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.
These initiatives were driven by Sarah Olney, 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.
Sarah Olney has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Sarah Olney has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to make provision to increase the energy performance of buildings; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require the Secretary of State to review the effectiveness of gender pay gap reporting requirements.
A Bill to prohibit the use of upward-only rent review clauses in commercial rent agreements; to nullify existing such clauses; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require the Secretary of State to apply for an order for special administration in relation to Thames Water; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the merits of prohibiting scheduled flights from landing or taking off between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am.
A Bill to prohibit anti-abortion protests within 150 metres of abortion clinics; and for connected purposes.
Schools (Mental Health Professionals) (No. 2) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Munira Wilson (LD)
Kinship Care Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Munira Wilson (LD)
Employee Share Ownership (Reform) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - George Howarth (Lab)
Electricity Supply (Vulnerable Customers) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Sam Tarry (Lab)
Carers and Care Workers Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Helen Morgan (LD)
Fire and Building Safety (Public Inquiry) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Daisy Cooper (LD)
Seals (Protection) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Tracey Crouch (Con)
Sewage Discharges Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Tim Farron (LD)
School Toilets (Access During Lessons) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Layla Moran (LD)
Environment (Regulation) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Tim Farron (LD)
Employment (Dismissal and Re-employment) (No. 2) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Gavin Newlands (SNP)
International Development (Women’s Sanitary Products) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Wendy Chamberlain (LD)
Immigration (Health and Social Care Staff) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Christine Jardine (LD)
Demonstrations (Abortion Clinics) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Rupa Huq (Lab)
The number of passes on issue changes constantly, so the following represents a snapshot of data recorded on 10 October 2024:
The database is a live pass issuing system and does not retain full historical information as data is only retained for three years or less depending on the pass category, so is continually being deleted in line with our records retention policy.
The vast majority of passes are returned promptly after they expire or are invalidated. The following figures show the number of expired passes not returned by financial year; however please note all these passes were deactivated and would not allow access to the Parliamentary estate.
Financial year 2021–2022: 513
Financial year 2022–2023: 432
Financial year 2023–2024: 392
The database is a live pass issuing system and does not retain full historical information as data is only retained for three years or less depending on the pass category, so is continually being deleted in line with our records retention policy. The following figures show the number of passes reported as lost or stolen by financial year; however please note all these passes were promptly deactivated and would not allow access to the Parliamentary estate.
Financial year 2021–2022: 43
Financial year 2022–2023: 76
Financial year 2023–2024: 62
We are unable to provide this information, as the pass issuing system does not categorise passholders in this way. Special advisers are not a specific category of passholder, and therefore this information could not easily be obtained from the pass data system. In any event, it would be inconsistent with data protection principles to publish such a list.
It would not be appropriate to publish the personal data collected for the purposes of security pass allocation as this would not be consistent with data protection principles, therefore we are unable to provide a list of civil servants holding passes. As noted above, it would be inconsistent with data protection principles to publish personal data collected for security purposes in this way, and therefore the Commission is unable to provide such a list.
We are unable to provide this information, as the pass issuing system does not categorise passholders in this way. Special advisers are not a specific category of passholder, and therefore this information could not easily be obtained from the pass data system. In any event, it would be inconsistent with data protection principles to publish such a list.
It would not be appropriate to publish the personal data collected for the purposes of security pass allocation as this would not be consistent with data protection principles, therefore we are unable to provide a list of civil servants holding passes. As noted above, it would be inconsistent with data protection principles to publish personal data collected for security purposes in this way, and therefore the Commission is unable to provide such a list.
The Environment Agency (EA) does not model how resilient water company owned supply systems are to drought. It is the responsibility of the water companies to ensure that their systems can deliver secure water supplies for customers whilst ensuring they meet their environmental obligations and legal requirements during a drought.
Every 5 years, water companies are required to evidence in their statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP) how they will ensure secure supplies for the next 25 years. This includes consideration of resilience to extreme droughts, population growth, climate change and environmental water needs.
