Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth in Warrington South constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to driving economic growth across all regions through a better-connected, more reliable and greener transport network.
As part of our long-term plan for transport, Warrington Borough Council has been allocated over £33 million from the £2.3 billion Local Transport Grant between 2026/27 and 2029/30. This streamlined funding will support local priorities such as easing congestion, enhancing public transport, and expanding active travel options, helping to boost economic growth, improve access to jobs and support local development.
Warrington is also in line to benefit from the Government’s £24 billion investment in road infrastructure during this period, supporting faster, safer and more resilient journeys across the country.
The Department has also provided over £600,000 to support work on the regeneration and masterplanning of Warrington Bank Quay station, which will play a key role in unlocking housing and economic opportunities. We are continuing to work with stakeholders on this and, as announced by the Chancellor in Parliament, we will set out this government’s plans for taking forward our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail in the coming weeks.
Together, these investments reflect the Government’s commitment to improving local transport in Warrington South and supporting long-term economic growth.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) financial oversight and (b) delivery assurance of major infrastructure projects.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government oversees some of the UK’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects. We are committed to enhancing the oversight and assurance of these projects through a series of reforms, including streamlining approvals and strengthening assurance. It will be better integrated and carried out by multi-disciplinary teams at critical stages of projects. For mega projects in particular, the government has announced new budgeting and governance arrangements to ensure better planning and transparency of our biggest, transformational projects, in line with recommendations from the Office for Value for Money. We are also improving transparency around investment decisions by publishing business cases for major projects and programmes. These changes, set out in the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, will support better value for money and more consistent, reliable delivery across major infrastructure projects.Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on closing contingency hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers in Warrington.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.
There are now fewer hotels open than there were before the election, with more due to close by the end of August.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who have been admitted to hospital after losing their PIP in each month in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on PIP are on (a) 4 points and (b) 3 points, by (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the current criteria a claimant to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) must score between eight and 11 points across the 10 daily living activities to get the standard rate of the daily living component, or 12 points or more for the enhanced rate. They also need to score between eight and 11 points across the two mobility activities for the standard rate of the mobility component and 12 points or more for the enhanced rate. Anyone scoring below eight points for either component is not entitled to PIP.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to adapt the Syria sanctions regime to enable (a) humanitarian access and (b) economic stabilisation while maintaining targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights abuses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In April, the UK lifted sanctions on some sectors, including trade, energy production, transport (aircraft) and finance, to help facilitate essential investment into Syria and support the Syrian people to rebuild their country and economy. Sanctions imposed on 348 individuals and entities linked to the former regime remain in place, allowing the UK to continue to hold Assad and his associates to account. The UK's Syria sanctions regime does not impede delivery of humanitarian aid and will help ensure the Syrian Government has the resources and access necessary to provide for its people.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with international partners to (a) help tackle the (i) humanitarian and (ii) security conditions that cause displacement and to (b) strengthen refugee protection in conflict-affected regions.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office tackles forced displacement through a wide range of interventions which aim to: reduce the drivers of displacement; protect people once they are displaced; support host communities; find long term solutions; and create the conditions that allow people to return home.
This includes working closely with international partners to provide humanitarian assistance in key situations of displacement and using all the diplomatic, development and security levers available to prevent conflict and conflict-related displacement. Our work includes focusing on improving early warning systems, reforming multilateral institutions, and supporting regional mediation and peacebuilding.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to establish the National Care Service; and what his planned timeline is for (a) consultation with stakeholders and (b) implementation.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has taken a critical first step towards a National Care Service by launching an independent commission into adult social care.
The commission will build national consensus to create a National Care Service that is productive, preventative, and gives people who draw on care, and their families and carers, more power in the system.
It will be for the independent commission to determine their approach, but we expect it will include engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with lived experience and unpaid carers, as well as building cross-party consensus. Further details will be set out by the commission in due course.
In the short-term, we are laying the foundations for a National Care Service by introducing legislation for the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for the care workforce, expanding the first-ever national career structure for the adult social care workforce, digitising care providers, and setting new standards for care technologies.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to phase out low-welfare farming practices.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.
This will build on the support already available through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which includes access to testing for priority diseases and advice to continually improve the health, welfare and productivity of farmed animals through funded vet visits.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve support for unpaid carers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting elderly or disabled relatives or friends. Sometimes unpaid carers will need to turn to the benefit system for financial support, so it is right that we keep Carer’s Allowance (CA) under review, to see if it is meeting its objectives, and giving unpaid carers the help and support they need and deserve.
Unpaid carers may be able to receive financial and/or employment support from the department depending on their circumstances. This includes CA and means tested benefits such as Universal Credit (UC). UC can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the additional amounts for carers. UC pays an extra £2400 a year to unpaid carers.
Carers (providing at least 35 hours per week) of severely disabled people may be eligible for benefit support as set out above. They are not required to undertake any work-related activity but can access employment support on a voluntary basis if they wish.
A part-time carer on UC (providing care for under 35 hours a week) would be supported to combine work and care. They will receive personalised employment support from their work coach, who tailors the number of hours a week they are expected to work or search for work to fit their caring responsibilities and take into account any other barriers to working full time, for example a health condition.
Employment support can include identifying skills gaps and referral to skills training, careers advice, job search support, volunteering opportunities and access to the Flexible Support Fund to aid job entry. Unemployed customers who require more intensive employment support can also be referred to the Restart and Connect to Work programmes.
We also know that some carers are keen to maintain contact with the labour market, so we want to encourage carers to combine some paid work with their caring responsibilities wherever possible, meaning they can increase their overall income (eligibility rules apply).
That’s why we have pegged the CA earnings limit to 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. The earnings limit increased to be £196 a week net earnings on 7 April 2025, compared to £151 in 24/25. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result.
DWP has also begun some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in CA might be a feasible option in the longer term. This will require significant change to current DWP systems.