Toby Perkins

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Skills England will ensure the supply of skills needed for growth, which is crucial for supporting the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and to kickstart economic growth.

Skills England will bring together businesses, education and training providers, unions, and regional and national government to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the government’s forthcoming industrial strategy.

It will work with the Migration Advisory Committee to make sure skills training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market, and it will coordinate between local areas to ensure everyone can access all the opportunities available.

The government’s ambition for Skills England is that it will bring coherence to the assessment of skills’ needs and to the training landscape. It will ensure that training programmes are well designed and delivered so that they meet these needs and ensure businesses have the highly skilled workforce they require to thrive.

The Environment Agency is:

• Developing a business case for a flood alleviation scheme to reduce the risk of flooding to properties on the River Hipper in Chesterfield. The project currently has a significant funding gap. Funding will need to be identified for the project to be delivered.
• Investigating the removal of a disused bridge over the River Hipper at Clayton Street to reduce obstructions to flow during flood events.
• Developing a project to refurbish a flood defence wall in the St Augustine’s area. This asset reduces risk from the River Rother to properties on Hawthorne, Sherwood, Bridge Street and River View. The Environment Agency, Derbyshire County Council and Chesterfield Borough Council have undertaken a community flood resilience event to discuss how to be better prepared in the event of a flood.
• Reviewing flows and performance of the Avenue Flood Storage Area following Storm Babet. This asset reduces risk from the River Rother to communities downstream in Chesterfield. Subject to funding, the Environment Agency will undertake an optimisation study to assess whether there are any operational improvements that can be undertaken to further reduce flood risk.
• With other partners, investigating any potential for further storage on tributaries of the Rivers Rother and Hipper, for example Spital Brook and Holme Brook.
• Continuing to work with partners to develop natural flood management opportunities within the Rother and Hipper Catchments to help slow the flow and reduce risk to downstream communities.

The Environment Agency also carried out a flood warning validation exercise following Storm Babet to help improve the flood warning service.

To ensure that communities are better protected, Defra has established a ministerially led cross-governmental Flood Resilience Taskforce, with the first meeting taking place in September. The Flood Resilience Taskforce will ensure that preparedness and resilience to flooding is reviewed regularly before the start of the main flood season; and that it is continuously improved to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses. It will also provide ministers with longer-term oversight of wider floods resilience strategy and investment programmes.

We are committed to the Environment Act targets. This Labour government is committed to ensuring the Environmental Improvement Plan is fit for purpose and will focus on delivering our Environment Act targets.

The new government will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world.

We intend to publish the Annual Progress Report on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan this summer, which will reveal the situation labour have inherited. This will cover the April 2023 to March 2024 reporting period in accordance with section 9 of the Environment Act 2021.

We are committed to the Environment Act targets. This Labour government is committed to ensuring the Environmental Improvement Plan is fit for purpose and will focus on delivering our Environment Act targets.

The new government will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world.

We intend to publish the Annual Progress Report on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan this summer, which will reveal the situation labour have inherited. This will cover the April 2023 to March 2024 reporting period in accordance with section 9 of the Environment Act 2021.

We are committed to the Environment Act targets. This Labour government is committed to ensuring the Environmental Improvement Plan is fit for purpose and will focus on delivering our Environment Act targets.

The new government will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world.

We intend to publish the Annual Progress Report on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan this summer, which will reveal the situation labour have inherited. This will cover the April 2023 to March 2024 reporting period in accordance with section 9 of the Environment Act 2021.

We are committed to the Environment Act targets. This Labour government is committed to ensuring the Environmental Improvement Plan is fit for purpose and will focus on delivering our Environment Act targets.

The new government will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world.

We intend to publish the Annual Progress Report on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan this summer, which will reveal the situation labour have inherited. This will cover the April 2023 to March 2024 reporting period in accordance with section 9 of the Environment Act 2021.

The Department for Transports vehicle hire contract provides hire services for the core department, agencies and some arms-length bodies for cars, vans and other vehicles. Over a period of 5 years (Jan 2020 – Oct 24) on average 28,087 are hired a year, however, we don’t centrally record information on fuel or engine type.

The information requested is not available. The Department for Transport does not hold information on whether the land on which a public charging device is located is (a) local authority land or (b) privately owned land.

The latest statistics on the number of public charging devices broken down by local authority can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-july-2024.

