Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what target her Department set for the number of new sign ups to Pension Credit between July and December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No targets for new awards or applications have been set, but the Government wants everyone eligible for Pension Credit but not currently claiming it to receive the benefits they are entitled to. That’s why we have been taking significant steps to maximise the take-up of Pension Credit. The Department’s campaign to promote Pension Credit has been running since September on TV, radio, social media such as Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube, on advertising screens, including on GP and Post Office screens as well as in the press. The latest phase of the campaign was aimed at friends and family - especially adult children of eligible pensioners - asking them to tell people they know about Pension Credit, encourage them to check their eligibility, as well as help them make a claim. In order to promote Pension Credit through as many channels as possible, we have also engaged with key stakeholders and partners, including other government departments, local councils, housing associations, community groups, local libraries and service providers as well as charities and third sector organisations.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people signed up for Pension Credit between July and December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on Pension Credit application volumes were published on 28 November 2024. This includes numbers of applications that were received, awarded and not awarded, up to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK
Please note, the next publication of Pension Credit application statistics is due around the end of February 2025 and will cover the data up to week commencing 10 February 2025.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of pensioners earning less than the Pension Credit threshold who did not receive winter fuel payment in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department does not yet have data on households who did not receive a Winter Fuel Payment in Winter 2024/25. The latest data on Winter Fuel Payment caseload is available here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty in winter (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on the number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics.
The latest available data covers financial year ending 2023, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of recent answers to Written Questions in the context of improving transparency in Government.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. I have written to all members of Cabinet to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' PQs.
The Procedure Committee regularly monitors individual department’s PQ performance, and recently published a report on department’s performance in the 2023-24 session (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/126/procedure-committee/publications/). I look forward to working with the Committee on this and other matters.
I would encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of constructing East-West Rail in 2024 prices.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
£1.3bn has been provided towards the delivery of East West Rail Connection Stage 1 (CS1) which will provide services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes.
The capital cost estimate for Connection Stages 2 (Oxford-Bedford) and 3 (Oxford-Cambridge) is £5bn-£6bn in 2021 prices. Final costs for the project will be driven by scope and design choices.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her policies on (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support off-grid properties to transition to clean fuels.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Currently, the Government’s Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) provides grants for energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to low-income households living in the worst performing, off-grid homes in England.
In September 2024, the Government announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) which will provide energy performance measures and low carbon heating to low-income households in England including privately owned EPC band D-G homes both on and off the gas grid. £500 million has been allocated as part of the Autumn Budget for the Warm Homes: Local Grant to be delivered from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of flooding of agricultural land on UK food security.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise that the recent period of wet weather has impacted UK agriculture. On 13 November we announced that additional financial support will be provided to rural communities, recognising the importance of preventing flooding for farmers and protecting food security.
Defra is providing a one-off £75 million Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund, to accelerate IDBs’ recovery from the winter 2023 -24 storms and to modernise and upgrade assets.
More than 12,700 farmers impacted by the severe wet weather, including Storms Babet and Henk, between October 2023 and March 2024, have received recovery payments totalling £57.5 million from the Farming Recovery Fund. These are one off recovery payments which will support land recovery activities such as soil remediation, recultivation and the removal of debris caused by flooding.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting additional protections to (a) ancient and (b) veteran trees in planning policy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees are already strictly protected in national planning policy, while Tree Preservation orders safeguard individual trees or groups of trees of particular value. Local planning authorities have the principal responsibility for applying these protections effectively.
We keep policy in this and other areas under review, working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Defra recently completed a review on the implementation of national planning policy for protecting ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees.