Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many communications operators have received a summary conviction under Schedule 1, Part 75(5) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 in each year since the commencement of that Act.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences covering the time period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
No convictions specifically for an offence under Schedule 1, Part 11, Paragraph 75(5) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 have been recorded within the court proceedings database held centrally.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) equity of access to the application process for the backlog bonus payment under the NHS Agenda for Change umbrella for (i) the third sector and (ii) social enterprises.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department developed clear and transparent criteria for the application process, which was published by NHS England and accessible to all non-National Health Service organisations. The criteria was agreed to ensure that the funding was given to those most impacted by the NHS pay deal, due to the nature of their contracts and their financial circumstances.
Outcomes of applications will be communicated directly to organisations by the end of the financial year. Organisations will be entitled to seek a review of the decision, which will be undertaken by the Department, to determine if the decision has been reached correctly in accordance with the guidance.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of new homes on regenerated brownfield land.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This government is committed to making the most of brownfield land. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements. We recognise that local authorities are best placed to assess the suitability of each site for redevelopment.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of the current legislative framework governing the installation of telecommunications infrastructure in residential areas.
Answered by John Whittingdale
During the adjournment debate on Installation of Telecommunications Infrastructure on 15 March, the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure reaffirmed to the House the Government’s commitment to providing the necessary digital infrastructure across the UK to ensure that people and businesses have the connectivity they need. At the same time, we are mindful that communities have concerns about new infrastructure. We want to ensure that those concerns are heard and considered, and that we get the balance right. Reliable, fast digital connectivity is vital for the prosperity of this country, local businesses and families.
The Government has made a number of legislative interventions to support the deployment of fixed and wireless connectivity, including amendments to the Electronic Communications Code through the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, reforms to planning legislation and mandating gigabit connectivity to all new build developments. The Government therefore does not intend to revisit the legislation relating to telecommunications infrastructure deployment at this time. The current legal framework recognises the impact of network deployment on communities and the environment, and we believe that it strikes the right balance between promoting efficient deployment and taking into account the impacts on communities.
In order to assess the effectiveness of legislation in this area, monitoring of the rollout of digital infrastructure is in place, and the Government is committed to understanding the impact of the legislative framework going forwards. For example, reports and updates published by Ofcom, Building Digital UK (BDUK) and ThinkBroadband all allow the Government to measure the success of Government interventions to increase connectivity.
The Government also undertakes regular engagement with all parties with an interest in this sector. In particular the Government has supported the creation of, and continues to attend meetings of, the National Connectivity Alliance. The Alliance is an independent body, led by a steering group comprising an equal number of operators and landowner representatives, and co-ordinates working groups to examine and make recommendations on a wide range of issues. This work provides an invaluable insight for the Government to understand how its legislative interventions are received on the ground.
Lastly, Ofcom is able to take enforcement action in respect of breaches of the restrictions and conditions on operators if it has reasonable grounds to believe that they are failing to comply with those requirements. Local Planning Authorities should inform Ofcom of any situations where they believe operators are not complying with their statutory duties.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of functional neurological disorders.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring those with all neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorders, have access to appropriate treatment and services.
In February 2023 the National Neurosciences Advisory Group published its Optimal Clinical Pathway on functional neurological disorders (FND), developed by the neurological community with the support of NHS England.
The pathway sets out what good treatment, care and support looks like for patients with FND, including the importance of timely and effective diagnosis.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase (a) the take up of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, (b) public awareness of the voucher scheme in operation, (c) the deadline for redeeming vouchers and (d) ensuring energy companies pass on the vouchers for people with pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households in Great Britain should have automatically received the first instalment of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) in October. There is no need for customers to claim the discount. Traditional prepayment meter customers should have received their first EBSS discount voucher. EBSS credit is applied automatically to smart prepayment meters.
Suppliers have an obligation, and must be able to evidence, that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their voucher. Replacement vouchers can be issued until the scheme closes on 30 June 2023.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing staff-to-child ratios in early years settings on (a) the fees charged by those settings for early years provision and (b) staff retention and recruitment in those settings.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The consultation on ‘Childcare: regulatory changes’ closed on 16 September. The department will respond in due course.
Alongside the consultation, the department ran a survey of early years providers to establish the likely impact of the changes on providers, should government guidelines be changed. This survey will be published in due course.
Responses from the consultation and the survey will help to build the evidence base, including understanding more around the potential impact of any changes to the fees charged by settings and to staff recruitment and retention.
The department’s priority continues to be to provide safe, high-quality early years provision for young children.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on the trial of noise cameras for loud vehicles; and when police forces that have applied to trial that technology will be informed whether their application has been successful.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Department has commenced research into the use of ‘noise cameras’ to determine their suitability for enforcement. Trials of the latest noise camera technology in controlled conditions on a test track have recently completed. Preparations for roadside trials are now being made, with an announcement expected
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the extent to which UK Visa and Immigration claims are processed to the same standard of service as they were before the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps she has taken to help ensure her Department reaches those standards.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
UKVI has faced extremely high pressures over the past two years. All visa routes have seen extremely high demand following the end of the pandemic and the easing of travel restrictions. The Home Office also prioritised capacity earlier this year to help people forced to flee their homes, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, get to safety through our Ukraine visa schemes.
UKVI has been working hard to reduce processing times and is now back within service standard across a number of our visa routes. We have updated our guidance on expected waiting times so that customers have a realistic indication of how long their applications will take to be processed. We encourage customers to continue to refer to these updates as our processing times change on a regular basis.
Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support families with energy bills.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 8 September, government announced an ‘Energy Price Guarantee’, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2500 a year on their energy bill over the next 2 years. This measure will save the average household around £1000 a year from October 2022.
In addition to this, the government has already announced £37 billion support for the cost of living this financial year – including a £400 discount for all households through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The Chancellor has been clear that unleashing investment and growth is the only sustainable means of increasing living standards for all households.