Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department has issued to (a) UK charities and (b) the Charity Commission to ensure that charities do not invest in illegal settlements in occupied territory which are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not issued such guidance to charities or to the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Government and Charity Commission for England and Wales expect charities to act lawfully, in line with the charity’s purpose, and in the charity’s best interest.
Any concerns about a charity’s activities should be referred to the charity in the first instance. If their response is unsatisfactory or there is a belief that the charity is acting unlawfully or engaged in misconduct or mismanagement, concerns can be raised with the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission takes such concerns seriously, prioritising resources and taking appropriate and proportionate action. As a civil regulator, the Charity Commission refers all potential criminal matters to the relevant law enforcement body for investigation.
The Charity Commission provides a range of guidance to help charity trustees understand their legal duties and requirements, as well as how to make decisions in the best interests of their charity.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing driving examiner recruitment in Fife.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
The driving test centres that serve candidates in Fife are Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. From a recent recruitment campaign a potential new driving examiner (DE) has been offered a position in Dunfermline. Following successful completion of training and pre-employment checks, it is hopeful the candidate will be in post by autumn. A further potential DE who had been offered a post in Kirkcaldy, has since withdrawn from the process.
DVSA will be undertaking another recruitment campaign shortly and will again advertise for posts in this area.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects Network Rail to have completed a feasibility study on making Burntisland railway station accessible.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This did not include Burntisland railway station. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders during the summer.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage on people in Wales.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
Up to 160,000 workers across Wales received a record pay rise through increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.
Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will see a real-terms pay increase of £1,400 per year, whilst 18-to-20-year-olds will get a record boost of £2,500 each year. This will help provide people across Wales with better financial stability.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
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 a supply shortage of Aimovig on people who experience migraines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of a recent short term supply issue with one strength of Aimovig. We worked with NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and the devolved administrations to expedite resupply and have confirmed that stock is now available for patients to access.
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues.
While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, and use of Serious Shortage Protocols. In addition, we will issue communications to the National Health Service, which provides management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle ageism in the provision of financial services.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the UK’s financial services sector, to ensure that all customers get the right support with their financial products and services. The FCA requires firms to provide a prompt, efficient, and fair service to all of their customers.
Ensuring individuals have access to appropriate financial products and services is also a key priority for the Government. This is why I have committed to publish a Financial Inclusion Strategy later this year which will seek to tackle a range of barriers consumers can face in accessing the products they need.
Additionally, the Equality Act 2010 generally prohibits discrimination based on certain protected characteristics, including age. There are some limited exceptions to this. For example, insurance providers cannot refuse to cover potential consumers or charge more for insurance as a result of age, unless they base their risk assessment on relevant information from a reliable source.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to review the current accreditation process for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
While the Government works closely with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), the Secretary of State does not formally review its accreditation process, given MCS’ independent status. MCS is introducing a wide-ranging reforms programme, and the Government is closely monitoring the introduction of these reforms. The reforms are designed to improve consumer protection, and reduce unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy for installers, including around the installer accreditation process.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for driving tests in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce driving test waiting times across the country.
Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.
A recruitment campaign has recently closed, and from this DVSA hope to recruit examiners for test centres that serve the Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory minimum expiry dates on gift vouchers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department asked the Law Commission to examine the protection given to consumer prepayments, including gift cards and vouchers, and consider whether such protections should be strengthened. The Law Commission concluded that that there was no need to introduce additional measures for gift cards and vouchers including in relation to expiry dates.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
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 adequacy of the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not made a formal assessment of the adequacy of the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists. The Government is clear that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public, and that statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.
The Government believes that anyone using counselling or psychotherapy services deserves to have confidence and trust in their healthcare professionals, which is why we urge the use of qualified practitioners holding voluntary registration accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.