Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to invest in Basildon.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Growth is the government’s central economic mission and we are currently developing an Industrial Strategy which aims to drive growth across the UK through investment in key sectors and regions.

The Department of Business and Trade (DBT) encourages investment across the UK through working closely with local council teams. A recent example is the 11^th of September opening of Iveco’s UK HQ in Basildon, closely supported by DBT alongside Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council.

DBT regularly refers to Basildon’s strong industrial base in company information requests, referring to well-established overseas investors such as the Ford Motor Company and CNH Industrial Tractors.

DBT works to promote Basildon to investors with further support from the Thames Estuary Growth Board PRP, The Thames Freeport team and the Cities and Local Growth Unit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will support (a) pubs and (b) breweries in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency through alcohol duty.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Pubs and breweries make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, and this is recognised in the tax system.

The current alcohol duty system supports pubs and breweries through Draught Relief, which ensures eligible products served on draught pay less duty.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and rates that took effect on 1 August 2023. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its Budget process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the level of knife crime in Essex.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the year ending March 2024, there were 1,539 offences involving knives or sharp instruments recorded by Essex Police, a fall of 8% compared with the year ending March 2023 (1,667). Across England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester Police), the number of knife and sharp instrument offences rose by 4% across the same period (from 48,409 offences in year ending March 2023 to 50,510 offences in year ending March 2024).

The Government is already taking action to get dangerous weapons off the street. We have banned Zombie style knives and zombie style machetes, and , the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes became illegal on 24 September 2024. We will also be taking action to ban ninja swords in line with our manifesto commitment and a review of online sales of knives is currently being conducted by Commander Clayman of the Metropolitan Police at the request of the Home Secretary.

We will also create a new Young Futures programme - intervening earlier to stop young people being drawn into crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most and we will be introducing Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs to help deliver this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle knife crime in Essex.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the year ending March 2024, there were 1,539 offences involving knives or sharp instruments recorded by Essex Police, a fall of 8% compared with the year ending March 2023 (1,667). Across England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester Police), the number of knife and sharp instrument offences rose by 4% across the same period (from 48,409 offences in year ending March 2023 to 50,510 offences in year ending March 2024).

The Government is already taking action to get dangerous weapons off the street. We have banned Zombie style knives and zombie style machetes, and , the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes became illegal on 24 September 2024. We will also be taking action to ban ninja swords in line with our manifesto commitment and a review of online sales of knives is currently being conducted by Commander Clayman of the Metropolitan Police at the request of the Home Secretary.

We will also create a new Young Futures programme - intervening earlier to stop young people being drawn into crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most and we will be introducing Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs to help deliver this.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require supermarkets to charge regulated prices for certain products.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government does not intend to propose legislation directly regulating prices in supermarkets. Effective competition in the grocery market will ensure fair prices and choices are available to consumers.

Promoting effective competition is the responsibility of the independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In response to cost of living pressures, the CMA has conducted a wide-ranging project looking at competition and prices in the groceries sector. This work found that competition is generally working well in the sector, however the CMA are continuing this work and examining the impact of loyalty scheme pricing.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to improve social mobility.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Every child should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn. Too often opportunity for children and young people is defined by their background. That’s why this government is committed to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. Through the Opportunity Mission, we will build opportunity for all by giving every child the best start in life, helping them to achieve and thrive, ensuring family security, and tackling the underlying barriers to opportunity that hold too many children and young people back.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national curriculum which focuses on British (a) culture and (b) history in state-maintained secondary schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, which is chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review.

The review will seek to deliver a broader curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people benefit from a curriculum that represents them and their families, regardless of background, and equips them to shape our response to the challenges of our changing world.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review Group will publish an interim report in the new year setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.

The government intends to legislate so that, following the review and the implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the new national curriculum, alongside other state-funded schools. This will give parents certainty over their children’s education.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to increase the salary threshold for skilled worker visas.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Secretary confirmed on 30 July that we will be retaining the salary threshold increase brought in by the previous government. Further details can be found in her Written Ministerial Statement here: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

The Government keeps all routes under regular review to ensure they are operating in the best interests of the UK when it comes to future recruitment. Salary thresholds are updated annually so that they continue to reflect salaries paid to occupations according to the latest actual data from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce congestion in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network so it can serve all road users and is safe. Traffic management of local roads is the responsibility of local traffic authorities who are best placed to understand local circumstances and needs.

