Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department a) has recently made and b) plans to make changes to the eligibility criteria for Disabled Students Allowance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not recently made changes to the eligibility criteria for Disabled Students’ Allowance and has no current plans to do so.
As part of wider reforms set out in the government’s post-16 education and skills white paper, the department is committed to improving access and support for all students in higher education, including those with disabilities.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Universal Credit taper in incentivising part-time work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The taper rate aims to make customers financially better off in work by ensuring that their Universal Credit award is reduced by less than their earned income.
Universal Credit has a single taper rate of 55% and some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
Once a customer is earning more than their work allowance (if applicable), their Universal Credit starts to be reduced at a consistent rate.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 increase access to specialist wheelchairs for children in Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, and responsibility for providing disabled children’s equipment would typically fall to the National Health Service and local authorities.
NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, with the aim of supporting improvements where required. Further information can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/national-wheelchair
NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is actively working to ensure equitable access to specialist wheelchair services across the region, including Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire. This is being pursued through:
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the obstacles working class people face to working in the film and television sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help resolve industrial disputes between universities and the University and Colleges Union.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and, as such, the government does not intervene in industrial disputes or negotiations between employers and trade unions. However, we remain committed to constructive engagement with both the unions and the employer representative body to help address the broader challenges facing the sector.
The government has taken steps to secure the future for our world-leading universities so they can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. We made the difficult decision to increase tuition fees in line with inflation for the 2025/26 academic year, and appointed Professor Edward Peck as Chair of the Office for Students (OfS). We will set out our plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Skills White Paper, and will work with the sector and the OfS to deliver the change that the country needs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking improve the financial position of universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and, as such, the government does not intervene in industrial disputes or negotiations between employers and trade unions. However, we remain committed to constructive engagement with both the unions and the employer representative body to help address the broader challenges facing the sector.
The government has taken steps to secure the future for our world-leading universities so they can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. We made the difficult decision to increase tuition fees in line with inflation for the 2025/26 academic year, and appointed Professor Edward Peck as Chair of the Office for Students (OfS). We will set out our plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Skills White Paper, and will work with the sector and the OfS to deliver the change that the country needs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to skilled worker visa requirements for prison officers on the level of prison staffing.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to Parliamentary Question 76286.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changing from a motive or purpose test to an outcome test as outlined in the draft Finance Bill 2025–26 on the volume of charity donations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Charities rightly enjoy generous tax reliefs. However, a small number of charities are receiving tax relief in ways that were not intended by Parliament. Charity tax rules are being strengthened to improve HMRC’s ability to challenge abusive arrangements in an appropriate and proportionate way.
The new charity rules in the Finance Bill 2025-26 for legacy giving will ensure a charity uses tax relieved income for its charitable purposes. They will not require charities to spend gifts from wills within a set timeframe.
The new rules will replace the current purpose test with an outcome test. This will better prevent the abuse of tax reliefs through arrangements designed to give financial advantages to donors in return for their donation.
Updated guidance will support charities and donors, giving clarity and reassurance around the rules and making it clear that the honest majority of donors and charities will remain unaffected by these reforms.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposal to require charities to spend gifts from wills within a set timeframe in the draft Finance Bill 2025-26 on legacy giving.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Charities rightly enjoy generous tax reliefs. However, a small number of charities are receiving tax relief in ways that were not intended by Parliament. Charity tax rules are being strengthened to improve HMRC’s ability to challenge abusive arrangements in an appropriate and proportionate way.
The new charity rules in the Finance Bill 2025-26 for legacy giving will ensure a charity uses tax relieved income for its charitable purposes. They will not require charities to spend gifts from wills within a set timeframe.
The new rules will replace the current purpose test with an outcome test. This will better prevent the abuse of tax reliefs through arrangements designed to give financial advantages to donors in return for their donation.
Updated guidance will support charities and donors, giving clarity and reassurance around the rules and making it clear that the honest majority of donors and charities will remain unaffected by these reforms.