Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of barring non-compliant developers from being awarded public sector contracts until cladding issues from past projects are resolved.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Major developers have already signed a Developer Remediation Contract with government, under which they are obligated to fix or pay to fix the buildings for which they are responsible. Developers who fail to comply with their contractual obligations face significant consequences, including in many cases prohibitions that would be imposed on the developer if it fails to comply with the requirements of the statutory Responsible Actos Scheme. Those prohibitions would prevent a developer from carrying out major development and from gaining building control sign-off in England, subject to limited exceptions.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) private companies that own electrical infrastructure that delivers public services on using existing (i) electric infrastructure and (ii) lamp posts to create additional EV charging points.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to enable decarbonisation and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment. In the current distribution price control, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront investment in low voltage networks, including £3.1bn for network upgrades to support low-carbon technologies, including infrastructure to support EV charging.
The Government regularly engages with the electricity network companies, which are responsible for maintaining and upgrading electrical infrastructure.
The Government also meets regularly with chargepoint operators and local authorities that plan and deliver on-street chargepoints. The £381m LEVI Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. This includes lamp post chargepoints.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to increase registration fees for social workers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Social Work England (SWE) is responsible for setting the level of the registration fee for social workers. Before determining the level of any fee, including any change, SWE must both consult publicly and gain the approval of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Further information is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/16/part/2/enacted#section-36-4.
SWE’s public consultation runs until 13 May 2025 and is available at: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/public-consultation-on-changes-to-our-fees-is-now-open/.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) businesses and (b) suppliers in the (i) building and (ii) crafts sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including careful consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.
We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing to a one-off relief package within the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to support (a) churches and (b) cathedrals in areas with lower economic activity.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport funds listed places of worship through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This is as generous as we are able to be within existing resources. We have no plans to set up a new grant scheme or package of support.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to require profitable companies to increase pre-1997 occupational pensions in line with inflation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Members of defined benefit pension schemes with non-indexed pre-1997 pension accrued, are now understandably concerned at seeing inflation erode the value of their retirement income. The Government’s recently announced reforms on the use of surpluses in defined benefit schemes will make it easier for individual schemes to make decisions that improve outcomes for both sponsoring employers and members, which could include discretionary benefit increases.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure off-payroll working rules support (a) entrepreneurs and (b) small business growth.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The off-payroll working rules, also known as IR35, are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees, but through their own company, pay broadly the same income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) as those who are directly employed. They do not apply to the genuinely self-employed.On 27 February 2025, HMRC published updated analysis on the impacts of the 2021 off-payroll working rules reform in the private and voluntary sectors. It can be found here: Update to the impacts of the 2021 off-payroll working rules reform in the private and voluntary sectors - GOV.UK
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to extend free bus passes for over 60s across England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as lowering the age of eligibility, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations such as lowering the age of eligibility. Additional local concessions are provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.
The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Surrey County Council has been allocated £12 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of treatment of trans patients in primary care; and whether those patients receive adequate treatment for biological health needs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that all patients, including transgender patients, feel comfortable and confident in accessing primary care services.
The Government is committed to ensuring that transgender patients receive the care and support they need when accessing National Health Services. This includes where care is sex specific, such as the Cervical Screening Management System launched in June 2024, which will allow people to register their sex at birth as well as their gender identity, which should allow for better call/recall for transgender and non-binary people who have a cervix.
In line with the recommendations of the Cass Review, NHS England is currently undertaking a review of adult gender services. The review will examine the model of care and operating procedures of each service, with the aim of producing an updated service specification.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to increase access to audio-based learning resources in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department respects the autonomy of teachers in terms of what resources they choose to use or recommend to their individual pupils, based on individual need in their own educational context and circumstances.