Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on introducing early diagnosis services for osteoporosis.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding was recently announced to boost bone density scanning capacity, to support improvements in bone health and early diagnostics for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, such as osteoporosis. This will provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year.
As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England’s Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with osteoporosis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of noise regulation enforcement in residential areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are responsible for investigating noise brought to their attention under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act, 1990. If they agree that a statutory nuisance is happening, has happened or will happen in the future, councils must serve an abatement notice.
No assessment has been made of the adequacy of noise regulation enforcement in residential areas.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Orchestra Tax Relief from 1 April 2024 on the promotion of UK orchestras.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading creative industries and arts sectors.
On 1 April 2024, several administrative changes to Orchestra Tax Relief took effect, following legislation being passed in Finance Act 2024.
In accordance with standard practice, HMRC published a tax information and impact note about the legislation, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industry-tax-reliefs-administrative-changes/administrative-changes-to-the-creative-industry-tax-reliefs
As set out in the note, the administrative changes are expected to have a negligible impact on businesses claiming the creative tax reliefs.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the National and International Cities grant to the Metropolitan Police for policing the capital city.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Metropolitan Police face increased demands on resources from policing the capital city and, as part of the 2025-26 police funding settlement, the Metropolitan Police will receive £248.7 million through the National and International Capital City grant, an increase of £63.3 million when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.
Overall, the Metropolitan Police will receive up to £3.8 billion in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £226.9 million when compared to the 2024-25 police settlement.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the theft of mobile phones.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Set against soaring levels of snatch thefts and pickpocketing, crimes which commonly involve the theft of mobile phones, we have announced a Home Office Mobile Phone Theft Summit, drawing together tech companies and law enforcement to see what more can collectively be done to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.
As part of our Safer Streets Mission, this government is determined to crack down on theft and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, including strengthening neighbourhood policing, tackling anti-social behaviour and restoring public confidence.
Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and Special Constables.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 remove the requirement for a local connection for (a) homeless veterans, (b) survivors of domestic abuse and (c) care leavers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the 24 September the Prime Minister announced an ambition to improve access to social housing for veterans, survivors of domestic abuse and young care leavers.
Statutory guidance recommends that local authorities exempt victims of domestic abuse and care leavers from local connection and residency tests, and we know that most local authorities already do this. We are clear that a victim of domestic abuse, a care leaver or a veteran should not be disqualified from social housing on the grounds of having no local connection.
The Department laid regulations on 27 November which will require local authorities to exempt all veterans from local connection requirements for social housing allocations.
We will bring forward similar regulations covering survivors of domestic abuse and care leavers when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of rules on local connection for housing allocations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the 24 September the Prime Minister announced an ambition to improve access to social housing for veterans, survivors of domestic abuse and young care leavers.
Statutory guidance recommends that local authorities exempt victims of domestic abuse and care leavers from local connection and residency tests, and we know that most local authorities already do this. We are clear that a victim of domestic abuse, a care leaver or a veteran should not be disqualified from social housing on the grounds of having no local connection.
The Department laid regulations on 27 November which will require local authorities to exempt all veterans from local connection requirements for social housing allocations.
We will bring forward similar regulations covering survivors of domestic abuse and care leavers when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to reform pay policies at the National Crime Agency.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to supporting the National Crime Agency in the fight against serious and organised crime. A strong pay framework is vital to enable the Agency to deliver its role of disrupting and dismantling the most harmful organised crime groups in and impacting on the UK.
As announced alongside the National Crime Agency pay award on 29 July 2024, measures are underway to develop a set of comprehensive proposals for reform of the existing pay structure at the Agency. Once finalised, the government will seek to implement these proposals in a timely fashion.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to consult on the draft of the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will introduce advanced disclosure and barring service checks for pedicab drivers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Pedicabs (London) Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 25 April 2024, confers powers onto Transport for London (TfL) to regulate London’s pedicab industry for the first time. TfL is preparing to consult on these prospective regulations, which will include enhanced disclosure and barring service checks for pedicab drivers.