Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to dependant rules for health and social care visas on closures of care homes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing health and social care workers to bring dependants subject to the requirement to pay the health surcharge.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In December 2023, the Home Office published their estimated immigration impacts of the announced legal migration changes, including the restriction on bringing dependants for care workers and senior care workers. These are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-migration-statement-estimated-immigration-impacts/legal-migration-statement-estimated-immigration-impacts-accessible

This was followed by the 2024 spring Immigration Rules: impact assessment published in September 2024, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-immigration-rules-impact-assessments/2024-spring-immigration-rules-impact-assessment-accessible

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to respond to the consultation entitled Pharmacy supervision which closed on 29 February 2024.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

A previous consultation on pharmacy supervision was published earlier this year. The Government and devolved administrations will set out plans for the policy when it responds to that consultation, in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the monthly payment of war pensions.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The War Pension Scheme (WPS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service before 6 April 2005. There are two main types of WPS awards depending on the level of disablement:

1. A gratuity is a tax free lump sum payment for disablement less than 20%
2. A war disablement pension is an ongoing tax free payment paid weekly or monthly for disablement more than 20%

Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/war-pension-scheme-wps

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will reinstate the availability of medications previously available on prescription for (a) households on low incomes and (b) pensioners so that they are free of charge.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans to review the list of items that formed part of the NHS England review into medicines that cannot be routinely supplied. Prescribers are free to make their own decisions on which medicines to prescribe, unless they are banned or restricted, and are held accountable for their prescribing decisions by their employer, and professional regulator. A range of prescription charge exemptions are already in place to help people on low incomes and those aged 60 years old and over.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the Global Oceans Treaty or the High Seas Treaty), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to ensure that local authorities in rural areas receive higher levels of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26, in the context of her Department's plans to repurpose funding allocated for the Rural Services Delivery Grant.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.

The Rural Services Delivery Grant does not properly account for need and a large number of predominantly rural councils receive nothing from it – that’s clearly not right and a sign we need to allocate funding more effectively. The government is keen to hear from councils about how best to consider the impact of rurality on the costs of service delivery, and demand, as part of our longer term consultations on local authority funding reform.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the list of conditions eligible for free prescriptions by working age people.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate to exempt people from the prescription charge.

Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place, for which those with the greatest need may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments.

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 take steps to ensure that the next local government finance settlement includes additional funding to meet higher costs arising from changes to (a) the national minimum wage and (b) employer National Insurance contributions for (i) social care, (ii) respite, (iii) hospice, (iv) charitable, (v) occupational and (vi) other health providers that have been contracted by (A) local authorities and (B) the NHS.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing. We have listened to voices across the sector and we prioritised local government at the Budget, where we announced over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services, including £1.3 billion which will go through the Settlement.

Overall, the provisional Settlement will mean local government receives an around 3.2% increase overall in Core Spending Power. This is a real terms increase. The government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer NICs costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government.

We will set out further details at the provisional Settlement in December.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) assess and (b) prevent unauthorised sub-letting of social housing for holiday lets.

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

The Government is committed to supporting landlords to tackle the small minority of social tenants who, by cheating the system, deprive those in need of a social home.

Under existing legislation, it is a criminal offence to sub-let social housing without the landlord’s permission. The courts are also able to award the social landlord the profit the tenant has made from their unlawful sub-letting.

Social landlords are encouraged to take a proactive approach to tackling fraud in their stock. If the tenant no longer occupies the property as their only or principal home, they also risk losing their secure or assured status as a tenant and their home.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to ensure that local authorities remain democratically accountable for the provision of social care, in the context of her Department's plans for devolution.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has no intention of changing local authorities’ democratic accountability for provision of social care. As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, we will reset the relationship with local government, to give the sector more autonomy and put councils on the road to recovery.

Blue Monday

Possible sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili

Government response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on communication of changes to women’s State Pension age

England men's cricket team's upcoming fixture against Afghanistan

Protecting children from sexual abuse

Housing

Afghan women and girls

The EU and the arms trade, human rights, and the Israel-Gaza conflict

Bowel Cancer UK report into NHS services

Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell

Renewal of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Review into breast cancer screening

Potential closure of post offices

Assistance and access for disabled people at railway stations

Bath Young Carers

Residence-based voting rights

Registration scheme for short-term lets and local communities

Domestic Abuse Offences

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