Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 86 of the document entitled Academies consolidated annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022, published on 5 February 2024, whether it is her Department's policy that off-payroll arrangements can be used for the payment of (a) headteachers, (b) governors, (c) other senior staff of schools in the maintained sector.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) sets out the headteacher pay ranges and maintained schools must adhere to these statutory requirements. The STPCD also applies to other teachers in leadership, excluding some roles such as school business managers, and covers the arrangements for those on payroll. The STPCD can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-teachers-pay-and-conditions.
There is no legal power for schools, local authorities or the government to pay individuals on maintained school governing bodies for their governance duties.
Local authorities would be best placed to provide information on off-payroll arrangements in maintained schools.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for IVF for access to treatment for surrogate mothers where the intended parents are same-sex male couples.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out recommendations on the criteria for referral for fertility treatment in its guideline, Fertility problems: assessment and treatment [CG156]. The NICE guideline recommends that unstimulated intrauterine insemination should be considered as an option for people in same-sex relationships as an alternative to vaginal sexual intercourse. For groups included in this recommendation, including same-sex couples, who have not conceived after six cycles of donor or partner insemination, despite evidence of normal ovulation, tubal patency, and semen analysis, the NICE guideline recommends offering a further six cycles of unstimulated intrauterine insemination before in vitro fertilization (IVF) is considered.
The guideline is currently being updated, including consideration of the recommendations on the prediction of IVF success, the effectiveness of IVF versus intrauterine insemination, versus expectant management, and fertility preservation. The NICE’s draft guidance will be subject to a public consultation, at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of academy trusts that have reported off-payroll arrangements for staff who are also trustees in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department collates and publishes data annually in the academies sector annual report and accounts on off-payroll arrangements in academy trusts. This includes arrangements with trustees, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-sector-annual-reports-and-accounts.
The academies sector annual report and accounts is drawn from academy trusts’ accounts data. The report for 2022 to 2023 will be published shortly and the deadline for academy trusts to submit data to the department for 2023 to 2024 is 28 January 2025.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6735 on Temporary Accommodation: Costs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential savings to local government in respect of temporary accommodation costs of (a) the end of section 21 evictions and (b) the wider provisions in the Renters' Rights Bill.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will provide more security for vulnerable renters who face potential homelessness due to the service of a section 21 notice. Removing no fault evictions will have an immediate impact on preventing homelessness, as section 21 notices account for 8% of the reasons households became homeless in 2023-24.
The government submitted the Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill on 16 September 2024 to the Regulatory Policy Committee. The government will publish the Impact Assessment in due course. In line with usual practice, the government will always consider the impact of any policies when taking the legislation through Parliament.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the (a) equality of and (b) potential impact on councils in low income areas of the funding formula for local government; and whether she has plans to reform that formula.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to fixing the foundations by reforming and rebuilding local government.
We will work hand-in-hand with councils by moving towards multi-year funding settlements and ending competitive bidding processes.
Over the coming months, we want to hear from local councils about the financial challenges they face and about improvements we can make to ensure the system works in support of local areas, not against them.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure tenants are aware of new rights created through the Renters' Rights Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government intends to publish accessible guidance so that tenants understand their rights and responsibilities under the new system. This will be supported by a communications campaign designed to raise awareness about the changes. We will also work with local authorities and advice providers like Shelter and Citizens Advice to further raise awareness of the reforms and make sure adequate support is in place.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) section 21 evictions and (b) the provisions in the Renters' Rights Bill on (i) temporary accommodation costs and (ii) local authority finances.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Once enacted, the Bill will ensure that local authorities owe a homelessness prevention duty to a tenant evicted under section 8 grounds. This will enable tenants to maintain access to support to prevent homelessness, in line with the principles of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. We will carry out a new burdens assessment and will fund local authorities for any additional costs.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect workers travelling home late at night who are at risk of sexual violence.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government will treat tackling violence against women and girls as a national emergency and will use every tool to target perpetrators and address the root causes of violence on our streets.
We want women to feel safe and will use every lever to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, across the whole of government, with policing and other experts.
To make our streets safe, we must drastically reduce serious violent crime and violence against women and girls, increase confidence in the police, stop young people falling into crime, and make our criminal justice system work for victims.
No one should ever have to face the risk of violence or harassment when travelling. This government is taking action to make sure our transport network is safe for all. The Department for Transport is working closely with transport partners, including the British Transport Police, on a range of initiatives to address the problems faced by different users, including women and girls, on the transport network.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department plans to bring forward the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill. The Bill will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.