Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of pupils that have experienced hygiene poverty in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty as part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child.
Child poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. This not only harms children’s lives now, but it also damages their future prospects and holds back our society and economy.
The Child Poverty Taskforce recognises families' ability to afford essentials, including hygiene essentials, as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing acute poverty, including access to essentials, is a core focus of the work being developed through the Child Poverty Strategy. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the level of hygiene poverty.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling poverty in all forms, from reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels to ensuring people can afford essentials like hygiene products, is a priority for this government.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty, but too many people are being denied the security and dignity that comes with being in good work. The Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November, sets out how we will reform employment support, backed by a £240 million investment to target, and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity, and better join up health skills and employment support based on the needs of local communities.
This vital work comes alongside the announcements made at the Autumn budget which delivers an increase to the National Living Wage of 6.7% to £12.21 for eligible workers aged 21 and over, and a rise in the 18-20 National Minimum Wage of 16.3% to £10.00 per hour. This is a record increase and is the first step in the government’s plan to create a single adult rate for eligible workers.
We also announced that we are introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions made from a UC award, allowing customers to prioritise their most severe third-party debts and retain more of their benefit award to budget for essentials. Reducing the cap to 15% will benefit 1.2 million households by £420pa on average.
These steps come alongside the £1 billion, including Barnett impact, that will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales. The Household Support Fund can be used, in England, to provide support with food, energy, water and wider essentials including hygiene products.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people have experienced hygiene poverty in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Carlisle constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling poverty in all forms, from reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels to ensuring people can afford essentials like hygiene products, is a priority for this government.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty, but too many people are being denied the security and dignity that comes with being in good work. The Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November, sets out how we will reform employment support, backed by a £240 million investment to target, and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity, and better join up health skills and employment support based on the needs of local communities.
This vital work comes alongside the announcements made at the Autumn budget which delivers an increase to the National Living Wage of 6.7% to £12.21 for eligible workers aged 21 and over, and a rise in the 18-20 National Minimum Wage of 16.3% to £10.00 per hour. This is a record increase and is the first step in the government’s plan to create a single adult rate for eligible workers.
We also announced that we are introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions made from a UC award, allowing customers to prioritise their most severe third-party debts and retain more of their benefit award to budget for essentials. Reducing the cap to 15% will benefit 1.2 million households by £420pa on average.
These steps come alongside the £1 billion, including Barnett impact, that will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales. The Household Support Fund can be used, in England, to provide support with food, energy, water and wider essentials including hygiene products.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Child Poverty Taskforce plans to (a) assess the (i) extent and (ii) potential impact on children of and (b) make recommendations on tackling hygiene poverty.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Taskforce recognises families' access to essentials, including hygiene essentials, as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing acute poverty, including access to essentials, is a core focus of the work to develop through the child poverty strategy. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Health System, New York, published on 2 October 2024, on treating invasive bladder cancer which avoids removal of the bladder.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the policy implications following this clinical trial. The adoption of new treatments into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and commissioner decisions.
The recommended treatment plan for muscle-invasive bladder cancer depends on how far the cancer has spread. All hospitals use multidisciplinary teams to treat bladder cancer. These are teams of specialists that work together to make decisions about the best way to proceed with treatment.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve support for kinship carers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play. This government also appreciates that kinship carers often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.
We have recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.
The government also recently announced the appointment of the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador. The Ambassador advocates for kinship children and their carers and works directly with local authorities to help them improve services, whilst sharing good practice across areas.
The department has recently published the updated guidance for local authorities, the Kinship Care statutory guidance, which is available on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.
This government is also extending the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other. We are also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.
I am determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of extending the Borders Railway line from Tweedbank to Carlisle.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government is committed to working with local partners in the Borders to boost economic growth, in line with our growth mission.
The project referred to sits within the Borderlands Growth Deal. Local partners are submitting proposals for a reset to the Deal for review by late autumn, which will set out revised plans to ensure the programme has the greatest possible economic impact.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of service personnel failed their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The requested information is provided in the following tables:
Royal Navy
Year Awarded | Failed | Fail rate |
2015 | 982 | 4% |
2016 | 1,439 | 5% |
2017 | 1,504 | 5% |
2018 | 1,682 | 6% |
2019 | 1,450 | 5% |
2020 | 1,523 | 7% |
2021 | 1,412 | 7% |
2022 | 1,888 | 8% |
2023 | 1,960 | 9% |
2024 | 1,083 | 5% |
Table Notes:
Army
Year Awarded | Failed | Fail rate |
2013 | 671 | 2% |
2014 | 758 | 2% |
2015 | 1,172 | 3% |
2016 | 1,227 | 3% |
2017 | 1,211 | 3% |
2018 | 1,275 | 3% |
2019 | 1,269 | 4% |
2020 | 928 | 3% |
2021 | 1,070 | 3% |
2022 | 1,218 | 3% |
2023 | 1,170 | 3% |
2024 | 710 | 2% |
Table Notes:
Royal Air Force
Year Awarded | Failed | Fail rate |
2016 | 854 | 3.8% |
2017 | 1,360 | 5.5% |
2018 | 1,624 | 6.5% |
2019 | 1,488 | 6% |
2020 | 900 | 6.9% |
2021 | 2,266 | 9% |
2022 | 2,199 | 8.7% |
2023 | 1,687 | 6.9% |
2024 | 1,320 | 6.7% |
Table Notes:
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many annual fitness tests were cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded (a) one (b) two and (c) three hours before the start time in each year since 2013.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence does not hold any information of annual fitness tests being cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded because this information is not recorded.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since 2013, two Army personnel have sadly died whilst undertaking the combat fitness test element of the annual fitness test. No other personnel have died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test during this period.