Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people over the age of 50 receive adequate support through the Back to Work Plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government offers comprehensive support for eligible older jobseekers across the UK through the 50 Plus Choices Offer. This includes the provision of over 70 50plus Champions who play a key role in supporting delivery of a comprehensive package of support across the country.
The 2.5 billion Back to Work Plan, announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 includes measures to support all customers, including the over 50s, to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market.
Through this Plan, the Government is boosting four key programmes, NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support – to benefit up to 1.1 million people over the next five years and help those with mental or physical health conditions stay in or find work.
On 7 May, we announced that 15 areas across England will be piloting a new health support service as part of the Government’s plan to help people with health conditions back to work.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the level of paid carers leave on rates of economic activity.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
A new entitlement of up to a week of unpaid carer’s leave was introduced for employees from 6 April 2024. The published Impact Assessment (IA) contains a cost benefit analysis and full evaluation of the policy. We estimate there are 2.5 million people balancing employment and unpaid care, who could benefit from this new entitlement.
The IA commits to reviewing the effectiveness and rationale for the policy by seeking evidence from businesses and employees in 5 years. The IA was published during the passage of the Bill on https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3199/publications under the Impact Assessment tab.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits for (a) businesses and (b) workers of introducing paid carers leave.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
A new entitlement of up to a week of unpaid carer’s leave was introduced for employees from 6 April 2024. The published Impact Assessment (IA) contains a cost benefit analysis and full evaluation of the policy. We estimate there are 2.5 million people balancing employment and unpaid care, who could benefit from this new entitlement.
The IA commits to reviewing the effectiveness and rationale for the policy by seeking evidence from businesses and employees in 5 years. The IA was published during the passage of the Bill on https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3199/publications under the Impact Assessment tab.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking with international partners to (a) increase childhood immunisation rates, (b) make vaccine access more equitable and (c) support Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has committed £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000, during which time Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, saving over 17 million lives. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are working with countries to build stronger primary health care systems as a core part of restoring immunisation services.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to lay the Windsor Framework (Non-Commercial Movement of Pet Animals) Regulations before Parliament.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is continuing to take forward work on the arrangements for the movement of pet animals under the Windsor Framework and will set out further detail in due course.