Every parliamentary written question tabled by Wendy Morton this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,401–1,420 of 1,873 · this parliament
What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential impact of changes to disability benefits on the court appeals system.
DWP will work with the Ministry of Justice to prepare a Justice Impact Test to assess the impacts of proposed policy changes on the justice system.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the resignation of the Government in Serbia on stability in that region.
Following confirmation by Serbia's Parliament of Prime Minister Vucevic's resignation on 19 March, Serbia's government is operating in technical capacity pending either formation of a new government by 18 April, or potential elections thereafter. We look forward to working with the new government when it is formed. We continue to underline to Serbia's leaders the importance of playing a constructive role in regional stability, as I did most recently when I spoke to Foreign Minister Djuric on 27 March.
What her policy is on the continued payment of Personal Independence Payment while a decision to end the payment is subject to an appeal.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit. It is paid to help with the additional costs that arise from long term health conditions or disability where they impact on the activities set out in legislation. Claimants are assessed against the legislative criteria and a decision on entitlement is made by a DWP decision maker.In line with the legislative requirement, we continue to apply the latest decision on a PIP award until such time as a new decision is made. Payment of PIP after a claim has been disallowed, or payment at a rate higher than the latest decision, whilst an individual is waiting for an appeal hearing could lead to incorrect expenditure of public funds. If a subsequent first-tier tribunal makes a new decision to reinstate PIP or give a higher award, then the Department will backdate any payments due.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 35684 on Development Aid: Reviews, whether he has considered including hon. Members in additional consultations.
The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Parliamentarians will be included as part of any approach to further consultation.
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) fly-tipping and (b) uncollected rubbish on public health.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made an assessment of the potential impact of fly-tipping and uncollected rubbish on public health.During specific incidents, for instance with the Birmingham City Council, the UKHSA has provided standard guidance to the local authority on the public health risk associated with household waste. The UKHSA is also part of a multi-agency response Strategic Commissioning Group (SCG), and has contributed to a risk assessment concerning the potential health impacts of uncollected waste. The UKHSA will continue to provide advice and support to Birmingham City Council, as part of this SCG.The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency produce the Statutory guidance for Waste duty of care: code of practice, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-duty-of-care-code-of-practice/waste-duty-of-care-code-of-practiceGuidance for waste planning policy is published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste
Communities and Local Government, what steps is she taking to support mortgage providers in lending to commonhold tenure holders.
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 3 March 2025 (HCWS488) and 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing one-word Ofsted judgements on parental (a) engagement and (b) understanding.
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
How many new Full-Time Equivalent jobs in Ofsted are being created to support the transition to School Report Cards.
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that independent reviews are conducted after (a) kidnappings, (b) attacks and (c) other serious incidents involving aid workers.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office champions the Aid Worker Security Database which independently tracks incidents involving international and national aid workers including kidnapping, death and injury. The UK promotes the review of incidents causing harm to civilians, including aid workers, through its seats at multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council, as well as in partnership with the International Criminal Court and International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.Bilateral diplomatic engagement also supports independent review of incidents that harm aid workers. For example, the UK has pressed Israel to conclude the Military Advocate General's investigation into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals, in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on 1 April 2024. Our priority is to ensure lessons are learned which lead to lasting improvements in aid worker safety.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect humanitarian workers from (a) targeted attacks and (b) obstruction of aid in conflict zones.
The UK uses its seats at key multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council, its bilateral relationships, and its partnerships with humanitarian actors on the front line to encourage parties to consent to humanitarian relief operations, facilitate unimpeded access, and protect civilians including humanitarian aid workers.We provide direct investment to support the protective measures our partners require to work safely, the freedom to use different approaches such as cash transfers to increase access to aid and reduce risks, and flexible funding to enable our partners to strengthen their risk mitigation strategies when required.In May 2024, the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council resolution 2730. This resolution strongly condemned attacks and all forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, and intimidation, against humanitarian personnel and United Nations and associated personnel, their premises and assets.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help tackle the potential impact of poor behaviour from managing agents on leaseholders.
The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. Property agents must belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislation is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents. The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise them on how best to do it. However, they failed to respond to the recommendations set out in the working group’s 2019 Regulation of Property Agents: working group report which can be found on gov.uk here. Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future. As a result, we are looking again at the 2019 report. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government has made clear it intends to strengthen regulation of managing agents to drive up the standard of their service. As a minimum, this should include mandatory professional qualifications which set a new basic standard that managing agents will be required to meet. We will consult on this matter this year. We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 37161 on Resettlement: Chagossians, how much has been spent in the 2024-25 financial year; and how much has been budgeted for the 2025-26 financial year.
The Home Office is finalising potential claims for costs incurred in 2024/25 and will announce any updates regarding the funding at these costs in 2025/26 in the normal way in due course.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with international partners to support female humanitarian workers.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is taking steps with international partners to address the specific risks that female humanitarian workers face. We are investing in protective measures that our partners need to safely work, championing International Humanitarian Law, and using UK seats at key multilateral forums to raise awareness and promote accountability.The UK uses its seat at the United Nations (UN) to promote the meaningful participation and protection of women in crisis response and peacebuilding, counter reprisals against women peacebuilders and women's rights defenders and build protection against conflict related sexual violence, within UN Security Council country and thematic resolutions.These efforts contribute towards building a safer and more protective environment for female aid workers to carry out their work and help to facilitate safer access to humanitarian assistance, especially for women and girls.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to strengthen protections for leaseholders in the commonhold tenure.
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 3 March 2025 (HCWS488) and 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support humanitarian organisations in providing mental health support for workers who experience trauma in conflict zones.
We recognise the courage and commitment of those who take part in humanitarian operations and take their health and safety, including mental health and psychosocial well-being and safeguarding seriously.The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funding arrangements require partners to demonstrate sufficient capacity and capability to meet their obligations, including those relating to the physical and mental health of staff. This is tested through the FCDO's due diligence framework, which considers risks relevant to the programme in question.
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on business confidence in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Recent surveys from EY, PwC and Lloyds Bank show overall business and investor confidence is rising. The Government has taken significant steps to support rural businesses. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.
If she will make an estimate of the number of new police officers there will be in the West Midlands in the 2025-26 financial year.
The Government has committed to restore neighbourhood policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This includes putting thousands more police personnel on the beat in neighbourhood policing roles up and down the country. Every part of the country needs to benefit from this pledge, including West Midlands, who have been allocated £12,210,903 funding in 2025/26 to bolster their neighbourhood policing teams. £200 million of funding has been allocated to forces in England and Wales in 2025/26 to deliver the first steps of the increase towards 13,000 neighbourhood officers by the end of this Parliament. Our approach to delivery in 2025/26, which will be year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible, and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands. The Home Office will review and confirm delivery plans with forces, but the precise workforce mix is a local decision.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory cap on levels of migration.
This Government recognises and values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK.But under the previous Government, between 2019 and 2024, net migration almost quadrupled, heavily driven by a big increase in overseas recruitment.A properly controlled and managed immigration system, alongside strong border security, is one of the foundations in the Government’s Plan for Change.The work to restore order to our immigration system is already underway, and we will be setting out our approach to immigration in the upcoming Immigration White Paper which will be published in due course.
If she will make an estimate of the number of farmers which will be affected by upcoming changes to (a) Agriculture Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.
I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced UIN 29306 published on 5th February 2025 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-05/29306
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on business confidence in rural communities.
Recent surveys from EY, PwC and Lloyds Bank show overall business and investor confidence is rising. The Government has taken significant steps to support rural businesses. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.