Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 (a) research the causes of ankyloglossia and (b) improve early diagnosis of that condition.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public. The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including ankyloglossia, at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make and assessment of the adequacy of funding for the voluntary sector through the Crisis Resilience Fund.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made on the adequacy of funding for the voluntary sector through the Crisis Resilience Fund. The Government is providing £842 million per year (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support, which represents the first ever multi-year settlement for locally delivered crisis support. Whilst funding will be going directly to local authorities, the voluntary and community sector will play a pivotal role in delivery of the fund
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce Child Maintenance Service (a) response and (b) decision times.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has made significant strides through its Service Modernisation and Digital Transformation Programmes, improving response times and expanding online services for separated parents. It has optimised digital channels and self-service options, reducing caseworker involvement in many processes and speeding up outcomes for customers. Staff support has also improved through upgraded training and operational guidance. Communication with customers is quicker and clearer thanks to greater use of SMS, email, and simplified letters.
As the demand for the service continues to grow, CMS is actively reviewing resources and recruiting to meet future needs. It regularly gathers feedback through the Customer Experience Survey and uses this insight to identify areas for improvement. Its focus remains on delivering efficient, accessible services while continuing to review, evaluate, and enhance tools, processes, and customer experience as part of the ongoing Service Modernisation Programme.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service provides proof, if requested, of calculations of collection fees.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring transparency in the operation of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
The CMS provides two service types: Direct Pay, where parents arrange payments between themselves, and Collect and Pay, where the CMS calculates the liability and manages the transfer of funds. Collection fees only apply to the Collect and Pay service. A fee of 20% is added to what the paying parent needs to pay, while 4% is deducted from maintenance paid to receiving parents.
For cases on the Collect and Pay service, details of what collection fees apply and how they are calculated are included in notifications sent to customers whenever there is a change to their child maintenance calculation. Customers can also view additional information about their payments and child maintenance calculation by accessing their online Child Maintenance account.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service do not send arrears letters to people who pay on time.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Robust processes are in place to ensure correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is accurate and reflects each customer’s payment status. CMS systems monitor compliance of expected payments and where payments are not made in full and on time, arrears or missed payment notifications will be issued. Where a payment has been made in full and on time, no arrears letter should be sent.
The CMS are committed to modernising and regularly reviews processes and updates guidance to staff to minimise errors and improve accuracy.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to establish a clear (a) pathway and (b) timetable for transition plan disclosure to become mandatory for large UK companies.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements has now closed. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course. Sustainable finance is a key priority for the government and is one of the growth pillars for the financial services sector in the Industrial Strategy. According to analysis by the CBI, the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. Transition planning can help businesses and investors identify and seize the economy-wide opportunities of the net zero transition, catalysing investment across the whole economy to create jobs, boost exports and drive economic growth.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that transition plan requirements to clean energy are (a) proportionate and (b) flexible for SMEs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements has now closed. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course. Sustainable finance is a key priority for the government and is one of the growth pillars for the financial services sector in the Industrial Strategy. According to analysis by the CBI, the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. Transition planning can help businesses and investors identify and seize the economy-wide opportunities of the net zero transition, catalysing investment across the whole economy to create jobs, boost exports and drive economic growth.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of aligning UK transition plan requirements with international sustainability standards.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements has now closed. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course. Sustainable finance is a key priority for the government and is one of the growth pillars for the financial services sector in the Industrial Strategy. According to analysis by the CBI, the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. Transition planning can help businesses and investors identify and seize the economy-wide opportunities of the net zero transition, catalysing investment across the whole economy to create jobs, boost exports and drive economic growth.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential for transition plan disclosure to help promote private investment into the UK’s net zero transition.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements has now closed. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course. Sustainable finance is a key priority for the government and is one of the growth pillars for the financial services sector in the Industrial Strategy. According to analysis by the CBI, the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. Transition planning can help businesses and investors identify and seize the economy-wide opportunities of the net zero transition, catalysing investment across the whole economy to create jobs, boost exports and drive economic growth.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether transition plans will be integrated within the UK’s Sustainability Reporting Standards framework.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements has now closed. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course. Sustainable finance is a key priority for the government and is one of the growth pillars for the financial services sector in the Industrial Strategy. According to analysis by the CBI, the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. Transition planning can help businesses and investors identify and seize the economy-wide opportunities of the net zero transition, catalysing investment across the whole economy to create jobs, boost exports and drive economic growth.