Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2025 to Question 47378 on Personal Independence Payment, how many working-age people are in receipt of the PIP daily living component at (a) regional, (b) constituency and (c) local authority level by whether those people receive the (i) standard or (ii) enhanced rate; and what proportion of each of those (A) standard and (B) enhanced rate claims were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 in the attached excel file contains data, at the regional level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities by award rate.
Table 2 contains data, at the Parliamentary Constituency level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for PIP and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities by award rate.
Table 3 contains data, at the Local Authority level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for PIP and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities by award rate.
The number of people currently on PIP and did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. We will always protect the most vulnerable people.
The OBR has determined that 9 in 10 people currently on PIP will still be receiving it by the end of this Parliament. No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment, to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I will lead. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with youth homelessness organisations on the inclusion of a youth chapter in the forthcoming cross-governmental homelessness strategy.
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.
We have 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: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 42101 on Holiday Accommodation: Licensing, what her planned timetable is for her Department’s publication of the short-term rental registration scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government has commenced the second phase of digital development for the short-term lets registration scheme legislated for in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. During this phase, DCMS will test the user interface with a small number of users to ensure our systems and processes are effective, with public testing planned to start within the next 9 months.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Ukrainian Permission Extension scheme have been (a) made, (b) processed, (c) granted, (d) withdrawn and (e) rejected for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Ukraine Permission extension scheme is open for those granted under the previous Ukraine Schemes to apply up to 28 days before their current permission expires.
Applications received – 53,870
Applications processed – 45,576
Applications approved – 44,105
Applications withdrawn – 1,321
Applications rejected or refused – 150
These figures have been taken from a live operational database. As such, numbers may change as information on that system is updated.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing a national beach accessibility framework on (a) public health and (b) the economy; and if he will consider providing funding to improve access to beaches in (i) Torbay and (ii) other deprived coastal areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.
The Government is also already delivering several policies to increase access to nature including in coastal areas, where we are:
Working to complete the King Charles III England Coast Path which, at around 2,700 miles, will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. Over 2,000 miles have now been approved as King Charles III England Coast Path, with over 1,000 miles already open. It will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working-age people are in receipt of the PIP daily living component at (a) regional, (b) constituency and (c) local authority level; whether those people receive the (i) standard and (ii) enhanced rate; and what proportion of those claims were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 in the attached excel file contains data, at the regional level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Table 2 contains data, at the Parliamentary Constituency level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for PIP and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Table 3 contains data, at the Local Authority level, of claimants in receipt of the Enhanced or Standard Daily Living award for PIP and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working-age people are in receipt of the PIP daily living component at (a) regional, (b) constituency and (c) local authority level by primary health condition; and what proportion of those claims were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 in the attached excel file contains data, at the regional level, of claimants in receipt of the Daily Living award for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) by primary health condition and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Table 2 contains data, at the Parliamentary Constituency level, of claimants in receipt of the Daily Living award for PIP by primary health condition and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Table 3 contains data, at the Local Authority level, of claimants in receipt of the Daily Living award for PIP by primary health condition and the proportion of those claims which were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department take steps with the (a) Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to further digitise paper-based patient information leaflets through the UK Electronic Patient Information Task Force.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has worked with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry through the UK Electronic Patient Information Task Force on the potential digitisation of the paper-based patient information leaflets.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is committed to continuing to engage with healthcare partners and patients to identify opportunities to enable better patient access to healthcare information that fulfils the needs of patients.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) review and (b) improve NHS App accessibility for (i) people with visual impairment and (ii) other people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working to improve access to digital services, outcomes, and experiences for the widest range of people, based on their preferences. Patients unable to use digital channels can continue to access services via telephone and through traditional face to face services.
We conduct user research on an ongoing basis with users from diverse backgrounds to ensure our service works for everyone. This includes patients with a range of access needs and diverse groups, for instance ethnic minority groups, those with visual impairments, neurodiversity, and physical impairments. We have recruited users who are blind or partially sighted in community-based research, research with local National Health Service teams, and in remote research, either one to one or in groups. We use the findings of user research to plan and prioritise new work to improve accessibility.
Centrally built services, such as the NHS App and NHS website, are designed to meet international accessibility standards. We are modernising the mobile patient experience within the NHS App, ensuring information is clearly structured and easy to find and understand.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support independent hospitality businesses.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth and social cohension across the UK.
We recently launched a licensing taskforce to reduce red tape and barriers that too often hold businesses back. In addition, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value less than £500,000
We have also recently announced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects that align with Department of Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council Priorities. I am working with Council Members to maximise the benefits of this funding.