Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November 2024, what progress her Department has made on the planned pilot of the National Jobs and Careers Service.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper set out our vision to reform Jobcentre Plus and create a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.
We are taking a test and learn approach to develop the new service ensuring that we develop a service that is locally tailored and embedded, designed to meet the different needs of local labour markets, local people and local employers. We are in the early stages of designing the new service and more details will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans to allocate the additional funding for supporting young people into work outlined in her Department's Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we set out plans to invest £1 billion a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support – one of the biggest packages of new employment support for sick and disabled people ever – including new tailored support conversations for people on health and disability benefits to break down barriers and unlock work, and more intensive programmes of support with health and work.
For 18–21-year-olds specifically we set out proposals at point 256 in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to: “[Delay] access to the UC health element [to 22, in order to] remove any potential disincentive to work during this time. Proceeding with this change would be on the basis that resources could be better spent on improving the quality and range of opportunities available to young people through the [Youth] guarantee, so they can sign up to work or training rather than long-term benefits.” Such a change could support the establishment of a distinct and active transition phase for young people, based on learning or earning for all.
We are consulting on the design options for a work, health and skills support package. The government will actively engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and disabilities. This consultation is now open and will close on 30th June.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are delivering two hours of PE a week.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield to the answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 34199.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the obligation on (a) sellers, (b) estate agents and (c) solicitors to ensure that property is transferred to buyers in home sales in a clean and tidy state.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has published consumer guidance on how to sell a home which sets out that sellers should leave their property in the condition they wish to find their next home.
We know that the overall process of buying and selling a home is far too time consuming and costly for consumers. On 9 February we announced action to help modernise the way our home buying and selling system works. We want to see consumers at the heart of a system that is faster, more certain and less stressful, resulting in significant savings to consumers and industry.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
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 standardising the process by which ICBs commission palliative care, in the context of administrative pressures on hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
Due to the way the hospice movement organically grew, hospice locations were largely not planned with a view to providing even access across the country or to prioritise areas of greatest need based on demographics.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, with Hospice UK allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the publication entitled Approved Document B: Fire safety - frequently asked questions, published on 23 August 2022, on economic growth.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Approved Document B: Fire Safety - Frequently Asked Questions do not introduce any new guidance beyond what is included in Approved Document B but simply offer helpful clarifications where appropriate. When Approved Documents are updated, they undergo a public consultation and are subject to a comprehensive economic impact assessment.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the steps taken to improve the provision of care in the period in the period since the publication of the Independent review into the death of Clive Treacey, published in December 2021.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following publication of the independent review, organisations directly involved in Clive’s care were invited to reflect on their practice and went on to develop high-level actions in response to its findings. There was an overwhelming commitment from all organisations engaged to address the systemic issues raised in the report. NHS England Midlands set up a group which became known as the Clive Treacey Conscience Group, including Elaine, Clive’s sister, to drive meaningful improvement. In July 2024, the Midlands region published Clive’s Way: A Conscience Manual, which outlines in detail the progress in taking forward the learning from Clive’s review, and which is available at the following link:
Significant time and resources have been invested in this process, designing the programme and following up on the recommendations in the review, and Clive’s Way remains a thread through the work of the National Health Service regional team. The report was shared with all Learning Disability and Autism Programmes nationwide and integrated care systems were encouraged to draw on its recommendations to appraise the effectiveness of their improvement programmes and look at areas needing further attention.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making water and sewerage undertakers statutory consultees on applications for planning permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the Chancellor’s planning reform announcement on 26 January 2025, the government declared a moratorium on new statutory consultees and a review of the existing arrangements for statutory consultees to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth.
Any further announcements will be subject to this review.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of the private car parking sector.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the need for high standards in the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumers and the two parking trade associations to raise standards and deliver better outcomes for motorists.
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.
We will announce our plans regarding the government code in due course.
Asked by: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making integrated care boards statutory consultees on applications for planning permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recently declared a moratorium on any new statutory consultees, along with a review of the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. Any further announcements will be subject to this review.