ones. The department wants to ensure young carers are supported in their education and can take advantage of opportunities beyond their caring responsibilities.
The department introduced The Young Carers (Needs Assessments) Regulations in 2015. This is an assessment of needs, conducted by the local authority which must consider whether it is appropriate or excessive for the child or young person to provide care for the person in question, in light of the young carer’s needs and wishes. It also helps to determine whether the care which the young carer provides, or intends to provide, impacts on the young carer’s well-being, education and development.
The department added young carers to the annual school census in 2023 for the first time and identified 38,983 young carers, raising their visibility in the school system and allowing schools to better identify and support their young carers. This is providing the department with strong evidence on both the numbers of young carers and their educational outcomes. This also provides an annual data collection to establish long-term trends.
As this is a new data collection, the department expects the quality of the data returns to improve over time as the collection becomes established. All schools (except nursery schools) must send this information as part of the spring school census. However, the recording and handling of the information is at the school’s discretion. 79% of schools recorded no young carers in 2023.
The department recognises that absence is often a symptom of other problems. The department has a comprehensive support-first strategy to improve attendance, which includes:
The department is also building a system of family help by reforming children’s social care. The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme is testing how multi-disciplinary family help teams can improve the support that children, families and young carers receive.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the regulators referred to in A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response (CP 1019).
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Given the cross-cutting nature of AI, our regulatory approach is relevant to a wide range of regulators, and as such the White Paper and government response did not refer to specific regulators. We encourage all regulators to consider how our AI regulatory principles may be applied within their remits, and have published guidance to support them with this.
We have published the letters that the Secretary of State wrote jointly with cabinet colleagues to a number of regulators impacted by AI, asking them to publish an update on their strategic approach to AI by 30th April.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the Housing Infrastructure Fund has been spent to date on (1) road infrastructure, (2) active travel infrastructure, including pavements and cycle paths, and (3) other types of infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department does not break down Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) spending on types of infrastructure. £4 billion has been allocated for local authorities in England to support infrastructure projects, which will seek to unlock 324,000 homes. The Fund enables local authorities to deliver the infrastructure their communities need – including new roads, leisure and healthcare services, digital and power networks, and schools, to encourage more housebuilding without overstretching facilities.HIF schemes are often complex and deliver multiple items of infrastructure. Disaggregating these to determine exactly which infrastructure categories individual items were part of would require detailed analysis and therefore could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of not renewing funding for the Household Support Fund on unpaid family carers.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At Spring Budget the Chancellor announced a six-month extension of the Household Support Fund, to continue to provide targeted support to those most in need. The government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.
This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including pensioners and those with disabilities. Carer’s Allowance is available to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time because of their caring responsibilities. The rate of Carer’s Allowance is £76.75 a week, from April 2024 this will increase to £81.90 a week. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance will have increased from £53.90 to £81.90 a week from April 2024, providing around an £1500 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance.
In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively.
Receiving a means-tested benefit can act as a “passport” to other support, including help with fuel costs through schemes such as the Warm Home Discount, so carers who are not receiving a means-tested benefit already are encouraged to check whether they might be entitled. Full details of all DWP benefits are available on Gov.UK. Help and Advice can also be sought from bodies such as Carers UK, Carers Trust, and Citizens Advice through their Help to Claim support.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many responses they received to the consultation on street vote development orders, which ran from 22 December 2023 to 2 February 2024.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Over 250 responses were received, and they are currently being analysed.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 25 January (HL Deb col 845) when he stated that a levy on the profits of the tobacco industry would result in a net increase of "only about £25 million or so", what is the basis for that assertion.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year and causes approximately one in four cancer deaths. It also costs the UK £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. This is why, alongside our plans to create a smokefree generation, we are also supporting more smokers to quit by nearly doubling funding to local stop smoking services.
In respect to the remarks made on 25 January 2024, these relate to a response to the Tobacco levy consultation published by HM Treasury in 2015. This cites HM Revenue and Customs analysis which, at the time, showed that a tobacco levy of £150 million would only raise £25 million. A copy of the Tobacco levy consultation is attached.
However, the Department continues to work with HM Treasury regarding tobacco taxation and revenue. This includes reviewing options for the most effective way to raise additional funds to further support smoking cessation services moving forward.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Government Actuary was consulted by Reclaim Fund Ltd when it implemented the Internal Capital Guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority for reserves under the Dormant Assets Acts 2008 to 2022.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Internal Capital Guidance was set and implemented whilst Reclaim Fund Ltd was a private company, as such it did not have access to the Government Actuary‘s Department. Nonetheless Reclaim Fund Ltd received, and continues to receive, external specialist advice.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been paid out to claimants by The Reclaim Fund in each of the past five years, following enactment of the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) has distributed the following amounts in each of the past five years to dormant account owners:
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Reclaims (£m) | 15.7 | 13.9 | 12.9 | 12.9 | 15.4 | 15.3 |
In line with its statutory obligation, RFL continues to meet customer reclaims in perpetuity. Reclaim rates have remained broadly consistent since the inception of the Dormant Assets Scheme in 2011.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they first knew that the Building Safety Act 2022 removed protection from remediation costs from qualifying leaseholders who extended their lease.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.