Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog of asylum applications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Provisional data indicates that between the end of November 2022 and October 2023 the legacy backlog reduced by 64% and we remain on track to clear the legacy backlog by the end of the year as per the Prime Minister’s commitment last year.
We will continue the steps we are already taking to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. This includes better performance management, overtime, and shorer, focussed interviews.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the implications for her policies of research on the fire risk associated with lithium-ion batteries.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe. Products using lithium-ion batteries must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions has the media briefing room at 9 Downing Street been used for (a) media briefings and (b) press conferences since its completion in 2021.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Downing Street Briefing Room is in regular use for media briefings twice a day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and once a day on Fridays when Parliament is sitting, and once a week during parliamentary recess. There have been more than 30 televised press conferences held in it so far. It is also used for other events such as virtual calls with world leaders. It is also routinely used for internal Cabinet Office events.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the backlog of asylum applications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We have transformed the productivity of asylum decision making by streamlining processes, creating focused interviews and instilling accountability for performance. And as of 1 September, we have met our commitment to have 2,500 decision makers, an increase of 174% from the same point last year.
As a result, I am pleased to report to the House that we are on track to clear the legacy backlog by the end of the year, and that recently published provisional figures for July show that the overall backlog fell.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of students graduating from universities without receiving their degree classification.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Unlike some education sectors, where the government has taken part in negotiations with trade unions, universities are autonomous. They are therefore responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff. Whilst the government plays no formal role, we are concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are coming up to graduation, and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.
The department understands that the majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has published research findings which surveyed 49% of higher education (HE) institutions in the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff. These institutions provided feedback on the impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students at their institutions:
These research findings can be accessed at: https://www.ucea.ac.uk/news-releases/23june23/.
On 22 June 2023, I met with Universities UK (UUK), the Russell Group, and UCEA to better understand the impact of the boycott and the mitigating actions their members are taking to protect students’ interests. I have also written to the Russell Group and UUK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students.
On 27 June 2023, I met with a number of HE representative groups to discuss the marking and assessment boycott, including the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking.
HE institutions are working on minimising disruption to students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members, and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress and, once all papers have been marked, degree classifications will either remain as provisionally assigned or be uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.
The government believes students should be at the heart of the HE system. This is why we set up the Office for Students (OfS) to regulate the HE sector in England, protect student rights, and ensure the sector is delivering real value for money. The OfS published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.
On 12 June 2023, the OfS wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms.
The Department continues to engage with the HE sector and we hope all parties can reach an agreement that delivers good value for students, staff and universities, so further industrial action can be avoided.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with costs in the context of the rate of inflation.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Exchequer Secretary (Treasury)
The Government recognises the challenges facing businesses and that is why we have made it a priority to halve inflation this year, on the path back to the target of 2%.
We have taken several steps to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), including a substantial package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years; additional tax relief at a higher rate of 14.5% for R&D intensive SMEs; and the Small Profits Rate will mean 70% of businesses will see no increase in Corporation Tax this year.
The supply side policies announced at Spring Budget – such as action on childcare support – will also provide a boost to growth without fuelling inflation and ease the pressures faced by SMEs by delivering the workforce they need to succeed.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times he has used powers to direct NHS England under section 45 of the Health and Care Act 2022; and in what context those powers were used.
Answered by Will Quince
Following the transfer of functions from NHS Digital in February, section 13ZC of the NHS Act 2006 (as inserted by section 45 of the Health and Care Act 2022) has been used to direct NHS England on its functions relating to information systems.
Two directions in relation to establishing new information systems have been given, and existing directions previously given to NHS Digital, and now treated as given to NHS England, have been amended. These, and future directions relating to information systems, are available at the following link:
The Secretary of State has not issued directions under section 13ZC in relation to any other matters.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a breakdown of spending on travel, subsistence and hospitality by his Department in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Details of ministerial and senior official travel and hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each Department spent on food bought for in-house catering in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office does not hold a central list for in-house catering for all departments.
Collecting this data would therefore exceed the disproportionate cost threshold to estimate this figure.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
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 impact of the policies set out in his Department's policy paper entitled Powering Up Britain on the Government's net zero targets.
Answered by Grant Shapps
Powering Up Britain sets out the policies that enable our carbon budgets to be met. It demonstrates we are world leaders delivering on both energy security and net zero - two sides of the same coin.