Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Treasury is required to sign off a pay award for Network Rail employees.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Although HM Treasury sets Departmental budgets, both HM Treasury and the Department are required to sign off funding allocated to the train operating companies and Network Rail.
Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group, on behalf of the train operating companies, are negotiating with trade unions on proposed pay offers.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November to Question 84872 on Energy Bills Rebate: District Heating, by which date he plans to announce the method of delivery for the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding payments.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is working in partnership with local authorities to finalise the details of the Alternative Funding. The Government is aiming to launch the scheme in January and will make a further announcement on delivery mechanism details soon.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish guidance on the Energy Bills Support Scheme for households who receive their energy through private heat and power networks.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide a £400 discount on energy bills for the small percentage of households who will not be reached through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This includes those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an electricity supplier. Eligibility, timescales and method of delivery will be announced in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to expand the 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents to include income earned through PhD studies as a qualifying income.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department is not currently planning to extend the 30 hours of free childcare to include income earned through PhD studies. We recognise the value of parents continuing in education and provide a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare.
Students starting a doctoral degree on or after 1 August 2018 are eligible to receive a postgraduate doctoral loan to help with course fees and living costs, including childcare, which can be up to £27,892 for students starting their courses in the current academic year, 2022/23.
In addition to the above childcare support for doctoral students, all parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to every three and four-year-old, regardless of family circumstances.
Working parents of three and four-year-olds may also be eligible for an additional 15 hours of free childcare if they earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage and earn under £100,000 per year. Students who participate in paid work in addition to their studies and who meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours.
Parents who meet these income criteria may also be able to receive support from Tax-Free Childcare, which can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0-11, or up to £4,000 per year for some disabled children aged 0-16.
Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
The department remains committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We continue to look at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use government-funded support they are entitled to.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish details on the additional £100 Energy Bills Support payment for households who are part of a local domestic heat network.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Heat network customers are benefiting from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. These customers will therefore not receive the Alternative Fuel Payment of £200, which has been designed to support households using fuels such as oil, LPG or coal.
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that the EBRS will be reformed from April 2023. The Government will bring forward a route to deliver bespoke support for on heat network consumers from this date.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2022 to Question 74777, how many weekly train services (a) will run in the December 2022 (b) are run in the current and (c) were run in the December 2019 rail timetable.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The number of trains that are planned to operate varies slightly from day to day for a variety of reasons, including planned and unplanned engineering works. The Department does not record the total number of trains planned to run each day. Overall, the planned timetable change in December 2022 will maintain services at similar levels to today, while improving punctuality and reliability for passengers in many areas. Service levels remain around ten percent lower than in 2019.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Levelling Up White Paper, published by his Department on 2 February 2022, whether it is still his Department's policy to halve the number of non-decent homes in the rented sector by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Government remains committed to levelling up the country and tackling non-decency. The Government has committed to review the Decent Homes Standard to make sure it is fit for the present day and responses from a recent consultation on a Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector are currently being analysed. For those who live in poor quality social housing, we have introduced new legislation to improve the quality and regulation of social housing, give residents performance information so they can hold their landlord to account and ensure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take quick and effective action to put things right.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent notifications she has received that (a) Chiltern Railways, (b) Cross Country Trains, (c) Greater Anglia, (d) LNER, (e) East Midlands Railway, (f) c2c, (g) Great Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) Northern Trains, (j) South Eastern, (k) South Western Railway, (l) TransPennine Express, (m) Avanti West Coast and (n) West Midlands Trains plan to submit applications to close ticket offices regulated by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We want to move staff from behind the ticket office screens to more visible and accessible roles around stations which better support customers and train operating companies have set out early proposals for station retail reform. Any decisions which are taken will be made in accordance with the TSA and the relevant guidance.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her permission is required for train operating companies to commence consultations over closures of ticket offices regulated by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There is a process already set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement which train operating companies must follow to commence proposed closures of ticket offices, which includes public and industry engagement.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when public consultations will be launched on ticket office closures by train operating companies; and when ticket office closures will commence.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Secretary of State has held no recent discussions directly with train operating companies about ticket offices.