Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a jobcentre in St Neots.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions continually keeps under review the location of Jobcentres across Great Britain to balance customer demand and the range of services required, while also providing value for money for the taxpayer. There are no plans to expand the Jobcentre Plus network at this time.
When shaping Jobcentre services, DWP uses local insights to develop plans which account for the needs of communities to access employment support. Support for St Neots is currently available from Huntingdon and Cambridge Jobcentres, both of which are located nearby.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 Vaccine.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All vaccines in the United Kingdom must be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be placed on the UK market. The MHRA assesses all applications for authorisations of vaccines promptly, to ensure their safety, quality, and efficacy.
The updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine has not been authorised by the MHRA. We are unable to confirm whether the MHRA has or has not received an application for Novavax's updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine, as this information is considered commercially sensitive.
Pharmaceutical companies can decide to make information regarding the status of their Marketing Authorisation Applications publicly available, and the MHRA advocates that companies publish information on medicines in their pipelines, where and when it is reasonable to do so.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a driving test centre in St Neots.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will carry out an assessment of the impact of the regulatory changes to volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2018 on the construction industry.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for VCMs. Any potential changes to the current policy position on VCM weight limits will need to consider the implications for road safety, infrastructure, the environment, and maintaining fair competition in the market. The Department is currently reviewing the outcomes and will publish its findings in due course.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of delaying the outcome of her short review of post-16 qualification reforms until December 2024 on (a) schools’ ability to provide effective information and (b) plan for the 2025/26 academic year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In July, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a short review of qualifications reform. The rapid review is focused on Level 3 qualifications currently scheduled to have funding removed on 31 July 2025.
The department understands the need to provide certainty to the sector, students and parents about what qualifications will be available in the 2025/26 academic year.
The department is working as quickly as possible to provide clarity to the sector, which is why we moved immediately to pause the defunding due to happen from August this year and will conclude and communicate outcomes of the review by the end of the calendar year. This will enable schools and colleges to reflect the outcomes of the review in their delivery planning and marketing materials in the new year.
It is also worth noting that large portions of qualifications are unaffected by the review and provide certainty to the sector. These include A levels and T Levels, new alternative academic qualifications, new technical occupational qualifications, and the qualifications in the subjects, routes and qualification types not covered by the defunding lists, including further applied general qualifications.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make the temporary duty easement for wines permanent from 1 February 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume. The reforms aimed to modernise and simplify the system, to prioritise public health and incentivise consumption of lower strength products.
To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the current, temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume.
The current temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 31st January 2025.