Manuela Perteghella

The Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address water companies who are not performing for the environment or their customers. In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives.

In September, the Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was published last year. A GB-wide farmed trout joint Government and industry working group is now examining the issues raised in the report to explore the potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. The Scottish Government are also working closely with the salmon industry.

In line with the Fisheries Act 2020 the Government is making progress delivering Fisheries Management Plans which maintain or restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. Through fisheries negotiations with coastal states our objective is to set Total Allowable Catches in line with the best scientific advice to make sure that stocks are managed over the long term within sustainable limits whilst ensuring stock-building initiatives account for socio-economic considerations.

The previous Government weakened the regulators and failed to hold water companies to account.

The new Government’s water (Special Measures) Bill will give Ofwat tough new powers to hold water companies to account where they do not deliver for customers and the environment.

This Bill is just the start of the fundamental and much broader transformation that the Government will lead for the water industry.

The Government will carry out a review to shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Chiltern’s current timetable offers a service between London and Stratford Upon Avon with one change.

Whilst noting that this is not a direct service, timetable decisions are for operators to make, balancing passenger demand, track availability, infrastructure constraints, and operational considerations. With these considerations in place, the operator has no current plans to offer a direct service from London Marylebone.

We are working with operators to support recruitment and retention and ensure they have the staff they need to robustly deliver their timetables. We will deliver the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation.

The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. The government wants everyone to have access to public transport and is committed to improving the system so it is more inclusive and enables disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity.

Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the Government will introduce a Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in rural areas.

We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient. It currently has no plans to increase the number of practical driving test centres.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were restored to the 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 for one year.

Decisions on LHA for future years will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, housing priorities, and the fiscal context.

As not all new UC customers require the same level of immediate support, replacing every new customer’s advance with a UC grant would lead to significantly increased expenditure and the potential for increased fraud and error in the social security system.

We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to. We will set out the details of this in due course.

The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds and to ensure that, wherever possible, an overpayment is recovered. It is our policy to recover all debt where it is reasonable and cost effective to do so. Debts should be recovered as quickly and cost effectively as possible without causing undue financial hardship.

There are no plans to write off overpayments made in error.

I have interpreted your question to refer to the adequacy of the input provided by the assessment supplier (AS) health professional (HP) during a PIP review. All decisions on entitlement to PIP, whether at initial claim or review, are made by DWP case managers (CM).

CMs, whilst not medically qualified, do receive extensive training to enable them to evaluate a claim and assess the individual’s needs. They have access to expert advice from HPs, if required, and can make requests for supplementary advice at any stage in the decision-making process. Advice should be clear, succinct, justified and in accordance with the consensus of medical opinion. Where a CM is then still unable to make a decision on the PIP review, the case will be referred to the AS for an assessment.

During the assessment stage the HP is able to source additional evidence from professionals such as the individuals GP, occupational therapist, community psychiatric nurse and/or any other health professionals involved in the individual’s care. They have access to guidance and support (such as Condition Insight Reports and Continuous Professional Development modules) on how certain conditions present and how they might affect function. The APs also have access to Mental Function Champions (MFC) who can provide advice and support to HPs on health conditions and disabilities affecting mental, cognitive, intellectual, and behavioural function.

The quality of any advice provided by the HP, whether via supplementary advice or the assessment report is a priority for all AS’s and the department. The department works extensively with ASs to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures to ensure a quality service, supported by an independent audit function that continually monitors performance and provides feedback to its ASs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her previous Question 6897 on 14 October.

We continue to keep under review awards, their durations and award review periods.

The 3-month time limit to claim the full amount of Bereavement Support Payment is consistent with most other benefits. An individual would need to be 21 months late in claiming Bereavement Support Payment to forfeit the entire benefit.

We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver an NHS fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered, specifically: moving healthcare from hospital to the community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. We will carefully consider 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.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.  The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by integrated care board (ICB) area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area.

I recently met with NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care in England.  We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including hospice funding, in the coming months.

