First elected: 12th December 2019
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Saqib Bhatti, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Saqib Bhatti has not been granted any Urgent Questions
A Bill to make provision about the keeping and maintenance of registers of births and deaths; and for connected purposes.
Saqib Bhatti has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
I am proud to be one of Government’s Pro Bono Champions and show my support for the pro bono community.
I heard from members of my Pro Bono Committee in September about the impact of the pandemic on their services, and the resilience and flexibility they have shown in the face of such adversity.
This is not the first time the legal profession has stepped forward to help in a crisis, and I would like to put on record my gratitude to all those who have volunteered their time and expertise during this difficult time.
The Government published an Impact Assessment that outlines the expected impacts of the change in the National Living Wage in April 2023: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/354/impacts
Overall, research to-date has not found a significant impact of the National Living wage on business failures. On average, the average total cost per business affected by the policy was between £3,000 to £4,000. We expect around 40% of the costs of this policy to be borne by small and micro businesses and 15% by medium sized businesses.
The available data does not enable a statistically reliable assessment of costs of the policy by constituency.
There is currently no data at the constituency level available to assess the potential merits of the contribution of the services sector in Meriden constituency to exports and economic growth.
The UK is a highly service-based economy and the second biggest exporter of services in the world, with the sector contributing to around half of UK exports and 80% of our economy. In 2022, UK services exports were a record £401 billion, up 4% compared to 2018 (adjusted for inflation) – one of the stronger recoveries in the G7. We are working with the Office for National Statistics and HM Revenue and Customs to improve estimates of trade at the smaller geographies.
The department works closely with local partners, including Solihull Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority, to identify and nurture opportunities for economic growth. The Combined Authority has been allocated in excess of £105m in funding from sources such as UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Made Smarter and Growth Hub to provide local support which would help companies to grow. This includes the professional and financial services sector, which has been identified as a key sector in the West Midlands Combined Authority’s ‘Plan for Growth’.
As part of its Export Strategy, the UK Government has published a 12-point plan to help businesses at every stage of exporting. The plan addresses the barriers UK companies face when exporting.
The Export Strategy supports companies through its network of domestic and overseas advisers; the Export Support Service; and the Export Academy. These services are designed to provide businesses with knowledge to thrive in international markets.
Last year we overcame 192 barriers restricting trade in over 79 countries; 45 of these are estimated to be worth around £5 billion to businesses across the UK over the next five years.
Businesses, including the Hospitality sector, have already benefitted from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ended on 31 March and provided £7.4 billion of support. Eligible businesses will continue to get a discount on gas and electricity bills under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024.
The Government does not hold data on energy contracts for businesses, and contract negotiations are a commercial matter for suppliers and their customers.
I met with Ofgem and energy suppliers in March to urge suppliers to do all they can to support their customers and will continue to press them on this matter. I also wrote to suppliers in May to stress the importance of good customer service outcomes and for suppliers to reach out to their customers to discuss options as soon as possible. The Government will continue to work closely with Ofgem and suppliers to ensure that dialogue is taking place between businesses and their energy supplier.
The Government understand some businesses on fixed tariffs have seen their bills rise significantly. As this is a commercial matter, the Government encourage businesses to raise this with their suppliers directly, but both Ministers and Ofgem have been pressing suppliers to ensure they are doing all they can to support their customers. The Government cannot mandate suppliers re-negotiate contracts but do expect they will engage directly with customers to find solutions wherever possible. Minister Solloway wrote to energy suppliers in May stressing the importance of good customer service outcomes and reaching out to customers to discuss options early.
The UK has seen nearly £200 billion of public and private investment into low carbon energy sectors between 2010 and 2022. This is 50% higher than the US as a share of GDP. A comparison with other G7 countries is set out in Figure 2 of Powering Up Britain: The Net Zero Growth Plan. A split between public and private sources of investment is not available from the data.
The carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) sector could support up to 50,000 jobs in the UK in 2030, and there could be a potential £4-5bn in Gross Value Added from UK CCUS exports by 2050.
