Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of basing the energy cap for renewable energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has made no such assessment. The criteria around the setting of the energy price cap is a matter for Ofgem.
On Wednesday 27 August, Ofgem confirmed the Q4 price cap will be set at £1,755 per year for a typical dual fuel household paying by Direct Debit – an increase of £35 from the current price cap (£1,720). This would cost households an extra £2.93 a month for three months. We know that any price rise is a concern for families. Wholesale gas costs in the price cap are 77% above their levels in the year up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That is the fossil fuel penalty being paid by families, businesses and our economy.
That is why the only answer for Britain is this Government’s mission to get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and onto clean, homegrown power we control, to bring down bills for good.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to strengthen diplomatic relations with Morocco.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 1 June, the Foreign Secretary co-hosted the UK-Morocco Strategic Dialogue in Rabat, where he signed agreements on education, healthcare, infrastructure and trade. This signalled a step change in the relationship. The Foreign Secretary also endorsed Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara and committed UK support to the parties and UN to reach a mutually acceptable resolution. We are taking this work forward together and remain in frequent contact.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Ofwat on the performance of Thames Water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State meets with stakeholders regularly such as Ofwat to discuss a range of issues.
The Government will continue to work with water sector regulators to hold water companies to account on poor performance and drive improvements which benefit customers and the environment.
As part of our Plan for Change, we’ve delivered on our promise to put water companies under special measures through the introduction of The Water (Special Measures) Act which will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review NHS grading bands for phlebotomists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Phlebotomists are paid on the Agenda for Change pay scale which is underpinned by a job evaluation scheme. The scheme determines the appropriate pay band given the role requirements. Employers are responsible for correctly matching job roles to bands in line with the job evaluation scheme to ensure staff are paid correctly for the work they are asked to deliver.Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase political education in the curriculum in the context of lowering the voting age to 16.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which covers parliamentary democracy, the key elements of the constitution of the United Kingdom, the power of government and how citizens and Parliament hold it to account, including through the voting system.
Support for curriculum delivery is available through optional, free and adaptable resources from Oak National Academy (Oak). The resource package will be ready by this autumn; the resources will be here: https://www.thenational.academy/.
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review which seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that equips young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive in life and work.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of disability benefit claimants who are on a waiting list for NHS treatment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
o 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness
o the number claiming health related benefits with no requirement to work has increased by 800,000 since 2019/2020.
DWP and DHSC work closely, for example through the Joint Work and Health Directorate, to deliver better work outcomes and work experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. This includes working across the whole of the customer journey to help disabled people and people with long term health conditions who want to work to be in the best position possible to do so.
The Joint Work and Health Directorate is collaborating with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to improve the evidence on the relationship between health and labour market outcomes. The ONS plans to link NHS waiting times data (that they recently acquired access to) to Census, DWP Benefits and HMRC PAYE records to analyse the relationship between waiting time duration (for various health conditions and procedures) and labour market outcomes (such as employment status, gross pay and benefit receipt) in England. This may shed light on the role of extended waiting times witnessed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic on benefit receipt, including sickness related benefit receipt. Due to many dependencies and unknowns, ONS is not able to confirm when the analysis will be available.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the cycle of procurement for SMEs so that Government contracts are issued throughout the year.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts are issued throughout the year and not just at a specific time of the year. The Acquisition pipeline for the MOD was being published twice per year and indicated the anticipated date for publication of the tenders across the next 18+ months.
The Department currently publishes an 18 month forward look of our procurement pipeline but will move to continuous updates for the benefit of suppliers (including SMEs) registered on the Central Digital Platform.
Consideration of SMEs is a key element in the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy and, as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, we will reform the MOD procurement and acquisition processes to ensure we deliver the capabilities defence requires now and in the future.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help protect (a) disabled and (b) vulnerable people from people who seek to take over their homes for illegal activities.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the appalling harm caused by criminals who take over vulnerable people’s homes for illegal activities. This is why we are introducing a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ in the Crime and Policing Bill to target criminals who exploit vulnerable people to take over their homes for criminal purposes. The new offence will be supported by statutory guidance for police, as well as non-statutory guidance for other agencies, to provide information on how to identify, protect and support vulnerable people at risk of cuckooing.
It is a matter of deep regret that His Majesty’s Official Opposition chose to vote against these measures at the Third Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill on 18 June.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that patients receive written information before hysteroscopy and biopsy procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving women’s experiences of gynaecological procedures, such as hysteroscopies.
Women should be provided with information prior to their procedure so that they can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will include retail delivery drivers within the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to tackling retail crime. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Assaults against delivery drivers are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This includes those delivering goods to customers and other public-facing roles.