First elected: 15th December 2022
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 Andrew Western, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Andrew Western has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Andrew Western has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Electricity Supply (Vulnerable Customers) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Sam Tarry (Lab)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has affordable access to public services, whether online or offline.
Government departments are already required by the Government's Service Standard to provide support via alternative channels for all their online services. The wider public sector, including local government, is also encouraged to use the service standard, with some Local Authorities having committed to doing so via the Local Digital Declaration.
Government teams are assessed against Service Standard to ensure that services are accessible to all users, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has affordable access to public services, whether online or offline.
Government departments are already required by the Government's Service Standard to provide support via alternative channels for all their online services. The wider public sector, including local government, is also encouraged to use the service standard, with some Local Authorities having committed to doing so via the Local Digital Declaration.
Government teams are assessed against Service Standard to ensure that services are accessible to all users, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet.
This Government understands the significant benefits of exercise in promoting physical and mental wellbeing.
A number of local authorities offer a range of benefits to the veteran community, including access to free gym membership.
The Department currently has no plans to offer free gym access to veterans across the UK.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman Parliamentary Question of 2 June is attached.
Lenders are responsible for the recovery of these loans in line with the standards and legal obligations set out under the schemes. The Department and the British Business Bank continue to work closely with UK Finance and accredited scheme lenders to support a consistent approach to the management of outstanding loans.
Lenders’ performance is subject to a robust audit programme overseen by the British Business Bank. If lenders do not meet their obligations, the government has the right not to pay out on any guarantee claims on the loans in scope.
The Department is also working with lenders to pilot greater use of third-party debt collection specialists, and compulsory liquidation for recovery and enforcement in fraud cases.
The Government has put in place a suite of transparency and scrutiny arrangements that go well beyond statutory requirements. These were outlined in an exchange of letters with the Lords International Agreements Committee in May 2022.
The Government’s commitments include engaging with the relevant Select Committees during the pre-negotiations phase, providing regular written updates during talks and offers of private briefings with negotiating teams; and sharing key documents with Committees prior to publication where possible. We have also committed to ensuring there is extended time for Select Committees to scrutinise final agreements prior to ratification.
The most recent meeting of the Strategic Trade Advisory Group was 13 June 2022.
The most recent meeting dates of the Thematic Working Groups are listed below.
29/06/2022 – Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
30/06/2022 – Trade for Development
21/07/2022 – Customs
28/07/2022 – Procurement
08/09/2022 – Intellectual Property
13/10/2022 – Sustainability
17/01/2023 – Technical Barriers to Trade
18/01/2023 – Implementation and Market Access
26/01/2023 – Cross-Cutting Services
21/04/2023 – Financial Services (led by HMT)
The Department for Business and Trade is reforming its approach to external engagement, to meets the needs of industry and match the priorities of the new Department. A new approach will be set out in due course, but in the meantime the Department continues to engage with a full range of interested parties on key issues.
The eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount scheme 2023-24 is set in the Eligibility Statement which was published on 12th September 2023 and can be found here:
Like all commodities markets globally, the wholesale electricity market works through marginal pricing, where the price is set by the additional unit needed to meet overall demand. This provides a signal of the value of consuming or generating an additional unit at any given time, on which both operational and investment decisions can be made.
As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to maintain the benefits of marginal pricing, while shielding consumers from the impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and ensuring they benefit from lower cost renewables.
Transferring Energy Bills Support Scheme payments from electricity meters to gas meters is allowed under the scheme. It is at the discretion of the energy supplier and the Government encourages them to offer their customers as much flexibility as possible.
The names of the organisations and governments who confirmed their attendance prior to the AI Safety Summit was previously published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-introduction/ai-safety-summit-confirmed-governments-and-organisations
A more detailed list of attendees is due to be published in due course. In the meantime, we have been following procedures to ensure GDPR compliance and a more detailed list of attendees is to be published in due course.
The Government is committed to ensuring no-one is left behind in this digital age. The 2022 UK Digital Strategy outlined work that will promote digital inclusion and help people to get online, including committing to at least 85% gigabit broadband coverage by 2025 and delivering legislation that will mitigate online harms through the Online Safety Bill (now Act).
