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, how frequently deaf awareness training is provided to (a) decision-makers, (b) people in customer-facing roles and (c) other staff in her Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is mandatory learning completed by all staff as part of their induction into the department and can then be revisited at any time. Within the learning there is a scenario-based activity around deaf awareness.
In addition, all staff new to DWP complete customer service delivery learning which includes a module for deaf or hearing loss and the support DWP offers, including when and how to use interpreters for interviews. The learning explains the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 and how it relates to customers who are deaf or have hearing loss, which can also be revisited at any time.
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, what information her Department holds on the number of people who were evicted from their properties in each year since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on possession claim actions in the county court. It can be found on gov.uk here.
The data includes the volumes of repossessions carried out by county court bailiffs in mortgage and landlord possession cases. It does not include cases where a tenant has left their property voluntarily following a notice for eviction.
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 recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) benefit cap and (b) two-child limit on single parents.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.
The Strategy will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, including considering social security reforms, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
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 the average waiting time was for ambulances in the SW13 postcode in each year since 2015.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
NHS England publishes monthly official statistics for ambulance response times at a national level and at ambulance trust level. This information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
In addition, since April 2023, information on ambulance response times to ‘Category 2’ incidents has been provided for each integrated care board (ICB) area.
The following table shows the average Category 2 response time information available in minutes and seconds for NHS South West London ICB, which SW13 is within:
2023/24 | 2024/25 to date (December 2024) |
32:26 | 35:07 |
Source: NHS England - https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-management-information/
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 21168 on Amazonia: Rainforests, if he will provide a breakdown of the funding to the Andes-Amazon Biodiverse Landscape Fund.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK funded Biodiverse Landscapes Fund supports developing countries to fight poverty, protect nature, and tackle climate change in six landscapes, spanning 18 countries. In the Andes Amazon landscape, covering parts of Ecuador and Peru, the £12.3 million funding will be targeted to deliver three aims including: strengthening Indigenous Peoples and local community organisations; developing bio-business value chains that drive nature-friendly economic growth; and improving the connectivity and quality of conserved areas. Implementation is through a consortium of international and national organisations led by the global development charity Practical Action, selected through a competitive bid exercise, working in partnerships with the Governments of Ecuador and Peru. It is not possible to give a full breakdown of funding per activity at this stage as this will change over the course of delivering the seven-year programme.
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, how many single parents with more than two children have been evicted through a Section 21 notice in each year since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.
However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.
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, how many single parents that have been evicted through a Section 21 notice in each year since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.
However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.
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, how many Section 21 evictions have taken place in each year since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.
However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on the review to look at government wide reform at a local level led by the Parliamentary Secretary.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to reforming the state to deliver better public services which revolve around the needs of the users. At the heart of those reforms is a place-based approach. A significant programme of work is underway with departments, local authorities, leaders, frontline staff and others to strengthen and embed this way of working across government.
The work underway includes the £100 million Public Service Reform and Innovation Fund, which will be deploying Test and Learns teams around the country over the next three years to design and test innovative solutions to our biggest public service challenges in partnership with local places – and ensuring that local learning informs national policy decisions.
The Government will also use the significant opportunity presented by the Spending Review to reform our public services.
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 make an estimate of the number of people living in London that have recorded (a) physical and (b) mental illnesses linked to noise pollution.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
A specific estimate of the number of people living in London that have recorded physical and mental illnesses linked to noise pollution has not been completed.
In 2023, the UK Health Security Agency published the findings from a new study that maps the effects of transport noise on health and wellbeing across England, including London. It was estimated that transport noise in London was responsible for the equivalent of thirty-six thousand healthy life years lost in disability in 2018. This includes effects from roads, railways, and air traffic. This work was based on methods developed by the World Health Organization, with further information available at the following link: