Lewis Cocking

The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year.

This will set out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, across key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

The paper will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy.

Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will reaffirm our long-term support for small businesses and outline our vision for boosting scale-ups and helping all types of business to thrive and grow. This strategy will empower business owners and entrepreneurs to innovate, export, and create jobs across their regions.

In addition, as confirmed in the autumn Budget the Government has taken steps to protect small businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This measure will help small businesses in particular - in 2024 small businesses (with 0-49 employees) make up 99.2% of the total business population.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets and is committed to championing sufficient access for all.

We have committed to work closely with banks to roll out at least 350 banking hubs. That rollout is overseen by Cash Access UK (CAUK). LINK (the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network) assesses a community’s needs for access to cash in the event of the closure of a core cash service or if LINK receives a request directly from a community.

Announcements on funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will be made as soon as possible. We will, of course, always consider the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.

ASGSF applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are agreed, therapy which starts before March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.

I refer the hon. Member for Broxbourne to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

Home-to-school travel is an integral part of the school system. It provides a valuable service on which many families rely. The department is grateful to the many transport operators for the crucial role they play in ensuring that children receive the education that they need to help them thrive.

Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. It is for them to determine how best to do so, based on local circumstances and the needs of the children travelling. They might, for example, have an in-house fleet, provide passes for free travel on public transport or contract with private transport operators for the provision of buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles. Where they contract with private operators, it is for the local authority and the operator to agree suitable terms.

The department understands that, in line with schools’ charitable objectives, private schools do not typically charge for partnership work, meaning it is outside the scope of VAT. Whilst the government keeps all tax policy under review, there are currently no plans for changes that would enable independent schools to offset any financial contributions made to state academies against their VAT liability.

Whilst developing these policies, the government has carefully considered the impact that they will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact these policies will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the government will confirm its approach to these reforms at the Budget on 30 October and set out its assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes in the normal way.

The department understands that, in line with schools’ charitable objectives, private schools do not typically charge for partnership work, meaning it is outside the scope of VAT. Whilst the government keeps all tax policy under review, there are currently no plans for changes that would enable independent schools to offset any financial contributions made to state academies against their VAT liability.

Whilst developing these policies, the government has carefully considered the impact that they will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact these policies will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the government will confirm its approach to these reforms at the Budget on 30 October and set out its assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes in the normal way.

Under new proposals set out by this Government, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are hit in a wider range of circumstances – with payments water company customers are legally entitled to when key standards are not met at least doubling.

The Government is also expanding the list of circumstances that can trigger compensation, to include payments for boil notices when drinking water standards drop, and for failures to conduct meter readings or installations as promised. It would mean recent outages in Hastings, Brixham and Bramley earlier this year would have all automatically led to compensation at higher rates for all customers.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why we are launching a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.

In the current floods investment programme, approximately 40% of the Environment Agency’s flood defence schemes, and 45% of their investment, protect properties in rural communities. We will review the floods programme to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

Working with farmers and landowners is an important part of the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy Roadmap up to 2026. As part of this, the Rural Flood Resilience Partnership focuses on helping farmers and land managers adapt to a changing climate.

Defra has established a ministerially led cross-Governmental Flood Resilience Taskforce to ensure that communities are better protected from flooding, with the first meeting taking place in September. The Flood Resilience Taskforce will ensure that preparedness and resilience to flooding is reviewed regularly before the start of the main flood season; and that it is continuously improved to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses.

In advance of the winter, MPs will receive advice on how to access the most up to date flood information from the EA and how to raise awareness of flooding with constituents.

The Government has allocated capital grants for new flood defences as well as maintenance funding for existing flood defence assets in Hertfordshire.

For the financial year 24/25 (April 2024 - March 2025), the Environment Agency's allocated funding for asset maintenance in Hertfordshire is £1,040,280. This figure covers their expected maintenance on flood defence assets and main river channels under their permitted powers, including vegetation management, operational checks on flood defence assets, treatment of invasive non-native species, mechanical and electrical inspections, and inspection and maintenance of public safety measures.

In addition, as of 4 September 2024, £6,480,444 of Grant in Aid has been allocated to capital flood defence projects in Hertfordshire for the financial year 24/25.

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including fare evasion on their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for operational decisions to support reduced fare evasion.

The Department for Transport works closely with industry stakeholders, including utility companies, as we continue to review our legislation, statutory guidance and guidance, to identify areas where the regime can be improved to minimise the impact of street works. We have recently announced to the industry that we will be clamping down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies who fail to comply with rules and extending charges for works that overrun into weekends.

As more highway authorities are progressing with their applications to operate lane rental schemes to target the most disruptive works on our roads, my Department have been engaging with utility companies directly as part of a series of regional visits. Utility companies have also been invited, along with a range of other stakeholders, to take part in a consultation on proposals to improve and simplify the lane rental application process.

