Baroness Thomas of Winchester Portrait

Baroness Thomas of Winchester

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 26th May 2006


2 APPG memberships (as of 24 Jan 2024)
Learning Disability, Muscular Dystrophy
1 Former APPG membership
Disability
Procedure and Privileges Committee
27th Jun 2017 - 19th Jan 2022
Consolidation, &c., Bills (Joint Committee)
17th Jun 2015 - 27th Apr 2017
Equality Act 2010 and Disability Committee
11th Jun 2015 - 15th Mar 2016
Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
9th Jun 2010 - 30th Mar 2015
Procedure and Privileges Committee
27th Nov 2006 - 14th May 2014
Refreshment Committee (Lords)
15th Nov 2007 - 20th Jun 2012
Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee
23rd Nov 2006 - 8th Apr 2010
Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
23rd Nov 2006 - 8th Apr 2010


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Baroness Thomas of Winchester has voted in 551 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

22 Feb 2022 - Procedure and Privileges Committee - View Vote Context
Baroness Thomas of Winchester voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 13 Liberal Democrat No votes vs 29 Liberal Democrat Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 144 Noes - 133
View All Baroness Thomas of Winchester Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Greenhalgh (Conservative)
(13 debate interactions)
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
(6 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Legislation Debates
British Sign Language Act 2022
(459 words contributed)
Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) Act 2021
(231 words contributed)
Energy Prices Act 2022
(227 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Baroness Thomas of Winchester's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Baroness Thomas of Winchester, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


1 Bill introduced by Baroness Thomas of Winchester


This Bill received Royal Assent on 31st January 2013 and was enacted into law.

Baroness Thomas of Winchester has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 26 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
28th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they are making towards Sharia-compliant student loans.

The government is committed to delivering an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles as quickly as operationally possible. To support the delivery of an ASF product, the government took new powers in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to enable my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to provide alternative payments for students to pay for tuition fees, in addition to grants and loans. The department has also carried out work with specialist advisers, the Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC), on the design of an ASF model.

The government is introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support. In response to the LLE consultation, published on 7 March 2023, the department set out aims to ensure that students will be able to access ASF as soon as possible after the introduction of the LLE.

Work is underway to assess how ASF can be delivered as a product. The Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC) has been reappointed to support work on ASF. Furthermore, the department is also working with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to better understand timescales for delivering an ASF product.

Further information about how to develop the ASF product can be found in a blog post on ASF, and a further update on ASF will be provided later this month. The blog is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/21/alternative-student-finance-how-were-making-student-finance-accessible-to-everyone/.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics they collect about staffing in the rail sector.

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)

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
10th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of train drivers under instruction.

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.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
25th Oct 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Reforming aviation consumer policy: protecting air passenger rights consultation, which ran from 31 January to 27 March 2022, what is their timetable for taking forward those reforms.

The Department published its response to the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation on 27 June 2023. This set out legislative and non-legislative measures Government will take forward for air passenger rights. This included removing the compensation cap for damaged wheelchairs on domestic UK flights, giving the CAA additional enforcement powers and improving complaint handling.

Legislative reforms will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows, and in the meantime, we intend to work with industry and stakeholders to continue to drive improvements for aviation consumers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
25th Oct 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their plans to make using the Passenger Assistance service easier for disabled people are compatible with plans for closing booking offices at rail stations.

Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future. The Passenger Bodies are currently considering the proposals.

Safety and accessibility remain a top priority. The Passenger Assist service will continue to help disabled passengers, and those with additional needs, to use the rail network with confidence and in safety. Since April 2022, passengers have been able to pre-book their assistance up to two hours in advance of their journey, at any time of the day.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
25th Oct 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for introducing legislation on disability awareness training for taxi and Private Hire Vehicle drivers.

The Department is committed to introducing legislation to enable the setting of national standards in taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, which will include disability awareness training for drivers, when Parliamentary time allows.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
15th May 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of Personal Independence Payments appeals which are successful at the tribunal stage; and what steps they intend to take in response.

We are continuing to learn from decisions overturned at appeal. For example, we gather insight from Presenting Officers who regularly provide feedback from hearings they attend, with a view to learning from overturned decisions.

We have made improvements to the decision-making process at both the first decision and the mandatory reconsideration stage, giving decision-makers additional time to proactively contact claimants if they think additional evidence may support the claim.​

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of Personal Independence Payment appeals which went to a tribunal were successful, in each year since those payments were introduced.

The table below shows for those Personal Independence Payment appeals that were cleared at hearing, the proportion that were decided in favour of the claimant.

