Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner on the Financial Conduct Authority's handling of Safe Hands Plans Limited, published on 11 March 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
I am sympathetic to all the Safe Hands customers who have lost money, following the collapse of the firm in 2022.
Once concerns were raised about the funeral plan market, in 2021 the Government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.
The FCA has published its response to the Financial Regulator Complaints Commissioner. The FCA has been clear that it is not possible to immediately act on every piece of anonymous intelligence they receive and Safe Hands failed to meet the threshold for authorisation due to underlying issues with their business model.
We support the FCA's handling of Safe Hands, and it is clear that they acted reasonably in this case, as they had a clear plan to properly scrutinise Safe Hands’ business during the authorisations process. As the Commissioner acknowledges, there is also no evidence that alternative action from the FCA would have led to different outcomes for Safe Hands customers.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what he has made of the potential merits of using pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy for people with cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NICE’s guideline on the diagnosis and management of cystic fibrosis recommends pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy as a treatment option for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng78
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing (a) digitalisation and (b) automation in the provision of welfare services.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already implemented many automation initiatives and remains dedicated to identifying future opportunities for further enhancements. To date, 58 automations have been deployed across the DWP, with 38 of them currently active. These automation processes have handled a total of 44.46 million claims and saved 3.4 million staff hours.
We will continue to explore additional automation and digitisation prospects which will help reduce operating costs, enabling agents to dedicate more time to citizens, and expedite claims processing where possible.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animals were (a) slaughtered for food consumption and (b) then tested for the presence of lead in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022, (v) 2023 and (vi) 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A summary of the number of animals slaughtered for food consumption and number of animals tested for lead can be found in the table on the following page.
For information, the majority of these data are available through the Defra Food and Farming statistics and the VMD also publishes the results of annual residues monitoring on an annual basis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for making the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper accessible for persons with disabilities online.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Further accessible formats will be published on GOV.UK in due course. The consultation will close 12 weeks after the point at which all accessible versions of this Green Paper are available.
We have published this paper ahead of all accessible versions to put detailed information about the matters subject to consultation in the public domain at the earliest opportunity, although the production of accessible versions requires additional time. The consultation will run for a full 12 weeks after all of the accessible versions of the paper are published.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assess lead levels in food produced near to abandoned lead mining sites.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Lead is naturally present in the environment, making it impossible to eliminate completely from food. Maximum levels are set to be as low as reasonably achievable, and enforcement action can be taken if food safety concerns arise whether or not maximum levels are specified.
Risk-based checks on lead in food by food businesses and local authorities ensure food safety. Lead is also included under the Veterinary Medicines Directorate surveillance plan. The Animal and Plant Health Agency investigates farms where animals may have been exposed to lead, providing advice to farmers as well as a reminder of their responsibilities to protect the food chain and comply with maximum levels.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that women on maternity leave are not subject to discrepancies in their pension employer contributions.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to raising labour standards and protecting workers' rights.
Employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment is high with over 2.4 million employers complying with their duties to date. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a statutory objective to maximise and enforce employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment.
Some employers can make common errors in relation to Automatic Enrolment by missing important steps in respect of calculating pensions contributions and communications to staff. These errors can include miscalculating contributions for staff receiving maternity pay. DWP does not hold data on how many women have been affected by any specific error.
TPR provides guidance and engages with employers, pension schemes and advisory bodies to raise awareness of common errors and maximise employer compliance. Where the Regulator is made aware of an error or discovers one in its regular on-site visits and data monitoring, it will work with the employer where possible to notify them of their error and how to correct it. Pension scheme managers and trustees also have a responsibility to ensure the correct management of schemes including monitoring the payment of accurate and timely contributions. Where employees themselves identify errors, they can raise these with their employer in the first instance and should they need to, they can report issues and seek resolution by contacting The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) or The Pensions Regulator.
Individuals can find guidance on pension entitlements during maternity and paternity leave via the Money Helper website Maternity and paternity leave and your pension | MoneyHelper
We would encourage any women who find discrepancies in their employer pensions contributions to alert their employer, and TPR or TPO if necessary, so that they can receive the pension contributions they are entitled to. MoneyHelper also provides further information as to what to do if you think your employer is failing to pay into your pension correctly: Help if your employer fails to pay into your pension | MoneyHelper
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women have been affected by pension employer contribution discrepancies while on maternity since auto-enrolment began in 2012.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to raising labour standards and protecting workers' rights.
Employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment is high with over 2.4 million employers complying with their duties to date. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a statutory objective to maximise and enforce employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment.
Some employers can make common errors in relation to Automatic Enrolment by missing important steps in respect of calculating pensions contributions and communications to staff. These errors can include miscalculating contributions for staff receiving maternity pay. DWP does not hold data on how many women have been affected by any specific error.
TPR provides guidance and engages with employers, pension schemes and advisory bodies to raise awareness of common errors and maximise employer compliance. Where the Regulator is made aware of an error or discovers one in its regular on-site visits and data monitoring, it will work with the employer where possible to notify them of their error and how to correct it. Pension scheme managers and trustees also have a responsibility to ensure the correct management of schemes including monitoring the payment of accurate and timely contributions. Where employees themselves identify errors, they can raise these with their employer in the first instance and should they need to, they can report issues and seek resolution by contacting The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) or The Pensions Regulator.
Individuals can find guidance on pension entitlements during maternity and paternity leave via the Money Helper website Maternity and paternity leave and your pension | MoneyHelper
We would encourage any women who find discrepancies in their employer pensions contributions to alert their employer, and TPR or TPO if necessary, so that they can receive the pension contributions they are entitled to. MoneyHelper also provides further information as to what to do if you think your employer is failing to pay into your pension correctly: Help if your employer fails to pay into your pension | MoneyHelper
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to increase funding to (a) Shelter and (b) other charities to support their work in (i) South West Norfolk constituency, (ii) Norfolk and (iii) England.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Funding for homelessness and rough sleeping in England will increase by £233 million in 2025/26. Allocations of funding in 2025/26 can be found here and future funding will be subject to the Spending Review. Through our grant programmes, we will continue to support charities, such as Shelter, who provide vital workforce skills and capacity support to frontline homeless organisations. Allocations to shelter can be found here.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to increase support for (a) Citizens Advice and (b) other charitable organisations in (i) Norfolk and (ii) England.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWPs funding will be confirmed once the outcome of the Spending Review is known.