Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne 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 impact of the freeze on Local Housing Allowance since April 2020 on the discretionary income of claimants of the housing element of Universal Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) policy is kept under regular review and rates are reviewed annually by the Secretary of State.
LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants claiming the housing element of Universal Credit in the private rented sector. It ensures that claimants in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. Over 2022/23 and 2023/24 the Government is providing support in excess of £94 billion to help households with the rising cost of living.
The 30th percentile levels of local market weekly rents for the Tyneside Broad Rental Market Area for each year from 2020 can be found here. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publish 30th percentile rental data alongside weekly LHA rates. This is not available as a monthly equivalent for Universal Credit.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consult child psychologists on the potential health impact of increasing spouse visa fees on affected children.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has aways provided exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These include affordability-based waivers for entry clearance and leave to remain on family and human rights grounds. These provisions ensure that the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations and wider Government policy, and we believe represents the right balance between protecting the integrity of the department’s funding model while helping to facilitate access to immigration and nationality products and services, including for the most vulnerable.
The Home Office published an Equalities Impact Assessment alongside the Regulations that increased immigration and nationality fees in October 2023. This included an assessment of the proposals in line with the Secretary of State’s duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
There are currently no plans to consult on fee levels.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne 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 help reduce waiting times for autism spectrum disorder assessments for children.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. These documents will help the National Health Service to improve their autism assessment services and improve the experience for children who are referred to an autism assessment service.
In addition, each integrated care board is expected to have an Executive Lead, supporting the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including by ensuring appropriate assessment and diagnosis pathways.
This year (2023/24), £4.2 million is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services and pre- and post-diagnostic support, and the continuation of the ‘Autism in Schools’ programme.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to (a) revise local authority funding formulas and (b) make an assessment of the impact of those changes on household income.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Mem to the policy statement , published 12 December 2022.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that levels of funding for hospices adequately take into account variations in (a) service provision and (b) regional need.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
While the National Health Service has been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of the population, as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board must commission, to clarify this responsibility.
NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications.
NHS England is investing £25 million in the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant this year, to provide care closer to home for those seriously ill as and when they need it. NHS England has now confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices. NHS England will confirm the funding mechanism and individual hospice allocations in due course.
The Government, alongside key partners, NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector on an ongoing basis, to understand the issues they face.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne 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 help support the hospice movement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
While the National Health Service has been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of the population, as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board must commission, to clarify this responsibility.
NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications.
NHS England is investing £25 million in the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant this year, to provide care closer to home for those seriously ill as and when they need it. NHS England has now confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices. NHS England will confirm the funding mechanism and individual hospice allocations in due course.
The Government, alongside key partners, NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector on an ongoing basis, to understand the issues they face.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to (a) increase the number of family liaison officers in the police force and (b) provide additional (i) training on communicating with families during policing operations and (ii) resources for family liaison officers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Decisions about the allocation and deployment of resources to meet local need, including family liaison officers (FLOs) and their training, are operational matters for Chief Constables. They are best placed to make decisions about how best to meet those needs based on their local knowledge and expertise.
The FLO training programme is delivered by police forces. The College of Policing publishes guidance on the deployment of FLOs to inform strategy and direction, which is reflected in the FLO curriculum.
In recent years, this Government has committed substantial funding to invest in policing and reduce crime. As of December 2022, police forces have across England and Wales, recruited 16,753 additional officers as part of the Police Uplift, making up 84% of the target of 20,000 additional officers. The Government has confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £313.8 million when compared to 2022/23.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to increase the number of adoption registered therapists providing counselling to adults who were adopted as children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department recognises the importance of the availability of counselling and therapeutic support to adults who were adopted as children. We agree that adult adoptees should be able to access the support that they need, particularly around their mental health needs.
The department has recently consulted on amendments to regulations to simplify arrangements for providers who provide support to adopted adults. One of the proposed changes in the consultation is to remove the requirement that therapists be registered with Ofsted when providing counselling services to adopted adults. One of the aims of this is to increase the availability of counselling for adult adoptees. We are currently analysing the responses.
The government is also improving NHS mental support availability. The NHS Long Term Plan and mental health expansion plans will increase funding for mental health services.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of telecoms customers who had mid-contract price increases above inflation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor consumer trends in the telecoms sector, and it most recently reported on this in its Pricing Trends Report 2022. While not all providers have implemented price rises, the majority of consumers are likely to have been subject to in-contract price increases in the last 12 months. However, it is not possible to more accurately estimate this due to many households having multiple, bundled contracts across different suppliers.
This is clearly a difficult time for families up and down the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living. To support people to stay connected, leaders from broadband and mobile operators agreed on a set of commitments. These include allowing households, who may be mid-contract but struggling with their bills, to switch to cheaper packages without penalty.
On 23 January, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology met with chief executives from major broadband providers and made clear her concerns about the impact price rises may have on those who are struggling due to the rise in the cost of living. On 9 February 2023, Ofcom launched a review into the transparency of in-contract price rises. We will review Ofcom’s findings once this work has been completed.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when they expect the Kings Arms Project to publish the Alternatives To Detention report.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The first Community Engagement Pilot, Action Access, provided women who would otherwise be detained with a programme of support in the community. This pilot concluded on 31 March 2021 after operating for two years, as planned. To increase external credibility of evaluation, the UNHCR appointed the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to independently evaluate this work. The independent evaluation of Action Access was published on 24 January 2022.
The second pilot, the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service, supported both men and women in the community and remained in operation for two years until June 2022. The independent evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service is expected to be published by NatCen early next year.