Every parliamentary written question tabled by Helen Maguire this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,001–1,020 of 1,125 · this parliament
Whether her Department has considered removing the exemption for both parties being within the dwelling in section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1988.
The Government regularly reviews legislation to ensure it safeguards the public and adequately reflects challenges that are likely to be faced today. Where we identify gaps in the legislation, we will seek to address them.
What steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services for people in wheelchairs.
The Government’s ambition is to make sure that everyone who needs a dentist can get one, and we are tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and by recruiting new dentists to areas that need them most. Community dental services are available to people whose additional needs may mean they are not able to be treated at high street dental practices. Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contentsThe NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. Dental practices are businesses and are therefore able to decide how they operate, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations.Integrated care boards are responsible for undertaking special care oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of oral health need, to inform local commissioning intentions, and to determine the local priorities for investment.
What steps his Department is taking to improve accessibility to NHS dental services for disabled users without access to transport.
The Government’s ambition is to make sure that everyone who needs a dentist can get one, and we are tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and by recruiting new dentists to areas that need them most. Community dental services are available to people whose additional needs may mean they are not able to be treated at high street dental practices. Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contentsThe NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. Dental practices are businesses and are therefore able to decide how they operate, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations.Integrated care boards are responsible for undertaking special care oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of oral health need, to inform local commissioning intentions, and to determine the local priorities for investment.
What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the (a) two-child cap and (b) benefit cap for families in receipt of Universal Credit.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty, including considering social security reforms, before publishing a strategy that will deliver lasting change.
What measures her Department is taking to protect people living in the UK against (a) harassment (b) abuse (c) intimidation and (d) other forms of harm carried out by other states engaged in transnational repression in the UK.
The first duty of the Government is to keep the country safe and we are committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated.We have a broad suite of powers available to counter transnational repression, and we continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts. On 4 March, I announced a new package of training for frontline police officers and staff to increase their understanding of foreign state threats. This training will improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate incidents which may be state-directed.The Defending Democracy Taskforce is reviewing the UK’s existing response to transnational repression to ensure it is robust and joined across government and law enforcement. In the interim, anyone who thinks they might be at risk should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle nursery staff recruitment and retention shortages.
The government is committed to giving children the best start in life and has set the ambition through the government’s Plan for Change for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. The department will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage by 2028. A high quality and sufficient workforce is fundamental to this.The department is supporting early years providers to attract talented staff by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Our national recruitment campaign is encouraging the public to ‘Do something Big’ and start a career working with small children. A dedicated campaign website is also helping people find out more about gaining qualifications and search existing job vacancies. We are also piloting whether £1,000 financial incentives may boost recruitment and running Skills Bootcamps for early years which can lead to accelerated apprenticeships.The department recently announced the experience-based route, which enables early years providers to maximise the potential of staff who have the right skills and experience but do not hold an approved qualification. We have also taken steps to increase the graduate workforce via the early years teacher degree apprenticeship, providing a new undergraduate route to gaining early years teacher status.
What steps her Department is taking to help close the education attainment gap.
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. However, this government knows that too many children and young people face barriers to learning. This is not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break the unfair link between background and success, helping all children achieve and thrive.High and rising standards across education are at the heart of this mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for children and young people. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum and a system that removes barriers to learning, all of which will be underpinned by strong and clear accountability.The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers.The department has also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system for all schools.Recognising the importance of supporting children’s attendance and attainment, the government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary-aged children.The pupil premium grant also provides funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Pupil premium funding will rise to over £3 billion in 2025/26, an increase of almost 5% from 2024/25.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a legal right to consular assistance for British nationals.
The Government is committed to strengthening consular services, including the introduction of a right in cases of human rights violations. Ministers are currently considering options to achieve this, which we will announce in due course.
What steps her Department is taking to safeguard students from (a) Hong Kong, (b) Tibet, (c) Taiwan and (d) Xinjiang, who are persecuted by the Chinese authorities on UK campuses.
The first duty of the government is to keep the country safe and this government is committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. The government takes protection of individuals' rights, freedoms and safety very seriously, and any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station or 999 in emergencies. As autonomous institutions, the department also expects universities to have robust processes in place to prevent and tackle incidents of harassment and abuse on campuses.The department is taking specific steps to ensure our world-leading universities remain free from foreign interference. This includes the implementation of the new complaints scheme in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will offer a focussed route for concerns, including relating to foreign interference in academic freedom and free speech, to be escalated. The government is also working at pace on the implementation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which will require registration of foreign directed activity involving specific governments and entities where it is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the UK. The department expects the scheme to commence summer this year.The department continues to work closely with the sector to increase their understanding of the risks and their ability to respond. We are conducting an internal review, informed by engagement with the regulator, sector, academics impacted by foreign interference, as well as international partners, to assess existing approaches to managing the risk of foreign interference and what more support they might need.
(a) what percentage of NHS dental appointments for people with disabilities were (i) missed, (ii) cancelled and (iii) delayed in the year 2024 and (b) if he will provide comparative figures for the same year on these metrics for non-disabled people that used NHS dental services.
Data is not held on the percentage of National Health Service dental appointments that were missed, cancelled or delayed. The Government recognises that certain groups of patients such as people with disabilities may find it difficult to access dental care. We are committed to ensuring NHS dental services are available to all who need them.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS community dental services for people with disabilities.
