Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to Question HL704 on Afghanistan: Chevening Scholarships Programme, when a final decision will be taken on the Afghanistan Chevening programme for academic year 2025-26.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Chevening Scholarship Programme opened for applications from Afghans on Thursday 14 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to reply to Question 2676 on Council Housing: Finance tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion on 30 July 2024.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 2676 on 13 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to answer Question 2677 on Right to Buy Scheme tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion on 30 July 2024.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 2677 on 13 November 2024.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect people affected by (a) discrimination, (b) inaccuracy and (c) intrusion in the press.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the press.

It is vital that the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different media, and we are working across Government to consider these issues in the round.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8868 on Mistreatment of Detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre Inquiry, whether she plans to publish a response to each of the recommendations of the Brook House Inquiry report; and whether she has taken steps relating to the use of force against people in immigration detention pending her response to recommendations 14, 15, 16 and 17 of that report.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The abuse that took place at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in 2017 was unacceptable.

Whilst there are no plans to publish a response to each recommendation raised by the inquiry, positive progress continues to be made against the 30 accepted recommendations. The Government will continue to reflect and act on Inquiry recommendations.

Specifically on recommendations 14-17, on the use of force in IRCs, the Home Office communicated to all IRC and contracted service provider staff in December 2023 and May 2024, that techniques involving handcuffing behind backs whilst seated is not permitted. A new Detention Services Order in relation to use of force is being developed specifically for the immigration detention estate and will be published in Spring 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of 4 September 2024 by the Prime Minister, Official Report, column 326, if she will take steps to require housing associations to publish fire risk assessments for their properties.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Building Safety Act 2022 and associated regulations set out requirements for information that must be provided to residents in Higher-Risk Buildings - buildings which contain at least two residential units and are at least 18 metres in height, or have at least seven stories. Whilst not published, the Principal Accountable Person for these buildings must provide information to residents that will enable them to understand the safety of their building, including information on what they can do to make the building safer. This information includes the residents engagement plan, a summary of the safety case report, and a summary of the fire risk assessment for the building.

The government has also committed to introducing new access to information requirements for housing associations so tenants can access the information they need about the management of their homes, including on matters relating to safety, to hold their landlords to account. Further details on the requirements will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data she holds on the (a) age, (b) gender, (c) disability status and (d) other demographic make-up of users of micromobility services.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The term micromobility can be defined in different ways. For the purposes of this question, we have taken it to refer to rental e-scooters and cycles.

DfT's Transport and Transport Technology Tracker survey is designed to be representative of the wider population of adults aged 16 and over across England. The most recent published data from Wave 11 (data collection - Dec 2023) of the tracker surveyed 3,622 adults.

Rental e-scooters

The survey found that of 244 respondents who said they had used a rental e-scooter at least annually:

• Age: young people are much more likely to use rental e-scooters at least annually (20% of 16-24s vs 1% of those aged 55 or older)

• Gender: men are more likely than women to use rental e-scooters at least annually (8% vs. 5%)

• Disability status: 5% of people with a health condition that reduces their activity use rental e-scooters at least annually (vs. 7% of those that do not have a health condition that reduces their activity)

• Other demographic make up: ethnic minorities are more than three times as likely to use rental e-scooters at least annually (16% vs 5% of white people)

• Urban vs rural: urban residents (8%) were more likely than rural residents (3%) to have used a rental e-scooter at least annually.

E-cycles

10% of respondents (355 people) said they have used an e-cycle at least annually. Of these:

• Age: young people are more likely to use e-cycles at least annually than older people (13% of 16-24s vs 8% of 55-74 year olds).

• Gender: men are more likely to use e-cycles at least annually than women (12% vs 7%).

• Other demographic make-up: ethnic minorities are more likely to use e-cycles at least annually compared to white people (16% vs 9%).

Standard Cycles:

36% of respondents (1298 people) said they have used a standard cycle at least annually. Of these:

• Age: younger age groups are more likely to use a standard cycle at least annually compared to other age groups (47% of 16-24s vs 36% of 55-64 year olds)

• Gender: men are more likely to use a standard cycle at least annually compared to women (44% vs 27%)

• Disability status: people without a health condition that reduces their activity are more likely to use a standard cycle at least annually compared to those without (38% vs 29%)

• Other demographic make-up: ethnic minorities are more likely to use a standard cycle at least annually compared to white people (41% vs 35%).

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish a response to the recommendations of the report by the Press Recognition Panel entitled Press Intrusion and Regulation, published on 28 August 2024.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have policy responsibility for the Press Recognition Panel in order to ensure that there is no Government interference in its independent work.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support grassroots music venues.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's report on grassroots music venues outlines our commitment to working across the live music sector to support grassroots music.

