Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of adult social care on supporting people of working age into the labour market.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care plays a vital role and directly supports people of working age to enter, remain in, or return to employment, and ultimately to maintain people’s independence. By ensuring individuals receive the right care in the right place at the right time, they are better able to contribute to society through employment, volunteering, or other forms of participation. To support working aged people into the labour market, earnings from employment are specifically disregarded from financial assessments, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/14
This is to ensure that working aged adults who are in employment are able to retain their earnings in full, and supplement their income, in addition to retaining the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) after being charged for their social care.
The Government also recognises the importance of supporting unpaid carers. Access to appropriate support, such as respite care, is important to help carers maintain their own wellbeing and avoid burnout, which can otherwise lead to withdrawal from the workforce. To support this, we are committed to reviewing the implementation of Carer’s Leave and examining the benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. The latest release of these statistics is included in the latest Universal Credit statistical bulletin. ‘Table 2’ in the latest Universal Credit immigration status and nationality data tables provides information on the number of people on Universal Credit by immigration status, nationality group and employment status, for each month from April 2022 to June 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what purposes government agencies monitor social media activity by members of the public; and whether there are limits on the scope of such monitoring.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) leads the department’s operational response to information risks to UK audiences within its ministerially defined remit which concerns public safety and national security. The NSOIT has compliance policies and procedures in place, in accordance with all applicable legislation, to ensure that individuals are not monitored and their rights are respected. Its privacy notices are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether any third-party contractors have been engaged to assist with the monitoring of social media content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government follows a fair and open tender process towards all contracts. Information on contracts awarded by the department to third-party contractors is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his policy is on the (a) storage, (b) retention and (c) use of data collected from social media monitoring activities by (i) government departments and (ii) affiliated agencies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology complies with UK data protection legislation, ensuring data is used fairly, and handled appropriately. That includes data collected from social media monitoring activities.
For example, DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) conducts targeted open-source analysis to identify and assess potential threats within its ministerially agreed remit of public safety and national security. NSOIT has a privacy notice which sets out how data will be stored, retained and used in the course of its work and this is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential long-term fiscal merits of retaining the Bitcoins held by UK authorities in connection with investment fraud.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), which sets out the necessary steps for the management and realisation of assets, the seizure, recovery and management of Bitcoin assets is subject to consideration of independent law enforcement and the courts.
There are no current plans to amend the Act to divert seized coins to a centrally-held fund or reserve.
I am unable to comment on any ongoing civil recovery investigations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending the rules for the childcare vouchers scheme to allow participants to receive refunds, subject to the appropriate tax and National Insurance contributions, in instances where (a) exceptional and (b) unforeseen changes in circumstances have resulted in unused balances that can no longer be spent on eligible childcare, in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We appreciate the temporary closure of childcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic may have left parents unable to use some existing Government childcare offers, including Childcare Vouchers.Parents can seek to get a refund from their employer for their unused Childcare Vouchers. Whether particular employers offer refunds will depend on the contract between the Voucher provider, employee and employer, and is not within HMRC's control. Where a refund is not available the funds will remain in the nominated childcare account. As the Childcare Vouchers offer is now closed to new entrants and has been replaced by Tax-Free Childcare, the Government has no plans for reform.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an Older People’s Commissioner for England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has not made an assessment on an Older People’s Commissioner. Our commitment to the pensions Triple Lock throughout this Parliament will see millions of pensioners receive up to £470 more this year added to their State Pension and our increased income threshold for Winter Fuel Payments of £35,000 a year will see over three quarters of pensioners in England and Wales receiving the payment later this Winter.
DWP currently offers employment support for those older jobseekers affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications. Through Midlife MOTs, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older people to assess their health, finances and skills.
The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new jobs and careers service that will enable everyone, including the over-50s, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the licensing system for Section 2 shotguns on rural economies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.
The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns.
We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people impacted by (a) long-term health conditions and (b) disabilities are consulted during the review of changes to Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I am committed to co-producing the review with disabled people, including those with long term health conditions and disabilities, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders, to ensure that a wide range of views and voices are heard.
I have been engaging over the summer to consider the process for the work of the review and consider how it can best be co-produced to ensure that expertise from a range of different perspectives is drawn upon. I will share more details on this and how disabled people and other stakeholders will be involved in the review as plans progress.