Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made contribution of the part-time student premium to the Government's opportunity mission.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined to break down barriers to opportunity by supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university, regardless of their background, where they live and their personal circumstances. Part-time student premium funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant, is an important part of delivering on this vision and our Opportunity Mission.
This funding is allocated to higher education providers in England which are on the Office for Students (OfS)’ Approved (fee cap) register, to support them to provide part-time courses for students. This recognises that the flexibility part-time courses offer is important, especially for older learners and those from underrepresented groups.
This is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s recent guidance to the OfS explicitly directs the OfS to retain the per-student funding rates for the student premiums, including the part-time student premium, where affordable. Funding allocations for individual higher education providers for the forthcoming academic year will be published by the OfS in due course.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when secondary legislation for the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Act 2023 will be laid before Parliament.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) in the 2026/27 academic year for courses starting from 1 January 2027. We shall share further details and plans for LLE delivery alongside the multi-year spending review in June, including information on maintenance loans, supplementary grants, priority courses and additional entitlement, and information on the expansion and regulation of modular funding, together with the Office for Students. Parliamentary time allowing, the department plans to lay the secondary legislation necessary for the LLE, including that made under powers in the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Act 2023 in 2026.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with Ofcom on stronger mechanisms for holding Royal Mail accountable for improving the reliability of letter deliveries.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for Ofcom to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action. While the government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions, in January I met with representatives from Ofcom who gave their reassurance that Ofcom is closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to drive improvement in quality of service.
In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) the Royal Mail, (b) the Post Office and (c) Ofcom to collaborate on the (i) design and (ii) implementation of an Address and Collect service, ensuring access to mail for individuals without a secure address.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government recognises the importance of access to post for all users, including those that are without a secure address. The universal postal service is intended to provide an accessible postal service for all.
An address and collect service solution involving Royal Mail and the Post Office would be an operational matter for those businesses but their further joint working, including with Ofcom, on this issue would be welcomed by government.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people into work in Southport constituency.
Answered by Liz Kendall - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Disabled people in Southport deserve the same choices and chances to work as anyone else.
That is why we will transform support for disabled people who can work to get the jobs they want and deserve, including by investing an additional £1 billion a year through our Pathways to work employment programme.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring tenancy agreements to allow domestic appliances to be used at times that allow people living in (a) flats and (b) houses in multiple occupation to take advantage of off-peak energy tariffs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will require private rented sector landlords in England to provide new tenants with a written statement of terms, which in practice will usually be provided via a written tenancy agreement.
Regulations will be made before the reforms are commenced, setting out what this written information must include. The Department is currently engaging with interested parties to seek their views on this information and will consider utilities as part of that process.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support local initiatives in (a) Cheshire and (b) Merseyside to improve early cancer diagnosis rates in (a) deprived communities and (b) general.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that there are challenges for several different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts early diagnosis rates.
Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types. To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. In addition, we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, during our first year in Government as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
The latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 58.7% as of October 2024; this is 2.8% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This means approximately 7,500 more people are being diagnosed at stage 1 and 2. For Cheshire and Merseyside ICB the latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 59.2% as of October 2024; this is 4.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The roll out of the lung cancer screening programme has driven two thirds of the national improvement and when fully rolled out the programme is expected to detect around 9,000 cancers earlier each year.
People living in deprived areas are four times more likely to smoke, and smoking causes 72% of lung cancers. Through the programme early diagnosis rates have increased for all deprivation quintiles, with biggest gains among those living in most deprived areas. We will build on recent successes, including further roll out of the lung cancer screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates.
Additionally, the recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure equitable treatment of parents with shared custody arrangements by the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.
Reductions can be made for the extra cost of care where it is shared by the paying parent. The paying parent must have overnight care of any qualifying children for at least 52 nights a year, equivalent of 1 night per week. The amount payable is reduced by a maximum of fifty per cent within bands based on the number of nights overnight care is provided over a 12-month period. The bands are used to give greater stability to maintenance payments and as a result there is greater reliability of payments, which contributes towards the welfare of the children in the case.
If evidence shows that both parties are providing equal day-to-day care of a qualifying child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with the utility companies on the ability of people living in (a) flats and (b) houses in multiple occupation to take advantage of reduced tariffs for off-peak electricity due to (i) the conditions of their tenancy agreement (ii) the potential impact on their neighbours.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The only way to accurately reflect the individual usage of each tenant in a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) would be if they each had a submeter. This would mean that their energy usage would be reflected in how much they pay the landlord for their energy. If an individual wishes to have this implemented, they should speak to their landlord to see if this is an option for them.
In order to protect consumers in HMOs, there is legislation which sets a maximum price that can be charged for electricity and gas which has already been bought from a licensed supplier. The maximum resale price guidance is available on Ofgem’s website and if a tenant upon reviewing this guidance believes their landlord to be in contravention of it, they should raise it with them.
Ofgem is exploring options for easier routes to access support where non-compliance with the guidance has taken place. Ofgem continues to work to have vulnerable consumers added to the Priority Services Register in order that they can more easily access support where needed.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders and consider whether any further actions are required.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) one year and (b) five year survival rates for cancers of the (i) liver, (ii) lung, (iii) pancreas, (iv) oesophagus and (v) stomach in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, which is integral for improving survival rates, is a priority for this government. Rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs), which are designed to speed up the diagnosis of cancer, have now been successfully rolled out across England. RDCs provide a non-specific symptom (NSS) pathway for patients who display symptoms that could indicate cancer but do not align to specific cancers. NSS pathways are very important for diagnosing cancers such as liver, pancreas, oesophagus and stomach cancers whose symptoms may not be obvious and mimic other conditions. NSS pathways complement other cancer diagnostic pathways, as well as providing elements that can be applied to existing pathways.
We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We have asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer. Cheshire and Merseyside has been at the forefront of developing the new centres, with 10 across the region.
Furthermore, the Department has also committed support to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, which targets cancers with poor survival rates. This partnership focuses on liver, pancreas, lung, brain, oesophagus, and stomach cancers, raising awareness of these less survivable cancers so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their general practitioner if they have concerns. We will build on recent successes, including roll out of the targeted lung screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost one and five year survival rates. This has already been rolled out to at least five areas of Cheshire and Merseyside and is making a real impact on early detection of lung cancer.
Finally, the recently announced Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis and transform survival rates, saving thousands of lives and putting us on a stronger footing with our international peers.