Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has set itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution, with a simplified, long-term funding settlement.
At Spring Budget, the government announced the trailblazer devolution deals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA), which included a commitment to introduce single funding settlements at the next Spending Review for these MCAs. At Autumn Statement, the Government published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMCA and WMCA, setting out how the single settlements will work.
The Government also announced an ambitious new ‘level 4’ of the devolution framework, including a single transport funding settlement for eligible institutions, and a ‘consolidated’ pot at the next multi-year SR covering two DLUHC investment themes – local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. Following successful delivery of the ‘consolidated’ pot, and learning from the trailblazers, Level 4 institutions will then become eligible to receive a single settlement from the subsequent multi-year Spending Review.
Details of major funding programmes, including those administered by local government or other local bodies, are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average waiting times for GP appointments in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the approximate length of time between appointments being booked and taking place is not held at constituency or city level. The following table shows the percentage of appointments taking place on the same day as booking and within two weeks of booking for England and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Midlands region in each of the last three years:
Appointments - 12 months from November to October | National - Percentage of appointments occuring on the same day of booking | ONS Midlands Region - Percentage of appointments occuring on the same day of booking | National - Appointments occuring within two weeks of booking | ONS Midlands Region - Appointments occuring within two weeks of booking |
November 2020 - October 2021 | 45.2% | 47.2% | 88.6% | 88.7% |
November 2021 - October 2022 | 43.8% | 45.8% | 85.1% | 85.3% |
November 2022 - October 2023 | 43.1% | 44.7% | 82.5% | 82.6% |
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria he applies when deciding whether to file an amicus brief to international court proceedings; what amicus briefs the Government has submitted to international courts in the last 12 months; and what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on the policies of the Israeli Government in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The process and rules around filing a submission or making some other form of intervention will depend upon the particular statute or rules of procedure of the international court in question. There will be many factors which determine whether HMG decides to become a party to a case, make submissions or intervene in some other manner. These will include both legal and policy considerations, including UK views on any relevant international law issues and wider diplomatic considerations, amongst others. Looking specifically at UK involvement at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the last twelve months, the UK: intervened in the Ukraine v Russia (Genocide Convention) and the Gambia v Myanmar (Genocide Convention) cases; submitted a statement to the Court in the Legal Consequences (Occupied Palestinian Territories) Advisory Opinion; and is a joint party, alongside several other states, in the Montreal Convention (PS 752) case against Iran. The UK also intervened in the request to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for an advisory opinion on climate change-related obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
FCDO Ministers frequently discuss a wide range of issues with their international counterparts. We cannot provide specific detail on those discussions.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Student Loan Company on the calculation formula used to determine overseas earnings thresholds for student loan repayments for English and Welsh students who live abroad or work for a foreign employer.
Answered by Robert Halfon - Minister of State (Education)
The repayment of student loans is governed by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). The regulations set out the calculation formula to determine overseas repayment thresholds for student loan repayments. A change in the calculation formula would require a legislative amendment.
Ahead of each financial year, in line with the regulations, the department calculates the updated repayment thresholds to apply for English borrowers residing outside of the UK, including those resident in the USA, and provides these to the Student Loan Company (SLC), who administer the loan accounts.
Student loan repayments are income contingent. To take account of differences in living costs in different countries, overseas repayment thresholds are determined by each country’s price level index (PLI) data, as published by the World Bank and updated annually. PLI data provides a measure of the differences in the general price levels of countries and, therefore, represents a relative cost of living between countries, enabling a fair threshold to be set.
Based on PLI data, countries are placed into different “bands” reflecting their cost of living relative to other countries and to the UK. As the relative cost of living in different countries varies over time, individual countries may move between bands following an annual threshold update. Where PLI data for a country is not available, the department may determine the applicable PLI value for that country by reference to a comparable country.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of demand for temporary accommodation on the finances of local authorities.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities deliver vital homelessness services, and we recognise that the increasing demand for temporary accommodation places pressures on councils. That is why, taking the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Local Government Finance Settlements together, we have increased the funding available to local government in England in real terms.
In addition, we are providing over £1 billion to councils over three years through the Homelessness Prevention Grant. Autumn Statement announced a further £120 miilion of UK wide funding to help councils address Ukraine and homelessness pressures in 2024/25, and we are increasing the Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents from April.
The Government has allocated £450 million across two years to a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund, which will help support Afghans on resettlement schemes and others in temporary housing need.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Minimum wage legislation prohibits unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a genuine recruitment process. An unpaid trial work period lasting a few hours may be reasonable and legal. This is because the main purpose would be to test the individual, and what is done would probably have little or no other value to the employer. However, an unpaid trial lasting more than one day is probably illegal in all but exceptional circumstances.
DBT does not hold information about the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in England, Wales and Scotland in each of the last five years.
If someone has undertaken an unpaid work trial and thinks they should have been paid NMW, they can call the ACAS helpline or make a complaint to HMRC.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Scottish and Welsh counterparts on banning the import and sale of fur since April 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations about a range of animal welfare topics. This includes our work to build the evidence base on the fur sector.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding was made available through the British Business Bank's National Security Strategic Investment Fund in each industrial sector in each year since its establishment.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of June 2023, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) has committed £220m to British Business Bank backed funds, of which £92m has been invested in 217 companies across twelve areas of interest. Private sector investors have invested £718m alongside NSSIF. The sectoral breakdown across the twelve areas of interest is as follows: Audio and Visual Processing £1.1m, Biorisk and Medtech £10.8m, Commercial Space, Platforms and Robotics £1.6m, Computational Behavioural Analysis £1.3m, Cyber Security £14.0m, Data Analytics and AI £28.6m, Financial Technologies £21.7m, Identity Technologies £6.8m, IOT and the Evolving Environment £1.0m, Novel Data Transport £0.1m, Quantum Technologies £2.1m, Sensors, Novel Materials and Power Sources £2.9m
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the timing of publishing arrangements for the 2024 intake of the Education Psychology Funded Training on the number of students applying for training.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. That is why the department is investing £21 million in training 400 more educational psychologists from September 2024. The department regularly reviews the data regarding applications to the course. This is a highly competitive training scheme, with a high volume of applications.
The department is not able to comment on plans to publish the details of the funding and arrangements for the September 2024 intake of the Educational Psychology Funded Training Scheme, as this is subject to a live procurement. An update will be provided as soon as possible.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the details of (a) funding and (b) arrangements for the September 2024 intake of the Education Psychology Funded Training scheme.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. That is why the department is investing £21 million in training 400 more educational psychologists from September 2024. The department regularly reviews the data regarding applications to the course. This is a highly competitive training scheme, with a high volume of applications.
The department is not able to comment on plans to publish the details of the funding and arrangements for the September 2024 intake of the Educational Psychology Funded Training Scheme, as this is subject to a live procurement. An update will be provided as soon as possible.