The UK has 78 gigatonnes of theoretical potential storage capacity, with potential value being generated by storing other countries' CO2. An Emissions Trading Scheme price of £60/tonne, utilising the full potential storage capacity, could result in avoided emissions of around £5trillion. The size of the opportunity will depend on factors such as costs of capturing, transporting and storing CO2, the prevailing carbon price and volume of CO2 being stored.
The call for proposals for up to £38m biomanufacturing fund and £250m LIFTS initiative are open UK-wide. Additionally, funding for skills and regulations will benefit companies across the UK and £121 million for clinical trials will support the delivery of clinical trials across England. With 66% of the sector employed outside London and South-East, these UK wide initiatives will benefit all regions. At least £9.4m has been awarded to Birmingham for the Mental Health Mission, to set up the Midlands Translational Research Centre demonstrator site. Funding will be used to support research and novel treatments for mental health conditions.
On behalf of HM Government, DSIT has been reviewing the UK semiconductor sector, and intends to set out more detail in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy.
The government is exploring how we can further support the UK semiconductor industry, protecting and growing existing UK capabilities - including in areas of existing strength such as semiconductor design, compound chips, and academic research in related fields. As part of this we are looking at how interventions through the semiconductor strategy can support the sector and encourage investment across the whole of the UK, including in the West Midlands.
To improve access to digital skills, the government has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills. This allows older people wishing to acquire essential digital skills to gain specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge. Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQs), introduced alongside the digital entitlement, are based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work. We also support the provision of essential digital skills training in community settings through the Adult Education Budget.
Assisted digital support is available to help older people access online services. Around 2900 public libraries in England provide a trusted network of accessible locations with staff, volunteers, free DCMS-funded wifi, Public PCs, and assisted digital access to a wide range of digital services. The Government is working closely with the third sector to support older people getting online. Charities such as AgeUK and AbilityNet play an important role in providing help with technology and the internet.
Monthly data on the number of households switching energy suppliers for gas and electricity is published by BEIS here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-switching-statistics. This is not available by region.
BEIS statistics are based on switching data also published by Ofgem at:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/number-domestic-customers-switching-supplier-fuel-type-gb
The Government has introduced a comprehensive package of measures to support businesses during these unprecedented times.
We have announced schemes providing access to loans, designed to help businesses across the UK impacted by the Coronavirus crisis to access the funding they need:
The Government has also announced a package of support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. In particular, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been working across Government to provide £13 billion of grant funding to help small and rural businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors manage their cashflow through this period. This support will take the form of two grant funding schemes, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).
All businesses in England in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) and Rural Rates Relief (RRR) in the business rates system will be eligible for a payment of £10,000.
Businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for the following cash grants per property:
Swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. There are no specific statutory requirements for secondary schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons. Compulsory health education requires that schools teach a sound understanding of risk and provide pupils with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on their wellbeing and health.
The Department is working in partnership with members of the National Water Safety Forum, in particular Royal Life Saving Society UK and Swim England to support schools to teach primary and secondary pupils important aspects of water safety.
This support includes online lessons on Oak National Academy and resources for pupils in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, launched by the National Water Safety Forum, as part of the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in July 2022.
The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). All trainees who achieve Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
To support all teachers in meeting these standards, the department is implementing high-quality teacher training reforms which begin with initial teacher training and continue throughout career progression. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
The Universal Services Programme, which began in May 2022, aims to reach 70% of schools and colleges and will help the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively. It will also help them to successfully prepare children and young people for adulthood, including employment.
The department is committed to gathering evidence about the implementation and impact of the reforms, to ensure that it provides the best support for new teachers entering the profession. To support this, we are working with the Education Endowment Foundation to ensure a comprehensive package of evaluation activity.
Swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. There are no specific statutory requirements for secondary schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons. Compulsory health education requires that schools teach a sound understanding of risk and provide pupils with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on their wellbeing and health.
The Department is working in partnership with members of the National Water Safety Forum, in particular Royal Life Saving Society UK and Swim England to support schools to teach primary and secondary pupils important aspects of water safety.
This support includes online lessons on Oak National Academy and resources for pupils in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, launched by the National Water Safety Forum, as part of the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in July 2022.
The department is working across government to ensure that all young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have access to a world-class education, supporting them to achieve positive outcomes.