Since 2020, the National Health Service in England has invested significantly in supporting people with long COVID. This includes setting up specialist post-COVID services nationwide for adults, and children and young people, as well as investing in ensuring general practice (GP) teams are equipped to support people affected by the condition.

As of 1 April 2024, there are over 90 adult post-COVID services across England, along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs. These services assess people with long COVID and direct them into care pathways which provide appropriate support and treatment. GPs will assess patients that have COVID-19 symptoms lasting longer than four weeks, and refer them into a long COVID service where appropriate. Referral should be via a single point of access, which is managed by clinician-led triage.

More widely, we are committed to moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities, to spot problems earlier. This includes shifting resources to primary care and community services over time.

Having suffered from long COVID myself, improving services and outcomes for patients remains a priority.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging healthcare services that meet the needs of their population, including those provided for by community hospitals in rural areas. ICBs are best placed to use local autonomy to determine the needs of their respective populations and how best to address them.

As part of the Government’s five missions, the Department will launch a 10-year plan for change and modernisation, to make the National Health Service fit for the future. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention.

This Government stands firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad, and work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.

The Foreign Secretary raised human rights in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 26 July.

Both the UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the Schengen Borders Code allows for third country nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third country nationals travelling to the EU. While we recognise that extending the 90-180 day period is a matter for Member States and the EU, the Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals abroad.

Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.

Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates or reimburse the actual cost incurred. Actual costs above the AMAP rate can be reimbursed without incurring a tax liability, so long as drivers can provide evidence of their costs. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.

The AMAP rate is intended to reflect both running costs (such as fuel) and a proportion of standing costs (such as insurance, MOT and depreciation). Therefore, in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile the Government must consider the weighting given to each component and how to apportion certain costs.

As with all taxes and allowances, the Government will continue to keeps the AMAP rate under review. Any changes to the AMAP rates will be announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

The Government remains of the view that the Lifetime ISA property price cap is set at an appropriate level to support most first-time buyers across the UK while targeting households that may find it most difficult to get onto the property ladder.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review and considers all representations made carefully, with any changes made as part of the Budget process.

Share buybacks are already subject to taxation in the form of Stamp Taxes on Shares (STS), which raise important revenue – up to £4.4bn per year – that helps to fund our public services.

There are also rules in place to ensure that any returns that arise to shareholders as part of a buyback are treated consistently with the policies and principles that underpin the broader tax system.

The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Share buybacks are already subject to taxation in the form of Stamp Taxes on Shares (STS), which raise important revenue – up to £4.4bn per year – that helps to fund our public services.

There are also rules in place to ensure that any returns that arise to shareholders as part of a buyback are treated consistently with the policies and principles that underpin the broader tax system.

The Government keeps all taxes under review.

The Government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets tax regime from April 2025. Short-term lets will continue to play an important role in the UK’s tourism economy, including in rural communities, without the FHL tax regime.

The changes the Government has announced equalise the tax treatment of landlords’ property income and gains.

This new Government is committed to putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law as part of our drive to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve and who have served, and their families. We will work across Government to strengthen delivery of the Armed Forces covenant and improve the experience of our veterans when accessing public services.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 5974 on 14 October 2024.

The government recently brought into force regulations that provide for the removal of ‘hope value’ from the assessment of compensation, where there is justification in the public interest. Guidance and a fact sheet on the measures was published on 3 October 2024 and can be found here. Further reform of compulsory purchase compensation rules will be included in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Announcements on the timing of that Bill will be made in the normal way in due course.

The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and we recently consulted on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework to support this objective. Specifically, the consultation proposed setting an expectation that local housing needs assessments explicitly consider the needs of those requiring Social Rent, and that local planning authorities specify their expectations on Social Rent delivery as part of broader affordable housing policies.

The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year. We have also committed to strengthening the existing developer contributions system and further details will be set out in due course.

Our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework sought views on whether changes are needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes.

The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 4956 on 17 September 2024.