Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2024 to Question 25469 on Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, how many recipients there are in each region of the UK.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of scheme members by region, as at July 2023, is as follows:
Name of Region | Number of members |
Channel Islands | 8 |
East Midlands | 29641 |
East of England | 490 |
Isle of Man | 4 |
London | 194 |
North East | 15917 |
North West | 4901 |
Scotland | 8269 |
South East | 1791 |
South West | 908 |
Wales | 13838 |
West Midlands | 9461 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 30510 |
A breakdown by region of former miners and dependants is not available.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21490 on Prosthetics, how many prosthetic limbs are produced by the 35 NHS commissioned prosthetic centres; whether the prostheses produced are of the highest market standard; who the NHS commissioned prosthetic centre providers are; and how many patients are waiting for prosthetic limbs from the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The prosthetic centres do not produce limbs. Limbs, and the components thereof, are supplied through the NHS Supply Chain, directly from the manufacturers. The NHS Supply Chain ensures that all regulatory quality assurance requirements are met.
National Health Service prosthetic providers do not hold a waiting list for the provision of limbs. Patients will be assessed and prescribed an appropriate limb, when clinically appropriate, following amputation. This will depend on the time required for the residual limb to heal to allow a prosthesis to be fitted, and will vary between patients. NHS England commissions 35 prosthetic centres, which are listed below:
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust;
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust;
- Sussex Community NHS Trust;
- North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust;
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust;
- South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust;
- University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust;
- Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust;
- Kent and Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust;
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust;
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Isle of Wight NHS Trust;
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
- Leicester Specialist Mobility Centre;
- Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust;
- Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust;
- St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust;
- Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust;
- Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust;
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust;
- Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust;
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust;
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Livewell Plymouth;
- Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust;
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust;
- Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; and
- The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of people who will financially benefit from the National Insurance reduction announced in the Spring Budget 2024 and (b) average (i) financial gain from that reduction and (ii) cumulative financial gain from reductions to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024, by region.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimated number of people who financially benefited from the National insurance reduction in the Autumn Statement and Spring Budget and the associated financial gain for an average employee on £35,404 can be seen in Table 1 below:
Table 1: gain for an average employee on £35,404 from reductions to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024
2024 to 2025 tax year impacts | Autumn Statement only | Spring Budget only | Cumulative Spring Budget and Autumn Statement |
Number of people who financially benefitted from the NICs reduction, 1000s | 29,300 | 29,500 | 29,500 |
Gain for average employee with mean employee salary of £35,404 | £457 | £457 | £913 |
The estimated average financial gain among those benefitting from both the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024 National insurance reduction, by region, can be seen in the Table 2 below:
Table 2: average financial gain and cumulative gain from reductions to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024, by region
2024 to 2025 tax year impacts by region | Number of gainers, 1000s | Average gain, Spring Budget only | Average cumulative gain, Autumn Statement and Spring Budget |
North East | 1,060 | £316 | £632 |
North West and Merseyside | 3,140 | £321 | £644 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 2,330 | £313 | £628 |
East Midlands | 2,110 | £322 | £645 |
West Midlands | 2,500 | £322 | £645 |
East of England | 2,830 | £360 | £720 |
London | 4,350 | £381 | £763 |
South East | 4,120 | £369 | £738 |
South West | 2,420 | £327 | £655 |
Northern Ireland | 807 | £308 | £618 |
Scotland | 2,430 | £338 | £677 |
Wales | 1,240 | £320 | £642 |
Total | 29,500 | £341 | £683 |
These are the modelled average impacts rather than the impacts for an average full time employee (on a given salary), for example the £900 gain previously published for the cumulative impacts.
The Autumn Statement 2023 National insurance reduction estimates are based upon the 2019 to 2020 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected in line with economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibilities November 2023 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
The Spring Budget 2024 National insurance reduction estimates and cumulative estimates of both policies are based upon the 2019 to 2020 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected in line with economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibilities March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of people who financially benefited from the National Insurance reduction announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and (b) average financial gain from that reduction.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimated number of people who financially benefited from the National insurance reduction in the Autumn Statement and Spring Budget and the associated financial gain for an average employee on £35,404 can be seen in Table 1 below:
Table 1: gain for an average employee on £35,404 from reductions to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024
2024 to 2025 tax year impacts | Autumn Statement only | Spring Budget only | Cumulative Spring Budget and Autumn Statement |
Number of people who financially benefitted from the NICs reduction, 1000s | 29,300 | 29,500 | 29,500 |
Gain for average employee with mean employee salary of £35,404 | £457 | £457 | £913 |
The estimated average financial gain among those benefitting from both the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024 National insurance reduction, by region, can be seen in the Table 2 below:
Table 2: average financial gain and cumulative gain from reductions to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024, by region
2024 to 2025 tax year impacts by region | Number of gainers, 1000s | Average gain, Spring Budget only | Average cumulative gain, Autumn Statement and Spring Budget |
North East | 1,060 | £316 | £632 |
North West and Merseyside | 3,140 | £321 | £644 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 2,330 | £313 | £628 |
East Midlands | 2,110 | £322 | £645 |
West Midlands | 2,500 | £322 | £645 |
East of England | 2,830 | £360 | £720 |
London | 4,350 | £381 | £763 |
South East | 4,120 | £369 | £738 |
South West | 2,420 | £327 | £655 |
Northern Ireland | 807 | £308 | £618 |
Scotland | 2,430 | £338 | £677 |
Wales | 1,240 | £320 | £642 |
Total | 29,500 | £341 | £683 |
These are the modelled average impacts rather than the impacts for an average full time employee (on a given salary), for example the £900 gain previously published for the cumulative impacts.