With the right preparation and support, the majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained, paid employment. All professionals working with them should share that presumption. They should provide the career advice and support that helps young people to develop the skills and experience, and achieve the qualifications, that they need to succeed in their careers.
The government is committed to supporting pathways to employment for disabled young people, including, for example, through strengthening the Supported Internship programme. The department is investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the Supported Internships Programme and support more young people with Education Health and Care plans into employment.
The department is supporting the Department for Work and Pensions to pilot an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs, including people with SEND. The Adjustments Passport will capture the in-work support needs of the individual and empower them to have confident discussions about adjustments with employers.
As part of the government’s announcement on providing an additional £1.4 billion for education recovery, we announced a £153 million investment for high-quality professional development for early years practitioners. This includes new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development, and physical and emotional development for the youngest children. This is in addition to £10 million for a pre-reception early language programme, and £17 million for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which improves the language skills of reception age children who need it most during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have also been working in partnership with Public Health England and its partners (including the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists), the local government association and the Early Intervention Foundation to support local area health and early years partnerships (which includes schools, nurseries, and speech and language therapists) to work in a more integrated way and improve information flow to identify speech, language and communication needs as early as possible.
Equine rescue centres do excellent work, often on a voluntary basis, to rescue and rehome unwanted and abandoned horses, and to ensure they are protected against cruelty. I am acutely aware that the coronavirus pandemic, and specifically the measures put in place to control the spread of the virus, continue to affect individuals, businesses and charities caring for animals. Equine welfare remains a priority for Defra throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
It has been encouraging to see the sector working collaboratively and successfully to support itself and to safeguard the welfare of equines in their care in the face of financial hardship and uncertainty. The sector continues to keep us informed of the status of the emergency grant schemes they have established to support numerous smaller organisations. These schemes include the Covid-19 Equine Rescues Emergency Fund established by the Pet Plan Charitable Trust (PPCT) together with World Horse Welfare and the National Equine Welfare Council.
In addition to this, we have worked closely with sector groups to update guidance to animal rescue and rehoming organisations, and other animal charities and businesses. This has enabled them to undertake core operations as far as possible, whilst maintaining compliance with the social distancing rules and need for hygiene precautions to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Throughout this period, we have ensured that rescue and rehoming organisations are permitted to stay open, that staff and volunteers can continue to work and tend to the animals in their care, and that rehoming, fostering and adoption services can continue in accordance with Covid-19 secure guidance.
We take the concerns of the sector very seriously and are keeping a close watch on in-take levels and trends in animal relinquishments. Defra remains committed to continued engagement with the sector to understand the longer-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, monitor the animal welfare implications of this and offer appropriate advice and support.
The Department engages closely with Network Rail on a range of freight related issues.
With respect to the Dorridge Freight loop, Network Rail has taken steps to mitigate concerns around noise and air pollution. It has conducted a review of planned freight services following engagement with local residents and Sohihull Council and, where possible, has amended the timetable to avoid the Dorridge Freight loop. For shorter trains, Network Rail has also taken steps to stop trains elsewhere, away from the loop exit, to limit impacts on communities. Network Rail has also limited night time use by only using the Dorridge loop if there is no alternative possible.
My Department works with HS2 Ltd to deliver a robust compensation process, and keeps the compensation schemes available to those affected by HS2 under ongoing review. This applies to the arrangements for compulsory acquisition. A formal review of all schemes was last conducted in 2020 but my Department works closely with HS2 Ltd to monitor and appraise the schemes, with the presumption that they should be easy to navigate and that the level of evidence required is appropriate and proportionate. HS2 Ltd has published comprehensive guidance setting out the evidence that should be provided when claiming compensation.
The Government recognises the important role that motorway service areas (MSAs) play in providing a safe place for motorists to stop and take a short break from driving. It is for the private sector to promote and operate service areas that meet the needs of the travelling public. New and existing roadside facilities are subject to the provisions of relevant planning legislation and regulation, which together set the framework within which local planning authorities would consider the planning proposals for such developments. As a statutory consultee, Highways England will provide advice to local planning authorities on matters relating to the impact that such proposed developments will have upon the safety and operation of the strategic road network as set out in the Department for Transport Circular 02/2013. In 2019, the Department commissioned an evidence stocktake to gather the facts on the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations. The stocktake has just concluded.
