Every parliamentary written question tabled by Nadia Whittome this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 281–300 of 303 · this parliament
What steps she is taking to increase the availability of electric vehicle charge points for people who do not have off street parking.
The Government is committed to making EV charging infrastructure more affordable and accessible, particularly for those without off-street parking. The Local EV Infrastructure Fund is supporting local authorities in England to install tens of thousands of...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of (a) trainee pilots accessing one standardised training course and (b) allowing new pilots to use their UK licence in EU countries without under
No assessment has been made as to the standardisation of training, as the training that an individual receives is dependent upon which licence they are seeking - such as a Private Pilots Licence (PPL) or Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL). The competencies r...
Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to increase funding for arts and culture in the Nottingham East constituency.
We are in the early stages of the new Government and we are considering the full range of policy options to support the arts and creative industries, and help the cultural sectors to thrive.This government is committed to supporting culture, and making su...
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people who are (a) under pension age and (b) terminally ill to access their state pension.
The principle of having a State Pension age that is the same for everybody has the merit of simplicity and clarity and provides an important trigger moment for planning purposes. Unlike some Private Pensions, it has always been the case that nobody can cl...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing people who are terminally ill to withdraw funds from private pensions.
If you have a private or workplace pension, you may be able to begin taking an income and/or lump sums from your pension at any age due to ill health. This provision is dependent on the rules of the scheme and is a matter for individual schemes and may va...
Whether she is taking steps to increase access to resettlement to the UK for Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries who are at risk and cannot return to Sudan.
Over 300 Sudanese nationals have been resettled in the UK through our refugee resettlement schemes.The UK resettlement schemes are not application based; instead, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refers individuals for resettlemen...
Whether his Department is taking steps to audit NHS supply chains to ensure that no medical (a) garments and (b) equipment are sourced from (i) Xinjiang and (ii) other regions with widespread repor
The United Kingdom is committed to tackling the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains, and is taking robust action. We have introduced new guidance on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang specifically in section 6.2 of the guidance, enhanced e...
What steps she is taking to engage with LGBT+ people from minority (a) ethnic and (b) religious groups about the impact on them of (i) conversion practices, (ii) prejudice and (iii) abuse.
It is crucial that all LGBT+ people are safe and protected from discrimination, including those from ethnic minority and/or faith communities. Work is underway to deliver the Government’s Manifesto commitments that will enhance legislative protections for...
What recent progress his Department and NHS England have made on the Greener NHS initiative.
Significant progress has been made on the Greener NHS initiative, with the National Health Service taking important strides toward its target of achieving net zero by 2040 for direct emissions, and 2045 for indirect emissions. Key achievements include: su...
Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to implement the Online Safety Act 2023 to protect young people from (a) harmful content and (b) AI-deepfakes.
The government is focused on implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly as possible working with Ofcom. Ofcom has consulted on its draft Children’s Safety codes of practice which set out the steps companies must take to protect children on their platforms under the Online Safety Act. Ofcom will publish the finalised codes and guidance in Spring 2025 and the government will work to ensure these codes are in effect as soon as possible. Deepfakes and other forms of manipulated media are captured by the Online Safety Act where they constitute user generated content that is illegal content, or content which is harmful to children. Services that are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to protect children from harmful content and behaviour on their services, including AI-generated or enabled content.
If his Department will take steps to expand access to dementia training for adult social care workers
The adult social care workforce provides vital care and support to people of all ages and with diverse needs, including those with dementia. Care workers are essential to those who draw on care and support, helping them maintain their quality of life, independence, and connection to the things that matter to them.Enhancing skills for staff working in social care is of critical importance. As such, we will continue to develop the Care Workforce Pathway, the new national career structure for adult social care, and linked to this, a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification has already been developed and launched.We will develop a long-term plan for social care, with those working in social care being at the heart of our reforms. We will outline our further plans for workforce reform in due course.
What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation in the report entitled A Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care in England, published by Skills for Care's on 18 July 2024, that all social care workers should have dementia training aligned to the Dementia Training Standards Framework
National training, including the Department’s Care Workforce Pathway and new Level 2 Adult Care Certificate qualification, has been developed using current standards and competency frameworks to support people with dementia. This includes the Dementia Training Standards Framework.As we develop a long-term plan for social care, those working in social care will be at the heart of our reforms. We will outline further plans for social care workforce reform in due course.
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide funding for homelessness services following the end of the Rough Sleeping Initiative funding in April 2025.
The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the further education sector.
Further Education (FE) plays a critical role in delivering the Government’s Missions and ensuring that everyone has access to the opportunities they need, breaking down the barriers to their success and boosting economic growth. FE funding, including its adequacy, will be considered as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the retention of teachers in further education colleges.
