Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 20062 on Bank Services: Direct Debits, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that organisations receiving payments via Direct Debit always (a) verify that Direct Debit instructions have been properly authorised by the payment account holder and (b) provide advance notice of the amount and collection date for each Direct Debit payment unless otherwise agreed.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 18 December 2024 to PQ UIN 20062.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of hate crimes against transgender people.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the most recent statistics for hate crimes against transgender people are.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the priority order of Universal Credit deductions; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that child maintenance payments have priority over council tax arrears.

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

The Government is committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes, and in support of this the Chancellor announced at the Autumn Budget, the Fair Repayment Rate (FRR), this measure is a permanent change and will reduce the Universal Credit (UC) overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s UC standard allowance from April 2025. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million UC households with deductions retain more of their UC award, on average £420 a year or £35 per month. In addition to the FRR measure a second measure was to move child maintenance deduction higher up the regulated priority order from April 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 11 December 2024 on Puberty-suppressing Hormones, Official Report, column 914-916, whether the clinical trial into the use of puberty suppressing hormones for gender incongruence will begin early this year; and when his Department intends to update parents and young people on the (a) timetable and (b) eligibility of the clinical trial.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The PATHWAYS study proposal, including the clinical trial of puberty-suppressing hormones, is going through all the usual review and approval stages. These include an independent academic peer review and consideration by the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s funding committee. The study will need to secure full ethical approval before it can be set up and recruitment can open. The design of the study, including the timetable and eligibility criteria, will be finalised as part of the approvals process. It is planned to commence this year. Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, the study protocol will be made available in the public domain, as is usual for publicly funded studies.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending sections 1 to 3A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to extend dangerous driving offences to include incidents causing the (a) death and (b) serious injury of (i) dogs, (ii) other domestic pets and (iii) other animals.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has no plans to consider amending the Road Traffic Act 1988 in the way suggested.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will encourage the adoption of the Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment toolkit across (a) Government Departments and (b) local authorities.

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

We would like the mental health impacts on adults, children, and young people to be considered in all policymaking across Government. We are considering how to support the relevant departments to do this.

Mental health cannot just be the responsibility of the health system. As part of the 10 Year Plan shift to prevention, we will work across Whitehall, and the wider public and voluntary sector, to address the socioeconomic determinants of mental health.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will undertake a review of sentencing guidelines for causing serious injury by careless driving.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Sentencing Guideline for the offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving was published by the Sentencing Council in June 2022 and came into force in July 2023.

The Council is independent of Parliament and Government. As an independent body, it decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and reviewing guidelines. The Lord Chancellor or the Court of Appeal can ask the Council to consider guidelines in a particular area, but the Council is not required to agree to any such requests.

The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. The assessment covers the operation and effect of the guideline. A report on the evaluation findings is published online.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure individuals subject to a community order are able to complete their unpaid work in a neighbouring local authority area.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Community Payback allows offenders to pay recompense to the communities they have harmed by completing between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work. The work primarily takes place in the local area to where the offender resides. This allows for reduced travel time to projects and for the offender to make reparation to their local community. There are certain circumstances when this arrangement deviates. Where are compelling reasons relating to local placement such as links to local gangs and employment considerations, steps can be taken to change the project to another local authority area.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing increased powers to local councils to help them ensure that utility companies adhere to agreed timescales for completing emergency works on critical highway networks.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government continues to review how works are planned, managed and communicated and how this can be improved. The Government announced in December 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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and (b) other pension providers have adequate (i) resources and (ii) support to complete the McCloud pension remedy process by 31 March 2025.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury and responsible departments are supporting public service pension schemes to ensure they are able to provide a timely remedy to affected members. HMRC has issued a range of tax guidance to assist pension schemes in administering the McCloud remedy and will continue to keep this updated.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on ensuring that tax guidance relating to the McCloud remedy is issued in a timely manner.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury and responsible departments are supporting public service pension schemes to ensure they are able to provide a timely remedy to affected members. HMRC has issued a range of tax guidance to assist pension schemes in administering the McCloud remedy and will continue to keep this updated.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in transferring dementia patients from hospitals to social care settings.

