James Murray

Since May 2022, the Government has launched a support service open to all victims or those at risk of conversion practices regardless of their background or circumstances. The Government has committed up to £360,000 over three years to this service. The service includes a helpline, instant messaging service, and website to enable people to get the support they need.

More widely, the Government remains committed to protecting everyone from these practices. We are carefully considering the responses to the public consultation which closed earlier this year and will respond in due course.

In April 2022, the statutory National Living Wage was increased to £9.50 per hour. By 2024, the Government have committed that the National Living Wage will reach 66% of median UK earnings.

As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees in the Cabinet Office earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 0 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.

We are unable to provide details on Contractors and Agency workers' pay as they are not employees of the departments in which they work, nor of the Civil Service.

We are committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as quickly as possible and work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements by April 2025, subject to parliamentary scheduling.

The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses.

Businesses in Ealing North will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, the cut to fuel duty for 12 months and raising the Employment Allowance to £5,000. The Energy Bill Relief and Energy Bill Discount Schemes will protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Autumn Statement, announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.

The Government is providing financial support - 206 SMEs in Ealing North have received Start Up loans to the value of £2,203,440, as of December 2022.

Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid. The Contracts for Difference scheme, the Government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon generation, is awarded through a competitive process, ensuring that the most cost-effective projects are supported, regardless of their location.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation so is applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price, in a fair and reasonable manner.

The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period.

The SHDF Demonstrator and Wave 1 awarded a combined total of around £240m of grant funding to Local Authorities, with data held on local authority-led projects rather than at a constituency level. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed in November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.  BEIS will be publishing official statistics on the number of measures installed and households upgraded through SHDF Wave 1 by geographical area on 26th January 2023.

The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Ealing North.

The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures.

An additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up delivery over time.

Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, monitors and carries out research on issues faced by vulnerable consumers, including those around debt and affordability. Ofcom is currently monitoring the affordability of communications services, looking at households which have difficulty paying for these, in particular in relation to broadband. It will publish its findings in Q3 2020/21.

Ofcom’s 2018 Access and Inclusion report found that around one in ten (9%) of those responsible for paying for their household’s communication services said they had experienced difficulties paying their bills.

More broadly, as part of Government’s response to Covid-19, we have agreed a package of measures with the UK’s major fixed and mobile providers to support and protect consumers with their connectivity needs. This package was agreed on 29 March 2020, with further companies signing up on 18 May. As part of the commitments, providers have agreed to work with customers who find it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19, to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported.

On 1 February 2022, we announced that the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) will continue to offer invaluable support to eligible adoptive and special guardianship families up to March 2025. This will take us to the 10th consecutive year of funding for the ASF.

Further announcements on the scope, budget, and operation of the ASF from April 2022 will be made shortly.

Unless an individual has been specifically asked to do so by a clinician, it is vital that only those who have developed symptoms of COVID-19 get tested. The NHS Test and Trace system must stay focused on testing those with symptoms of COVID-19. The test is most effective for those who are experiencing symptoms.

Anyone who is self isolating as a result of being a close contact of a confirmed case but does not have symptoms should not request a test. This includes if that case was identified in school or college.

The latest clinical advice is that testing of individuals without symptoms should only be used where clinically appropriate, predominantly for outbreak investigation and infection control. This risk based approach ensures that testing is targeted where it is most effective.

All children, young people and staff have access to a test if they display symptoms of COVID-19 and should get tested in this scenario.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

During this period, we are asking schools to support children who are eligible for and claiming benefits related free school meals, by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children, and we encourage this approach where it is possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.

Through the national voucher scheme, schools and families could initially access eGift cards for Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and M&S. On Monday 27 April Aldi were added to this list and on Wednesday 29 April McColl’s were also added. We recognise that it may not be convenient or possible for some families to visit one of these supermarkets and we are continuing to work to see if additional supermarkets can be added to this list.

Where none of these supermarkets are convenient for families, schools can directly purchase vouchers for alternative supermarkets and be reimbursed for the costs.

Full details are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

During this period, we are asking schools to support children who are eligible for and claiming benefits related free school meals, by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children, and we encourage this approach where it is possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.

