Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase funding for wraparound care.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Any future decisions on departmental spending are subject to the spending review process.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to increase capacity in appointments for NHS dental treatment for pregnant and postpartum women who are entitled to free NHS dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, and we want to make sure that everyone who needs a National Health Service dentist can get one, including pregnant women and new mothers. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Warrington North constituency, this is the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether teaching staff at colleges providing 16-19 education will be awarded the same pay increase as staff at (a) schools and (b) academies providing 16-19 education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving further education (FE) sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.
FE colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances. FE colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million of revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department has recently announced that we are making approximately £50 million of that available to sixth-form colleges and FE Colleges for April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention. It is up to colleges how they use this funding to best meet priorities.
This builds on our investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department is also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16 who are predominantly studying in FE.
The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. For the 2024/25 academic year, FE training bursaries are worth up to £30,000 each, tax free. Additionally, we are supporting industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through our ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.
In making their recommendations for 2025/26 school teacher pay, the School Teachers' Review Body's (STRB) have been asked to consider the impact of their recommendations on the FE teaching workforce in England. This does not change how pay is set in FE, but as the FE and school workforces are closely related, it’s important that the STRB consider the totality of the workforce when they look at the evidence.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the additional cost of the UK's debt interest following the downgrading of the AAA credit rating in each year since 2013.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Rising global interest rates and inflation have meant debt interest is at its second highest for a financial year since the 1980s. This shows why our fiscal rules – balancing the current budget and reducing net financial debt by 2029-30 – are the right thing to do to reduce the burden on future generations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people received awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in Warrington in each of the last five years or which figures are available; and what the value of those awards was.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The table below provides the number of compensation awards paid in each of the last five calendar years to applicants living in Warrington.
Number of compensation awards paid to applicants living in Warrington* **
Calendar Year | Number of awards paid | Total value of those awards |
2020 | 79 | £955,381 |
2021 | 65 | £685,608 |
2022 | 61 | £684,051 |
2023 | 92 | £701,724 |
2024 | 52 | £702,440 |
*The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Warrington as the town in their home address in their application.
**The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time was for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by people resident in Warrington in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Warrington**.
Calendar Year | Average time (days) |
2020 | 279 |
2021 | 423 |
2022 | 340 |
2023 | 352 |
2024 | 317 |
*The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
**The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Warrington as the town in their home address in their application.
Over the last three years, we have seen continued growth in people coming forward to claim compensation. To help meet this rising demand and to boost our capacity to assess claims, we continue to uplift staff numbers in line with funding. We are working to identify efficiencies in the way we work led by an in-house continuous improvement team.
We have sponsored work to explore and implement helpful case management system changes and the potential for Artificial Intelligence applications to deliver further efficiencies by assisting our claims officers as they identify key information relevant to the assessment process.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will assess the effectiveness of the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
Following the conclusion of the Eat Out Help Out scheme, HMRC published statistical analysis, which included data on scheme’s costs, take up, and geographical breakdown.
The Covid Inquiry is also investigating the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is cooperating fully with the Inquiry in its extensive and detailed work.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
For 2024/2025, the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was allocated a budget of £40 million. This covers funding for payment awards, and administration costs associated with assessing the claims and managing the scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of police officers in 2027.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces in England and Wales are expected to maintain officer numbers, as per the officer maintenance grant. The Government is currently working with police forces on setting an accurate baseline for neighbourhood policing numbers.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take legislative steps to allow pubs to designate outdoor smoking and vaping areas.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced to Parliament on 5 November 2024, and passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 November 2024. The bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce approximately 80,000 preventable deaths and reduce the burden on the National Health Service and on the taxpayer.
The bill contains powers to extend the ban on smoking indoors to certain outdoor settings, to reduce the harms of second-hand smoking, particularly around children and vulnerable people. In England, we are considering extending smoke-free outdoor places to outside schools, children’s playgrounds, and hospitals, but not to outdoor hospitality settings such as pub gardens. The bill also has powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free, vape-free.
Exactly which settings should become smoke-free and vape-free will be a matter for secondary legislation, with all proposed reforms subject to a full consultation.