Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help young people find employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The most recent Official ONS Labour Market Statistics, for the period October to December 2022, show that the current youth employment rate was 54.1%. This is up 3.2% on 2010 figures and 6.6% above the G7 average.
This Government remains committed to delivering a comprehensive and tailored package of support for 16–24-year-olds claiming Universal Credit and seeking employment or progression through the DWP Youth Offer. This includes an initial 13 weeks of intensive help through the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for those with complex barriers to employment and our national network of partner led Youth Hubs.
For the young people of Stourbridge, the Dudley Youth Hub is a fundamental part of the support offered. Through this Hub, our work coaches can meet with claimants who have a barrier to employment in an alternative setting that allows them to feel at ease and engage with a range of on-site services. Examples of this include a range of employer and recruitment events, Disability Employment Advisors matching claimants with Disability Confident employers and regular National Career Service pre-employability training.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have entered employment through the Way to Work campaign as of 15 May 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
As of 15 May, we estimate that at least 317,800 unemployed Universal Credit claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 15 May 2022. Furthermore, during March 2022 we have seen the highest number of into work movements on record for any March – over 99,800.
This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of March (over 192,600) and our internal management information for April (91,800) as well as data up to 15 May (33,400). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps his Department is taking to provide booster doses of the covid-19 vaccine to all eligible people.
Answered by Sajid Javid
As of 21 November, over 15.3 million third doses have been administered across the United Kingdom.
In England, there are now more sites than ever delivering COVID-19 vaccines, including hundreds of walk-in sites. The National Booking Service has been updated, allowing people to pre-book their appointment and receive their booster dose as soon as they become eligible.
We have also launched the Boost Your Immunity This Winter media campaign, which emphasises the importance of booster vaccinations.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps her Department is taking to increase financial support for the police.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In February, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £15.8 billion in 2021/22.
This is an increase of up to £600 million compared to 2020/21 and cements our commitment to give the police the resources they need to keep the public safe.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to people claiming universal credit for the first time to help ensure that they receive their first payment (a) on time and (b) in full.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has ensured high levels of payment timeliness with over 90% of new claims paid in full and on time as of October 2020; an increase from 88% in March 2020.
People receive support quickly, through the Universal Credit helpline and online. Additionally, we have provided funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, to deliver tailored and practical support to people making a claim to Universal Credit and receive their first full correct payment on time. This support has been bolstered by the announcement of a further 12 months of funding this year for Help to Claim.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many covid-19 positive test results there have been amongst HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff from 25 February 2021 to the most recent date for which figures are available.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Between 25 February and 12 March 15 HMCTS staff (including agency) reported a positive test result for COVID-19 to HMCTS.
The table below shows the days the positive results were reported to HMCTS:
| 25 Feb | 26 Feb | 27 Feb | 28 Feb | 1 Mar | 2 Mar | 3 Mar | 4 Mar | 5 Mar | 6 Mar | 7 Mar | 8 Mar | 9 Mar | 10 Mar | 11 Mar | 12 Mar |
HMCTS Staff positive cases (daily) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Due to the time taken for individuals to take a test, receive test results, and then communicate this to HMCTS, further cases may be added after the time of publishing.
All HMCTS buildings continue to meet or exceed all Public Health safety standards. We follow all Public Health and Government COVID-secure guidelines and have put measures in place to keep all court and tribunal users safe. When Government or Public Health guidance changes our measures are updated, an approach which is endorsed by Public Health England and Public Health Wales. HMCTS employs around 19,800 staff (payroll and non-payroll).
HMCTS staff engagement is maintained through regular internal updates on COVID-secure measures and feedback (from staff and users) is encouraged through various reporting methods.
HMCTS numbers have tracked the national averages – sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. Overall, the HMCTS staff positive incident rate is broadly similar to national averages over time and recently prevalence rates amongst staff have been trending below the national average. For example, at the end of the period set out above, the rolling 7-day per 100,000 rate among HMCTS staff was at 10.0, compared with a national rate of 59.6.
HMCTS’ investigations (and those of public health authorities) have indicated that transmission on the estate is rare (i.e. that, in most cases, transmission outside of the workplace is more likely).
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment roles have been created by the kickstart scheme to this date; and how many and what proportion of those roles have been in the technology sector.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Over 150,000 job placements have been approved for the Kickstart scheme. Over 50,000 vacancies have been made available for young people, so far over 6,000 job placements have started.
Over 4,000 of the vacancies are in the technology sector.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which has been developed quickly. The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers have been referred to the Job Entry Targeted Support Programme since referrals began.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
To date, there have been around 41,100 referrals made to the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) programme. This data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of England’s roads.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department is providing over £2.7 billion for the maintenance of England’s local highway network, outside of London, over 2020/21 and 2021/22, and £4.1 billion for capital renewals on the strategic road network in England over the next 5 years.
Asked by: Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
What steps he is taking to support housebuilding on brownfield land.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
I’m delighted that the Prime Minister recently announced that seven Mayoral Combined Authorities, including the West Midlands Combined Authority, are each receiving a share of the £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund. This will help unlock 26,000 homes by bringing under-utilised brownfield land back into use and contribute to the levelling-up our country.