There are currently no plans to extend the existing Tell Us Once Service to organisations outside the public sector.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently in the early stages of developing technology appraisal guidance on treatments for non-small-cell lung cancer, including Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and held a scoping workshop focusing on this topic on 24 April 2023.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green Paper set out our proposal to commission analysis to ensure that the health needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with dyspraxia, are supported through effective workforce planning. We propose to work with Health Education England, NHS England and the Department for Education to build on existing evidence and assess demand for support for children and young people with SEND from the therapy and diagnostic workforce.
The number of therapists working in the National Health Service in England has increased in recent years, but we recognise the need to improve access to therapies. It is the responsibility of individual employers, including schools and hospitals, to plan their staffing levels in line with their local service priorities. To support the supply of more speech and language therapists to the NHS, since September 2020 all eligible students have been able to apply for a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year, with further financial support available for childcare, accommodation and travel costs.
The Department ensures that the voices of neurodiverse individuals are included in the formation of policy and decision-making processes by including Experts by Experience in our governance and delivery arrangements. This includes our Autism Strategy Implementation Group, the Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews Oversight Panel, the Building the Right Support Advisory Group and Delivery Board and the work on Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.
NHS England’s national autism and learning disability programme employs people with lived experience as well as working in partnership with people, families and carers to co-produce and co-design policy and guidance for national implementation.
The Warwickshire Solihull and Coventry Breast Cancer Screening Service is working to screen all women who have missed an appointment by 31 March 2022, with NHS England and NHS Improvement monitoring progress.
The service has been able to gradually increase its capacity through the offer of open invitations rather than fixed time appointments and increasing the levels of permanent, third party and trainee staff, allowing the service to offer screening at additional times.
Warwickshire Solihull and Coventry Breast Screening service has received funding from NHS England and NHS Improvement to increase its mammography, radiography and radiology staffing capacity. Further to this locally targeted action, regional partners including Health Education England and NHS England and NHS Improvement have undertaken a workforce review of breast screening to tackle current shortages of trained staff. This will support all breast screening services, including the Warwickshire Solihull and Coventry service to have sufficient and sustainable staffing into the future.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures both Vaxzevria and Covishield vaccines and both branded vaccines are exactly the same COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine. All SII-made doses approved by the United Kingdom (UK) regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and administered in the UK were branded as the ’COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’ which is now known commercially as ‘Vaxzevria’.
The government continues to liaise with counterparts in Italy and we are seeking Italian confirmation that they will recognise all AstraZeneca doses administered in the UK. We will ensure that Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Travel Advice is kept up to date following any developments.
The Government response to the Report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review was published on 21 July. The Government stated that it did not accept recommendation three to establish a redress agency as set out in the report. The Government and others have previously established redress schemes without the need for an additional agency.
The Government agrees that doctors’ financial and non-pecuniary interests should be available publicly. However, we do not think that the General Medical Council’s register is the best place to hold this information. We have engaged with healthcare professional regulators, to ensure it is a requirement that all registered healthcare professionals declare their interests and that this information is published locally by healthcare providers.
We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Independent Healthcare Providers Network to ensure this approach is consistently applied across the National Health Service and independent sector. We have worked with the Care Quality Commission to ensure that implementation is monitored. Our response has been informed by participants in a patient reference group and we have worked closely with the devolved administrations to ensure a consistent, United Kingdom-wide approach.
As of April 2021, eight National Health Service trusts are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to provide specialised services for women with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse. We continue to consider specialist centres for those adversely affected by medicines taken during pregnancy. Further detail on this recommendation will be included in the full response to the report to be published this year.
NHS Digital has put together a programme of work to establish an information system to collect information on surgical implants and devices from healthcare providers in England, currently focussed on pelvic floor, or mesh and related procedures, as a priority.
This will be followed by the development of a United Kingdom-wide Medical Device Information System (MDIS) with regulations being made under section 19 of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021. This system will mean that in future, subject to regulations, we can routinely collect medical device, procedure and outcome data from public and private provider organisations across the UK and data submitted directly from patients. Formal public consultation on the MDIS regulations will begin later this year with the aim of laying the regulations in due course.