The EA is a statutory consultee for water company WRMPs and reviews the technical analysis undertaken by water companies showing how secure supplies are now (known as the baseline) and what actions are needed to ensure secure supplies in the future. The EA has reviewed Thames Water’s latest draft WRMP and is satisfied with the company’s evidence provided alongside its latest draft WRMP.
I attended the National Drought Group meeting earlier this month on Wednesday 16 October 2024 where I outlined the pressure climate change is having on our water system and that we need to be prepared for all eventualities. This Government is taking decisive action to improve the resilience of our precious water supplies.
For more information on water resource system modelling completed on behalf of Thames Water see the following links:
Library | WRSE - Water Resource South East
method-statement-regional-simulation-model-aug-2021.pdf (wrse.org.uk)
The Environment Agency (EA) does not model flow at gauging stations using drought event return periods. The modelling of flow under a range of climate scenarios is carried out as part of planning by water companies to assess how resilient their supply systems are to droughts. This assessment is set out in their statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP) and Drought Plans.
Thames Water have worked with Water Resources South East (WRSE) regional group to model flow under a range of climate scenarios as a component of regional system simulation modelling which informs their WRMP.
The EA is a statutory consultee for water company WRMPs and reviews the technical analysis undertaken by water companies showing how secure supplies are now (known as the baseline) and what actions are needed to ensure secure supplies in the future.
The EA has reviewed Thames Water’s latest draft WRMP and is satisfied with the company’s evidence provided alongside its latest draft WRMP.
I attended the National Drought Group meeting earlier this month on Wednesday 16 October 2024 where I outlined the pressure climate change is having on our water system and that we need to be prepared for all eventualities. This Government is taking decisive action to improve the resilience of our precious water supplies.
For more information on water resource system modelling completed on behalf of Thames Water see the following links:
wrse-hydrological-modelling-method-statement-november-2022.pdf
The Environment Agency operates six river flow gauging stations on the River Thames between Reading and Kingston. These are located at Reading, Maidenhead, Windsor, Staines, Walton and Kingston. The recent daily mean flow at these sites on 11 September 2024 ranged from 12.0 to 28.7 cubic metres per second (m3/s).
River level and flow data can be found via the GOV.UK website: https://environment.data.gov.uk/hydrology.
Public water supply reservoirs are the responsibility of the water companies. The Government has not made such estimates; however we are committed to improving water resilience and we are closely monitoring the delivery of their water resources management plans. Their plans set out how they will continue to provide secure water supplies in the long term.
The Teddington Direct River Abstraction scheme has been selected by Thames Water in its Water Resources Management Plan from one of 2,400 options modelled at a regional level, by Water Resources South East. The options were put through an options appraisal process to develop a preferred best value plan. Both the Environment Agency and Ofwat have assessed the plan.
Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat joint guidance sets out how water companies should consider assessing best value in their Water Resources Management Plans. It can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-resources-planning-guideline/water-resources-planning-guideline#section-9--aspects-to-consider-in-compiling-a-best-value-plan.
Teddington Direct River Abstraction (DRA) is a water recycling scheme considered in Thames Water’s draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024 (dWRMP24) and Water Resources South East’s (WRSE) Regional Plan as a supply option for 2030/31.
The Environment Agency has scrutinised WRSE’s plan and has responded to Thames Water’s DWRMP24. Any scheme developed will have to meet environmental requirements. The scheme will need environmental permits that the Environment Agency regulate, and planning consents where the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee.
For Teddington DRA proposal to be taken forward Thames Water will be required to obtain an abstraction license and permit to discharge from the Environment Agency. These set out the conditions under which abstraction is authorised to take place and the standards to which the discharged effluent must be treated, ensuring it is treated to a high standard to meet environmental quality standards and ensure water quality in the Thames does not deteriorate. Thames Water will need to ensure any tertiary water treatment for Teddington DRA meets those regulatory requirements and the Environment Agency will regularly inspect Thames Water to ensure that permit standards are met.
The consultation published on 22 October outlines our proposals to set up a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), initially undertaken by NATS (En Route) plc (NERL) through a change to its air traffic services licence. NERL is independent and not resourced from existing Departmental staff.
