Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the terms of GWR’s National Rail contract require it to seek her permission before making any changes to (a) ticket offices, (b) staffing levels and (c) stations’ operations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Any changes to Ticket Office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to Ticket Offices at any of its stations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether GWR has sought her Department’s permission to reduce ticket office opening hours through the (a) minor and (b) major change process.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Any changes to Ticket Office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to Ticket Offices at any of its stations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether GWR is required to seek her permission before reducing ticket office window use at its stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Any changes to Ticket Office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to Ticket Offices at any of its stations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with GWR on reducing the size of the ticket office window at stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Any changes to Ticket Office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to Ticket Offices at any of its stations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions her Department has had with private prison operators on the right of prison officers to take industrial action.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have no plans to amend section 127 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994.
There have been no recent discussions with private prison contractors on this matter.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Good character: caseworker guidance, updated on 13 February 2025, what definition her Department uses of exceptional, compelling, and mitigating circumstances.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
An exceptional case is one where on the facts of the case, the application would normally be refused but there are mitigating circumstances which mean it would be appropriate to grant. The policy guidance contains a non-exhaustive list of examples of where applications may be granted
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential psychological impact of the updated good character guidance on (a) people in the asylum system and (b) people with leave to remain.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The assessment of good character has been part of the citizenship process since the British Nationality Act 1981, but each individual continues to have their application considered on a case by case basis, taking these individual circumstances into account.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase transparency in her Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want to be more open about the work taken forward within the department. We will continue to look at what information can be shared to further increase transparency, taking into consideration constraints that we can’t ignore, such as protecting personal customer information, and policy development and other risks.
A great example of increasing transparency can be seen with the work the department is taking forward to continue building on the information it started publishing in its Annual Report and Accounts two years ago. Detailing the work of its Advanced Customer Support Teams, and the support for vulnerable customers.
To further increase transparency in this area we will soon be releasing two separate publications. One publication will see us release Internal Process Review information for the first time, showing the learning and improvements taken forward from the departments most serious cases. The second is a publication that highlights and explains how DWP, specifically through its Advanced Customer Support teams, is delivering support for vulnerable customers and the improvements that were delivered to help those who require additional support.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were (a) due to be and (b) actually deported on the charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana on 17 October 2024; how many were women; and how many people had force used against them during the operation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The returns charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana on 17 October 2024 had a capacity of 50 people.
44 people were removed on the flight, seven of whom were women.
There were eight Use of Force incidents recorded during the operation.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to increase awareness of PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has already taken steps to help ensure everyone living with health conditions or a disability is aware of benefits that they can claim, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP). There are no current plans to undertake further activity.
Comprehensive information is available on Gov.uk, which explains who PIP is for and how to claim. This includes a series of videos which provide information on PIP which helps people to understand whether PIP is right for them and to support them through the process if they decide to claim. Personal Independence Payment (PIP): What PIP is for - GOV.UK