Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15845, if she will issue guidance to (a) students granted leave under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme and (b) education providers on the (i) intended residency and (ii) status of students on the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme set to open in early 2025; and what the status of those people will be after the closure of that scheme.
Answered by Robert Halfon
I am pleased to confirm that the department will be making changes to the student finance regulations following the recent announcement on the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. These will ensure that, from the 2024/25 academic year, students who are granted leave under this scheme will be able to access Higher Education (HE) student support, home fee status, Advanced Learner Loans and Further Education 19+ funding on the same basis as persons with leave under one of the existing Ukraine schemes.
Persons granted leave under this Scheme will continue to be eligible for student support and home fee status for as long as they continue to be granted further leave to remain in the UK.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether residents under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme will be considered Home Students for the purposes of university and college fees and student finance.
Answered by Robert Halfon
I am pleased to confirm that the department will be making changes to the student finance regulations following the recent announcement on the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. These will ensure that, from the 2024/25 academic year, students who are granted leave under this scheme will be able to access Higher Education (HE) student support, home fee status, Advanced Learner Loans and Further Education 19+ funding on the same basis as persons with leave under one of the existing Ukraine schemes.
Persons granted leave under this Scheme will continue to be eligible for student support and home fee status for as long as they continue to be granted further leave to remain in the UK.
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, if he will make it his policy to (a) collect and (b) publish management information on the number of people who have (i) had changes to their National Insurance record and (ii) are waiting to have their state pension calculation updated.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not publish this information as changes to a citizen’s National Insurance Record forms part of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) function. When DWP receives notification from HMRC of a change in a citizen’s National Insurance record, DWP reviews the State Pension claim accordingly.
The vast majority of changes to a citizen’s National Insurance Record are processed by DWP within days. However, more complex cases requiring specialist caseworkers can take longer to resolve.
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, if she will make it her policy to include protections for (a) public health and safety, (b) environment, (c) public morals and (d) cultural diversity in future trade deals.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The criteria listed are protected in UK FTAs by provisions in the General Exceptions chapter, most notably via the incorporation of GATT XX and GATS XIV and environmental clarifications related to them. These exceptions protect domestic policy space and allow the UK to introduce and maintain measures necessary to govern; for example, in order to protect public morals or protect human, animal or plant life and health. These Exceptions are included in all of the UK’s existing free trade agreements and will continue to be included in all future deals.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of automating data-sharing between his Department's Disability Service Centre and its Universal Credit section.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is always looking to make improvements to the design of the service and continues to review the way in which processes can be further automated.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the document entitled Afghan homelessness management information: 1 July 2023 to 31 August 2023, published on 19 September 2023, what data his Department has collected from local authorities since that publication; if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities provide that data at regular intervals; and when he plans to publish an update to that publication.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities continues to monitor homelessness amongst Afghan nationals previously housed in bridging accommodation, working closely to support local authorities in England so they are able to carry out their duties. As housing is devolved, the Devolved Administrations are responsible for working with councils to monitor homelessness for Afghan households in Wales or Scotland.
The vast majority of Afghans who were in bridging hotels have been supported to move into settled accommodation.
We will continue to support Afghans into settled housing, including through the Local Authority Housing Fund which helps to house Ukrainian and Afghan families in England.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made a recent assessment of levels of homelessness among Afghan nationals previously housed in bridging accommodation in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities continues to monitor homelessness amongst Afghan nationals previously housed in bridging accommodation, working closely to support local authorities in England so they are able to carry out their duties. As housing is devolved, the Devolved Administrations are responsible for working with councils to monitor homelessness for Afghan households in Wales or Scotland.
The vast majority of Afghans who were in bridging hotels have been supported to move into settled accommodation.
We will continue to support Afghans into settled housing, including through the Local Authority Housing Fund which helps to house Ukrainian and Afghan families in England.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Committee has had recent discussions with the Electoral Commission on the independence of the Commission.
Answered by Cat Smith
The Committee has had recent discussions with the Commission on this issue. The Commission regularly discusses its independence and accountability arrangements, which underpin public confidence in its work and decisions, during its regular meetings with the Committee.
The Commission and the Committee have both noted concerns about the introduction of a Strategy and Policy Statement, including its inconsistency with the role that an independent electoral commission plays in a democratic system.
However, now that a statement has been passed by the UK parliament, the Commission will meet its legal duty to have regard to it. It will continue to act independently and impartially to help maintain public confidence in elections and political finance regulation.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer on 1 February 2024 to Question 11651 on Minimum Wage, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the recommendations relating to minimum wage for early years and elder care in the University of Manchester report entitled Working Futures, published in October 2023.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no current plans to make an assessment of the recommendations in the Working Futures report.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the overpayment of tax credits in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates for the overpayments of tax credits in financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 are not available. The latest statistics on the overpayments of tax credits on a financial year basis are for 2021-22 and are published here: Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: supplement on payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Statistics for 2022-23 are due to be published by HMRC in September 2024.