Rather than write a standalone Digital Inclusion strategy, the Government is focused on delivering work that will address this issue. This is a cross-Government effort, with work being overseen by a new ministerial group, which will meet twice a year to drive progress.
The Government is committed to ensuring no-one is left behind in this digital age. The 2022 UK Digital Strategy outlined work that will promote digital inclusion and help people to get online, including committing to at least 85% gigabit broadband coverage by 2025 and delivering legislation that will mitigate online harms through the Online Safety Bill (now Act).
Rather than write a standalone Digital Inclusion strategy, the Government is focused on delivering work that will address this issue. This is a cross-Government effort, with work being overseen by a new ministerial group, which will meet twice a year to drive progress.
The AI Safety Summit was attended by representatives from governments, multilateral organisations, and companies at the frontier of AI as well as leading academic experts and wider industry and civil society with an important stake in the safe development of frontier AI. In the run-up to the Summit, the government engaged widely to ensure that a diverse range of perspectives were reflected. A list of those organisations which attended the Summit has been published and can be found here.
The government takes seriously any concerns about overseas interference in the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, including through Confucius Institutes, and regularly assesses the risks facing academia. The department has taken action to remove any direct or indirect government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judge that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
The department works closely with Cabinet colleagues and other government departments to support the HE sector. Most recently, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education met a group of Vice Chancellors on 25 April to discuss research security in universities.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
The freedom and flexibility in the National Curriculum programmes of study for history means that teachers can include black history as a natural part of the themes and eras in the curriculum, both in terms of British and world history, and their interconnection.
Teaching a well sequenced history curriculum means that black history can be taught at all key stages of the curriculum. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught the history of different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. This can include the voices and experiences of black people in Britain.
The Department published a blog on Black History Month in October 2022. This emphasised that there is scope in the curriculum to teach black history all year. References to high quality curriculum resources were included and the blog highlighted how important it is to celebrate the contribution black communities and individuals have made over the centuries in shaping a dynamic and diverse Britain. The blog is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/10/03/black-history-month-how-black-history-is-taught-in-our-schools-2/.
The Department is developing a model history curriculum to support teaching of a diverse and well sequenced history curriculum. Working with an expert panel that includes history educators, historians and head teachers, the model curriculum will provide an exemplar of a knowledge rich, coherent approach to teaching history. This guidance is due to be published in 2024.
The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.
The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.
Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.
The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:
Parliamentary constituency | Schools selected for SRP |
Stretford and Urmston | St John Vianney School, announced February 2021 St Ann's RC Primary School, announced July 2021 Barton Clough Primary School, announced December 2022 Stretford Grammar School, announced December 2022 |
York Central | Tang Hall Primary Academy, announced July 2021 All Saints RC School, announced December 2022 There is one additional school in York local authority, Hempland Primary School, announced July 2021 |
The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.
Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.
The Department wants teaching to be profession where teachers from all backgrounds are supported throughout their career.
Schools are responsible for their own recruitment and staffing decisions. The Department expects them to adhere to their statutory requirements under the Equality Act 2010, and to their responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools.
Schools and trusts are free to introduce measures into their recruitment processes if those measures comply with the Equality Act 2010.
The Department has also issued guidance for recruiting head teachers, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruiting-a-headteacher. The guidance reminds governors and trustees that diverse workforces benefit everyone, and the importance of avoiding discrimination in recruitment.
The Government is working closely with the Environment Agency and relevant authorities to ensure flood defences impacted by recent flooding are repaired as quickly as possible; around 14,000 asset inspections have been conducted following the recent storms with action taken wherever asset performance was compromised.
This year and last, £200 million is being invested in maintaining flood risk assets, with the aim of achieving our current target of between 94-95% in target condition.
In the City of Chester, in the current Flood and Coastal Risk Management capital programme, £20,000 of Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid funding has been allocated for projects in the constituency, which will better protect properties from flooding. There is also a proposed project in the Stretford and Urmston constituency (Longford Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme).
We have reviewed the proposals provided by Greater Manchester authorities. Local plans must ensure compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits is achieved in the shortest possible time, and at present there is insufficient evidence to enable us to assess if the proposals do so. We have requested further evidence from Greater Manchester authorities to enable us to consider their plans further.