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

Almost one million people in the United Kingdom are living with dementia, and that figure is expected to rise. Each of those people, alongside their friends, families and carers, have their own unique and important story of living with dementia, and this government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

We are working to reduce delayed discharges by improving local partnership working between the National Health Service and social care systems, ensuring that people are not stuck in hospital beds when they are well enough to go home.

In December 2024, working with the Local Government Association and NHS England, we published a High Impact Change Model for improving the timely and effective discharge of people with dementia or delirium into the community. This resource offers practical guidance and a set of recommended actions that systems should consider for optimising the discharge process and deliver best practice for an individual’s journey to, during and following discharge. The model is available at the following link:

https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/partners-care-and-health/better-care-fund-support-programme-2023-25/high-impact-change

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to issue updated guidance on the placement of dementia patients in hospital wards.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on dementia states which aspects of care should be expected to ensure quality dementia care in hospital. This includes appropriate admission to hospital, comprehensive assessments, and personal history taking. Further information on the NICE’s dementia guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97

The NICE’s guidance on the transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs covers the transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care homes for adults with social care needs. Further information on the NICE’s transition guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng27

The NICE’s guidance will be reviewed if there is new evidence that is likely to change the recommendations. The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care. The Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.

To improve care for patients with dementia, NHS England's RightCare team has refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario. The scenario works through the dementia well pathway journey, from diagnosing well through to dying well, detailing optimal and suboptimal approaches, with associated costings for each.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to hold Capita accountable where it fails to provide GPs with accurate annual pension statements under the Primary Care Support England scheme.

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

Capita, who delivers Primary Care Support England (PCSE), does not issue pension statements to general practitioners (GPs), as this is the responsibility of NHS Pensions, which is managed by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). PCSE updates GP pension records once the appropriate type one or type two annual certificate is submitted to PCSE for processing by the GP.

In order for NHS Pensions to generate an annual pension benefits statement, it is necessary for the GP’s pension record to be up to date, with no missing annual certificate for prior years. NHS England works closely with PCSE and NHS Pensions to ensure that GPs are supported, through a series of webinars and guidance documents, to submit accurate information in a timely manner. NHS England tracks PCSE’s performance on a monthly basis against contractual performance targets. NHS England continues to work with PCSE, NHS Pensions, and GP representative bodies to rectify historical gaps in GP records.

More generally, the importance of checking PCSE Online to ensure that all required type one or type two forms are showing as approved, and to submit certificates if there are any missing years to get records up to date, is highlighted in communications to GPs.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to make Personal Independence Payment application forms more accessible for people with mental health issues; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) designing questions to account for (i) frequency, (ii) reliability, and (iii) safety in assessing abilities rather than on best-case scenarios and (b) providing additional funding for (A) Disability Stockport and Citizens Advice and (B) other organisations for the provision of support with completing forms and navigating the process.

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

It is a fundamental principle that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment should not just consider whether an individual can complete an activity, but the way they can do it.  When formulating their advice to the decision maker, health professionals must confirm that they have considered whether an individual can complete each assessment activity “safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period”.

DWP continually reviews the PIP claims process, including the content of forms, to ensure information and questions are clear and easy to understand. For example, the Award Review form (AR1) has recently been changed to modify the questions and make it clearer to customers what information is needed. Changes were made following extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders. This will benefit all customers, including those with mental health conditions.

Over the longer term, the Health Transformation Programme is modernising the entire PIP service to improve customer experience. The new service will deliver a simpler application process for customers with more information and support available to those who need it. Improved evidence gathering will also enable the department to better tailor the service to the customer’s circumstances.

Within the current service there is no funding provided to external organisations to help customers completing PIP forms or navigating the claims process.