We urge the live music industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy for stadium and arena shows, to support a sustainable grassroots music sector. I am writing to the major players in the industry to underline the importance of swift progress, and on the need to unblock any remaining barriers to an effective industry-led solution.

Following the Autumn Budget, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, which provides grants, including to music venues and festivals.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households (a) are eligible and (b) have received Cold Weather Payments in 2024, broken down by week.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

(a) Table 1 shows the number of estimated eligible qualifiers across 2024.

Table 1: Number of Estimated Eligible Recipients in England and Wales

Due to the nature of eligibility, we are unable to breakdown to the household level.

(b) Tables 2 and 3 show the breakdown of weekly payments made in 2024- these are from the 2023/24 season running from the 1^st November 2023-31^st March 2024 and the start of the 2024/25 season 1^st-22^nd November 2024.

Table 2: Payments made to estimated qualifiers in England and Wales, 2024- from the 2023/24 season.

Table 3: Payments made to Estimated Qualifiers in England and Wales so Far- from the 2024/25 season.

Please note-

1) Figures are estimated based on the number of individuals eligible at the start of the season. See the methodology document for further details,

and guidance on how to estimate the number of payments and expenditure, here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cold-weather-payment-estimates-2023-to-2024/background-and-methodology-cold-weather-payment-estimates-2023-to-2024

2) Figures are shown by the week or month the payment was triggered - that is, the day that the recorded/forecasted temperatures for the seven

day period caused payments to be authorised. The recipient should receive the payment within 14 days.

3) All volumes are rounded to the nearest 1,000

4) The figures include claimants meeting the legacy benefit and Universal Credit eligibility criteria for Cold Weather Payments.

Future publications for the 2024-25 Cold Weather Season can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cold-weather-payment-estimates-2024-to-2025

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he will provide for drug and alcohol treatment through (a) the Public Health grant and (b) other funding steams beyond March 2025; and if he will continue funding for the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government supports investment in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services to ensure that those people with a substance use need get the appropriate help and support. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department has allocated local authorities a further £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. This is alongside the £105 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve employment and housing support.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced updates to the fiscal framework, and earlier this year launched the Spending Review, which has now settled 2025/26 departmental budgets. She has also made clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances.

Now that the Autumn Budget has been completed, the Department is working to be able to announce future funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems. We will communicate with the sector about this as soon as we are able to, as we recognise the importance of this information in maintaining delivery and planning for 2025/26.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the report by the New Economics Foundation entitled Building Hope: how land reforms will help deliver the homes we need, published on 20 November 2024.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government have made clear its intention to reform the compulsory purchase order process and land compensation rules to enable more effective land assembly that will speed-up and lower the costs of the delivery of housing and critical infrastructure in the public interest. We will work with a wide range of experts and organisations to develop our policy in this area and will consider reports such as this one as part of that work.

Prison maintenance insourcing

Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

Certificate of Common Sponsorship

Kevin Sinfield fundraising for Motor Neurone Disease research

Bowel Cancer UK report into NHS services

Funding for domestic abuse services

Migrants and domestic abuse

Domestic abuse and public life

Equal pay and prize money in women’s football

Ukraine energy security Marshall plan

Cuts to the International Development Budget

Domestic abuse and the workplace

Family visas

Triple negative breast cancer

Protecting wild sea birds and sand eels

Children's Grief Awareness Week 2024

Disclosure and Barring Service checks for hon. Members and Peers

Puppy smuggling bill

Palestine Statehood (Recognition) (No. 2) Bill

Emergency care

Bus fare cap

Bus fare cap hike

Scientific hearing on animal experiments (No. 3)

Paradise Beach Resort in Morocco

Support for endometriosis care

Humanitarian situation in Sudan

Work of St John Ambulance

National insurance increase and the voluntary sector

Value of rural post offices

Disclosure of Special Branch files

Use of swift bricks

World Diabetes Day 2024

Humanitarian situation in Sudan (No. 2)

Found: Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Richard Burgon Paula Barker Apsana Begum Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Found: Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Richard Burgon Paula Barker Apsana Begum Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Found: Mohamed Ian Byrne Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Paula Barker Apsana Begum Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Found: _NC7 Carla Denyer Ellie Chowns Siân Berry Adrian Ramsay 3 REPORT STAGE Wednesday 4 December 2024

Found: Corbyn , Kim Johnson , Ayoub Khan , Iqbal Mohamed , Mr Adnan Hussain , Brendan O'Hara , Siân Berry