Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
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 potential (a) financial and (b) administrative impact of differing mileage allowance rates for DWP and HMRC on self-employed people who are also in receipt of Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
No assessment is currently available.
While the Department’s permitted expenses framework is designed to align, wherever feasible, with the approach taken by HMRC, the tax and welfare systems serve different purposes and operate under different legislative frameworks so complete alignment is not always possible. The Department does routinely keep its policies under review.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) annually uprating the Bereavement Support Payment in line with inflation and (b) extending the payment period for the Bereavement Support Payment beyond 18 months.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The level of Bereavement Support Pay (BSP) is reviewed annually as part of the uprating process, and Government keeps wider bereavement support under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable. BSP was designed to provide support during the immediate period following a bereavement, rather than replace income over the longer term.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the light of the recent NATS technical failure, what availability and resilience standard NATS is required to meet.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government apologises to passengers across the United Kingdom who faced significant disruption as a result of the issues that impacted NATS' operation on 8 September, resulting in delays and cancellations for a large number of passengers, as well as the disruption that it has caused for industry. Let me be clear that disruption of this kind is absolutely unacceptable.
NATS' primary objective is to provide a safe air traffic service, while also delivering a resilient and reliable operation that enables aircraft to move efficiently through UK airspace. Safety remains the overriding priority in all operational decisions, with system resilience and service continuity essential to maintaining public confidence in the aviation network.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provides independent regulatory oversight of NATS' safety and operational performance, including monitoring performance against agreed targets and reviewing major incidents. The Department for Transport works closely with both the CAA and NATS to support a safe, resilient and effective air traffic system for passengers and the wider aviation sector.
The Department receives regular updates from NATS on the modernisation of its air traffic control systems, with technical changes closely monitored and overseen by the CAA as the independent regulator.
The Secretary of State asked NATS to provide a report by 16 September setting out the cause of the incident and the actions taken in response. The Secretary of State has also asked the CAA to conduct an independent review and will provide an update within 6 months. This will provide an important opportunity to review existing arrangements, ensure lessons are learned, and identify any further measures required to enhance resilience.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the light of the recent NATS technical failure, for what reason a single technical failure can cause widespread disruption.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that serious air traffic control incidents are rare, however when they do occur, they have a serious impact on passengers and aviation operations.
The Government apologises to passengers across the United Kingdom who faced significant disruption as a result of the issues that impacted NATS’ operation on 8 September, resulting in delays and cancellations for large numbers of passengers, as well as the disruption that it has caused for industry. Let me be clear that disruption of this kind is absolutely unacceptable.
It is therefore essential that the causes of the technical fault on the 8th September are identified by NATS so that any changes can be implemented swiftly.
The Secretary of State has asked NATS to provide a report by 16 September setting out the cause of the incident and the actions taken in response. The Government has also asked the CAA to conduct an independent review and will provide an update within 6 months. This will provide an important opportunity to review existing arrangements, ensure lessons are learned, and identify any further measures required to enhance resilience.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the light of the recent NATS technical failure, whether backup systems are genuinely independent, or vulnerable to the same underlying failure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has asked NATS to provide a report by 16 September setting out the cause of the incident and the actions taken in response. The Government has also asked the CAA to conduct an independent review and will provide an update within 6 months. This will provide an important opportunity to review existing arrangements, ensure lessons are learned, and identify any further measures required to enhance resilience.
The safety of UK airspace remains a crucial priority for UK Government, and we will continue to work closely with NATS, the CAA and industry partners to maintain the highest standards of safety and operational resilience.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the light of NATS’s regulated funding model and substantial capital investment, what assessment she has made of whether the recent technical failure is primarily a question of management and regulatory oversight rather than resources.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government apologises to passengers across the United Kingdom who faced significant disruption as a result of the issues that impacted NATS’ operation on 8 September, resulting in delays and cancellations for a large number of passengers, as well as the disruption that it has caused for industry. Let me be clear that disruption of this kind is absolutely unacceptable.
NATS is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the CAA is required to investigate major incidents to establish their causes, identify remedial action and minimise the risk and impact of recurrence.
However, the Secretary of State has asked NATS to provide a report by 16 September setting out the cause of the incident and the actions taken in response. The Secretary of State has also asked the CAA to conduct an independent review and will provide an update within 6 months. This is crucial to ensure that lessons are learned and that any necessary improvements are implemented to ensure that this cannot happen again.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the latest allocation of contracts for off-shore wind electricity generation on domestic energy security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the CfD AR7 offshore wind auction, we secured more OFW capacity than any offshore wind CfD round to date, with 8.4GW of new capacity. That supports our energy security by powering the equivalent of over 12 million homes, while protecting the country from volatile fossil fuel prices.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support disabled people into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is committed to championing the rights of, and helping, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.
Last week we announced the expansion of our groundbreaking programme WorkWell across England, up to 250,000 more people with health conditions will receive support to stay in or return to work. This builds on our Pathways to Work Guarantee and our Connect to Work supported employment programme.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, When he plans to publish a steel strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I understand this is a worrying time for Tata’s staff and suppliers and I am in contact with Tata regarding their extended maintenance periods at Trostre, Port Talbot Hot Rolled Products and Llanwern Pickle-line sites. Tata staff affected will be paid at a proportional rate over this period.
The Welsh steel industry is a high priority for this government. To address global challenges, we have strengthened UK steel safeguards, reduced energy prices, improved public procurement rules, and secured preferential US market access. We are also developing our own steel trade proposals and engaging with the EU at all levels to seek to protect vital UK-EU trade flows.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 21 of the progress update entitled, Transforming for a Digital Future: Government's 2022 to 25 roadmap for digital and data, published in February 2024, when his Department first assessed each of its red-rated legacy IT systems as red-rated.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) assessed its systems against the Cabinet Office criteria for obsolescence from June 2023. This assessment process identified 11 systems as having a red-rating. In accordance with risk management best practice the MOD develops remediation plans to address the red-rated systems. As at the time of publication of the progress update in February 2024, seven systems have fully funded plans, two have partially funded plans, and the remaining two were being addressed. As of today, I can now confirm that the remaining two have identified plans for remediation.