The Autumn Statement 2023 National insurance reduction estimates are based upon the 2019 to 2020 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected in line with economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibilities November 2023 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
The Spring Budget 2024 National insurance reduction estimates and cumulative estimates of both policies are based upon the 2019 to 2020 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected in line with economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibilities March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England (i) receive the basic state pension, (ii) receive pension credit and (iii) are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all pensioners receive their full entitlement to pension credit.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via DWP Stat-xplore. The figures below show the Pension Credit and Basic State Pension caseloads in each area:
| Pension Credit | Basic State Pension |
Coventry North East Constituency | 2,873 | 10,083 |
Coventry | 7,168 | 33,981 |
North West | 131,692 | 773,219 |
England | 1,160,826 | 7,190,718 |
The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.
We continue to promote Pension Credit through our national awareness campaign, which has been ongoing since April 2022 and has included advertising on national TV, newspapers, broadcast radio, on social media and via internet search engines as well as on screens in Post Offices and GP surgeries.
At the start of 2024 - as in previous years - the DWP wrote to over 11 million pensioners as part of the annual State Pension up-rating exercise. The accompanying leaflet included prominent messaging promoting Pension Credit using the 'call to action' messaging from the communication campaign, including how Pension Credit opens the door to other financial help such as housing costs, Council Tax and heating bills.
There is a strong indication that the campaign has had a positive impact. The latest available figures covering the 3 months to November 2023 show that there were over 28 thousand more households in receipt the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit than in May 2022.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce shoplifting in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12 months to December 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 46% in the year ending December 2023, showing that police are taking action.
We have recently taken significant steps nationally to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting, and these are being implemented in all police forces across England and Wales.
The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
We will bring forward legislative changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any licence period.
The Government’s plan builds on the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
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 recent estimate she has made of the number of people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who have unmet care needs; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure those care needs are met.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
We recognise that some people still experience challenges in accessing the care and support they need, when they need it. That is why ensuring that people find adult social care fair and accessible is one of the three main objectives of our 10-year reform vision for adult social care. To achieve this vision, we are supporting local authorities to address workforce pressures, drive improvements in their local area, and better streamline their assessment processes.
To support this, the Government has made available up to £8.6 billion in additional funding over the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, to support adult social care and discharge. This includes up to £1.5 billion of additional grant funding for adult social care for 2024/25, compared to 2023/24, alongside a 2% increase to the adult social care precept for local authorities with social care responsibilities, uptake of which will generate a further £609 million in 2024/25. In addition, the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, worth almost £2 billion over two years, is designed to support increased adult social care capacity, improve market sustainability, and enable local authorities to make improvements to adult social care services.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help simplify the rail ticketing system.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Plan for Rail proposes the biggest shake-up of rail in a generation. We have already made progress on fares and ticketing reforms, for example introducing flexible season tickets, expanding single leg pricing to most of London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) network and committing to Pay As You Go (PAYG) in urban areas across the country.
In February we announced that PAYG pilots in both Manchester and the West Midlands are due to be launched in 2025, expanding pay as you go to an additional 92 rail stations. We will also be extending contactless PAYG ticketing to 53 additional stations in the South East.
In addition, on 16 January this year, LNER began selling tickets for its two year long “Simpler Fares” pilot, for travel from 5 February. This pilot involves removing the old off-peak which led to some very quiet “peak” and very busy “off-peak” services, simplifying the fares and ticketing system to smooth out demand and reduce crowding, making travel more comfortable for passengers.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the take-up rate for breast cancer screening was in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Breast Screening Programme statistics are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support job creation schemes in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work and is committed to reducing economic inactivity. We want everyone who can work to be able to find a job, progress, and thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Department delivers comprehensive employment support including through face-to-face time with work coaches in our Jobcentres and via more intensive contracted employment programmes.
Our Employment Advisor team are working with employers to generate employment opportunities for all residents across Coventry. By working with local stakeholders such as Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Coventry City Council and WMCA, we are encouraging employers to think more widely in their workforce planning activity through devolution projects such as the Job Rotation Pilot and other local initiatives to help employers grow their businesses whilst recruiting through a more inclusive approach for example through Disability Confident.
Recent recruitment campaigns across the retail sector include B&M and Iceland. Particular focus is ongoing with the logistics sector including Halfords, Menzies, Co-op and Tesco.