Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department has issued to mortgage lenders to help ensure their compliance with RICS guidance on the requirement for EWS1 certificates.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The External Wall System Review form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have issued guidance on the use and application of EWS1 forms.
Following the Department’s work in this area, a number of mortgage lenders have joined a voluntary commitment to offer mortgages on properties affected by building safety issues. This means that around three quarters of mortgage lending is now covered by this commitment, which commits lenders to consider mortgage applications for properties in buildings that are yet to be remediated, or where leaseholders are protected from remediation costs.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of levels of mortgage lenders compliance with the latest RICS guidance.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The External Wall System Review form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have issued guidance on the use and application of EWS1 forms.
Following the Department’s work in this area, a number of mortgage lenders have joined a voluntary commitment to offer mortgages on properties affected by building safety issues. This means that around three quarters of mortgage lending is now covered by this commitment, which commits lenders to consider mortgage applications for properties in buildings that are yet to be remediated, or where leaseholders are protected from remediation costs.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
How many and what proportion of households have applied to the Great British Insulation Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department does not hold all of the data on who has applied to the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) through the different avenues. There have been over 120,000 referrals through the GBIS referral service up to March 2024.
However, the scheme is only a third of the way through, suppliers will have required time to adapt to changes and to accommodate new obligations imposed on them, and we expect the rate of installations to increase over coming months.
GBIS is one of a number of schemes improving the energy efficiency of homes across Great Britain. Its sister scheme ECO has installed 3.8m measures in 2.5m homes since 2013.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether private providers responsible for running asylum accommodation are meeting their contractual requirements.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect:
AASC_-_Schedule_2_- _Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk).
Home Office accommodation providers are required to visit each property at least monthly, and assurance that contractual requirements are met is tested by the Home Office Contract Assurance Team, which inspects properties and undertakes other assurance activities on an intelligence-led basis. Formal governance mechanisms are in place, to oversee performance and delivery against contractual requirements.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of secondary (a) mainstream and (b) maintained special schools offered British Sign Language GCSE in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of British Sign Language GCSE in mainstream secondary schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS England funding the training of specialists in (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The sexual and reproductive healthcare workforce is diverse as services are offered across primary care, community and sexual health clinic settings, other public health settings as well as acute and ambulatory care settings.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genitourinary and HIV care to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care for the next five years; and if she will make an estimate of the number of consultants specialising in (i) genitourinary and (ii) HIV care who will be employed in the NHS in 2029.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.
NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.
We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of sexual and reproductive health professionals in (a) post and (b) training in the context of trends in the level of sexually transmitted infection rates.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.
NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.
We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps (a) for tax relief generated through the investment allowance for oil and gas companies through the Energy Profits Levy to be returned to the Exchequer and (b) to allocate that money to the construction of a 5GW offshore wind farm.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK currently requires oil and gas to meet our energy needs, and there will be a continued role for oil and gas over the coming decades. The Energy Profits Levy includes investment allowances which give the oil and gas sector additional incentives to reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security.
The Government already provides significant support for low-carbon electricity generation development through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which has been hugely successful in driving the deployment of renewable energy whilst reducing costs. Since introduction, the CfD has contracted over 30GW of low-carbon generation including 20GW of offshore wind.