Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of (a) single parent lead carers and (b) all lead carers are self-employed.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In March 2025, 8% of single parent lead carers on Universal Credit (UC) were self-employed, compared to 8% of all lead carers on UC. This includes both claimants who are classified as gainfully self-employed and non-gainfully self-employed.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of self-employed (a) single parent lead carers and (b) all lead carers meet their Minimum Income Floor.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In March 2025, 32% of self-employed single parent lead carers on UC were earning at or above their Minimum Income Floor (MIF), compared to 31% of all self-employed lead carers on UC. This only includes claimants who are currently gainfully self-employed and have their MIF applied.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many couples meet the administrative earnings threshold for Universal Credit with (a) one parent and (b) both parents in paid employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In March 2025, there were 418,000 couples in receipt of Universal Credit payment who met or exceeded the administrative earnings threshold. Of these, 263,000 did so with one parent earning, and the remaining 155,000 did so with two parents earning.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of single parent lead carers with work requirements meet their Administrative Earnings Threshold.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of single parent lead carers on Universal Credit (UC) with work requirements who earn at or above the individual Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) was 289,000 in March 2025. This is equal to 47% of the UC lead carer caseload who have work requirements.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the security of former FARC combatants previously based in the Rancho Grande ETCR transitional zone in Caquetá.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcome the Colombian government's commitment to provide security guarantees for former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) combatants and measures to reintegrate them into civilian life following the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement. Despite overall progress since that agreement, illegal armed groups still pose a high threat to former FARC combatants. We continue to urge Colombian authorities to investigate and tackle the root causes of violence, particularly against peace signatories. At the UN Security Council, we consistently call for the strengthening of protection and reintegration measures for former FARC combatants. Through UK funding, we have long supported the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement, including the security and reintegration of its signatories, including those in the department of Caquetá through the UN Multi Partner Trust Fund. We maintain close communication with the UN Verification Mission on this issue and support greater state capacity for the safety of former fighters, including those living outside official reincorporation zones.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the interest repayments on the loan given to the British Council in response to reduced commercial revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The previous Government made available up to £200 million in loans during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the British Council remained solvent, to support restructuring, and to help the British Council return to surplus. The loan was made on commercial terms to ensure compliance with the UK subsidy control regime, and therefore interest rates are set at market rates.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is supporting the British Council to deliver a financial turnaround plan to ensure the British Council's finances are returned to a stable footing.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding the British Council is projected to receive in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29, in the context of the Spending Review 2025.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is providing the British Council with £163.1 million Grant-in-Aid this financial year (2025/26). The British Council's Grant-in-Aid funding for future years was not settled in the Spending Review and will be determined, alongside the FCDO's other Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Non-ODA allocations, in the autumn.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of British Council offices overseas on British soft power.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Council is operationally independent from the UK Government. Decisions relating to the size and model of its overseas network are operational matters for the British Council. In a digital age, the British Council's impact should be judged by the outcomes it delivers through its programmes and operations, rather than its physical presence.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a public health campaign on allergy awareness in children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To help promote awareness of allergies, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on a range of allergy conditions, including food allergy in people under the age of 19 years old, anaphylaxis and drug allergy. NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters and other media.
In June 2023, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with the support of allergy awareness advocates, launched a safety campaign to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and provide advice on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs). MHRA produced a toolkit of resources for health and social care professionals to support the safe and effective use of AAIs.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) encourages food businesses to complete the FSA’s allergen e-learning course and recommends that it is retaken annually to refresh knowledge and ensure that businesses are up to date on any changes which may have occurred. The FSA online training is free and offers practical advice to anyone wanting to learn more about food allergy.
Section 100 of The Children and Families Act 2014 places a legal duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils at their school with medical conditions, including allergies. The Department for Education recently reminded schools of their legal duties in their regular schools’ email bulletin, and also alerted schools to the newly created Schools Allergy Code, developed by The Allergy Team, the Independent Schools' Bursars Association and the Benedict Blythe Foundation. The Department for Education has now also added a link to the Code to their online allergy guidance on GOV.UK, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas have been issued to Ukrainian children seeking medical evacuation to the UK since February 2022.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The requested information is not held by the Home Office. However, a range of data on Ukraine visa applications can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.