Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 361-364, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing Official Development Assistance funding as a proportion of Gross National Income on UK businesses.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and official development assistance.
Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's timetable is for (a) implementing and (b) publishing further information on its policy to bring unused pension funds and death benefits under an individual’s estate for inheritance tax purposes.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027.
A technical consultation was published at Autumn Budget 2024 on the proposal for pension scheme administrators to become liable for reporting and paying any inheritance tax due on pensions. The consultation concluded on 22 January 2025 and the responses are being considered. The Government will publish a response document and draft legislation for these changes later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for a Personal Independence Payment reassessment after a claimant has reported improved health in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
PIP clearance times for New Claims and Reassessments can be found in the latest Personal Independence Payment statistics to January 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait time is for a PIP reassessment when a claimant reports improved health in South West London.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
PIP clearance times for New Claims and Reassessments can be found in the latest Personal Independence Payment statistics to January 2025 - GOV.UK. Figures are broken down by region and they are available for London.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait time is for a Work Capability Assessment reassessment when a claimant reports improved health.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
ESA clearance times for initial claims only are reported via Stat-Xplore and UC WCA clearance times are planned to be released under Phase 4 of the Universal Credit WCA statistics: release strategy - GOV.UK
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait time is for a Work Capability Assessment reassessment when a claimant reports improved health in South West London.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
ESA clearance times for initial claims only are reported via Stat-Xplore and UC WCA clearance times are planned to be released under Phase 4 of the UC WCA Release Strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include primary progressive aphasia in the list of conditions requiring nationally commissioned services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to introduce nationally commissioned services for the treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia. We are committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.
Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). It is the expectation that ICBs commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.
Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of Pharmacy First funding had been spent as of 26 November 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Verified data to the end of November 2024 shows that £82 million has been spent in the 2024/25 financial year on the seven common clinical pathways and associated incentive payments, and on expanding blood pressure and contraception services. A comprehensive view of all spending against the Pharmacy First budget will be available after the end of the financial year.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Renters' Rights Bill will place penalties on landlords who have been unable to sell their properties and want to re-rent.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce a new ground for possession for landlords who wish to sell their property. To prevent abuse of this ground, landlords will not be able to market or re-let their property for twelve months after using the selling ground. This will remove the financial incentive to landlords from misusing the grounds and evicting a tenant with the intention to re-let at a higher rent.
Once the legislation is in place, landlords could be given a fine of up to £40,000 by local councils if they market or re-let their properties within twelve months of using the moving and selling grounds. Tenants will also be able to seek Rent Repayment Orders for this offence. Tenants will be able toc challenge evictions in court if they believe the landlord is misusing the grounds. If this happens, the landlord will need demonstrate that their intention to sell or move in is genuine.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the threshold level for eligibility for (a) 30 hours of free childcare and (b) tax-free childcare on working parents who earn between £100,000 and £125,000.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer so that from September 2025 eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school. Accessible and high-quality early education and childcare is a crucial part of giving every child the best start in life, boosting children’s life chances and giving parents work choices.
To be eligible for the working parent entitlement, parents will each need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (£9,518 per year) and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This offer aims to support parents to return to work or to work more hours, if they wish. The income eligibility criteria are the same for Tax-Free Childcare.
The £100,000 level was chosen to correspond with Income Tax thresholds and be easily understandable for parents, and only a very small proportion of parents (3.8% of parents of 3 and 4-year-olds in 2023/24) earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold. There are no current plans to change the income threshold for the working parent entitlement or Tax-Free Childcare.
The government is committed to managing public finances in a responsible way by targeting support with childcare towards those who need it the most in order to work. These are the parents for whom childcare support makes a bigger difference to their ability to work, given that childcare costs make up a bigger proportion of their earnings.
However, the universal 15 hours of free childcare offer remains in place for all parents of 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of parental circumstances, including those who earn over £100,000.
Parents can find out about the government-funded support they are eligible for via the Childcare Choices website: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.