Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's 2022-23 priorities and operational planning guidance, published in December 2021, how that guidance will operate to reduce the community service waiting lists for disabled children and their families.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Following publication of updated operational planning guidance in February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement requested providers to outline plans to reduce community service waiting lists. This information is being reviewed as part of planning to support providers with service restoration in community health services.
National service development funding, alongside growth in local systems’ core funding allocations, will support systems to increase the overall capacity of community services to provide care for more patients, address waiting lists and develop and expand new models of community care.
NHS England and NHS Improvement published the Community Health Services Prioritisation Framework on 11 January 2022. This set an expectation that community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people which have been delayed or paused as a result of COVID-19, should resume from 1 March 2022.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has set targets for energy suppliers to meet in regards to identifying and supporting disabled customers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofgem already has measures in place to require energy suppliers to support disabled customers. These include protection from disconnection during the winter, and the provision of additional support through a Priority Services Register. Ofgem monitors compliance with their rules protecting vulnerable consumers. Their most recent report is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/Ofgem%20Consumer%20Protection%20Report%20Autumn%202021_Final.pdf.
Under the Warm Home Discount scheme, Ofgem provides a breakdown in their annual reports of the Industry Initiatives supporting fuel poor and vulnerable households through measures that include benefit entitlement checks and debt write-off. The 2020-2021 report is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-10.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has been made of the financial impact on individuals affected by the decision to remove support for disabled people through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
ECO4 has been designed to focus support on households with the lowest incomes and alleviate fuel poverty. This will include households with disabled people on the lowest incomes. The scheme is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, through the installation of insulation or heating measures. Households benefitting from improvements could save an average of £300 per annum.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will reverse planned reforms to the Warm Home Discount eligibility criteria so that all those in receipt of Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are eligible for that support.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Introducing non-means-tested benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA), into the eligibility criteria would mean that many households on lower incomes and in deeper fuel poverty would lose out.
Around 62% of PIP and DLA recipients also receive one of the qualifying means-tested benefits and so would be considered low-income under the Core Group 2 criteria. Those households with high energy costs would be eligible for a rebate. Recipients of AA, a pension-age benefit, who claim Pension Credit Guarantee Credit will in most cases qualify for a rebate through Core Group 1.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the criteria are for qualifying for the Warm Home Discount under the new Core Group 2.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The full eligibility criteria, including a list of the qualifying benefits, can be found in our recently published Government response on the scheme.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make the Ukrainian Sponsorship Scheme visa application available in Ukrainian.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We intend to provide supporting guidance for the Ukrainian Sponsorship Scheme visa application in Ukrainian and Russian as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK officials are present on the Poland-Ukraine border.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has over 360 HMG staff working on the response to the crisis in the region, including in Ukraine and Poland. Our Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) has maintained a presence at the Poland-Ukraine border since 15 February. Humanitarian experts are currently based in Poland and we work closely with, and fund, trusted NGO partners and UN agencies that provide coordinated, largescale humanitarian response. There are Home Office staff at a Visa Support Centre in Rzeszow who are focused on helping Ukrainian refugees complete their visa application process, in addition to our enhanced visa operation in Warsaw. Finally, Consular officials at our Embassy in Warsaw are supporting the RDT in providing help to British nationals in need of assistance.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps has she taken to ensure that UK Government sanctions are being applied in the crown dependencies and overseas territories.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
UK sanctions apply in all Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies either by Orders in Council or through each jurisdiction's own legislation (Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar and Bermuda legislate for themselves). The UK Government is in regular contact with the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to help improve implementation and discuss the impact of sanctions, and will continue to provide guidance and support where appropriate. The UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, which sits within HMT, engages regularly with Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies on compliance, enforcement and licensing. This engagement has assisted these jurisdictions in improving the implementation of financial sanctions across the wider British Family.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what quantity of medical supplies the Government has delivered to Ukraine since 24 February 2022; and what supplies those deliveries included.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Since 24 February more than 1.8 million items of medicine, medical equipment and consumables have been delivered via Poland on 9 flights and handed over to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. 9,468 items (blankets and hygiene kits) were delivered and handed over to the Moldovan Ministry of Labour and Social Protection on 12 March. The equipment for six Internally Displaced People reception centres in Lviv has been flown to Poland and handed over to the International Organisation for Migration. A further consignment of relief items to the UN Refugee Agency is planned for Ukraine and the region which will include blankets, kitchen sets, solar lanterns, hygiene kits and shelter supplies.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will set out further details on the £120 million humanitarian aid package the UK government has committed to Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has now pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to support a well-coordinated and well-funded response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the region. We have already disbursed funding to humanitarian agencies in Ukraine this financial year as well as enabled the delivery of life-saving UK medical supplies; committed £25 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal, which has now raised over £130 million; and enabled the deployment of a 13-person field team of humanitarian experts to the region to provide logistics advice and analysis of the evolving refugee situation and needs. This analysis will inform further funding disbursements both within this financial year and next.