Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will make an assessment of the adequacy of the terms and conditions of employment relating to (a) travel expenses and (b) other matters for security guards employed for hon. Members' constituency surgeries.
Answered by Charles Walker
The Parliamentary Security Department manages the contract for provision of security personnel at constituency surgeries. Assurance on satisfactory terms and conditions has been provided through the procurement process and ongoing regular contract meetings.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle staffing shortages in the hospice sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is seeking to address workforce shortages, particularly in community care, through the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP). The LTWP, published in 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to grow the NHS workforce and deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The LTWP aims to grow the number and proportion of NHS staff working in mental health, primary, and community care, and sets out an ambition to grow these roles 73% by 2036/37.
Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations which develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. The Government has provided £60 million in additional funding to deliver one-off payments to over 27,000 eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, including hospices, with contracts to deliver NHS services, and which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with trade unions on workers' needs in the context of the transition from oil and gas to renewable energy.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that adequate support is in place for jobseekers with (a) health conditions and (b) disabilities in the period between the end of referrals to the Work and Health Programme in Autumn 2024 and the start of Universal Support in 2025.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
When referrals to the Work and Health Programme (WHP) end in September and before Universal Support begins its rollout from Autumn 2024 there will still be services available for disabled people and those with health conditions who have employment support needs. These include Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme for disabled people and those with mild to moderate mental and physical health conditions.
It also includes, for example, the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme for people with drug and alcohol dependency and the Local Supported Employment (LSE) programme for people who are learning disabled, neurodivergent or Autistic as well as locally led employment support delivered through Jobcentres.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the support provided by Jobcentre Plus centres in County Durham.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are 10 Jobcentres within County Durham, all of which have teams who actively collaborate with a range of partners to support people into work and, help employers to fill vacancies.
The Jobcentres are working with partners such as Durham New College, Derwentside College, East Durham College, Durham County Council, Barclays, the NHS, Community Hubs, National Careers Service, and Mental Health Matters to provide a wraparound employment and skills offer for customers. This offer is designed to support customers and help them find work and, help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
We take a sector-based approach to recruitment and our Jobcentres have been working closely with employers to run Job Fairs for various sectors including manufacturing, Civil Service, hospitality, logistics, health care, construction, retail, security, adult social care and telecoms. As an example, Durham Jobcentre recently hosted a Care focussed event with employers including Care Academy, Embracing Care, HC One, Kelly Park and the NHS.
Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) offer advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and those with health conditions into work. the Embracing Employment and Healthcare trial is currently being piloted within Durham City Jobcentre. Employment and Healthcare Practitioners (EHPs) are co located within the Jobcentre working with customers who apply for Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit and who have declared a health condition or disability. EHP’s work with them to understand the impact their health condition has on their daily lives, identifying their individual barriers and support them in addressing those barriers.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of financial subsidies given to the creative industries over the past five years have employment conditions attached to them so that those working and seeking work in the creative industries do not need to rely on the benefits system.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No financial subsidies given to the creative industries over the past five years have had employment conditions attached to them.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 18351 on Universal Support: Veterans, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Universal Support programme in supporting veterans.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support is being delivered in two phases. Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) is being delivered across 42 local authority areas in England, and two areas in Wales providing support for up to 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and new support through the Work and Health Programme Pioneer for an additional 25,000 people across England and Wales. Veterans can access Pioneer support, and IPSPC if they have a disability or health condition.
Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024.
The next release of published statistics for the Work and Health Programme (WHP) is planned for 30 May 2024. This was announced in the latest Work and Health statistics release.
This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer, which is part of the first phase of Universal Support (US). Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
The Secretary of State has also committed to the publication of data for the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) provision as part of the first phase of US. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 18351 on Universal Support: Veterans, how many veterans used the Universal Support programme in 2022-23.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support is being delivered in two phases. Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) is being delivered across 42 local authority areas in England, and two areas in Wales providing support for up to 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and new support through the Work and Health Programme Pioneer for an additional 25,000 people across England and Wales. Veterans can access Pioneer support, and IPSPC if they have a disability or health condition.
Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024.
The next release of published statistics for the Work and Health Programme (WHP) is planned for 30 May 2024. This was announced in the latest Work and Health statistics release.
This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer, which is part of the first phase of Universal Support (US). Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
The Secretary of State has also committed to the publication of data for the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) provision as part of the first phase of US. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle modern slavery in the maritime industry.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While onboard for surveys and inspections, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspectors assess the working and living conditions for crew including, but not limited to, employment agreements, payment of wages and standards of accommodation. These inspections implement the standards of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No.188), that came into force in 2013 and 2019, respectively.
Inspectors also interview crew while they are onboard during merchant and fishing vessel inspections and surveys, offering a confidential space for concerns to be raised. If there is any evidence of modern slavery, the matter is followed up and information is also forwarded to HMRC or local police for further investigation, as needed.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to expand support available through Jobcentres in Southport constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The local Jobcentre team are collaborating with a range of partners to support people into work and help employers fill vacancies. In addition to hosting job fairs, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), and hosting employer Group Information Sessions, Southport Jobcentre is working with Sefton Council, local colleges, care & childcare providers, manufacturing, retail, education, agriculture, and hospitality companies, to provide an employment and skills offer to help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
Southport Jobcentre has been working closely with employers such as Sainsbury’s and McDonald’s to hosts SWAP’s for Southport residents to have direct access to live vacancies. The Jobcentre has also collaborated with Southport College to hosts job fairs to bring together national and local employers for job opportunities as well as providers to support customers with breaking down barriers to work. Additionally, the Jobcentre looks forward to supporting Southport’s future regeneration and exciting projects which includes the Southport Enterprise Arcade, the Garrick Theatre development and the Marine Lake Events Centre.
Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) offer advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work, alongside close working with Merseycare, The Peer Mentoring Service, Life Rooms, and Sefton Council. Southport Jobcentre colleagues also attend local events to highlight the support available, including Access to Work, Disability Confident and the Working Health Pioneer programme.