theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission a national inquiry into rape gangs. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to using every lever to ensure all children are protected from sexual exploitation and abuse across our communities and online, regardless of who is perpetrating that horrific abuse. We are committed to continuing to learn from past failings, providing support to victims and survivors, and ensuring across all sectors we all step up and take further responsibility for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

As part of this work, we continue to invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, which is giving practical, expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation. This is also supported by the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme, which is helping forces to uncover more of this offending. We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home-Office funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children's Society to tackle and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

And we are committed to taking swift action against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Home Secretary announced we will be bringing in mandatory reporting, making grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual abuse cases, and taking further action to crack down on child sexual abuse and exploitation online.

The Home Secretary also announced that we will set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making, alongside a dedicated inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse. IICSA made several recommendations on how to improve routes to support and compensation for victims and survivors, which the Government will be considering as part of this broader approach.

The Government will continue to support further inquiries where they may be needed, and which can expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. But we are clear that it is right that these take place at a localised level so that those are responsible for delivering services work to ensure lessons are learnt and that local partners are doing all they can to improve their response, and that these inquiries inform regional and national responses.

Furthermore, the Government's election manifesto included a commitment to introduce a 'Hillsborough Law', which the Prime Minister has committed to introduce by the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster (15th April 2025). This legislation will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Kevin McKenna:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce violence against women and girls; what funding is available to (a) local authorities and (b) policing agencies to reduce that violence; and what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the causes of that violence. \p Jess Phillips: This Government has set out the unprecedented ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. Achieving this requires a transformative approach to the way we work together across Government, public services, the private sector, and charities.

Following the spending review announcements in October, the Home Office and other departments across Government are deciding how their budgets are allocated to deliver the Government’s priorities in 2025/26. This includes working with the police to ensure justice is delivered for victims of VAWG.

On 28th November 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a funding increase of £30 million, meaning a total investment of £160 million in the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant in 2025/26. This will enable local authorities to invest in essential support for victims in safe accommodation. MHCLG published details of the provisional local government finance settlement for 2025-26 on 18th December 2024.

The Safer Streets Mission is the vehicle to drive delivery across Government to halve VAWG, halve knife crime, and restore confidence in the policing and justice system. All relevant departments will be responsible for achieving the government’s ambition to halve VAWG. Discussions with Cabinet colleagues are continuing to take place, including through a VAWG Ministerial Group.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to police forces advising them to offer independent return home interviews to adults who have been missing. \p Jess Phillips: Any missing person incident, especially when a person is vulnerable or has been missing previously, significantly increases the risk of harm occurring, and the Home Office continues to work with partners on the issue.

The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice (APP), issued by the College of Policing, sets out best practice guidance for all missing person investigations for police forces in England and Wales. This includes steps to be taken when a person returns from a missing incident and considerations regarding police prevention interviews and return interviews. More importantly, the APP offers advice on how information disclosed in a return interview should be fed into multi-agency safeguarding decisions. The APP for missing persons is publicly available on the College's website.

In addition to the APP, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Missing Persons has developed the 'Multi-agency response for adults missing from health and care settings' framework, which currently is being rolled out. The framework outlines good practice that can be adopted by local areas when setting up their own multi-agency protocols for the strategic and operational response to a missing person incident. The framework aims to ensure that the appropriate safeguarding partner responds in the best interest of the missing person and sets out how return conversations can improve safeguarding outcomes for vulnerable adults and prevent future incidents.

The Government recognises the need for an effective multi-agency response to missing person investigations. We will continue to work closely across Government Departments to achieve this aim.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help facilitate access to the UK for Palestinian family members of UK nationals in (a) Egypt and (b) Gaza. \p Seema Malhotra: Immediate family members of British citizens, and those settled in the UK, who wish to come and live in the UK and do not have a current UK visa can apply under one of the existing family visa routes. There are no plans to create a bespoke family reunion scheme at this stage.

Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

We will accept applications, which would normally have to be made in the country where the person is living, at any of the UK’s Visa Application Centres.