The Government’s plans for the UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) have been developed to strengthen delivery in implementing the airspace modernisation programme. They aim to improve delivery confidence of the Future Airspace Integration Strategy (FASI) programme, initially focusing on the complex London area. The plans anticipate that the UKADS will take on existing airspace changes, so it is important that existing airspace sponsors continue to develop their proposals.
The UKADS will act as a single guiding mind to design and implement holistic airspace design in a coordinated and efficient manner. This will create a system that’s fit for the future by delivering quicker routes, easing delays, and reducing harmful emissions.
As a public consultation, any interested party is welcome to provide feedback on our proposals to set up a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS).
The CAA’s Airspace Change Process (CAP1616) sets out how airspace change proposals should be developed and delivered. It includes requirements for the airspace change sponsor to consult those affected by airspace change at different stages of the process and consider their views. The UKADS consultation envisages that once up and running, the UKADS and partner airports would continue to engage and consult with communities on airspace change proposals through a defined process.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the split of responsibilities for the repair of Hammersmith Bridge was drafted but not agreed in 2021. However, the Department has continued to work productively with both LBHF and TfL and has contributed almost £13m towards the Hammersmith Bridge restoration project to-date. A reconvened Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce is currently being organised, which will help to move this project forward.
The Department will be exploring funding options for a suite of transport related projects at the Spring Spending Review, including the Hammersmith Bridge strengthening works.
The Aviation Night Noise Effects (ANNE) study is a current study examining the relationship of aviation noise on sleep disturbance and annoyance, and how this varies by different times of night. The study is funded by the Department for Transport and is a collaboration between St George’s, University of London, NatCen Social Research, Noise Consultants Limited, and the University of Pennsylvania. The final results of the ANNE study are expected to be published in Autumn 2026.
An Appraisal of Sustainability and economic assessment were conducted before the Airports National Policy Statement was voted on by Parliament and designated in 2018.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/heathrow-airport-expansion#appraisal-of-sustainability-and-supporting-documents
Heathrow Airport Limited will need to provide an assessment of the impacts of any proposed scheme for a third runway, and provide suitable mitigations, as part of any Development Consent Order application. The Government would carefully consider any such application in line with the relevant policies and planning processes.
As required by the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State will review a National Policy Statement when she considers it appropriate to do so.
Heathrow Airport is a designated aerodrome under Section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, for the purpose of limiting, or of mitigating the effect of, noise and vibration connected with the taking-off or landing of aircraft. Noise abatement procedures for Heathrow Airport, specified by the Secretary of State, are set out in the airport’s Aeronautical Information Publication.
Existing policy on noise insulation, which would incorporate sound insulation and double glazing, is set out in the Aviation Policy Framework 2013 and in the 2017 Airspace policy consultation response.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not have a target timeframe, but we aim to process Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims for children within 40 working days, not 50. As published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024, which covers April 2023 to March 2024, of the 186,200 claims DLA claims for children processed over that period, 6,500 (3.5%) met the planned processing timescales.
DWP has seen a substantial increase in claims since Covid-19, and this upward trajectory continues. This has resulted in increased pressures on early years services for children with additional needs and neurodiverse conditions, with gathering evidence from educational institutions and the NHS taking longer. We are maximising our resources wherever possible and have ongoing recruitment efforts to mitigate these challenges.
For further details, please refer to the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 (HTML) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) available on the GOV.UK website.
The department supports customers to claim Pension Credit through a range of take up campaigns. In June 2019, the BBC announced its intention to limit free TV licenses to people 75+ and in receipt of Pension Credit from June 2020. The subsequent mass mailing to existing free licence holders contributed to a significant spike in calls to the Pension Service, and in 2022-23, the department continued to provide vital financial support to pensioners on a low income through Pension Credit.
DWP launched a comprehensive communications campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and encourage pensioners to apply for it. The campaign included advertising in national and regional newspapers and on broadcast radio and television as well as promotion of Pension Credit via internet search engines and on social media. This, together with success of the Help for Household campaign, led to more than double the level in Pension Credit applications compared to the previous year.
Data on how many pension credit applications have been made between 29 July and 9 August 2024 was recently published on gov.uk, Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Because of how we capture our operational data, information on how many claims we received over that period which are still outstanding is not available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. However, we are actively seeking to develop the data sets to provide that level of information.