Through the national voucher scheme, schools and families could initially access eGift cards for Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and M&S. On Monday 27 April Aldi were added to this list and on Wednesday 29 April McColl’s were also added. We recognise that it may not be convenient or possible for some families to visit one of these supermarkets and we are continuing to work to see if additional supermarkets can be added to this list.

Where none of these supermarkets are convenient for families, schools can directly purchase vouchers for alternative supermarkets and be reimbursed for the costs.

Full details are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Under Section 59 of the Building Act 1984, local authorities can require property owners to rectify unsatisfactory drainage. If a property owner fails to act, the local authority can carry out the works itself and then recover its costs. The Secretary of State and his officials regularly meet with water companies to discuss their obligations, including around drainage performance.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs take steps to exclude the possibility that goods of West Bank origin enter the United Kingdom incorrectly described as being Israeli. This is to prevent them benefitting from preferential tariffs in accordance with the terms of EU-Israel Association Agreement and the technical arrangements which flow from this.

EU rules do not allow the authorities in any exporting third country (such as the State of Israel) to issue valid certificates of conformity with EU marketing standards for fruit and vegetables originating outside that third country. This includes territories under Israeli administration since June 1967, for example, the West Bank. The situation referred to by the hon. Member in respect of imports originating in Israeli settlements on the West Bank cannot, therefore, arise.

EU rules allow third countries to issue a certificate of conformity, confirming compliance with marketing standards. However, that does not mean that every import consignment will be accompanied by such a document. Importers can also apply for a certificate directly from an EU Member State’s authority.

For dairy products, certificates of conformity with marketing standards are not required regardless of the origin of imports. The EU marketing standards legislation will form part of UK statute and will continue to apply in the UK after the transition period.

The UK has pledged £744 million to support the global humanitarian response to COVID-19. We?have?delivered?additional vital support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by providing funding to WHO and UNICEF to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of?medical equipment,?treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.

The UN assesses that although the current number of detected cases remains relatively low, the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with an expected increase in COVID-19 cases is poor. The situation is particularly severe in Gaza, where the health system has shortages in specialised staff, drugs and equipment. We continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with the UN and the international community to ensure a co-ordinated response.

DFID provides support to the health system in Gaza and contributes to the provision of emergency food aid for around 1.2 million vulnerable people.

DFID does not hold information on what proportion of overall humanitarian assistance is delivered through NGOs.

The United Kingdom does not treat the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of Israel. The settlements are not covered by the EU-Israel Association Agreement nor by the United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. Products produced in the settlements are, therefore, not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment.

The Department for International Trade does not provide direct support to business activity in the settlements and my officials work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to encourage companies to put rights and responsibilities at the centre of everything they do.

The United Kingdom does not treat the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of Israel. The settlements are not covered by the EU-Israel Association Agreement nor by the United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. Products produced in the settlements are, therefore, not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment.

The Department for International Trade does not provide direct support to business activity in the settlements and my officials work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to encourage companies to put rights and responsibilities at the centre of everything they do.

All committee decisions made within the framework of the European Union-Israel Association Agreement were carried across into the United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, which will enter into force after the end of the Transition Period on 1^st January 2021.

I am unaware of any organisation called UK Economy and Finance.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is committed to high standards of environmental, social and human rights (ESHR) risk management. It rigorously follows the requirements of the OECD Common Approaches and Equator Principles, which set the framework for export credit agencies and international financial institutions in managing such risks and impacts.

UKEF’s specialist ESHR risk management team reviews relevant projects prior to UKEF taking a decision on whether to support. ESHR monitoring takes place throughout the lifetime of UKEF’s support for such projects.

I am unaware of any organisation called UK Economy and Finance.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is committed to high standards of environmental, social and human rights (ESHR) risk management. It rigorously follows the requirements of the OECD Common Approaches and Equator Principles, which set the framework for export credit agencies and international financial institutions in managing such risks and impacts.

UKEF’s specialist ESHR risk management team reviews relevant projects prior to UKEF taking a decision on whether to support. ESHR monitoring takes place throughout the lifetime of UKEF’s support for such projects.

The department for Transport does not have any current plans to set targets with regards to the UK Real Living Wage and/ or the London Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation. However, the Department for Transport is committed to maximising this year’s pay award, in line with this year’s Civil Service Pay Remit guidance, targeting some of our highest headline awards to our lowest paid staff and ensuring we are an above National Living Wage employer.