We keep the law under review and listen to the concerns of those affected by tragic cases of death or serious injury. We have already increased the disqualification period for those who cause death by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The Government is also considering a Call for Evidence on motoring offences. while the potential scope and timings are being confirmed, it is expected that it will include issues around drink and drug driving, and the offence of failure to stop and report. There may also be the opportunity to highlight other areas of concern.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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 continue to maximise opportunities to raise awareness of Pension Credit which provides vital financial support to households on a low income. Our Pension Credit Communications campaign, ongoing since April 2022, has included advertising on national TV, newspapers, broadcast radio, on social media and via internet search engines as well as on screens in Post Offices and GP surgeries. We have also used sponsored advertising on targeted websites that pensioners, their family, and friends are likely to visit.
Our latest campaign messaging highlighted that Pension Credit can be worth up to £3,900 on average and is a passport to a range of other help and benefits – including Cost of Living payments.
There is a strong indication that the campaign has had a positive impact and has resulted in an unprecedented number of Pension Credit applications. The number of claims received in the financial 2022-23 was more than 80% higher than over the same period the year before.
The latest available figures covering the three months to May 2023 show an increase in the Pension Credit caseload. More households were receiving Pension Credit in May 2023 than in May 2022 at the beginning of the campaign. The recent quarterly increases in the caseload in August, November 2022 and now May 2023 – the first increases since 2009 - are very welcome and significant.
We are unable to provide the information you have requested as it is not centrally collected and would incur disproportionate costs.
However, all DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with disabilities, and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products. This includes all Work Coaches undertaking the Public Sector Equality Duty learning which was mandated for all Civil Servants by the Cabinet Office.
Work Coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance, and websites (internal and external), so that they have access to the most up to date advice and expertise to help them better support those with disabilities or health conditions.
Work Coaches are also supported by Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) within Jobcentres. More information on DEAs can be found here https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-05-22/186157.
As part of its commitment to make services accessible to all customers, the Department provides computers for customer use in Jobcentres. All the computers have assistive technology built into those Operating Systems such as screen readers and screen magnification and are managed separately from the wider DWP IT estate.
The Department also provides a range of other items in Jobcentres such as alternative keyboards. Computers for customer use with assistive technology are currently in 635 permanent jobcentres.
We do not collect this information; however, National Statistics on the number and percentage of people in relative poverty are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. This can be found here.
The information requested is publicly available and can be found here.
No assessments have been made on early access to the State Pension for terminally ill people.
Hearing that your illness cannot be cured can be a frightening and devastating experience. For those at the end of their life, the Government’s priority is providing financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way that the Department does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as “the Special Rules”. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. For many years, the Special Rules have applied to people who have 6 months or less to live and now they are being changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live.
Dieticians can currently supply and administer medicines using Patient Group Directions and train to use supplementary prescribing. At present, these are deemed to be the most appropriate medicines mechanisms for their use.
The University of Surrey is carrying out a study which looks at the effect of dietitians and therapeutic radiographers prescribing on patients, staff, and services. The project began in 2019 and is now in its final phase.
The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals, including dietitians, are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.
Dieticians can currently supply and administer medicines using Patient Group Directions and train to use supplementary prescribing. At present, these are deemed to be the most appropriate medicines mechanisms for their use.
The University of Surrey is carrying out a study which looks at the effect of dietitians and therapeutic radiographers prescribing on patients, staff, and services. The project began in 2019 and is now in its final phase.
The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals, including dietitians, are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.
Dieticians can currently supply and administer medicines using Patient Group Directions and train to use supplementary prescribing. At present, these are deemed to be the most appropriate medicines mechanisms for their use.
The University of Surrey is carrying out a study which looks at the effect of dietitians and therapeutic radiographers prescribing on patients, staff, and services. The project began in 2019 and is now in its final phase.
The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals, including dietitians, are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.
Dieticians can currently supply and administer medicines using Patient Group Directions and train to use supplementary prescribing. At present, these are deemed to be the most appropriate medicines mechanisms for their use.
The University of Surrey is carrying out a study which looks at the effect of dietitians and therapeutic radiographers prescribing on patients, staff, and services. The project began in 2019 and is now in its final phase.
The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals, including dietitians, are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.