There are a series of videos, accessible via a link on Gov.UK, aimed at supporting customers navigating the new claim and assessment process which many customers with mental health conditions may find helpful https://www.gov.uk/government/news/personal-independence-payment-customer-journey-films

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Jobcentre Plus advisers provide (a) accurate and (b) comprehensive advice to claimants on (i) entitlement to transitional protection and (ii) other aspects of the transition from legacy benefits to Universal Credit.

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

All Jobcentre advisers are given key information about Move to UC. We have a network of Transformation Leads attached to each Area who represent our Jobcentre and Service Centre network within Move to UC to ensure that our colleagues are getting the upskilling they need and to ensure it is landing as intended.

This is regularly updated through communications to advisers. Where customers have more complicated enquiries, advisers signpost customers to the helpline which can provide more comprehensive and specific advice on moving to UC. They also signpost to Help to Claim support externally if they identify a customer requires additional support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any redress mechanisms are available for claimants who were misadvised by Jobcentre Plus staff to claim Universal Credit before their official migration date and consequently lost entitlement to transitional protection.

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

Customers who are unhappy with the service provided by DWP can contact us by phone, in person or in writing. Universal Credit claimants can also use their journal.

Complaints procedure - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the impact of the administration of (a) SSB Law and (b) other firms on the finances of claimants whose legal cases were disrupted; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide (i) redress and (ii) other support for affected people.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). Given the sector’s independence, the Ministry of Justice cannot intervene in individual cases or investigations.

The Government understands the distress and financial uncertainty caused to both individuals and families by the collapse of SSB Law and similar firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as the body responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors, as well as most law firms in England and Wales, has now completed its investigation into the collapse of SSB Law and has given disciplinary notices to several individuals. The SRA is also progressing its investigation into Pure Legal and the solicitors involved, and aims to make decisions before the summer regarding this disciplinary process. The SRA published an update on this issue on 25 February, which is available on their website: SRA | Cavity wall insulation claims handled by SSB Group (SSB) and Pure Legal Limited (Pure Legal) | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

I recently met with the SRA to ensure that lessons are learned from the SSB Law firm collapse and urged regulators to respond more proactively to these issues. It is crucial that steps are taken to prevent this type of situation from happening again.

As the oversight regulator, the LSB is also conducting an independent review into the SRA’s regulatory action in the lead-up to SSB Law’s collapse. It is right for the Department to wait until these ongoing investigations are complete and to review the findings, before considering any next steps in this area.

The Department is aware that some individuals involved in these claims have received unexpected demands for legal costs. Former clients of SSB Law have options for redress available to them, and they may be able to seek redress through making a negligence claim on SSB’s insurance.

The SRA has published a warning notice to law firms, especially those engaged in high volume claims work, about prohibited marketing practices, such as cold calling. Alongside the warning notice, the SRA also published a no win no fee guide to help inform consumer choices: SRA | No win, no fee agreements: A guide to navigating them | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

While these no win no fee agreements play a vital role in access to justice, we recognise the concerns raised about their operation. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with regulators to assess the potential need for further consumer protections.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is taking steps to support people who have been left personally liable for legal costs following the collapse of no-win-no-fee law firms.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). Given the sector’s independence, the Ministry of Justice cannot intervene in individual cases or investigations.

The Government understands the distress and financial uncertainty caused to both individuals and families by the collapse of SSB Law and similar firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as the body responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors, as well as most law firms in England and Wales, has now completed its investigation into the collapse of SSB Law and has given disciplinary notices to several individuals. The SRA is also progressing its investigation into Pure Legal and the solicitors involved, and aims to make decisions before the summer regarding this disciplinary process. The SRA published an update on this issue on 25 February, which is available on their website: SRA | Cavity wall insulation claims handled by SSB Group (SSB) and Pure Legal Limited (Pure Legal) | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

I recently met with the SRA to ensure that lessons are learned from the SSB Law firm collapse and urged regulators to respond more proactively to these issues. It is crucial that steps are taken to prevent this type of situation from happening again.