Visa Application Centres are open and operating in Egypt, in both Cairo and Alexandria, and Amman in Jordan. Application centres are also open and operating in Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.

The FCDO is also providing consular assistance to those with British nationality, or dual nationality including British, who are in Gaza or who have left Gaza to a third country. Dual national British-Palestinians are not required to make a visa application as they have the right of abode in the UK. Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people applying for visas in the West Bank. \p Seema Malhotra: Currently, anyone who wishes to come to the UK can do so via the existing range of routes available. The Visa Application Centre in Ramallah is open and operating as normal.

Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

We will accept applications, which would normally have to be made in the country where the person is living, at any of the UK’s Visa Application Centres.

Visa Application Centres are also available in the wider region in Egypt, in both Cairo and Alexandria, and Amman in Jordan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18824 on UK Border Force: Seasonal Workers, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to stand down the Border Force seasonal workforce on the operational capacity of Border Force. \p Seema Malhotra: Border Force’s seasonal workforce staff were recruited on fixed-term contracts to assist at the UK Border, covering shifts when operationally required, such as during peak periods of travel, and subject to their availability. These contracts utilised an authorised exception for short-term recruitment into the Civil Service.

Following an ongoing review of the recruitment process by the Civil Service Commission, Border Force has ceased to use these contracts and now recruits through a regular Civil Service recruitment process. All seasonal workforce staff on existing fixed-term contracts have been invited to apply through this recruitment process.

Our operational priority remains the protection of our border security, and this change will not affect the capacity of Border Force to deliver on that priority.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Emily Thornberry:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 12890 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Ministers' Private Offices, how much the Government Property Agency spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and its predecessor Departments between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items. \p Georgia Gould: The Government Property Agency confirmed £230,462.01* excluding VAT was spent during the period 4th July 2022 to 4th July 2024 on new furniture and fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves) This is broken down as follows:

New Furniture and Fittings - £215,030.73*

Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves - £15,431.28*

The full itemised list can be found below:

(a) new furniture and fittings

Covering the period from the creation of DESNZ, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024

Date Reference: 31/10/2023

What: New office furniture (desks, chairs, tables) as a result of the move from 1 Victoria Street to 55 Whitehall and the creation of DESNZ.

How Much: £141,781.00 ex VAT

Date Reference: 31/10/2023

What: Installation of Audio Visual (AV) Equipment

How Much: £73,249.73 ex VAT

Please note: the costs above were incurred as part of existing refurbishment and move taking place for DESNZ, and were not costs incurred from additional requests from Ministers.

*Additionally: Additional Changes in 55WH after the handover of the building included the request to swap the Ministerial Office with the Private Office. This was requested on 20/11/2023 and required the use of pre-existing furniture which required porterage, however, unfortunately the GPA has been unable to source the cost or exact details of what was ordered at this time by the deadline.

(b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices

Covering the period from the creation of DESNZ, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024:

Date Reference: 26/10/23 to 03/11/23

What: Relocation of Ministerial Team 1VS to 55WH

How Much: £10,362.28 ex VAT

Date Reference: 06/12/2023

What: Floorbox changes to ministerial and private office rooms. Please note that we are unable to proportionately split this cost between the minister’s room and the private offices.

How much: £5,069 ex VAT

During this period, DESNZ was originally part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which was dissolved on 7th February 2023 and split into DESNZ, DSIT and DBT. As a result of this, the former BEIS departments were moved out of 1 Victoria Street and into different buildings The GPA has no record of any ministerial furniture or refurbishment expenditure at the former BEIS office (1 Victoria Street) during the requested period.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Qs8 and 17 of the oral evidence given by the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee on 4 December 2024, HC 463, if he will list each of the 40 distinct groups within the Cabinet Office. \p Georgia Gould: As of December 2024, there were 37 established business units within the Cabinet Office. This number will change following recent Machinery of Government changes. .

