Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to provide export support for small businesses.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under the umbrella of the recently announced Business Growth Service, UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.
DBT is piloting an enhanced partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, taking a targeted place-based approach to accelerate small business growth through exporting across the region. This will be rolled out to other regions across England over the next 12 months.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses engaged with UK Export Finance in financial years (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The numbers of businesses that UK Export Finance (UKEF) supported in the financial years in question are shown in the table below:
| Total exporters supported |
2021/22 | 545 |
2022/23 | 532 |
2023/24 | 650 |
Further information is available in UKEF’s annual report and accounts, available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-export-finance-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what account her strategy to tackle homelessness takes of the findings of the report published by Centrepoint entitled Human costs and lost potential: the real cost of youth homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
The Minister for Homelessness and Democracy has also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how she plans to prioritise young people in the new cross-departmental strategy to end homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
The Minister for Homelessness and Democracy has also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the government strategy to end homelessness will include a section on youth homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
The Minister for Homelessness and Democracy has also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to prioritise ending youth homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
The Minister for Homelessness and Democracy has also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties were issued for non-submission of self-assessment tax returns in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Late filing penalties are issued when a taxpayer fails to file an Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) return on or before the filing date (October 31 for paper, January 31 online). HMRC requires the information provided in a tax return to establish tax liability and to effectively administer the tax system. If a return is filed late, HMRC will issue a penalty. Penalties encourage taxpayers to file on time and support the collection of tax.
Currently, late filing penalties for self assessment are:
Below is the late filing penalty data for tax years 2018/19-2022/23, for all of the late filing penalties listed above.
Volume of all ITSA late filing penalties raised | |||||
Tax year* | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 *** |
Number of Late Filing Penalties raised** | 2,200,000 | 3,100,000 | 3,300,000 | 3,000,000 | 2,400,000 |
* penalties issued in respect of this tax year e.g. penalties for the 2022/23 tax year are issued after the January 2024 filing deadline ** total number of penalties issued, rounded to the nearest 100,000. Some customers may receive multiple late filing penalties in a year the longer their return is outstanding. *** complete data is not yet available for penalties issued in respect of the 2022/23 tax year | |||||
This data includes penalties for returns that have been submitted late to HMRC, as well as returns which have not yet been submitted to HMRC. It also reflects changes in the size or makeup of the Self-Assessment population from year to year.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support the third sector to deliver public services.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The recent announcement of the Civil Society Covenant marks a new era of partnership between Government and civil society that will drive forward plans to foster closer collaboration in tackling some of society’s most pressing issues. The Covenant, which will launch in the New Year, seeks to establish a new relationship with the third sector and will support the delivery of the Government’s missions as well as our ambitious project of reform to public services so they deliver for working people.
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 her Department is taking to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail; and what her planned timetable is to announce further information.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Briain, and the Government is committed to improving rail connectivity across the North. As announced in the Budget, the Government is progressing planning and design works to support future delivery of our plans for rail connectivity in the North and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the retention of female teachers in male-dominated subjects in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost life chances for every child. High-quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, with teachers helping to shape the lives of young people. Yet this government has inherited a context of poor recruitment and worsening teacher retention resulting in shortages of qualified teachers across the country. This is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this parliament.
The department is focused on retention alongside recruitment to ensure teachers, no matter their gender or background, stay and thrive in the profession. As of 14 October, eligible early career teachers in priority science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and technical subjects can claim targeted retention incentive payments worth up to £6,000 after tax, with payments made available to college teachers in key STEM and technical subjects for the first time.
Ensuring people from all backgrounds can thrive as teachers is also a question of social justice, a priority for the government, ensuring that all individuals have equal economic and social opportunities. It is important that the teaching profession reflects the communities it serves and that children see themselves reflected in the role models around them.
Improving the experience of the profession for all teachers, for example through the department’s programmes on flexible working, wellbeing and workload, can also remove barriers to a successful career for many groups of teachers. Groups who may benefit in particular include those with caring responsibility, those with disabilities or teachers within particular age groups who require more flexibility in their working lives. For example, teachers can undertake their planning, preparation and assessment time remotely.
The department is also delivering a programme focused on embedding flexible working in schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs). This includes the delivery of supportive webinars and peer support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and MATs.
We have also made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including the ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff, and the ‘Education staff wellbeing charter’, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.