To meet the Government social distancing measures and to contain the spread of COVID-19 all routine dentistry has currently been suspended.
We expect all National Health Service dental practices to provide urgent telephone advice and triage. Dentists are giving urgent advice remotely and, if needed, prescriptions for painkillers or antibiotics. All urgent face to face treatment that is clinically necessary is available for patients who are triaged by their dentist or NHS 111 into one of the 550 urgent dental care centres set up by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The urgent dental centres are expected to provide, where urgently needed, the full range of dental treatment normally available on the NHS.
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that NHS dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to restart from 8 June with the aim of increasing levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety.
A copy of the letter that was published can be found at the following link:
National Health Service dentistry was reorganised in late March along with other NHS primary care services to minimise face to face care to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic. Dentists were asked to suspend all routine treatment and instead to offer urgent advice and, where required, prescriptions for antibiotics by telephone. Urgent treatment was made available through urgent dental centres (UDCs) set up in each NHS region.
As of 25 May there are currently over 550 UDCs open. Patients are triaged into UDCs by their own dentistry or through NHS 111. The UDCs are expected to provide, where urgently needed, the full range of dental treatment normally available on the NHS.
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that NHS dentistry outside UDCs will begin to restart from 8 June with the aim of increasing levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety. The letter to dentists setting this out is available at the following link:
We have commissioned NHS England to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for all National Health Service staff. The first line of support focuses on team behaviours – ensuring good line management and team practices, reflecting on daily events – backed up by good local occupational health support. Nationally, all NHS staff now have free access to a helpline and text service for counselling and support, a dedicated bereavement helpline and a range of well-being apps.
The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups. Furthermore, businesses need access to cash deposit services in order to keep accepting cash and, therefore, support people’s ability to continue to transact using cash.
The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities.
The government considers that this legislation will support organisations, including local businesses, to continue accepting cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.
Following the passage of this legislation, the government published a Cash Access Policy Statement, which sets out the government’s policies on access to cash. The FCA is required by law to have regard to these policies when determining its regulatory approach in this area. The FCA will publicly consult on its regulatory approach in due course. The government’s policy statement is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cash-access-policy-statement/cash-access-policy-statement
HMRC takes the quality of customer service very seriously.
HMRC’s approach to hybrid working is in line with many private and public sector organisations.
HMRC’s workforce plan includes the effective use of hybrid working where this meets business needs; staff are held to the same standards if they are working from an HMRC building or from home.
On average, HMRC advisers answer the same number of calls whether they are in the office or at home and process more customer correspondence when working from home. HMRC constantly monitor call volumes to ensure they deploy available staff where they need them. They use a flexible workforce model, where staff may switch between answering phone calls, processing correspondence, and replying to webchat enquiries throughout the day as needed.
The government’s vision for financial services is for a sector that is open, sustainable, technologically advanced, globally competitive, and which acts in the interests of communities and citizens across all four nations of the UK.
The Edinburgh Reforms will drive growth and competitiveness while retaining our commitment to high international standards. This supports delivery of the Chancellor’s wider priority of driving economic growth and prosperity through his 4 E’s: Enterprise, Education, Employment, and Everywhere.
The government recognises that financial services is an important employer across the whole of UK, with 2.5 million people employed in financial and related professional services across the UK, two thirds of whom are employed outside of London. This includes 145,000 people in the West Midlands alone.
The Government’s approach to financial services reforms will ensure that the sector benefits from dynamic and proportionate regulation, and that consumers and citizens from across all four nations of the UK benefit from high quality services, appropriate consumer protection, and a sector that embraces the latest technology.
The Government remains committed to supporting the whole business sector including small and medium sized businesses. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills for 12 months from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. It also provides businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
This follows the unprecedented package of support for non-domestic users last winter provided through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. The Government has been clear that such levels of support, unprecedented in its nature and huge scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt.
The government took action at Spring Budget 2023 to support struggling families in all constituencies, including by maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee support rate at £2500 per year until July 2023. This measure, alongside the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, brings total government support for energy bills to £1500 for the typical household since October 2022. The government is also removing the premium paid by 4 million households using prepayment meters (PPMs), bringing their costs into line with those paid by comparable households on Direct Debits (DD).