CABINET OFFICE BUSINESS UNITS (as at 19 Dec 2024)

NO 10 AND DELIVERY GROUP

Prime Minister's Office

Mission Delivery Unit

SECRETARIATS, SECURITY AND PARLIAMENT

National Security Secretariat

Economic and Domestic Secretariat

Borders

Propriety and Constitution Group

Government in Parliament

Joint Intelligence Organisation

Government Security Function

UK Security Vetting

European Relations Secretariat

GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

Government Digital Service

Central Digital and Data Office

Government Communication Service

Government Commercial and Grants Function

Public Sector Fraud Authority

Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Office of Government Property

Government People Group

Government People Group - Government Recruitment Service

Public Sector Reform and Efficiency

CORPORATE SERVICES

CO Operating Officer Office

Office for Veterans' Affairs

CO People and Places

CO Strategy, Finance, and Performance

CO HMT Commercial

CO Digital

CO Strategy Directorate

INQUIRY RESPONSE

Public Inquiry Response Unit

Infected Blood Inquiry - Response Team

OFFICE FOR EQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY

Office for Equality and Opportunities

INDEPENDENT

Intelligence and Security Committee

Grenfell Inquiry

Infected Blood Inquiry

Covid Inquiry

Civil Service Commission

Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has changed the recipients by position entitled to pre-release access to reports since June 2024. \p Georgia Gould: The Minister for Cabinet Office has not made any changes to pre-release access to official statistics since 5 July 2024.
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John Glen:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question HL1343 on Prime Minister's Chief of Staff: Pay, what the annual salary amount that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury approved in the senior approvals pay process was. \p Georgia Gould: Salaries of special advisers of equivalent standing to the Senior Civil Service are published in the relevant year’s Annual Report on Special Advisers.
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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what circumstances people in receipt of a civil service pension who re-join the civil service are subject to abatement. \p Georgia Gould: The circumstances have not changed since the Rt Hon Gentleman was a Minister in the department, and can be found at https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/.
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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question HL835 on Government Departments: Remote Working, whether the Civil Service meets the requirement to attend the office or work face-to-face with colleagues at least 60% of the time. \p Georgia Gould: The Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) Occupancy statistics are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there is a Framework Agreement between his Department and the Senior Salaries Review Body. \p Georgia Gould: A Framework Agreement between the Cabinet Office and the Senior Salaries Review Body will be finalised in due course.
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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on non-contingent labour contracts. \p Georgia Gould: Departments are directed that Contingent labour contracts should only be used in government where better value alternatives are not available and that a justifiable need to use contingent labour has been identified as part of their workforce plans. Cabinet Office manages a spend control for contingent labour for which guidance is set out at gov.uk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Questions 10 to 12 of the oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 4 December 2024 on The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, whether his Department plans to publish a formal response to Lord Maude’s review on governance and accountability in the Civil Service. \p Georgia Gould: The Department will consider Lord Maude's recommendations as this government develops its strategic plan for a more efficient and effective civil service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish a prospectus to allow public bodies to bid for the Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund. \p Georgia Gould: The Test & Learns are a new way of working. The Cabinet office will be working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach to the allocation of the Innovation Fund in early 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17545 on Prime Minister: Public Appointments, if he will list the public appointments for which the Prime Minister is directly responsible; and when the term of office ends for each. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 11 December, Official Report, PQ 17545. The end dates of appointments are published alongside their announcement on gov.uk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether members of the Senior Salaries Review Body have made declarations of political activity. \p Georgia Gould: Political party activity is declared by all members of the Senior Salaries Review Body and is publicly available in the Pay Review Body members’ register of interests: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ome-review-body-members-register-of-interests
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Kirsty Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating socioeconomic background reporting for all employers with over 250 employees. \p Justin Madders: The Department has not undertaken any such assessment. Companies are already required to disclose employee matters and can choose to include socioeconomic aspects where relevant to their business. For example, all large companies in the UK must include information on employees as part of their Annual Report’s Section 172(1) Statement. This should detail how employees are consulted, and their views considered, in decision making, ensuring employees of all backgrounds feel involved in how the company is run. It is a matter of good practice to collect data on employee background that the company can choose to communicate its workforce inclusivity.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on introducing more flexible paternity leave. \p Justin Madders: The Government is committed to ensuring that employed parents receive the best possible support to balance their work and family responsibilities.