As the oversight regulator, the LSB is also conducting an independent review into the SRA’s regulatory action in the lead-up to SSB Law’s collapse. It is right for the Department to wait until these ongoing investigations are complete and to review the findings, before considering any next steps in this area.

The Department is aware that some individuals involved in these claims have received unexpected demands for legal costs. Former clients of SSB Law have options for redress available to them, and they may be able to seek redress through making a negligence claim on SSB’s insurance.

The SRA has published a warning notice to law firms, especially those engaged in high volume claims work, about prohibited marketing practices, such as cold calling. Alongside the warning notice, the SRA also published a no win no fee guide to help inform consumer choices: SRA | No win, no fee agreements: A guide to navigating them | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

While these no win no fee agreements play a vital role in access to justice, we recognise the concerns raised about their operation. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with regulators to assess the potential need for further consumer protections.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support homeowners with the cost of removing closed-cell spray foam insulation in order to secure a mortgage.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed. Officials in the department have previously consulted UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, the trade bodies for lenders about this matter, who advise that their members rely on the views of valuers and surveyors on this issue.

Whilst the department cannot comment on the decisions made by individual lenders, the presence of spray foam should not automatically prevent lending, and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis following a survey.

That is why it is important that surveyors continue to follow published protocols published in March 2023 to support these assessments, which can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab).

Building owners are responsible for costs of maintaining their buildings. The Government do not specify or recommend which types of insulation are appropriate for a particular property, and all measures installed under government schemes must be installed by TrustMark registered installers.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to replace Business Rates with a Land Value Tax collected by local authorities to disincentivise land banking by developers.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. At the Autumn Budget, we published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for reform and invites stakeholders to have a conversation with government about transforming the business rates system.

Fulfilling all our manifesto objectives on business rates is a multi-year process, and reforms will be designed in collaboration with stakeholders and phased over the course of the Parliament to minimise disruption for businesses.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to review current guidance on closed-cell spray foam insulation and its impact on mortgage lending.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed. Officials in the department have previously consulted UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, the trade bodies for lenders about this matter, who advise that their members rely on the views of valuers and surveyors on this issue.

Whilst the department cannot comment on the decisions made by individual lenders, the presence of spray foam should not automatically prevent lending, and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis following a survey.

That is why it is important that surveyors continue to follow published protocols published in March 2023 to support these assessments, which can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab).

Building owners are responsible for costs of maintaining their buildings. The Government do not specify or recommend which types of insulation are appropriate for a particular property, and all measures installed under government schemes must be installed by TrustMark registered installers.

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 impact of issues with the reconciliation of pension contributions by Capita on GPs.

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

General practitioners (GPs) are required to submit either a type one or type two annual certificate each year to Primary Care Support England (PCSE). Each certificate received by PCSE is reconciled on an individual basis, and the GP’s record is updated accordingly. Where the information cannot be reconciled, or the information is incomplete, PCSE will return the certificate to the GP outlining what information is required.

NHS England regularly monitors the number of outstanding certificates and missing data, working closely with PCSE to resolve issues. In addition, NHS England works closely with the British Medical Association and NHS Pensions to manage complaints and proactively resolve issues. NHS England also monitors PCSE’s performance on a monthly basis against contractual performance targets.

Supporting GPs to accurately submit current and historic type one or type two annual certificates remains a priority for NHS England and PCSE. Since the PCSE Online solution for submitting type one and type two certificates electronically went live in 2021, PCSE has developed user guides and held webinars to educate GPs on how to complete forms accurately.

Mobile phone usage in schools

Chronic urinary tract infections and women's health

Replacement of Personal Independence Payments with a voucher system

Homelessness

Treatment of Israeli hostages

Social care day of action

Shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy

Impact Assessments of changes to Official Development Assistance

Colleges Week 2025

Community pharmacies

Tackling the climate and nature crisis

Building consensus on a pathway to spending 3% of GDP on defence

Changes to Overseas Development Assistance

West Bank

Rail fare increase

Step-free access at train stations in Greater Manchester

Regional Inequalities in energy pricing

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