Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she is taking steps to ensure that the views and experiences of older women are reflected in (a) decision-making processes and (b) policy development across departments.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Government is clear that equality and opportunity for all are at the heart of our programme of national renewal. This includes actively considering the needs of older women and ensuring that they are not discriminated against. The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) requires organisations in scope to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people.
The scope of the PSED is set out in the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). It extends to all public authorities listed in Schedule 19 of the Act and all parties carrying out public functions. This includes private sector and voluntary organisations when carrying out public functions. The Government expects regulating public authorities to ensure organisations comply with their legal requirements.
The Government recognises the challenges some older women can face and is committed to ensuring that support systems are in place. These include improving older people’s participation online through the new Digital Inclusion Action plan, employment support through Jobcentres, and addressing healthcare inequality in the 10 Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 28901 on Taxation: International Cooperation, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts on a UN framework convention on global taxation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is committed to strengthening international tax cooperation, and works closely with our international partners from all regions, both bilaterally and multilaterally through international organisations.
The UK believes that a UN Framework Convention has the potential to advance international tax cooperation, but it will only be successful if it seeks to build upon rather than reinvent existing initiatives, and seeks to secure the broad support and participation of members.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
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 6 May 2025 to Question 46236 on NHS: Contracts, what assessment he has made of the number of staff working in the NHS for non-NHS providers (a) nationally and (b) in the Bristol Central constituency area.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neither the Department nor NHS England hold data on the number of staff working in the National Health Service for non-NHS providers.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
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 6 May 2025 to Question 47931 on Tenants' Rights, what steps she plans to take to raise awareness among renters in rent-to-rent schemes of their new rights following passage of the Renters' Rights Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to provide tenants and landlords – including those operating within rent-to-rent arrangements – with a full suite of guidance to help them prepare for the commencement of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
We expect our guidance to be sufficiently comprehensive that all landlords affected by the reforms it contains will know what their responsibilities are, and tenants across the sector will feel empowered to hold landlords to account when things go wrong.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
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 potential impact of the Renters' Rights Bill on renters in rent to rent schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tenants living under rent-to-rent arrangements should have legal protections and the same right to redress as other private renters.
Rent to rent arrangements can be abused to make it more difficult to identify landlords and hold them to account.
The Renters’ Rights Bill addresses this in several ways:
To improve enforcement against criminal rent to rent schemes, we are expanding rent repayment orders to cover superior landlords in rent-to-rent arrangements. This will mean all landlords involved can be held to account by tenants.
We are also extending liability for rent repayment orders to company directors. This will help to ensure that where the rent-to-rent company has committed an offence, the individuals behind it cannot escape liability.
Complex ownership arrangements for rent-to-rent agreements should not impede effective enforcement. We intend to pass secondary legislation which will require the details of others associated with the property, such as the owner or superior landlord, to be recorded on the Private Rented Sector Database.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for contracts awarded to non-NHS providers to require those providers to provide pay and conditions on NHS Agenda for Change terms for staff that deliver such services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 allow for terms and conditions of service to be protected or frozen as they stand on the date of transfer to a non-National Health Service employer. This may also cover any pre-agreed contractual future entitlements if a deal is negotiated and agreed prior to the date of transfer.
However, this does not cover any future changes to NHS terms and conditions of service which may be negotiated under the collective bargaining process after the date of transfer, and where the employer receiving transferred staff is not a participant to the collective bargaining process. This includes annual pay increases under Agenda for Change. We would encourage employees to raise any issues relating to their terms and conditions directly with their employing organisation and/or trade union representative.
The Department and NHS England would expect any proposal to outsource work contracts such as the provision of facilities management services to be supported by a business case which, pursuant to the Government’s public interest test, should clearly demonstrate that the service is delivered in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce; and delivers better value for money as part of the broader commitments on procurement, as set out in the ‘Make Work Pay’ programme. More information on the program is available at the following link:
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of combining City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements CRSTS 1 and 2.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Discussions are underway between the department and MCAs, including West of England, on how the transition between CRSTS 1 and CRSTS 2 can be delivered. Some MCAs are also moving towards Integrated Settlements which will enable greater flexibility for planning and decision making at a local level.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for (a) introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets, (b) removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes and (c) concluding her consideration of what additional powers she might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government remains committed to introducing a national mandatory registration scheme for short-term lets. The initial phase of digital development is now complete, and public testing is planned to start in the next 12 months. Further details about the implementation of the scheme will be announced in due course.
The furnished holiday lettings rules cease to apply in tax years commencing on or after 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and for Capital Gains Tax, and 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax and for Corporation Tax on chargeable gains. This was enacted by the Finance Act 2025.
We are considering what further powers we might give to local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by second homes and short-term lets. We will announce further details on this in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the availability of (a) suitably skilled contractors and (b) materials to allow local authorities to meet the 31 March 2027 deadline for investing City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that investment in transport infrastructure is of critical importance to unlocking national growth and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme has a key role to play in continuing to transform local transport across the country. DfT is working closely with Local Authorities and other Government departments on understanding and mitigating any potential barriers to delivery, including supply chain or capacity constraints, as part of our ongoing Spending Review discussions.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for publishing finalised City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements 2.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Funding in future years is being considered as part of the current Spending Review, the outcome of which will be confirmed in due course.