Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which of her Department's offices there are staff employed on sponsored visas who will not meet the salary threshold at the end of the current visa term.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP currently sponsors 169 employees.

The number of DWP staff that are currently sponsored by the department who will not meet the salary threshold at the end of their current visa is unknown. Each case will depend on the individuals’ specific circumstances, and the Home Office legislation at the time their current visa expires.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department are on sponsored visas; and how many will not meet the skilled worker visa salary threshold at the end of their visa term.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP currently sponsors 169 employees.

The number of DWP staff that are currently sponsored by the department who will not meet the salary threshold at the end of their current visa is unknown. Each case will depend on the individuals’ specific circumstances, and the Home Office legislation at the time their current visa expires.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department are required to pay the NHS Health Surcharge.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold the data requested.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish (a) staff turnover, (b) the number of new recruits and (c) the number of vacancies in her Department in each of the last three months.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

a) The annual turnover rate for DWP ending in the last three months is 7.0% in September, 6.8% in October and 6.6% in November. Annual end of year turnover rates are published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts.

b) DWP has had 2,063 new recruits between 2 September 2024 and 30 November 2024.

c) DWP has advertised 170 recruitment campaigns for up to 2147 roles.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report entitled Dying in Poverty, published by Marie Curie in November 2024, what steps she is taking to tackle the levels of people dying in poverty in Liverpool.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has noted the recommendations made in the report, and values Marie Curie as a key stakeholder which engages with us constructively in this area. The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

For many years, the Special Rules applied to people who have 6 months or less to live, they have now been changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live.  Changes to the Special Rules mean that thousands of people nearing the end of life are now able to claim fast-tracked financial support from the benefits system six months earlier than they were able to previously.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on (a) exemptions for and (b) flexibility in (i) sponsored visa and (ii) skilled workers visa guidance staff in her Department.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with Cabinet and ministerial colleagues, regarding a range of matters.

DWP takes the welfare of its staff very seriously and continues to provide a range of support to colleagues employed on time limited visas who are impacted by the uplift to Skilled Worker salary thresholds for sponsorship introduced in April 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to (a) voter groups and (b) civil society organisations on changes to voter eligibility requirements under the Elections Act 2022.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission, as the independent electoral regulator, holds responsibility for issuance of guidance and support for candidates, agents and local authorities on electoral registration and voting.

This can be found at: Our guidance | Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission also worked (and has continued to work) with voter groups and civil society organisations by providing information and raising awareness on changes to voter registration and eligibility requirements following the passage of the Elections Act 2022.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) guidance and (b) support her Department provides to local (i) councillors and (ii) authorities on voter eligibility requirements.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission, as the independent electoral regulator, holds responsibility for issuance of guidance and support for candidates, agents and local authorities on electoral registration and voting.

This can be found at: Our guidance | Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission also worked (and has continued to work) with voter groups and civil society organisations by providing information and raising awareness on changes to voter registration and eligibility requirements following the passage of the Elections Act 2022.

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 (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to communicate to eligible (i) EU, (ii) migrant and (iii) other voters the provisions of the Elections Act 2022.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to raise public awareness of all elements of the democratic process, including changes made to it, to ensure voters can participate. The Government will continue to support the Commission in communicating the provisions of the Elections Act 2022 to eligible voters, including eligible EU and migrant voters.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Marie Curie report Dying in Poverty, published on 12 November 2024, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) tackle fuel poverty and (b) reduce the number of people who die in fuel poverty in Liverpool each year.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives, reducing pressures on the NHS.

There are multiple targeted schemes delivering energy efficiency measures to low-income and fuel poor households. The Warm Home Discount schemes provide a £150 rebate off bills to eligible low-income households across Great Britain.

The Government has kickstarted delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the British Embassy in Colombia is offering to young protestors who remain incarcerated after protests in 2021.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK supports the right of Colombians to protest peacefully. We have raised concerns with the Colombian authorities since the start of the 2021 protests, urging them to investigate any excessive use of force and for those responsible to be held to account. Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we will continue to work with the Colombian Government and UN agencies to reduce tensions and promote human rights.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will bring forward legislation to allow the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region to appoint a public sector operator to run Merseyrail services.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Mayor of the Liverpool City Region already has the power to appoint a public sector operator to run Merseyrail services. There are no plans to change this.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the needs of the palliative and end of life care sector will be represented in the upcoming NHS workforce plan.

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

The refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan will deliver the transformed health service that we will build over the next decade and will ensure that patients get the treatment they need, when and where they need it, including those at the end of their lives. In the development of the plan, we will engage with a range of stakeholders to ensure their needs are considered.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether palliative and end of life care will prioritised in the new NHS 10-year plan.

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

We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. 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, including those in the hospice sector, as we develop the plan.

The engagement process has been launched, and I would encourage the palliative and end of life care sector, including hospice providers, service users, and their families, to engage with that process to allow us to fully understand what is not working as well as it should, and what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

On 19 December the government announced the biggest investment in a generation for hospices to help ensure that hospices can continue to deliver the highest quality end of life care possible for their patients, families, and loved ones.

We are supporting the hospice sector with £100 million funding for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

Children and young people’s hospices will also receive a further £26 million revenue funding for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.

We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the new year.

Prison maintenance insourcing

Right to protest outside the BBC

Sexual harassment in the workplace

Detainment of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya

Import and sale of real fur

Reform of electoral law

Sexual violence in Sudan

UK support for the global effort to feed children at school

Review into breast cancer screening

Ofwat price review

Knowsley Livv Housing industrial dispute

25th anniversary of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust

Sale of the Observer newspaper

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson

Found: _NC3 Alex Sobel Margaret Mullane Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Kim Johnson