The Department have examined data from our Street Manager digital service and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse. Emergency works are needed to deal with danger to life and urgent works are needed, for example, to repair leaks, restore customer connections, and repair dangerous potholes. The Government believes, however, that there is scope to improve how such works are managed and communicated to road users and we are working with the sector to develop proposals to address this.

The Street Manager service is closely managed by the Department, with officials also overseeing ongoing development and improvement of the service in line with Government Digital Services best practice. There is a governance group made up of elected representatives from the public and private sector whom officials meet monthly, and a small group of subject matter experts are consulted on a weekly basis. A roadmap setting out future enhancements of the service is agreed with the governance group and published every six months. Users can provide feedback and raise any concerns they have about the service at any point, and a yearly survey monitors satisfaction.

The Department is in the process of updating its lane rental guidance and has recently announced a new assessment process for lane rental applications to improve and streamline the application process for authorities. We have been speaking to authorities directly as part of a series of regional visits and are also working with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) to develop their guidance for local authorities who are considering applying for a scheme.

Our plan to get Britain working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who will begin delivering the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper from Spring 2025.

To tackle the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training, these Trailblazers will test how new local leadership, accountability structures and existing provision can be integrated into a cohesive education, training and employment support for young people. More broadly, we will work closely with mayoral authorities on a range of wider initiatives such as developing national and local partnerships to support the Youth Guarantee.

The Trailblazers will run for 12 months, and we will use the learning to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England. Additionally, Department for Education are also developing new foundation apprenticeships to give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives whilst supporting the pipeline of new talent that employers will need to drive economic growth.

The Department for Work and Pensions are also working to develop proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits and will set them out in a Green Paper in the Spring. The Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.

It is estimated that around 16,600 pensioners in Broxbourne Constituency (2024 boundaries) will be affected by the decision to amend the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via DWP Stat-Xplore and the Winter FuelPayment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of people claiming Pension Credit in Broxbourne constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients in Broxbourne constituency. It is possible to use the Pension Credit statistics, to give a minimum estimate of the number who may be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments. Therefore, the above estimation is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients who are not claiming Pension Credit pre-policy change, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

Please note that the above estimation would not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up that we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies.

The published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals in respect of whom Pension Credit is paid will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where a claimant has a partner and/or dependents.)

In addition, while Pension Credit claimants constitute the majority of those that will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, pensioners who claim other qualifying means-tested benefits will also be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It is not, however, possible to include those on other qualifying means-tested benefits in these figures.

We know patients are struggling to contact their general practices (GP), including in the Broxbourne constituency. That is why we have committed to eliminating the 8:00am scramble for appointments by implementing a modern appointment booking system.

The most recent data from the Health Insight Survey found that between July and August 2024, 78% of people had successfully contacted their GP on the same day, in the last 28 days. Of those who tried to contact their GP practice in the last 28 days, 72.6% of adults perceived their overall experience of their GP practice as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’.

99.4% of the primary care estate are now live with digital telephony and 90% have been enrolled to use online registration systems.

We are determined to reduce bureaucracy, which is why the Government has launched a red tape challenge, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients.

Providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.

We now have a national career framework for adult social car, the Care Workforce Pathway, which is linked to a number of existing competency frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework.

The Department has also launched a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which links to the outcomes in the Care Workforce Pathway. This contains the baseline knowledge required to provide quality care, and will make sure that those who are starting out their careers have an informed awareness of dementia.

There are currently no plans for assessing whether the responsibility of the allocation of general practice surgeries should fall to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Upper-tier local authorities currently have a role in improving health and influencing health and care strategies through participation in integrated care partnerships (ICPs) and integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are National Health Service organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population, including Primary Medical Services. ICBs are legally required to have local government representation on their board. Each integrated care system (ICS) includes an ICP, formed of NHS organisations and upper-tier local authorities, which is responsible for developing an integrated care strategy. The ICB works to deliver this through developing a joint plan with partner local authorities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area.

The healthcare needs of local populations affect the funding which practices receive. Global sum payments for general practice contractors are based on a weighted sum for every person registered with the practice, using the Carr-Hill formula to estimate the practices’ workload.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP) and we are committed to fixing the the crisis in GPs to secure the long-term sustainability of the National Health Service.

Broxbourne sits within the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, where 82.7% of appointments were delivered within two weeks of booking, 0.4% lower than the national average.

Our plan to restore GPs and improve the waiting times to see a GP will require both investment and reform. We have committed to train thousands more GPs, end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments by introducing a modern booking system, and trial new Neighborhood Health Centers to bring community health services together under one roof. Furthermore, the Government will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient.

In July 2024, the median number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the Broxbourne constituency was 5.5. This was more than the median in England, of 5.4.