Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of (1) trading standards, (2) environmental health, and (3) food safety personnel in local authorities, and what plans they have to ensure sufficient numbers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data for local authority food inspectors on 31 March 2023 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the attached document. Local authorities report their resources by food hygiene and food standards as there are two separate returns.
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance with food safety and standards legislation for most food businesses. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has statutory duties to monitor and report on their performance in doing so. It does this by collecting data from local authorities. The most recent data from October 2023 survey found:
- Full Time Equivalent (FTE) allocated by local authorities to deliver food hygiene work is 1,616 with 1,464 occupied; and
- The allocated FTE for food standards is 432 with 384 occupied.
The FSA recently commissioned research to understand the challenges and opportunities to recruit and retain Local Authority Officers to deliver Official Food and Feed Controls. A copy of Local Authority Capacity and Capability: Executive Summary is attached.
The overall findings of the research are complex, and the FSA has started to address the areas they have direct influence over, for example by reviewing the qualifications and competence requirements for local authority food officers.
The FSA has started to collaborate with other government departments and relevant professional bodies to discuss the findings and work together to shape and influence potential solutions.
At the FSA board meeting on 13 December 2023, the board considered a paper on local authority performance where one of the recommendations is to write to Local Authority Chief Executives and section.151 Finance Officers to set out their concerns about resourcing and delivery, and to remind them of the statutory nature of official food controls when considering and setting the budget allocation for the next financial year. A copy of the paper is attached.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support disabled employees in his Department.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to require (a) his Department's assessors and (b) external assessment providers for personal independence payment applications to receive the same (i) initial training and (ii) continued professional development.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All health professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to physical and mental health conditions. As referred to in PQ6000, both Personal Independence Payment assessment providers (APs), Independent Assessment Services and Capita, are required to supply the department with a training plan. This must set out in detail, the manner in which their training programme, both initial training and refresher training/continuing professional development (CPD), will be delivered. The plan should be developed in co-operation with the department and will be subject to departmental approval.
APs must also evaluate the effectiveness of their training and CPD programmes. The format and timescales of the evaluation should be agreed with the department.
This year’s Health & Disability White Paper committed to developing the skills of HPs. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will take part in training to enable them to be matched to the functional impacts of specific health conditions.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 encourage people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness and disability into work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government delivers an extensive programme of initiatives to support disabled people and those with health conditions, including those with long-term sickness, to start, stay, and succeed in work.
These initiatives include: the Work and Health Programme, Access to Work grants, Disability Confident, a digital information service for employers, Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme, launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas to provide light touch work and health support, explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support, and establish an expert group to advise on a voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision.
Alongside this, the Health and Disability White Paper announced plans to abolish the WCA. This reform will ensure those who are able to can progress in or towards work, without the worry of being reassessed and losing their benefits, giving claimants confidence they will receive support, for as long as it is needed, regardless of whether they are working.
Ahead of the White Paper reform, we have announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) from 2025, that will continue to protect those with the most severe conditions while ensuring those that can work are supported in doing so. Alongside this, a new ‘Chance to Work Guarantee’, will effectively abolish the WCA for most existing claimants who have already been assessed and are not expected to look for or prepare for work. This will remove the fear of reassessments and give people the confidence to try work, while providing continuity of service for vulnerable claimants.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Employment boost for thousands of parents on Universal Credit, published on 25 October 2023, and the proposals announced in the Written Statement of 22 November 2023 on Work Capability Assessment Consultation, HCW64, whether his Department will take steps to support disabled single parents who have been deemed fit to work but are unable to work for 30 hours a week; and whether he has considered the potential merits of introducing accommodations for that group.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Disabled single parents in the Intensive Work Search conditionality group will continue to have their expected hours set at an appropriate level for their personal circumstances. The measures introduced on 25th October 2023 will ensure that lead carers of children aged 3-12 will be in a much better position to look for and prepare for work, increase their earnings and take full advantage of the increased childcare provision.
Work Coaches tailor the amount of hours any claimant is required to be available for work, search for work and undertake other work-related requirements to reflect the individual’s health condition, disability, caring responsibilities and wider circumstances.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity group have flowed off in each year since 2015.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide this would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 71 on Defence: Training, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's apprenticeship programme.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Over 95% of non-commissioned recruits into the Armed Forces are offered an apprenticeship in conjunction with their trade training, demonstrating that apprenticeships are entirely aligned with the requirements of the role. The Civil Service aligns their apprenticeship offer to the annual Strategic Workforce Plan and in collaboration with the Heads of Professions. Defence ensures its apprenticeships are suited to the needs of the business both now and in the future, and is actively involved in ‘Trailblazer’ groups which develop the Apprenticeship Standards to match our future needs.
The majority of the apprenticeships completed by Service personnel are currently delivered at Levels 2 (GCSE) and 3 (A-Level), but they are increasingly available at higher levels up to Level 6 (Honours degree). For Civilian personnel, there are over 100 apprenticeship standards being offered from Level 2 to Level 7 (Master’s degree) across a wide range of subject areas. These apprenticeships support an individual’s ‘through career’ personal and professional development and meets the demands of the future force through upskilling and reskilling, as well as contributing positively to Social Mobility.
Having recently been awarded Platinum status for the 5% Club, the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) effective Earn and Learn capacity and capability has been nationally recognised. Additionally, all three Armed Services were recognised at the Department for Education’s Top 10 Apprenticeship Employers’ awards (Army – first place; Royal Navy – third place and the Royal Air Force – seventh place). The average military achievement rate is over 80%, and the Civil Service at 56%, both above the national average. These metrics and achievements provide evidence that Defence’s apprenticeship programme is extremely effective.
All our programmes are subject to, and have been successful in, Ofsted Inspections, and the core Civil Service apprenticeship schemes are assured for quality by both the MOD and the Cabinet Office in order to ensure additional rigour. We recognise that in the Civil Service there is more work to do to ensure that completions are as good as they can be, and work is in progress to increase achievement rates.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's response to the Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors consultation, what estimate he has made of the proportion of consultation responses that were in favour of any of the proposals.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We carefully considered the Work Capability Assessment consultation responses and feedback from our public events and engagement. We received over 1,300 written responses, including from disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the organisations that represent and support them.
We do not have an estimate of the proportion that were in favour of any of the proposals.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the scorecard set out in the Autumn Statement document for the reform of the Work Capability Assessment descriptors takes into account the planned implementation of the Health and Disability White Paper for new claimants from 2026-27.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The impact of the planned reforms set out in the Health and Disability White Paper has not yet been scored by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Therefore, the impact of the changes to the Work Capability Assessment announced at Autumn Budget do not include the impact of the White Paper reforms.
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, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, whether he had discussions with (a) disabled people and (b) disabled people's organisations when finalising reforms to the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We published our response to the consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment criteria on 22 November. We engaged extensively throughout the consultation period, taking care to ensure the views of charities, groups and organisations that represent disabled people were considered. 14 public consultation events were held, both face-to-face across Great Britain, and virtually. We also engaged directly with clinical experts, employer groups and disability organisations across the country. We received over 1300 written responses from disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the organisations that represent and support them. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding about which changes to take forward.