Marsha De Cordova

The Government recognises that consumer energy debt is a large and increasing issue, and it expects energy suppliers to do everything they can to support customers who are struggling with bills, especially vulnerable customers. It is important that anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills contact their supplier.

In August, I met with suppliers and encouraged them to build on the Voluntary Debt Commitment from last year and go further in supporting vulnerable customers this winter.

The Government has no plans to introduce an energy social tariff this winter. However, we are committed to ensuring vulnerable households are supported with their energy bills and we are looking at all options on how to support these households.

The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to over 3 million eligible low-income households. We are also working with energy suppliers to ensure they are providing additional support to vulnerable customers.

The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund for an additional 6 months until 31 March 2025 with an extra £500 million in funding, and I encourage any individual who is struggling to pay their bills contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.

The Government believes that the only way to permanently protect billpayers, including disabled households, is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy and reduce our reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets.

Whilst we make this transition, the Government is committed to ensuring vulnerable households are supported with their energy bills and we are looking at all options on how to support these households.

In the short-term, we are continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate on energy bills for eligible low-income households. We are also working with energy suppliers to ensure they are providing additional support to vulnerable customers that are struggling with bills.

The Warm Home Discount Scheme is currently focused to support those on lowest incomes who receive means-tested benefits and are living in a property we have estimated to be relatively high cost to heat. This winter’s scheme has been launched today, 14 October, and we expect it to support over three million households. We are exploring options to improve the design of the scheme beyond the current regulations which expire in 2026.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everyone, including disabled people, older people and women and girls. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport and to boost diversity at a grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all.

Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people.

Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everyone, including disabled people, older people and women and girls. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport and to boost diversity at a grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all.

Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people.

Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everyone, including disabled people, older people and women and girls. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport and to boost diversity at a grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all.

Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people.

Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everyone, including disabled people, older people and women and girls. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport and to boost diversity at a grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all.

Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people.

Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 July 2024 to the Rt Hon Member for Islington North, PQ 592.

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.

The use of farrowing crates for pigs is an issue we will want to fully consider in due course.

We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities.

PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences. The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, help with travel costs to appointments or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefits have been consistently uprated in line with inflation since they were introduced and were, like other benefits, increased by 6.7% from 8 April 2024.

DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope, academic experts, and Disability Rights UK.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities.

PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences. The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, help with travel costs to appointments or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefits have been consistently uprated in line with inflation since they were introduced and were, like other benefits, increased by 6.7% from 8 April 2024.

DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope, academic experts, and Disability Rights UK.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities.

DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope and academic experts.

PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences. The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, help with travel costs to appointments or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefits have been consistently uprated in line with inflation since they were introduced and were, like other benefits, increased by 6.7% from 8 April 2024.

No such assessment has been made. We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to ensure it is doing the job we need it to.

As part of the get Britain working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve. Forthcoming White Papers will develop policy in this area.

Good quality work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group who need access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including disabled Universal Credit claimants. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and the Work and Health Programme, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.

Under the Accessible Information Standard, services should verify that where a patient needs to access information on a website, it is accessible to them. If not, services should make the information available in another way, for instance as a paper copy, via email, or as audio. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, National Health Service providers must have regard to information standards.

NHS England is unable to provide an exact date for the publication of the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), due to their internal assurance and governance process. In addition, the AIS can only be published once the accessible versions are in place, all web content has been produced, and all stakeholders have been informed in advance, all of which can only be considered post-internal assurance and governance.

It should be noted that the current AIS remains in force and therefore, there should not be a gap in provision for people using services.

The Accessible Information Standard (AIS) review has been completed, and the updated standard and supporting documents are in the process of being transferred to web copy. NHS England is working on ensuring accessible versions are available for publication, and is making updates to the AIS e-learning modules in line with the new standard. NHS England is ensuring that all stakeholders involved in the review of the AIS have had ample opportunity to feedback on the process. The AIS documentation is going through NHS England's publication approval process. NHS England cannot provide a specific date for publication of the AIS, but aim to publish it soon.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

Once the revised standard receives publishing approval, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard, and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

NHS England is in the process of developing updated e-learning training modules on the AIS, to complement the updated AIS. These will raise awareness of the standard and ensure that NHS staff can access up to date training on their roles and responsibilities under the AIS, which should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

Once the revised standard receives publishing approval, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard, and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

NHS England is in the process of developing updated e-learning training modules on the AIS, to complement the updated AIS. These will raise awareness of the standard and ensure that NHS staff can access up to date training on their roles and responsibilities under the AIS, which should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

HMG Ministers and officials at the British Embassy in Cairo continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian government at the highest levels. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr El-Fattah's case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 7 August and the Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August.

The Government is determined to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and rapidly increase aid, ensuring humanitarian support is reaching people there.

The government is keeping existing visa pathways under review in response to events. Palestinian nationals who wish to come to the UK can do so via the existing range of routes available. Immediate family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.

The FCDO is also providing consular assistance to those with British nationality, or dual nationality including British, who are in Gaza or who have left Gaza to a third country.

Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Biometrics, in the form of fingerprints and facial images, underpin the UK immigration system and are integral to national security. We recently published updated guidance on Gov.UK that sets out the circumstances where we may predetermine an application before a person attends a visa application centre to enrol their biometric information or when we may excuse the person from having to enrol their biometrics before they travel to the UK.

Where a relevant application is made, consideration will be given to compelling compassionate factors that are raised.