Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on increasing the fund for reparations payments to LGBT+ veterans.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Treasury Ministers regularly meets with Ministerial colleagues to discuss a range of issues. The LGBT Veterans Independent Report recommended a level of funding to be made available for those dismissed or discharged from service as a result of policy prohibiting homosexuality in the Armed Forces (‘the ban’). The details of the financial recognition scheme recommended by the report are still in development and approval, including the total fund to be made available by MoD in recognition of those dismissed, discharged, or otherwise impacted by the ban. The Scheme details will be announced in Parliament when the Government is ready to publish its response.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of exempting charities from the increase to employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society, and has made it a priority to reset the relationship with civil society by developing a Civil Society Covenant.
To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.
The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.
More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with football authorities about (a) inclusion and (b) accessibility for disabled fans.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people at both the grassroots and elite levels. We recognise there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from taking part and spectating. We will continue to do all that we can to tackle these and are encouraging sport bodies to make sport more accessible.
The government recently ratified the St Denis Convention. In doing so, we committed to providing an integrated safety, security and service approach at football matches and other sports events. The Sports Ground Safety Authority, one of DCMS’s Arm's-Length Bodies, has begun a partnership with the Council of Europe to better understand and promote the ‘safety’ and ‘service’ element of the convention to the benefit of all fans.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve support for care leavers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises that care leavers have poorer outcomes than their peers across all aspects of their lives. We want all those leaving care to have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and help to engage in education, employment and training. The department is committed to helping children thrive, and we want the best for every child and family. We want to build on the foundations laid by local authorities to create a care system that works for everyone.
We have already begun this vital work. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced in his speech in September that we will bring forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to remove the local connection requirement for care leavers seeking access to social housing at the next available opportunity.
In the King’s Speech, we committed to introduce a Children’s Wellbeing Bill to take forward further legislative changes needed to improve the children’s social care system, including support for care leavers.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the email of 18 July 2024 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton on care supporters.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have responded to the Hon. Member’s letter.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that care leavers have adequate financial support, in the context of the cost of living.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are already a number of easements in place within the benefit system to support particular groups – including care leavers. To support the additional challenges care leavers face, care leavers benefit from an exemption to the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) until the age of 25.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the recommendations of Blood Cancer UK's Action Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential implications of its policies based on the recommendations of Blood Cancer UK’s Action Plan.
However, we will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Lord O'Shaughnessy review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and to ensure that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer.
Professor Lord Darzi has undertaken an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will therefore set out any further priorities on cancer and health in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made to meet the commitment to protect 30% of (a) land and (b) seas by 2030.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In July, the Secretary of State confirmed the Government’s intention to launch a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). Our review will make sure that the EIP is fit for purpose to deliver on our ambitious targets, including 30by30, and we will communicate updates in the usual way.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the report by Kinship entitled Forgotten: Support for kinship children’s education and mental health, published August 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve. It knows that many children in kinship care need extra support, including in school. The department is working to ensure their needs are met, and that they have the best possible opportunity to succeed.
Children in kinship care can currently access pupil premium funding if they have been entitled to free school meals within the last six years and can receive pupil premium plus funding if they have left local authority care through a Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order. Children cared for under one of these orders are also eligible for school admissions through the Fair Access Protocol.
From September 2024, the role of Virtual School Heads has been expanded to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school.
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, helps adoptive and Special Guardianship Order children, and their families, access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment. Since the fund was established in 2015, it has provided over £400 million in funding to support more than 50,000 children.
This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship children and families.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of potential implications for his policies of the human rights situation in Bangladesh.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. In July, the UK government expressed concern about the situation in Bangladesh and called for all sides to work together to end the violence. We were clear that a full and independent UN-led investigation is important. The Interim Government in Bangladesh has the UK's full support as it works to restore peace and order including investigating alleged human rights violations. The UK supports the work of the UN as it works to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission to identify human rights violations.