The Employment Rights Bill will increase the flexibility of Paternity Leave. This Bill will make Paternity Leave available from ‘day one’ in a new job and enable it to be taken after Shared Parental Leave.

We will also review the parental leave system to ensure that it supports working families. Planning work is already underway across Government, including with the Department of Work and Pensions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Digital Markets Unit can make effective market interventions. \p Justin Madders: On 1 January the pro-competition regime for digital markets entered into force. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will operate the regime, as the UK’s principal independent competition regulator.

The Government has designed and implemented the regime, which provides the CMA with powers to make effective interventions. These include powers to investigate and to impose remedies that are specifically designed for the markets and firms involved, as well as requirements to carry out in-depth investigations and consult relevant stakeholders before intervening. This tailored, participative and evidence-based approach will ensure that interventions are proportionate and effective.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage foreign direct investment. \p Sarah Jones: Investment is at the heart of the government’s growth mission, increasing the number of good, well-skilled jobs and improving productivity across the country. The Department for Business and Trade works with all investor-facing business units to deliver support for the highest-value, highest-impact FDI projects into the UK. DBT officials work on a daily basis with businesses of all sizes to ensure a close partnership between government and business, and to showcase the multitude of investment opportunities the UK has to offer.

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper (published 14 October) sets out a credible, 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in UK.

The government also hosted an international investment summit in October 2024 where nearly 38,000 jobs across the country were announced alongside a record-breaking £63 billion of investment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Peter Fortune:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Investigation into suspected anti-competitive conduct by Vifor Pharma in relation to intravenous iron treatments, published on 31 January 2024. \p Justin Madders: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK's independent competition authority, and its consultations, including the live consultation relating to commitments offered by Vifor Pharma (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposed-commitments-in-respect-of-vifor-pharmas-supply-of-intravenous-iron), are therefore independent of Government. Any questions relating to consultations carried out by the CMA should be sent directly to the CMA.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps to support small businesses in rural areas with international trade. \p Gareth Thomas: Under the umbrella of the recently announced Business Growth Service, UK businesses can access The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.

DBT is piloting an enhanced partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, taking a targeted place-based approach to accelerate small business growth through exporting across the region. This will be rolled out to other regions across England over the next 12 months.

We will bring forward further proposals next year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 2 October 2024 from the hon. Member for Twickenham on the reciprocity of aviation qualifications. \p Sarah Jones: A response was issued on 6 January.
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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many applications his Department received for the appointment to the Industrial Strategy Council; and how many and what proportion of those applications reached each stage of consideration for appointments. \p Sarah Jones: Appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council were made through direct ministerial appointment by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Council’s membership includes senior business leaders, policy experts and trade union representatives. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity and the Council will help to ensure our Industrial Strategy is informed by a broad and high-quality evidence base, and a diverse range of perspectives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether robotics will have a role in a future industrial strategy. \p Sarah Jones: The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors can shape and will benefit from policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations.

Advanced production machinery and robotics are central to increasing productivity across the manufacturing sector. The Made Smarter Adoption Programme is helping SME manufacturers adopt industrial digital technologies such as robotics and autonomous systems to increase their productivity and efficiency.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people who are out of work but not receiving employment support. \p Alison McGovern: As part of the biggest reforms in a generation, DWP will shift from being a department for welfare to being a department for work.

The Get Britain Working White Paper published in November set out plans to deliver fundamental reform of our health, employment and skills system, including:

The Get Britain Working White Paper can be found at Gov.uk. GBW White Paper.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the level of dependence on emergency food parcels. \p Alison McGovern: We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

On 30 July, the Secretary of State held a food poverty roundtable with key food poverty stakeholders to understand the key priorities in this area.

We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into food poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.

Additional steps include our plans to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers.

In addition, on 17th July, we announced our joint ministerial taskforce, jointly chaired Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, to begin work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life.

