Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support women experiencing menopause at work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In March 2023, we appointed Helen Tomlinson as the Government’s first Menopause Employment Champion.
We are working across Government and with employers to increase awareness and develop policies to support women experiencing the impact of menopause at work.
We recently launched new guidance on the Help to Grow portal, empowering businesses to educate their organisation about menopause.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department undertook an assessment of the impact of a separate pay spine for nursing on pay equality before launching the consultation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Government has published a call for evidence to better understand the benefits, challenges and design of a separate pay spine for nursing staff. The legal and equality implications of removing nursing staff from the existing pay arrangements are also being considered separately by the Government.
The Government will carefully consider the evidence that is submitted. If a decision is made to progress with the policy, any future proposal to introduce a separate pay spine in the National Health Service would be consulted on and would include relevant impact assessments.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of defining off road bikes as motor vehicles on levels of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
All motorbikes are considered to be motor vehicles and there are no plans to change this.
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.
We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the service accommodation at Chicksands base in Mid Bedfordshire falls into each category of accommodation standard.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Of the 255 Service Family Accommodation properties at Chicksands, Mid Bedfordshire, 98.5% meet or exceed the Decent Homes (DH) Standard.
A breakdown is shown in the table below:
DH Standard | Total SFA | % |
DH Plus | 240 | 94.12% |
DH | 11 | 4.31% |
DH Minus | 4 | 1.57% |
All Service Family Accommodation allocated to Service families in the UK meets the Government’s Decent Homes Standard as a minimum. Homes below this standard should not be allocated to Service personnel and their families.
There are 1,228 Single Living Accommodation (SLA) Bedspaces at Chicksands, Mid Bedfordshire.
A breakdown is shown in the table below:
Grade for Condition | Number of Bedspaces | % |
2 | 308 | 25% |
3 | 489 | 40% |
4 | 431 | 35% |
There are four grades of permanent SLA - ranging from one to four, one being the highest condition - based on the assessment criteria of location, age, state of repair, size and facilities.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2024 to Question 7731 on Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board: Dental Services, how many Integrated Care Boards are in leasing arrangements for primary care provision; and what the value of such contracts is.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Premises used for primary care provision can be leased or owned through a variety of arrangements. For example, in general practices, most premises are directly owned or leased by the general practitioners. NHS England is aware of just one integrated care board (ICB) who is holding a lease on primary care premises. The overall value of this lease commitment is £3.8 million. Whilst other ICBs may be considering taking on leases, they would be required to seek national approval.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6369 on Rural Payments Agency: Digital Mapping, how many and what proportion of people have been waiting for more than (a) three and (b) six months in (i) Mid Bedfordshire constituency and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer
There are no farm businesses waiting for more than three or six months in England for field boundary changes. The average time to complete processing is 13 days recognising that some changes are straightforward, and some take more time depending on the extent of the changes requested.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2024 to Question 11230 on Immigration: Personal Income, how many people on the current 10 year route to settlement will now have to meet a higher income threshold.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
People on the 10-year route to settlement do not need to meet an income threshold. Under Appendix FM, a partner, parent, or child can make an application for settlement on the basis of the five-year route where they meet the requirements of the rules, including where applicable the Minimum Income Requirement. Where those requirements are not met, but there are exceptional circumstances, then applicants may be granted permission to stay under the ten-year route to settlement.
Those on the ten-year route to settlement are able to switch back to re-commence the five-year route if they meet all of the requirements including, where relevant, the level of Minimum Income Requirement in place at the time they make their application.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps he has taken to (a) tackle off-road biking and (b) work with local authorities on this issue.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers to respond quickly and effectively to incidents of anti-social behaviour, including those that involve vehicles.
Last year we launched our Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, backed by £160 million of funding, which includes increased hotspot patrolling in areas experiencing high levels of anti-social behaviour.
How the police enforce off-road biking is an operational matter for the local chief officer, in conjunction with the Police and Crime Commissioner, based on local pressures and priorities.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of pavement parking on (a) people living with visual impairments and (b) wheelchair users.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Local Authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking. The Department consulted on additional measures to help councils across England tackle this problem.
The consultation asked specific questions around impairment and whether pavement parking had an impact on people leaving their homes.
We are currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish his response to his Department's consultation entitled Managing pavement parking, which closed on 22 November 2020.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Local Authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking. The Department consulted on additional measures to help councils across England tackle this problem.
The consultation asked specific questions around impairment and whether pavement parking had an impact on people leaving their homes.
We are currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.