DWP has seen a substantial increase in claims for Disability Living Allowance (Children) since Covid-19, and this upward trajectory continues. This has resulted in increased pressures on early years services for children with additional needs and neurodiverse conditions, with gathering evidence from educational institutions and the NHS taking longer. We are maximising our resources wherever possible and have ongoing recruitment efforts to mitigate these challenges.
We have recently published Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) which provides the number of Pension Credit claims received by the department.
The total outstanding Pension Credit claims as at the end of week commencing 30th September 2024 is 77,703. This includes 8,245 advanced claims where the application can be started up to 4 months before reaching State Pension age.
The Department is significantly increasing the resource on Pension Credit to ensure it processes claims as quickly as possible, with over 500 additional staff to support the increase in applications generated from the successful Pension Credit take-up campaign.
If a claim is made by 21 December, Pension Credit can be backdated for three months if the entitlement conditions have been met throughout that period, and if the claimant was eligible they would also receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts on 22nd July 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024-html). This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%.
The DWP started sending Migration Notices to Housing Benefit only customers from 17 July 2024 and is committed to ensuring that the transition to Universal Credit works as smoothly as possible for all individuals.
DWP has processes in place within Universal Credit to help reduce hardship, debt and risk of eviction. For example, people who receive Housing Benefit and then claim Universal Credit will receive a two-week run on of their housing payment while they transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment. Universal Credit customers who require support to adapt to Universal Credit can also have their housing costs paid directly to landlords through an Alternative Payment Arrangement.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2024 to Question 6369.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2024 to Question 6368.
The Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, announced in May 2023, announced an allocation up to £645 million up until March 2024. This supported the launch of Pharmacy First as well as the expansion of the Blood Pressure Checking service and Pharmacy Contraception Service.
Funding from this allocation has been used to pay fees for the Pharmacy First, Blood Pressure Check or Contraception service delivery or invested in the development of IT infrastructure to enable the safe and effective delivery of the services and a mass media campaign to help increase awareness and public engagement. None of the allocated funding has been used for administrating the new services.
The staff costs associated with the development of service specifications, governance and monitoring, and agreeing payments to contractors have been met by extant Departmental and NHS England budgets.
The Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, announced in May 2023, announced an allocation up to £645 million up until March 2024. This supported the launch of Pharmacy First as well as the expansion of the Blood Pressure Checking service and Pharmacy Contraception Service.
Funding from this allocation has been used to pay fees for the Pharmacy First, Blood Pressure Check or Contraception service delivery or invested in the development of IT infrastructure to enable the safe and effective delivery of the services and a mass media campaign to help increase awareness and public engagement. None of the allocated funding has been used for administrating the new services.
The staff costs associated with the development of service specifications, governance and monitoring, and agreeing payments to contractors have been met by extant Departmental and NHS England budgets.
Pubs make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, and this is recognised in the tax system.
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint. This reduction increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.
The Chancellor also confirmed her intention to introduce permanently lower business rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs, from 2026-27, and in the interim extend the current RHL relief for 1-year at 40%, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
The government regularly publishes a breakdown of total public tax receipts and total public sector spending. The most recent of these can be found in Annex B of the Spring Budget 2024 document, which is published on gov.uk here: Spring Budget 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Citizens can also see how this breakdown applies to their tax contributions via the Annual Tax Summary service which can be accessed here: Annual Tax Summary - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
A more detailed breakdown of current receipts, public sector current expenditure (PSCE) and public sector gross investment (PSGI), is set out in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The most of recent of these can be found in Tables A5 and A7 in the EFO published in March 2024, alongside the Spring Budget. This can be found on the OBR’s website here: EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility (obr.uk).
The Corps of Royal Engineers primarily builds temporary bridges that enable military road traffic to cross dry and wet gaps during operational deployments. The Corps of Royal Engineers has not recently helped to construct road bridges in aid or peacekeeping missions. Although not deploying or constructing bridges, the Corps has remained heavily involved in overseas peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts over the last decade including in South Sudan, Sierra Leone and the Caribbean.