Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that Departments only use (a) regulated, (b) registered and (c) qualified interpreters.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Government departments can access interpreters through the Crown Commercial Service’s RM6141 Language Services agreement, which offers innovative language solutions tailored to meet the core needs of the public sector.

To secure a place on the RM6141 Language Services framework, all suppliers must be prepared to provide proof of their interpreters’ qualifications upon request. The specific level of qualification required will depend on the services being procured. Additionally, when purchasing through this agreement, buyers may request the following information:

• list of qualifications including supporting evidence

• list of security clearances held including supporting evidence

• list of previous experience and supporting evidence

• evidence of Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to appoint a Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This Government will champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. No one should live in fear because of what they do, or do not believe in. Envoy roles are under Ministerial consideration and will be decided upon in due course. In the meantime, we will continue to use the strength of our global diplomatic network, including dedicated staff within the FCDO, to promote and protect FoRB around the world.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to reform the military honours system to allow those serving in operations abroad to receive appropriate honours upon completion of their service.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

Between 2012 and 2014, Sir John Holmes conducted an independent review of the policy governing the award of military medals. Sir John’s reviews were subject to detailed discussion by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals and the conclusions submitted for Royal approval. There are no plans for a further review on that scale at this time; however, the medallic system continues to evolve to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose as the environment within which our personnel operate changes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of awarding teaching status to Lister Hospital; and when his Department plans to respond to the application on this matter.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Lister Hospital is part of the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Officials are in correspondence with the trust about amending their establishment order to reflect teaching status.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a social tariff in the energy market.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has no plans to introduce an energy social tariff this winter. However, we are committed to ensuring vulnerable households are supported with their energy bills and we are looking at all options on how to support these households.

The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to over 3 million eligible low-income households. We are also working with energy suppliers to ensure they are providing additional support to vulnerable customers.

The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund for an additional 6 months until 31 March 2025 with an extra £500 million in funding, and I encourage any individual who is struggling to pay their bills contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to publish the independent review of her Department’s language services.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested is not available for each individual Greater London Borough and could only be obtained with further data engineering work which would be disproportionate cost.

Information about Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) appeals is published on GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics

However, it is not available in the specific format requested.

Success rates at appeal in the SEND Tribunal include if a parent or young person is successful at appeal for a part or in full. Hearing information is held on each individual appeal record. Each appeal would need to be accessed, the decision recording the outcome obtained for all records held within each of the 33 London Boroughs for the past 5 years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the (a) potential merits and (b) viability of auto enrolment for pension credit.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is not currently possible to accurately identify people who may be entitled to Pension Credit nor to determine how much they may be entitled to on the basis of the data which DWP holds. Like all means-tested benefits, a person’s eligibility for Pension Credit depends on their financial and personal household circumstances - information which, in most cases, DWP does not hold. Entitlement to Pension Credit is only established once a claim is made and award decisions often require the judgment of a decision maker weighing up evidence which cannot be done automatically.

It is however possible to identify certain households as highly likely to be entitled to Pension Credit on the basis of Housing Benefit data which DWP holds. This means we can scale-up last year’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial by targeting approximately 120,000 pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We will be inviting these households to apply for Pension Credit by 21 December, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated claim and still qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of moving the qualifying week for Pension Credit to (a) 30 September, (b) 31 October and (c) 30 November 2024 on the number of eligible claimants.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

There is no qualifying week for Pension Credit. A claim for Pension Credit may be made at any time and may be backdated for up to three months as long as the entitlement conditions are met during that period. This means that a pensioner who was eligible for, but had not claimed, Pension Credit during the qualifying week for the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2024-25 (16 to 22 September 2024) can still qualify for the payment if they make a successful backdated application for Pension Credit by 21 December 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate resources to support the surge in applications for pension credit.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Prior to the Winter Fuel announcement, Retirement Services Directorate (RSD) had 352 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff deployed on Pension Credit claims. Since the announcement, a deployment plan has been agreed to deploy an additional 537 FTE into RSD to support Pension Credit. With a further 156 FTE planned to onboard from recruitment between November 2024 and January 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2024 to Question 5661 on Private Education: VAT, whether her Department has made a specific assessment of the potential impact of the policy on children with special educational needs in the independent sector.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time.

Children with education, health and care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school, will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of draught duty relief for (a) beer and (b) cider.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The current alcohol duty system supports the industry through Draught Relief, which ensures eligible products served on draught pay less duty. Draught Relief helps to level the playing field between pubs and supermarkets, allowing pubs and brewers to price their on-trade products more competitively.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and rates that took effect on 1 August 2023. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.

UN’s resolution on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and sanctions

Socio-economic Duty

School nurses

Community Ownership Fund