Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 incentivise businesses to employ young people.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s plan to Make Work Pay is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all, including young people.
In addition, the Department for Education has established Skills England to sit at the heart of a system that provides young people with the skills required to thrive in life.
Skills England has set out a package of financial support to businesses which provide apprenticeships for young people to help drive up participation among this group.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on allowing medical aid into Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable, and we remain deeply concerned by the impact of the conflict on access to medical facilities and healthcare. We are clear that Israel can and must do more to get aid into Gaza. The Prime Minister stressed this in a call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 19 October; the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his call with Foreign Minister Katz on 27 October. The UK is committed to alleviating the suffering in Gaza and we provide significant funding to partners, including support to UK-Med to run field hospitals in Gaza. On 17 October we announced the UK will match up to £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East humanitarian appeal.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social houses will be built by housing associations with Government support in the next 12 months.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024. The Government supports housing associations and local authorities to build new social and affordable housing through the Affordable Homes Programme. We do not set annual targets for the programme.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on how to effectively enforce the law in respect to buffer zones around abortion clinics.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service published guidance on 31 October 2024, alongside further information from the College of Policing, setting out how the police and prosecutors should approach enforcing the new offence.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to support students with (a) the cost of living and (b) accommodation costs.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is determined that the higher education funding system should deliver for our economy, for universities and for students. This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university.
The government recognises the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on students. That is why we are increasing the maximum maintenance loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families.
Maximum maintenance loans will increase in line with forecast inflation, giving students up to an additional £414 a year of support in the 2025/26 academic year. This is the increase in the maximum loan for living costs for students living away from, and studying in, London from £13,348 to £13,762.
Therefore, a student living away from home and studying outside London on a household income of £25,000 or less will qualify for a maximum loan for living costs of £10,544 for the 2025/26 academic year, an increase of £317 compared to 2024/25. Students living away from home and studying in London will qualify for higher rates of loan, as will students eligible for benefits and some disabled students.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in maintaining parks in cities.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government supports local authorities in the maintenance of urban parks and green spaces in many ways. The Government’s Green Flag Awards scheme helps to increase access to quality green spaces and sets the standard for those spaces to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Furthermore, the Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in January 2023 will help local authorities and developers incorporate green infrastructure into development plans to improve access to nature on our doorsteps and build resilience to climate change.
The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides funding for investment in local growth, and a further £900 million for 2025-26 was announced at the Autumn Budget. Local authorities can decide how to use funding to best serve their communities, including investing in improving and developing their parks. This Government will also support local authorities by moving towards multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has responded to the regulation 28 prevention of future deaths report issued on 20 May 2024 in the case of deaths in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020, to which a response was due under statute by 15 July 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The deaths of James Furlong, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020 were a tragedy. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of James, Joseph and David, and with all of those individuals impacted by this incident.
The Home Office response to the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths was submitted to the Judge Coroner on 9 September 2024 and can now be viewed on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-0276-Response-from-the-Home-Office.pdf. The Home Office and other interested persons received an extension from the original deadline of 15 July 2024 due to the timing of the General Election.
In this response, the Home Secretary fully supported the Judge Coroner’s conclusion that the Home Office has made improvements since this tragic incident and that effective monitoring of these improvements is required. The Home Secretary will be overseeing the rigorous and robust implementation of recommendations and new commitments made.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to address the intelligence failings outlined in the regulation 28 prevention of future deaths report issued on 20 May 2024 in the case of deaths in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The deaths of James Furlong, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020 were a tragedy. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of James, Joseph and David, and with all of those individuals impacted by this incident.
The Home Office response to the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths was submitted to the Judge Coroner on 9 September 2024 and can now be viewed on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-0276-Response-from-the-Home-Office.pdf. The Home Office and other interested persons received an extension from the original deadline of 15 July 2024 due to the timing of the General Election.
In this response, the Home Secretary fully supported the Judge Coroner’s conclusion that the Home Office has made improvements since this tragic incident and that effective monitoring of these improvements is required. The Home Secretary will be overseeing the rigorous and robust implementation of recommendations and new commitments made.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 ensure that growth in the British film industry is shared across the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the film industry across every nation and region. Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films.
We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film Hub North covers Liverpool.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector. This programme includes £2.3m awarded to Screen Alliance North - created by the Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester, and Screen Yorkshire - over 2023-2026.
We support the British Film Commission (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, to support the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy. This includes support for Liverpool, most recently supporting and advising on the Liverpool Littlewoods film studio development.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent, and we support indie content to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF). Daliland and The Almond and The Seahorse, both of which were shot in Liverpool, received international distribution awards from UKGSF.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations as part of its international tourism marketing activity.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 support the growth of the film industry in Liverpool.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the film industry across every nation and region. Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films.
We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film Hub North covers Liverpool.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector. This programme includes £2.3m awarded to Screen Alliance North - created by the Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester, and Screen Yorkshire - over 2023-2026.
We support the British Film Commission (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, to support the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy. This includes support for Liverpool, most recently supporting and advising on the Liverpool Littlewoods film studio development.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent, and we support indie content to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF). Daliland and The Almond and The Seahorse, both of which were shot in Liverpool, received international distribution awards from UKGSF.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations as part of its international tourism marketing activity.