We are committed to ensuring National Health Service dental services are available to all who need them. The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on community dental services (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS. NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for undertaking special care oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of oral health need, to inform local commissioning intentions, and determine the local priorities for investment.On 5 October 2024, NHS England announced a new dental check-up service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The dental check-ups will be offered to all special residential schools and colleges across England from next year and will reach around 18,000 children and young people. More information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/10/nhs-rolls-out-free-eyesight-hearing-and-dental-checks-for-children-at-residential-special-schools/
What steps his Department is taking to improve access to specialist NHS dental services for people with disabilities.
We are committed to ensuring National Health Service dental services are available to all who need them. The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on community dental services (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS. NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for undertaking special care oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of oral health need, to inform local commissioning intentions, and determine the local priorities for investment.On 5 October 2024, NHS England announced a new dental check-up service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The dental check-ups will be offered to all special residential schools and colleges across England from next year and will reach around 18,000 children and young people. More information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/10/nhs-rolls-out-free-eyesight-hearing-and-dental-checks-for-children-at-residential-special-schools/
What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that fuel poverty interventions are (a) sufficient and (b) well targeted.
The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. The Government's review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy reveals progress towards the statutory target has stalled. A new strategy is required, with a consultation open until 4 April.
How many and what proportion of households are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of the Warm Homes Discount in Epsom and Ewell constituency.
The latest published Warm Home Discount statistics are for 2023/4 and use the constituency boundaries operating prior to the 2024 General Election. Most (87%) of the residential premises in Epsom and Ewell constituency come from Epsom and Ewell constituency under the previous boundaries, in which 2,369 households received the Warm Home Discount rebate in 2023-24. The statistics only cover receipt of the Warm Home Discount and not eligibility.
What steps her Department is taking to (a) improve response times and (b) ensure mandatory reconsiderations are adequately assessed.
Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. MR offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim. In law there is no time limit within which a MR decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not on the speed of response. Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the Decision Maker believes more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, they must give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct. However, for PIP we are recruiting MR decision makers and making overtime available to increase productivity. We have a multi-tiered Quality Assurance Framework to ensure MR decisions are legal and payments are accurate, and Decision Makers receive thorough training on all aspects of decision-making.
What discussions he has had with NICE on expanding the list of weight-related comorbidities on their tirzepatide guidance to include polycystic ovarian syndrome.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published technology appraisal guidance that recommends tirzepatide to treat obesity, alongside a reduced calorie-diet and increased physical activity, in adults with a body mass index of 35 or over and at least one weight-related comorbidity.The NICE’s recommendation itself, once fully implemented, does not specify the weight-related comorbidity needed to be eligible. Under the recommendation, if polycystic ovarian syndrome is considered to be weight-related for an individual, they would be eligible if they met the other criteria in the recommendation.NHS England submitted a funding variation request, on behalf of National Health Service providers and integrated care boards, to extend the time needed to comply with the recommendations. NHS England will now publish an interim commissioning policy outlining how patient cohorts should be prioritised and the service models that are recommended during the initial three-year implementation period. During this time, evidence will be generated, which will inform a NICE re-evaluation of the remaining roll out period to the wider group of eligible patients.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of pension entitlements for Armed Forces reservists.
Reserves enable our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, by providing the scale, skills, agility and connection to society needed, in a cost-effective way. Defence believes that the pension and salary offered to today’s Reservists represents fair and competitive remuneration. A pension has been part of the offer to all Reservists since 2015 who are enrolled in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15). This is the same scheme in which Regular members of the Armed Forces are enrolled. AFPS 15 is a non-contributory scheme and is calculated according to average earnings over a Service person’s career. All Armed Forces salaries up to 1* rank, including those for Reservists, are reviewed by the independent Armed Forces Pay Review body (AFPRB). On 29 July 2024, the Government accepted the AFPRB’s recommendations in full for the 2024/25 Pay Round, which was paid in September salaries, backdated to 1 April 2024. Most personnel up to and including 1* rank received an overall 6% increase. This was the largest headline percentage uplift in 22 years for our Armed Forces.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the salary level for Armed Forces reservists.
Reserves enable our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, by providing the scale, skills, agility and connection to society needed, in a cost-effective way. Defence believes that the pension and salary offered to today’s Reservists represents fair and competitive remuneration. A pension has been part of the offer to all Reservists since 2015 who are enrolled in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15). This is the same scheme in which Regular members of the Armed Forces are enrolled. AFPS 15 is a non-contributory scheme and is calculated according to average earnings over a Service person’s career. All Armed Forces salaries up to 1* rank, including those for Reservists, are reviewed by the independent Armed Forces Pay Review body (AFPRB). On 29 July 2024, the Government accepted the AFPRB’s recommendations in full for the 2024/25 Pay Round, which was paid in September salaries, backdated to 1 April 2024. Most personnel up to and including 1* rank received an overall 6% increase. This was the largest headline percentage uplift in 22 years for our Armed Forces.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the cost of living on future levels of disposable household income.
The Government’s Plan for Change outlines our goals to raise living standards across the UK and ensure that working people have more money in their pockets. Specific actions already taken by the Government include increasing to the National Living Wage from April 2025; extending the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales in 2025-26; and introduction of a new Fair Repayment Rate from April 2025 to cap debt repayments made through Universal Credit. In the OBR’s October 2024 forecast, living standards, as measured by Real Household Disposable Income per capita, were forecast to rise by an annual average of 0.5% over the course of this parliament (Q2 2024 – Q2 2029).
When his Department will publish the 2024 update to Parliament on the United Kingdom’s future nuclear deterrent.
The scheduled annual update to Parliament on the United Kingdom’s future nuclear deterrent is undergoing final clearance procedures and will be published in due course.