The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.
The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.
We have no current plans to publish this analysis.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is currently working with the Department for Work and Pensions to obtain contact data for those eligible for but not accessing the Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA expects to receive this data in early 2024.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.
The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them to promote the scheme.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. NHSBSA is currently working with the Department for Work and Pensions to obtain contact data for those eligible for but not accessing the Healthy Start scheme.
As of 19 September 2023, there are 41 beneficiaries in receipt of payments from the temporary extension to the Healthy Start scheme.
The Department has sent out over 1,300 application forms to those who have requested them. The Department does not hold information on the recipients of the application forms.
As of 18 August 2023, the Department has received 110 fully completed applications that have demonstrated that the applicant met the eligibility criteria. The Department does not collect and therefore hold data on all applications made, as some applicants do not meet all the eligibility criteria, and these applications are not stored.
The Department has sent out over 1,300 application forms to those who have requested them. The Department does not hold information on the recipients of the application forms.
As of 18 August 2023, the Department has received 110 fully completed applications that have demonstrated that the applicant met the eligibility criteria. The Department does not collect and therefore hold data on all applications made, as some applicants do not meet all the eligibility criteria, and these applications are not stored.
We are working to improve spend data systems through implementation of the Government’s Medical Technology Strategy. There are different supply routes available in the NHS, including through NHS Supply Chain, NHS Shared Business Services, direct from supplier to Trust and via prescription on Part IX of the Drug Tariff. NHS Supply Chain are currently in the process of working on two separate value-based procurement projects for continence, both of which aim to concentrate on patient outcomes.
Regulation 68 of the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015 allows contracting authorities to determine the most economically advantageous tender and the lowest cost by using a life-cycle costing approach which includes all costs over the life cycle of works, supplies or services.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of health services, including urinary incontinence for their local health economy and taking into account guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NHS England’s Excellence in Continence Care guidance published in July 2018, indicates that personalised care including personal health budgets can be arranged locally by ICBs to help people manage and pay for their continence care needs.
We are working to improve spend data systems through implementation of the Government’s Medical Technology Strategy. There are different supply routes available in the NHS, including through NHS Supply Chain, NHS Shared Business Services, direct from supplier to Trust and via prescription on Part IX of the Drug Tariff. NHS Supply Chain are currently in the process of working on two separate value-based procurement projects for continence, both of which aim to concentrate on patient outcomes.
Regulation 68 of the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015 allows contracting authorities to determine the most economically advantageous tender and the lowest cost by using a life-cycle costing approach which includes all costs over the life cycle of works, supplies or services.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of health services, including urinary incontinence for their local health economy and taking into account guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NHS England’s Excellence in Continence Care guidance published in July 2018, indicates that personalised care including personal health budgets can be arranged locally by ICBs to help people manage and pay for their continence care needs.
As National Health Service social enterprises are independent providers, they remain free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions for employment that best help them attract and keep the staff they need. This includes the pay scales that they use.
Staff employed at NHS social enterprises who utilise the Agenda for Change terms and conditions may be entitled to the non-consolidated pay award that staff working for eligible NHS organisations will receive, and organisations should consider their contractual obligations.
The 2022-23 non-consolidated pay uplift for Agenda for Change staff applies to staff directly employed by an National Health Service organisation as set out in Annex 1 of the NHS Employers handbook. The eligibility criteria was agreed by all parties during negotiations, including Trade Unions and NHS Employers.
Independent providers remain free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. This includes the pay scales that they use and any non-consolidated pay awards they choose to make. Staff employed by independent providers who utilise the Agenda for Change terms and conditions may be entitled to the non-consolidated pay award that staff working for eligible NHS organisations will receive, and organisations should consider their contractual obligations.
The pay deal that was accepted by the NHS Staff Council on 2 May 2023 covered staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations. These organisations are set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms.
NHS social enterprises are independent providers and remain free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. This includes the pay scales that they use and any non-consolidated pay awards they choose to make. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face.
The pay deal that was accepted by the NHS Staff Council on 2 May 2023 covered staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations. These organisations are set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms.
NHS social enterprises are independent providers and remain free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. This includes the pay scales that they use and any non-consolidated pay awards they choose to make. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face.