The Information requested is not held by the department.

I am grateful to the Honorable Member for his continued support for the scheme and I look forward to meeting with you to discuss it in the future if this would be beneficial to you. I can confirm that discussions on the viability of the proposed Chesterfield Regeneration route are ongoing between my officials and Derbyshire County Council. The timetable has yet to be confirmed on the commencement of the investigations; however, additional information has been submitted by Derbyshire council to help ministers with their considerations.

I am grateful to the Honorable Member for his continued support for the scheme and I would be very happy to meet him to discuss it. The Outline Business Case submitted by Derbyshire County Council has been assessed in detail by officials, who have obtained additional information from Derbyshire County Council to help Ministers in their considerations.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.

As a first step, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.

Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities

The National Health Service’s funding increases have not been ring-fenced in that way. Ring-fencing funding restricts the freedom of integrated care boards to take decisions based on the specific circumstances of their local populations.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP) and we are committed to fixing the crisis in GPs. Our plan will require both investment and reform. Firstly, we will increase the proportion of funding for GPs, starting with a commitment to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and take pressure off those currently working in the system. Additionally, we will deliver a modern booking system to end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient.

We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan. More information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/

Department officials meet regularly with Hospice UK and alongside our key partners at NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with the sector, including Hospice UK, to understand the issues they are facing.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by integrated care board (ICB) area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth and range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at end of life.

Palliative and end of life care is provided through a range of professionals and providers, both generalists and specialists, across the NHS, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. Therefore, the cost of provision is difficult to measure as relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as palliative or end of life care. This makes it difficult to estimate how much is spent on palliative and end of life care provision as a whole, and how much might be saved by hospices delivering palliative care.

The Government is going to shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community and we recognise that it is vital to include palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in this shift. We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.

Department officials meet regularly with Hospice UK and alongside our key partners at NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with the sector, including Hospice UK, to understand the issues they are facing.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by integrated care board (ICB) area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth and range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at end of life.

Palliative and end of life care is provided through a range of professionals and providers, both generalists and specialists, across the NHS, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. Therefore, the cost of provision is difficult to measure as relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as palliative or end of life care. This makes it difficult to estimate how much is spent on palliative and end of life care provision as a whole, and how much might be saved by hospices delivering palliative care.

The Government is going to shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community and we recognise that it is vital to include palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in this shift. We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.

An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas, to raise awareness of eVisas, build understanding of how it applies to visa holders and checkers, and encourage them to take action. This includes activity and messaging specifically targeting biometric residence permit (BRP) holding customers to register for a UKVI account by the end of 2024, when most BRPs expire, if they were not automatically provided with a UKVI account and eVisa when their most recent immigration application was approved.

We continue to take steps to reduce the number of circumstances where individuals need to provide evidence of their immigration status, by making relevant immigration status information available automatically through system to system checks with public authorities and government departments. Organisations with access currently include the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), DVLA, Social Security Scotland, NHS England and Wales, Border Force, and some local authorities.

In addition to these organisations, we have also developed technology to enable airline carriers to check immigration status automatically via systems checks. If for any reason the carrier does not receive confirmation of the passenger’s immigration status, they will be able to check this using the ‘view and prove’ service, or the carrier can contact the 24/7 Carrier Support Hub for advice.

Our communications explain that customers with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, will still be able to use their legacy document where permitted to prove their rights and when travelling, as they do today. However, we encourage those individuals to transition to an eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers.

All communications activity has directed visa holders to www.gov.uk/eVisa, and, where appropriate, has highlighted the range of available support.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring everyone, including the elderly and the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system. We have a range of support in place. This includes our Assisted Digital service (https://www.gov.uk/assisted-digital-help-online-applications) which is available in the UK to provide support by phone and email to those who need help with IT-related aspects of creating a UKVI account.

Customers can also contact the UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre (https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk) for support via email and webchat, and telephone. They also support people through the online journey by:

• helping them to access or recover their account
• helping them to update their personal details
• sharing status on behalf of people if they are unable to do so themselves.

The UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre can also help people with any technical issues with their online immigration status, and, where necessary, verify the person’s status through alternative means.

On 18 September 2024, we announced that the Government is providing up to £4m in dedicated grant funding to a UK wide network of voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver valuable support to those who need it, during the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas.

To date, grant funding agreements are in place with four organisations that will provide national coverage.