Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of rising energy prices on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty levels in those areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Energy prices have fallen significantly since the winter of 2022-23. The Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this fall in prices, we have been supporting millions of vulnerable and low income households through the £900 cost-of-living payments, alongside established financial support including the £150 Warm Home Discount.
There are also multiple targeted energy efficiency schemes in place delivering measures to low income and fuel poor households.
We are currently reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy for England ‘Sustainable Warmth’.
Sub-regional fuel poverty estimates for 2022 will be published on 25th April 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of families living in temporary accommodation in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14761 on 26 February 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people living in destitution in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We expect to spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.
From this April, working age benefits will increase by 6.7% and, we are also raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.
With over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risk of poverty. In 2021/22 working age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.
Our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to help people into work, including face-to-face time with Work Coaches and targeted employment support. Through our in-work progression offer, which is now live across all Jobcentres in Great Britain, we estimate that around 1.2m low-paid claimants are eligible for Work Coach support to help them increase their earnings. We will also increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 for workers aged 21 years and over from this April - an annual increase in gross earnings of over £1800 for someone working full-time on the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of Pension Credit in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up, the Department launched a nationwide marketing and communications campaign in April 2022.
This campaign has included advertising on national TV; in regional and national newspapers (including Birmingham Mail and Coventry Telegraph); on local and national broadcast radio (stations such as Capital Birmingham, Free Radio Birmingham and Coventry, Greatest Hits Radio Coventry and Heart West Midlands); on medical centre and Post Office screens across Great Britain; as well as advertising on buses and digital street displays. Online marketing activity also included promotion of Pension Credit on social media, via internet search engines and sponsored advertising on targeted websites that pensioners, their friends and family are likely to visit.
There is a strong indication that the campaign has had a positive impact and has resulted in an unprecedented number of Pension Credit applications. The number of claims received in the financial year 2022-23 was more than 80% higher than over the same period the year before.
Latest available figures also show that more households were receiving Pension Credit in August 2023 than in May 2022 – at the beginning of the campaign.
The Department is also continuing to build on this success through various creative no-cost media campaigns to boost awareness of the benefit through broadcast, radio and print media. We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including other Government Departments, Councils, and charities, asking for their support to raise awareness through their networks and channels.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in mortgage interest rates in each of the last two years on the income of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation, and the Government is fully committed to supporting the Bank of England get inflation back down to the 2% target, including by keeping borrowing under control.
While the pricing of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, our plan is working, and the average offered mortgage rates on 2-year and 5-year fixed rates are now lower compared to their peak in Summer 2023. The Government’s Mortgage Charter - in addition to the significant safeguards already in place - is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low.
Since 2022, the government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Support for households to help with the cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25, or £3,700 per household on average.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that people living in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England have access to banking services.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services, and is monitoring this issue closely. It is imperative that firms recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who need to use in-person services.
UK banking customers can access banking services through a number of different channels. This includes in branches, Post Offices or Banking Hubs, as well as via telephone banking and through digital means such as mobile or online banking.
The Post Office allows personal and business customers to carry out everyday banking services at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
Banking Hubs are an initiative which enable customers of participating banks to access cash and banking services in shared facilities. Over 100 Banking Hubs have been announced so far, including in Stone, Cheadle and Pershore in the wider West Midlands region, and the Government hopes to see these all open as soon as possible.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Small businesses across the West Midlands will benefit from the £105 million the area has received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which ramps up to £1.5bn this coming year. This will enable the West Midlands to invest in business support, people and wider regeneration.
The Government also funds a network of 37 Growth Hubs across England to give free support and advice to businesses. Additionally, the Made Smarter Adoption programme, which has been operating in multiple regions including the West Midlands, helps manufacturing SMEs adopt advanced digital technology and is being expanded to further regions in England in 2025/26.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many families with children were housed in temporary accommodation for more than (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Statutory homelessness statistics for England are published quarterly. This is data from local authorities and includes families in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter, including for the hon. Member’s local authority area. Data can be found at Statutory homelessness in England: April to June 2023 - GOV.UK. Details of the length of time families with children are housed in temporary accommodation is published annually and can be found at Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2022-23.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of families with children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Statutory homelessness statistics for England are published quarterly. This is data from local authorities and includes families in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter, including for the hon. Member’s local authority area. Data can be found at Statutory homelessness in England: April to June 2023 - GOV.UK. Details of the length of time families with children are housed in temporary accommodation is published annually and can be found at Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2022-23.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cutting National Health Service waiting lists is one of the Government’s top priorities.
To facilitate this across elective services in England, we are increasing activity, with plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, expanding capacity though creating a network of community diagnostic centres (CDCs), and maximising all available independent sector capacity. We are managing demand through specialised advice in primary care and giving patients more control over where they receive their care, and we are increasing productivity through: transforming outpatient services; developing new surgical hubs to increase theatre productivity, funded by part of £1.5 billion; and working actively with trusts to support and challenge on their performance.
We recognise that local areas were affected by COVID-19 differently, resulting in variation in elective waiting times across different parts of the country. Tackling inequalities in access to elective care has therefore been a key component of the Department’s and NHS England’s approach to recovery. This is supported by the creation and expansion of CDCs and surgical hubs. There are currently 94 surgical hubs and 136 CDCs operational across England.
In the West Midlands there are 16 surgical hubs and six operational CDCs. In Coventry North East Constituency there is one surgical hub and one CDC.