Ian Lavery

This Government is committed to delivering net zero by 2050 and we will work in collaboration with farmers and others with a stake in our food system towards this.

The transition to more climate friendly practices will work hand in hand with food security and farm productivity. We will support farmers to adopt low carbon farming practices, increasing the carbon stored on their land while boosting profitability.

The Government believes in the vital importance of equality of opportunity and of treatment in the workplace. The plan to Make Work Pay includes clear action to place equality, diversity and inclusion issues on a statutory footing. This includes requiring large employers to publish plans detailing the action they're taking to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause. Alongside this, the Government has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work with employers to improve the support for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).

Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26.

Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure).

Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

The number of Universal Credit households affected by the policy to provide support to a maximum of 2 children, in Blyth and Ashington in April 2024 was 770.

The equivalent figure for Child Tax Credits is not held by this department as it is administered by HM Revenue & Customs.

Notes:

1. The new 2024 Parliamentary Constituencies are derived by using postcode lookup data against the claimant address however, this is only available for England and Wales and is not present for all households in this data source.

2. 2024 Parliamentary Constituencies are approximate and therefore figures may not match exactly with the previous 2019 Parliamentary Constituencies they correspond to.

It is not possible to make a robust assessment of the impact of poverty levels on birth rates. This is because poverty levels are potentially one of a very wide range and complex interaction of social, economic and personal factors which might affect birth rates. It is not possible to isolate the potential impact of poverty levels from the vast range of other possible factors.

Statistics for the total number of families using foodbanks is not available at a constituency level.

Figures for families using foodbanks in the North East in the past 30 days and 12 months is available on Stat-Xplore: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)

Patients can visit either their general practice (GP), or a sexual health clinic, for support with erectile dysfunction. Anyone experiencing mental health issues, including those related to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use, is encouraged to seek help by consulting to their GP or by self-referring to their local NHS Talking Therapies service.

The product information for individual SSRI medicines describe a range of side-effects, including potential sexual dysfunction during treatment. Some products specifically note that these symptoms may persist even after discontinuing the medication. Patients are encouraged to discuss the benefits and risks associated with medicines with their prescriber for individual support.

As with all medicines, the evidence available for the safety of antidepressants remains under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency after they are authorised for use. In response to patient and family feedback, an Expert Working Group under the Commission of Human Medicines has been established. This group is currently considering the risk minimisation measures for antidepressants in relation to suicide and suicidal behaviour. The scope of this review has been expanded to include the risk of persistent sexual dysfunction after stopping the medication for all 30 antidepressants currently marketed in the United Kingdom.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has funded previous studies focused on the effects of antidepressant medication on sexual function. For example, a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of management strategies for sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants, and to determine the adverse effects and acceptability of these different management strategies.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has funded previous studies focused on the effects of antidepressant medication on sexual function. For example, a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of management strategies for sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants, and to determine the adverse effects and acceptability of these different management strategies. The NIHR is not currently funding any research with a focus on the permanency of antidepressant induced sexual dysfunction. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction.

The data requested is not held by NHS England, as poverty is not a metric used for the classification of illness. Although poverty is not a direct cause of specific health conditions, it can be a risk factor for physical and mental ill health. The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children in history. This will include delivery of an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start at life.

Qualifying offenders (i.e., those convicted for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003) are required to notify personal details to the police. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’ and requires offenders to provide specified details annually and whenever those details change. Registered sex offenders with no fixed abode are required to notify their details every seven days.

The information provided to the police, and other relevant information, is stored on the ViSOR database which allows for the recording and sharing of information relevant to an offender’s risk between the police and other relevant agencies. The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics about (the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). The most recent statistics were published on 31 October and showed that on 31 March 2024, 70,052 sex offenders were managed under MAPPA. Those statistics relate to MAPPA as a system: the volumes of offenders managed at the three different risk levels, or the volumes of risk management tools (such as sexual harm prevention orders) made by a court in the reporting year. There are no plans to include information about offenders with no fixed abode in this publication.

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. Outcomes against these accommodation categories in 2023-24 can be found in Table 2 of the ‘Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables’ which form part of the Offender Accommodation Outcomes publication (Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK).  The notes that accompany the tables provide definitions for each accommodation category.

Data on the number of people who re-offended who are homeless are published as part of the Proven Reoffending Quarterly Statistics Bulletin. Details can be found in Table C3 at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f7c4b34853837d7fc4097/proven-reoffending-oct22-dec22-3-monthly.ods.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation Service, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. Outcomes against these accommodation categories in 2023-24 can be found in Table 2 of the ‘Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables’ which form part of the Offender Accommodation Outcomes publication (Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK).  The notes that accompany the tables provide definitions for each accommodation category.

Data on the number of people who re-offended who are homeless are published as part of the Proven Reoffending Quarterly Statistics Bulletin. Details can be found in Table C3 at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f7c4b34853837d7fc4097/proven-reoffending-oct22-dec22-3-monthly.ods.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation Service, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.

Information on staffing numbers of directly employed staff in HM Prison and Probation Service in England and Wales is published quarterly on GOV.UK.

The most recent data can be found at: HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly: September 2024 - GOV.UK.

Details of the number of offenders released and those recalled, including the reasons for recall, are published quarterly Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The Government’s absolute focus is on public protection. Offenders on licence can be swiftly recalled to prison if they breach their licence conditions.

The Probation Service plays a crucial role in protecting the public and reducing reoffending. We are strengthening probation by building a supported, skilled and resilient workforce that can deliver high quality supervision, focused on the areas of highest risk, and delivered within manageable caseloads. In recognition of this, we are onboarding at least 1,000 new trainee Probation Officers by the end of March 2025, diversifying entry pathways into the service, and supporting targeted recruitment campaigns to boost applications for key roles and reduce hiring time.

The Government is committed to learning from successful examples of local partnerships, supporting the whole service to improve join-up and deliver better outcomes. We are continuously assessing the service and are prepared to take further steps to support the service to deliver, including exploring how technology can be used improve efficiency.