The department is committed to supporting further education (FE) providers to recruit, retain and develop the high-quality teachers they need to deliver the best possible outcomes for their learners, including as a key part of our commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers across colleges and schools. To improve retention, the department is delivering Targeted Retention Incentive payments to eligible new and early career FE teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and priority technical subjects. The FE Workforce Data Collection, first published in 2023, will provide valuable year-on-year information on the FE Workforce, including demographic and pay data. In the long term, this valuable insight will allow the department to monitor trends in recruitment and retention and ensure that we are providing the best support to FE teachers and providers.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle barriers to (a) accommodation, (b) employment and (c) education for people on Ukraine scheme visas unable to (i) enter into contracts and (ii) start courses beyond their existing visa.
Ukrainians in the UK under the Ukraine schemes will be able to apply for permission to remain in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme due to open in early 2025. UPE will provide an additional 18 months’ permission, and will provide the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the existing schemes.The STEP-Ukraine programme continues to provide access to English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians. Ukrainians can access the Adult Education Offer through their Local Authorities (LAs) which provide ESOL classes. People on Ukraine scheme visas seeking to start educational courses which extend beyond their visas will likely be eligible for a further extension under UPE to complete the course.Local authorities continue to receive a tariff of £5,900 per Ukrainian arrival. This is un-ringfenced, which allows councils to use the funding to support households as best suits the local area, including measures to support access to accommodation and education.
What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people who have recently acquired refugee status do not experience homelessness after leaving asylum accommodation.
Individuals granted asylum have access to the labour market and to mainstream services that support their integration, including benefits and healthcare. We are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of all newly granted refugees.Migrant Help or their partner organisation support all individuals when they receive a decision on their asylum claim. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.We continue to work with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities (LAs). In our continued commitment to supporting LAs and statutory partners in planning for move on, we have shared enhanced data sets (The Place Based Visibility tool - PBVT) which we are continuing to develop further. The PBVT is complimented by the Discontinuation Prediction Tool (DPT) which is shared weekly; this data provides real time view of discontinuation notices likely to be served in the next following 4-6 weeks and the volume of people (including whether it is families, single males or single females) who may seek LA assistance following a positive decision. Where a decision is made on an individual's asylum claim, the Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) provider notifies the relevant local authority within 2 days of notification by the Home Office.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 454 on Asylum: LGBT+ People, when her Department last reviewed the level of the risk of (a) discrimination, (b) harassment and (c) violence towards LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in immigration detention centres.
The level of risk for LGBT+ individuals within immigration detention is subject to ongoing monitoring. As set out in Detention Services Order 02/2016 ‘Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Detainees in the Detention Estate’, Immigration Removal Centre suppliers undertake regular equality monitoring and trend analysis for residents with protected characteristics.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the exercise by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence of its discretionary power to show flexibility in relation to its (a) Standard Technology Appraisal and (b) Highly Specialised Technologies programme routing decisions in circumstances where there is (i) uncertainty on the incidence and prevalence of the disease and (ii) high unmet clinical need to ensure fair and equitable access to innovative new treatments for patients living with rare diseases.
The Department has regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of issues, including about the delivery of public commitments. The NICE will consult on proposed changes to its criteria for highly specialised technology appraisals in 2024/25.We have made no assessment of the extent to which the NICE has demonstrated flexibility in making decisions on whether new medicines should be routed to its highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. Decisions on whether topics should be routed to the HST programme are taken independently of the Department by the NICE’s Prioritisation Board, in line with the routing criteria set out in the NICE’s published prioritisation framework, and through engagement with experts and other interested parties. The board’s decisions are published on the NICE’s website.This Government is aware of the challenges facing those living with rare diseases, including access to specialist care, treatment, and medicines. The NICE is actively monitoring the impact of the changes that it made to its methods and processes in 2022 on the availability of medicines for rare diseases, and is planning to publish a report by the end of 2024.
What discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on implementing the commitment in the England Rare Disease Action Plan 2024 to review the criteria for determining whether a medicine should be routed to its Highly Specialised Technologies programme.
The Department has regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of issues, including about the delivery of public commitments. The NICE will consult on proposed changes to its criteria for highly specialised technology appraisals in 2024/25.We have made no assessment of the extent to which the NICE has demonstrated flexibility in making decisions on whether new medicines should be routed to its highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. Decisions on whether topics should be routed to the HST programme are taken independently of the Department by the NICE’s Prioritisation Board, in line with the routing criteria set out in the NICE’s published prioritisation framework, and through engagement with experts and other interested parties. The board’s decisions are published on the NICE’s website.This Government is aware of the challenges facing those living with rare diseases, including access to specialist care, treatment, and medicines. The NICE is actively monitoring the impact of the changes that it made to its methods and processes in 2022 on the availability of medicines for rare diseases, and is planning to publish a report by the end of 2024.