These measures are in addition to the uprating of benefits and Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24, which will help more than 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, 8 million pensioner households and 6 million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits. Taken together, support to households to help with higher bills and cost of living is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average across 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Government recognises the challenges facing households on lower incomes across the country, particularly in light of elevated costs of living. Support to households with the cost of living is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average, across 2022-23 and 2023-24.
This includes uprating benefits and the state pension in line with inflation from this April, and new Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24 for households on means tested benefits, pensioner households and individuals on disability benefits, in addition last year’s support. Over 14,000 households on means-tested benefits in Meriden were eligible for last year’s £650 Cost of Living Payment, with another 11,500 individuals on disability benefits eligible for a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, and over 20,000 pensioner households eligible for the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
The Government is also providing further assistance through a one year extension to the Household Support Fund in England. Solihull Council has been allocated over £2.8m this year from the Household Support Fund to support its residents, including in Meriden, with the cost of food, energy and other essentials.
The government recognises that while the transition towards digital payments brings many opportunities, cash continues to be used by many people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups.
The government is currently legislating to protect access to cash across the UK as part of the Financial Services and Markets (FSM) Bill 2022. The Bill establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.
As amended, the FSM Bill protects free access to cash by requiring the FCA to seek to ensure that, in the United Kingdom, there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities for personal current accounts with relevant providers. It also requires the Treasury to publish a policy statement that includes policies on free access.
According to LINK data for April 2023, there are around 39,000 free-to-use ATMs across the UK, including 81 in the constituency of Meriden.
In December 2019 the Government announced in its response to Sir Amyas Morse’s Independent Loan Charge Review further measures to tackle promoters of avoidance schemes, including those designed to disguise remuneration. Further detail on these measures was set out in the Budget and HMRC will be publishing a new strategy to combat those who profit from marketing and selling tax avoidance schemes. The Government will also shortly issue a call for evidence on further steps to reduce or end the use of disguised remuneration schemes.
HMRC actively monitor the tax avoidance market and take action against active promoters, particularly those involved in devising and marketing new tax avoidance schemes. HMRC undertake a variety of activities such as challenging promoters for failures under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime and pursuing criminal investigations and arrests where appropriate.
The most reliable current source for prevalence of drug misuse is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The Office for National Statistics publishes CSEW estimates for use of illicit drugs and psychoactive substances, including nitrous oxide, by adults aged 16-59. However, there are no available regional estimates for nitrous oxide due to small survey samples.
The latest estimates for drug misuse are for the year ending June 2022 available at:
Drug misuse in England and Wales - Appendix table - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
Data on school age drug misuse, primarily 11-15 year olds, is collected by NHS Digital and the latest data are available at:
Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2021 - NDRS (digital.nhs.uk).
As the Department responsible for?Faith, MHCLG?continues to play a facilitative?role?in ensuring?Government?understands?the needs of faith communities and the challenges they?may be currently?facing?due to the pandemic. We are working closely with a range of faith and community groups to better understand how Government can support them to respond to the pressures they face on sustaining their?organisations during this period of time.
There are a range of Government-backed financial support measures that these organisations can access.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme are both available to registered charities, and therefore places of worship registered with the Charities Commission. Registered charities have now been exempted from the requirement that the applicant derives at least 50 per cent of its income from its trading activity, so that more charities can access the scheme.
Any person or organisation, including places of worship, that is unable to pay any HMRC bill due to Covid-19 should get in contact through the HMRC Coronavirus helpline. HMRC will be able to agree payment plans, which can include a gap before any initial payment is required. If charities or places of worship are VAT registered, they are also able to use the VAT deferral scheme.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme provides support for entity with a UK payroll - small or large, charitable or non-profit, to be reimbursed 80 per cent of furloughed worker wages by HMRC, up to a cap of £2500 per month.
However, we know that some charities cannot furlough staff as they are contributing to the frontline response. There is a substantial package of targeted support for charities on the frontline of responding to Covid-19. The Chancellor on 9 April announced £750 million of funding for charities providing key frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-sets-out-extra-750-million-coronavirus-funding-for-frontline-charities