DfT pay staff in line with the statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

As separate employers, information on DfT’s Arm’s Length Bodies is not held centrally, although all adhere to the statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

Information for contractors and agency workers is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

DWP and its associated Arm’s Length Bodies, adhere to the mandatory National Living Wage. This government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage. In April 2022, the National Living Wage increased to £9.50 per hour. By 2024, the Government have committed that the National Living Wage will reach 66% of median UK earnings.

As of 12/07/2022 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has 23 individuals earning below the Real Living Wage. TPR will keep this position under review. TPR, as above, adhere to the mandatory National Living Wage.

• As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees, contractors and agency workers in the Department for Work and Pensions earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 0 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.
• As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees, contractors and agency workers in the Money and Pensions Service earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 0 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.
• As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees, contractors and agency workers in the Pensions Ombudsman earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 0 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.
• As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees, contractors and agency workers in the Health and Safety Executive earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 0 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.
• As of 07/07/2022, the total number of direct employees, contractors and agency workers in The Pensions Regulator earning below the Real Living Wage rate of £9.90 per hour was 23 and for the London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour was 0.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19^th January to question number 104377.

No assessment has been made of the trends in the rate of homelessness exemptions to the Shared Accommodation Rate for people aged between 25 to 35 years old.

An exemption from the shared accommodation rate for those aged 25-34 who have spent three months or more in homeless hostel was introduced in 2012 when the age limit for the shared accommodation rate was increased from 25 to 35. The exemption addressed concerns raised by the Social Security and Advisory Committee about the impact of these changes on rough sleepers. The exemption is designed to target people receiving a sustained programme of rehabilitation rather than people who have sporadic, short term says.

Housing Benefit rules should reflect the housing expectations of people of a similar age not in receipt of benefits. For other individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. DHP funding, from 2011 over £1 billion to date and an additional £40 million for Discretionary Housing Payments in 2020/21, will enable local authorities to consider individual circumstances and provide longer-term support for more vulnerable claimants.

No specific assessment has been made. The Government’s national maternity safety ambition aims to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies occurring during or soon after birth, by 2025. Since 2010, the rate of stillbirths has reduced by 19.3%, the rate of neonatal mortality for babies born over 24 weeks gestational age of viability has reduced by 36% and maternal mortality has reduced by 17%.

We have introduced targeted interventions to accelerate progress, such as the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and the Brain Injury Reduction Programme. NHS England has also invested £127 million in National Health Service maternity workforce and improving neonatal care. This is in addition to the £95 million investment made in 2021 to fund the establishment of a further 1,200 midwifery and 100 consultant obstetrician posts. NHS England is offering funding and support to trusts to recruit an additional 300 to 500 overseas midwives in the next 12 months.

The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, published in February 2022, stated the ambition to reduce patient backlogs for planned National Health Service treatments and the government plans to spend more than £8bn from 2022/23 to 2024/25. We made £520 million available to expand general practice capacity during the pandemic. This was in addition to at least £1.5 billion announced in 2020 by 2024 which includes supporting increased workloads in GP surgeries, including in Ealing North. In September 2022, ‘Our plan for patients’ announced measures to support GP practices increase access and manage workload such as the provision of 31,000 phone lines and freeing up funding rules to widen the types of staff that work in general practice, including in Ealing North.

On 22 September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which contains measures to assist people make an informed choice on their general practitioner (GP) practice, book an appointment more easily, benefit from more care options and increase the diversity of general practice teams. This aims to increase the availability of appointment types, such as face-to-face, in England, including in Ealing North.

NHS England’s guidance states that GP practices must provide face to face appointments and remote consultations and should respect preferences for face-to-face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary.  While remote consultations can provide additional choice, flexibility and convenience for patients, this is not suitable for all patients or in all circumstances.

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in Ealing North.

No specific assessment has been made.

‘Our plan for patients’, published on 22 September, sets out the immediate priorities to support individuals to live healthier lives, including improving access to health and care services in all areas and preventing ill-health. Further information on measures to address health disparities will be available in due course.