Traffic authorities are subject to the statutory network management duty which requires them to manage their roads to secure the ‘expeditious movement’ of all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion, and they have a wide range of tools already available to them to enable this.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help support the high streets in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We want to ensure that communities across the country, such as in South Basildon and East Thurrock, have the support they need to revitalise their high street. As part of this, we plan to introduce new powers to help fill vacant properties through High Street Rental Auctions and to empower greater community ownership by introducing a Right to Buy for valued community assets in the English Devolution Bill.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the unemployment rate in Essex.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Both Basildon and Grays Jobcentres serve the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency. Both Jobcentres collaborate with employers and providers to resolve recruitment needs, focusing on overcoming common barriers. Solutions include tailored Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, organising recruitment events themed by sector and claimant group, and innovative Movement to Work placements. Both Jobcentres also deliver claimant information sessions, covering topics such as childcare costs, various labour market sectors, 50PLUS Mid-Life MOTs, CV and job application support, and interview preparation.

Basildon Jobcentre are delivering a youth customer forum to encourage their younger customers into work. This is designed to be a provider-led programme to support customers with mental health challenges, as this was their main barrier to employment.

Basildon Jobcentre, Basildon Council, and Essex County Council also recently collaborated to deliver Spectrum, a neurodivergent wellbeing and recruitment event. Among other partners, the local NHS Trust attended the event and is now planning to replicate and deliver similar events across other boroughs. DWP and Thurrock Council will deliver a variation of this event in early 2025 for Grays’ neurodivergent constituents.

Basildon Jobcentre and Basildon Council co-delivered activities for their recent Apprenticeship Day and following its success, both are planning to co-deliver a season recruitment event. Pathways, Basildon Council’s community employment support hub, are committed to delivering monthly recruitment and training events.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing to businesses in Essex to increase the levels of exports of (a) goods and (b) services.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

UK businesses, including those in Essex, can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises online support and our wider network of support, including Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network, and UK Export Finance. Alongside this, our international trade advisers use their extensive experience of exporting and knowledge of the needs of SMEs in their sectors and regions to provide one-to-one tailored support to businesses across the UK.

DBT will continue to review its offer to ensure businesses have the support they need to export and grow.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will establish an additional public holiday for St George's Day.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and accepted. The Government has no plans to change it.

While an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday remains considerable. The estimated cost to the UK economy of an additional one-off bank holiday is around £2bn.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of dentists in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. We are exploring how we can better support the whole dental team to work in NHS dentistry.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. The NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board was allocated three posts from the dental recruitment incentive scheme. Of these, two posts have so far been successfully filled. Further information on the dental recruitment incentive scheme is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on the future of the TV licence.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government remains committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current Charter period.

We will keep an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and will engage with the BBC, the public and other stakeholders before deciding on next steps.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve palliative care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure that patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

I recently met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We are also in active discussions with NHS England about maintaining the £25 million of annual funding for children and young people’s hospices in 2025/26, with further information to follow in due course.

Additionally, we have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.

More information about how members of the public, patients, healthcare staff and stakeholder organisations can input into the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social housing places are accommodating asylum seekers in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 8700 on 21 October 2024.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to invest in Thurrock.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Growth is the government’s central economic mission and we are currently developing an Industrial Strategy which aims to drive growth across the UK through investment in key sectors and regions.

DBT looks to encourage investment across the UK and works closely with relevant economic development and inward investment officers at Essex County Council, The Thames Freeport and the Thames Estuary Growth Board (PRP) along with the local councils as appropriate.

Investment into the wider region (Essex, Kent and East Sussex) has been consistent between 2021-2024. The number of jobs created rose to 1281 in 2023-2024, a 40% rise from the previous year.

The Lakeside shopping Centre at West Thurrock continues to be an attraction for foreign retailers and DBT has supported retail and distribution investments in the region from Aldi, Lidl and Amazon.