Rebecca Smith

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 18 November 2024 to question UIN 14156.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use it. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.

The CMS is well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if it becomes aware that the safety of any of its customers are at risk, and caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients.

The CMS also has a toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers and signpost to support organisations, where appropriate. This Toolkit is regularly reviewed and strengthened on the basis of customer insight.

The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. It is estimated that around 20,000 people in South West Devon constituency will be affected by the change in policy. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22-23 Winter Fuel Payments statistics (sources below).

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for South West Devon constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for South West Devon constituency. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive Winter fuel payment.

Also, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.

Furthermore, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).

In addition to that, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Source:

The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:

Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit data is published here: Pension Credit – Data from May 2018

The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero- to 64-year-old age range is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.

The Primary Care Dementia Data publication includes a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.

Hepatitis B is usually asymptomatic in the early years, and therefore, many people remain unaware of their infection. The UK Health Security Agency estimates that 268,767 people were living with chronic hepatitis B in England in 2022, 38.1% of whom we estimate are diagnosed. As a result, raising both professional and public awareness remains critical to reducing the undiagnosed burden of hepatitis B.

In April 2022, the NHS England introduced the bloodborne virus opt out testing in emergency departments programme, which was implemented across 34 sites. In its first 24 months 1,185,678 hepatitis B tests had been conducted in the programme, which has led to 1,957 new diagnoses of hepatitis B. Following the success of this programme, it is now being expanded to a further 47 sites nationwide. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bloodborne-viruses-opt-out-testing-in-emergency-departments/emergency-department-bloodborne-virus-opt-out-testing-12-month-interim-report-2023

In addition, the list of sites and go live dates is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bloodborne-viruses-opt-out-testing-in-emergency-departments/appendix-for-emergency-department-bloodborne-virus-opt-out-testing-12-month-interim-report-2023

The United Kingdom has continued to see the success of well-established antenatal screening. Antenatal screening coverage has remained high at 99.8%, which ensures pregnant women living with hepatitis B are diagnosed and interventions are implemented, to prevent transmission of hepatitis B to their children.

As set out in the published Hepatitis B in England 2024 report, effective interventions have also been developed to raise awareness of hepatitis B among healthcare professionals and communities at risk of acquiring viral hepatitis, support primary care in identifying and managing cases, and offer testing and immunisations to close contacts. These interventions need to be more widely implemented to continue to improve diagnosis and access to care. The Hepatitis B in England 2024 report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-b-in-england/hepatitis-b-in-england-2024#raising-awareness-supporting-the-diagnosis-of-people-living-with-undiagnosed-hepatitisand-reducing-barriers-to-treatment

The National Health Service Cancer Programme is working to detect more hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) at an early stage when the chances of survival are higher. Six-monthly liver ultrasound surveillance for patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis is key to identifying liver cancers earlier. The programme has been providing funding to Cancer Alliances in 2023/24 and 2024/25, to invest in local liver surveillance programmes. This includes Peninsula Cancer Alliance, which covers Devon.

The cancer programme is also funding two pilot initiatives, the Community Liver Health Checks and liver primary care case finding pilots, to identify people with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis requiring HCC surveillance. Both pilot initiatives are being delivered across in the peninsula, with one primary care case finding pilot taking place within Devon Primary Care Network.

The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve the intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with some carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine presentations, have been resolved.

There is a supply issue with all strengths of lamotrigine tablets due to manufacturing issues, and this is expected to resolve from late November 2024. Other manufacturers of lamotrigine tablets can meet the increased demand during this time.

The Department continues to work closely with industry, the National Health Service, and others to help ensure patients continue to have access to an alternative treatment until their usual product is back in stock.

The Minimum Activity Requirements for the Pharmacy First Service have been amended for the remainder of 2024/25, to 20 for October, November, and December, 25 for January and February 2025, and 30 for March 2025.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Revenue from motoring taxes and associated VAT ensures that the Government can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect.

Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole the government has inherited. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round; the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

The misuse of technology to abuse or harm others (including online) has a disproportionate impact on women and children and we know this is a significant and growing issue in the UK and worldwide.

Tackling VAWG in all of its forms, including when it takes place online, is a top priority for this Government, and that's why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve these crimes in a decade.

We will go further than before to deliver a cross-Government transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year. On 22 January 2025, the Government introduced new legislation which will make creating sexually explicit 'deepfake' images a criminal offence.

The Online Safety Act 2023 designates material relating to child sexual exploitation and abuse as a priority offence. Platforms must put in place systems and processes to minimise and remove this content. The Illegal Harms Codes, laid before Parliament in December and coming into force from 17 March this year, sets out the steps companies must take to meet their duties under the Act to tackle this content.

On 31 January 2024, the Act's new offences of cyberflashing and the sharing and threatening to share intimate images including 'deepfake' pornography without consent came into effect. These are also priority illegal offences.

In addition, the Act requires Ofcom to produce guidance which summarises in one clear place measures that can be taken to tackle the abuse that women and girls disproportionately face online. Ofcom has begun developing this guidance and will consult on it this month.

I regularly meet with the Minster for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety to discuss these matters, and my officials also engage regularly with DSIT on technology-facilitated VAWG.

The Government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG in a decade. To achieve this, we must reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending but also prevent abuse from happening all together.

The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will set out our strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver this ambition. We are considering a range of policy options across government to prevent these crimes including education for young people around healthy relationships and consent, community interventions and tackling online VAWG.

That includes looking at how we can work most effectively with youth services and through the Young Futures programme to deliver this ambition.

The Government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG in a decade. To achieve this, we must reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending but also prevent abuse from happening altogether.

This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships.

Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at-risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types (including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls) are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.

Officials from across a range of departments are working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape how the Young Futures Hubs will work in practice.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime, with the introduction of stronger powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and action to tackle farm theft and fly-tipping.

We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers, including in rural areas, to ensure communities have somewhere to turn to report crimes and to report concerns.

Improving telecoms is a Department of Science Innovation and Technology lead.

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

The necessary secondary legislation to implement the Act will set out the detail, which will include minimum required standards.

I met with Ruth Bailey, CEO of Agriculture Association on the 5th November 2024 . I am currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation. I will be in contact with the industry during the process and hope to make a decision shortly.

As part of the process of developing and implementing housing and planning policy, the government engages with a wide range experts and organisations. Our plans to tackle the housing crisis, including by building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament and delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, will address several important points raised in the report in question. The government also intends to publish a long-term housing strategy and we will consider reports such as this one, in developing it.

The Government will provide an update in relation to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report in due course.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. This includes a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise and includes measures such as removing the requirement to pay marriage value, capping the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value in the calculation, and prescribing rates for the calculation. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.

The Government will further reform the leasehold system by enacting remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture. We will also reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.