Financial Year

Percentage of Personal Independence Payment appeals that were cleared at hearing, that were decided in favour of the claimant

2013/14

26%

2014/15

50%

2015/16

61%

2016/17

65%

2017/18

68%

2018/19

73%

2019/20

77%

2020/21

76%

2021/22

70%

2022/23*

69%

Notes:

  1. This information has been extracted from the Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2022 publication produced by the Ministry of Justice. The publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022.Table SSCS_3 Social Security and Child Support - Number of disposals cleared at hearing by outcomes and benefit type, 2007/08 to Q3 2022/23” has been used to produce these figures.
  2. Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) also includes Disability Living Allowance reassessed cases. Personal Independence Payment was introduced on 8 April 2013 and replaced Disability Living Allowance for those aged 16 or over.

The 2022/23 financial year is not complete, it will contain up to and including December 2022. The figures for this year are provisional and subject to revision in later publications.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 9 November (HL2940), what plans they have to direct assessors for Personal Independence Payments to speak to more claimants directly before they make an initial decision.

Following the consultation with a heath professional and receipt of the subsequent functional assessment report, DWP Case Managers are trained to make outbound calls to customers, where necessary, as part of the decision-making process to clarify any gaps in evidence or further clarify customers’ restrictions.

26th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take in response to the data published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 October which showed that most Personal Independence Payment claimants successfully appealing a decision did not present new evidence at tribunals.

The data published was for the period July 2013 up to March 2022, and covers the period since the introduction of the benefit. The aim of the decision-making process is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We are constantly looking to improve our processes and learn from tribunal outcomes. Since PIP was introduced in 2013 we have made improvements to our decision-making process to ensure that we not only gather all material evidence as early as possible, but more that we carefully consider that evidence so that we identify the key facts that inform the decision made. Of course, Tribunals are independent and in discussing the same evidence directly with the claimant may obtain a different perspective and thereby reach a different conclusion.

17th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have increased the number of Disability Employment Advisors at Job Centres in the last 12 months.

As at December 31st 2021 DWP had 894.9 full time equivalent FTE (ABM activities1) employees carrying out the Disability Employment Advisor role. This is an increase of 441.3 FTE since January 2021 where the number stood at 453.6 FTE.

1FTE (ABM activities) is from Departmental Management Information which records how much of each persons’ role is spent doing certain types of work activity. The FTE (ABM activities) is therefore lower than the total staff in post.

16th Jul 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Department for Work and Pensions staff contacted disability claimants who were appealing their decisions to persuade them to abandon their appeals and accept a lower offer; and if such practices have been used, who authorised them.

The Department’s aim is to ensure that claimants are paid the correct amount of benefit at the earliest opportunity. Accordingly, if new evidence or information becomes available after an appeal has been lodged, it is right that decisions are reviewed and claimants put in the best position where they can choose either to continue with their appeal, or have the decision revised. At the same time claimants have, and have always had, a right of appeal against the revised decision, and to have their payments fully backdated if successful at appeal. Claimants are notified of this right of appeal in their revised decision letter.

15th Jul 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they are relying on telephone assessments to determine a claimant’s level of disability rather than using a video service.

We are committed to improving the experience of health and disability benefits and we are currently delivering health and disability assessments via a variety of channels. Face-to-face assessments are being delivered alongside new telephone and video assessments introduced in response to the pandemic.

A programme of in-house analysis and externally commissioned research into the outcomes from and experiences of the newly introduced assessment channels is underway. The Health and Disability Green Paper will offer an opportunity to hear views on how we can improve assessments, including how we might provide a multi-channel health assessment service. Any future decisions about channel will be evidence-based and to ensure this we will draw on existing evidence as well as continuing to build our understanding via research and analysis.

16th Jun 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government which disability organisations and charities are helping to develop the National Strategy for Disabled People.

The National Strategy for Disabled People is a manifesto commitment of this Government and its delivery is a priority. Its significance is even greater as we re-build the UK economy and society following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet Office Disability Unit is now working on an approach and timescale that will allow meaningful engagement with an extensive range of stakeholders, and through a range of means that can be pursued safely in the context of the pandemic. Contributions from any organisation will be very welcome and particularly where this brings additional insight to the lived experience of disabled people.

13th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, under Universal Credit to stop the automatic deduction of a claimant’s debts from the standard rate of Universal Credit if creditors have agreed a reduction in the rate of repayment.

The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.

Creditors can request debts to be collected through Universal Credit, typically where other repayment methods have been unsuccessful. We are led by the creditor, and at any time any creditor could inform us they wish to take back responsibility for collecting the debt from Universal Credit - such requests would trigger an end to deductions as soon as possible. The rate at which repayments are recovered from Universal Credit are set out in Schedule 6 to the Social Security Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 – SI 2013/380.

For any of the deductions laid out in the regulations, creditors can approach Universal Credit directly and typically there is no requirement for them to proactively get the claimant’s consent. Any requests for deductions are considered by the Department on an individual basis.

Where recovery relates to benefit overpayments, this is managed in a sensitive way. Maximum deduction rates are set out in legislation (Regulation 11 of the Social Security (Overpayments and Recovery) Regulations 2013) and where a claimant cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery they can contact the Department’s Debt Management team so this can be reviewed. If a reduction in the repayment rate is agreed, we will implement it quickly so that payments are adjusted accordingly.

The Department is always developing our understanding on the impact deductions can have on claimants, and has heard evidence from external organisations on this issue. Ultimately, we have to balance these impacts with the need for claimants to meet their obligations.

14th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with theme parks about ensuring that (1) rides are accessible for disabled children, and (2) all reasonable adjustments are made to enable such children to participate; and what steps they intend to take in response.

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access so that disabled customers of all ages are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that there is an expectation for businesses providing services, including theme parks, to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require.


Anyone who believes that they or their children have been discriminated against in the provision of services may wish to contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) which can provide them with free bespoke advice and in-depth support. The EASS can be contacted via its website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 800 0082, or by text phone on 0808 800 0084. The EASS may contact a service provider on a customer’s behalf to discuss the scope for meeting the customer’s concern; it also liaises with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has powers to enforce the provisions of the Act.

23rd Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the shortage of health care assistants for working age disabled people; and to address any such shortage, what plans they have (1) to review the criteria for the sponsorship of overseas workers, and (2) to adjust the criteria so that disabled people are able to directly employ personal carers.

Following a recommendation by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in their most recent annual report, the Government has made care worker, care assistant and home care worker roles (Standard Occupation Classification code 6145) eligible for the Health and Social Care Visa and added them to the Shortage Occupation List.

However, the sponsorship system is designed to strike the balance between enabling UK employers to recruit overseas workers, while ensuring employers only sponsor workers who are eligible for visas, that those they do sponsor will comply with the conditions of their visa and that the safety and wellbeing of those workers is safeguarded. This approach ensures the integrity of the immigration system and provides important safeguards for those who migrate to the UK and for individuals requiring care.

The Government has no plans change this position.

14th Dec 2023
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.

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.

Baroness Penn
Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
14th Dec 2023
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.

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.

Baroness Penn
Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
12th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement their plan to make the accessible and adaptable housing design standard the default standard for new homes.

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.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
17th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether landlords are required to give tenants without fault the booklet How to Rent before seeking to evict them; and if so, whether they can do this at the same time as issuing a Form 6A notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy.

Under the Deregulation Act 2015, landlords cannot use the Section 21 possession procedure if they have not provided a copy of the publication “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England” to the tenant. The restriction is lifted as soon as the publication is provided. However, the How to Rent guide should ideally be provided at the outset of the tenancy. Form 6A is the legally prescribed form for serving a notice requiring possession under the Section 21 possession procedure.

In respect of individual cases, it is for a court to decide whether the landlord had complied with the requirements of the Deregulation Act when they served a notice requiring possession using Form 6A, and therefore if that notice is valid. The landlord must provide evidence that they have given the tenant a valid copy of “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England” when they make a claim for possession in the county court.

This requirement applies to tenancies in England which commenced on or after 1 October 2015. It does not apply where a landlord is a private registered provider of social housing or where the tenant entered into occupation of the property under a previous tenancy and the landlord has already provided the tenant with an up-to-date version of the guidance.

6th Feb 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government why there is no mention of accessible and adaptable homes in the report by the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission Living with beauty: health, well-being and sustainable growth, published on 30 January.

The independent ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful’ Commission was established in December 2018 to advise the Government on how to improve the design quality of new build homes and neighbourhoods. Its report was published on 30 January 2020. The Government welcomes the report and will provide a response in due course.

Building Regulations include optional technical standards for accessible and adaptable homes and wheelchair accessible homes. The requirements in the regulations are supported by statutory guidance. Government will consult shortly on accessibility of new homes. The consultation will consider making higher accessibility standards mandatory, recognising the importance of suitable homes for the elderly and disabled


The National Design Guide states that well-designed homes and places should be accessible to all, support the health and well being of their users and be adaptable to their changing needs over time. We have delivered over 34,000 new units of supported and sheltered housing since 2011 for older, disabled and other vulnerable people. The Government funding for the disabled facilities grant (DFG) has more than doubled since 2015, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £505 million in 2019-20.

24th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to address the reported backlog of Personal Independence Payments tribunal claims.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been working with the Tribunal’s judiciary both to appoint additional judges and panel members and to list more Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals into each tribunal session. Case-management “triage” sessions have also been introduced, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. In addition, HMCTS has recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals.

All these measures have the aim of increasing the capacity of the Tribunal and reducing the time taken to deal with PIP appeals. The number of PIP appeals outstanding in the latest period for which data are available shows a decrease of 13% when compared to the same period in 2018.

22nd Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the longest waiting time for Personal Independence Payments tribunals for claimants in West Yorkshire.

The information requested is not held centrally.