The Taskforce’s publication of 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ sets out how we are developing the Strategy, exploring all available levers across Government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty this parliament. This is part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change which will be published in the Spring.
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Mims Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many youth hubs led by her Department are still in place. \p Alison McGovern: Youth Hubs bring together employment support from a Jobcentre work coach alongside external partners on external-partner premises for up to six months. Wider support available from partners in the Hubs is place-based, but could include skills and training provision, mental health, budgeting, and housing support.

As of January 2025, there were 111 Youth Hubs fully opened across Great Britain with a further three in development.

Youth Hubs are based in external-partner-owned premises. Local DWP teams and external partners delivering Youth Hubs jointly discuss the ongoing need for the hubs in particular areas. These discussions take account of a range of factors, notably the number of young people claiming Universal Credit who are searching for employment in that local area, consequently, the number of operational Youth Hubs may fluctuate month by month.

The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper sets out this government’s plan to Get Britain Working and includes a new Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education led Youth Guarantee for all young people in England aged 18-21.

Our approach to the Youth Guarantee is to help all young people aged 18-21 in England to earn or learn. We will work in partnership with organisations at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include apprenticeships, work experience, training courses or employability programmes.

Work is underway on the design and delivery of the new Youth Guarantee. Starting in spring 2025, eight Mayoral Authorities in England will pilot the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These 12-month Trailblazers are an opportunity to develop the Youth Guarantee and test different interventions ahead of a national roll out. We will assess and incorporate our findings for future delivery and rollout of the Youth Guarantee across the rest of England, working with Mayoral Authorities and Local Authorities in our roll out plans.
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UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_52

Mims Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department's appointed menopause champion has made. \p Alison McGovern: The Government’s Menopause Employment Ambassador Mariella Frostrup has been working with policy officials to develop an action plan for her term of engagement. She has also spoken with government departments to promote and champion the role of women in the economy and is engaging with businesses in raising awareness and influencing workplace policies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_53

John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to publish research on the (a) Midlife MOT initiative and (b) digital Midlife MOT website. \p Alison McGovern: The Midlife MOT initiative consists of three key work strands: the Job Centre Plus (JCP) Midlife MOT, the Private Sector Midlife MOT and the Digital Midlife MOT.

The Private Sector Midlife MOT pilot programmes concluded at the end of June 2024. Findings from qualitative research, conducted in house by the Department for Work and Pensions, will be published in early 2025.

The evaluation for the Job Centre Plus Midlife MOT is not yet complete but is planned for publication during 2025. The Digital Midlife MOT Website evaluation will start in February 2025, and we plan to publish once complete.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_54

Mims Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on rolling out youth hubs. \p Alison McGovern: As of January 2025, there were 111 Youth Hubs fully opened across Great Britain with a further three in development.

Youth Hubs are based in external-partner-owned premises. Local DWP teams and external partners delivering Youth Hubs jointly discuss the ongoing need for the hubs in particular areas. These discussions take account of a range of factors, notably the number of young people claiming Universal Credit who are searching for employment in that local area, consequently, the number of operational Youth Hubs may fluctuate month by month.

The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper sets out this government’s plan to Get Britain Working and includes a new Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education led Youth Guarantee for all young people in England aged 18-21.

Our approach to the Youth Guarantee is to help all young people aged 18-21in England to earn or learn. We will work in partnership with organisations at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include apprenticeships, work experience, training courses or employability programmes.

Work is underway on the design and delivery of the new Youth Guarantee. Starting in spring 2025, eight Mayoral Authorities in England will pilot the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These 12-month Trailblazers are an opportunity to develop the Youth Guarantee and test different interventions ahead of a national roll out. We will assess and incorporate our findings for future delivery and rollout of the Youth Guarantee across the rest of England, working with Mayoral Authorities and Local Authorities in our roll out plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_55

Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the impact on economic growth of the measures announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. \p Alison McGovern: The trend of economic inactivity is a long-term challenge; the UK is the only country in the G7 with an inactivity rate higher than before the pandemic. Building a thriving labour market, reducing economic inactivity and increasing the number of people in work is central to growing the economy.

Fundamental reforms announced in the Get Britain Working white paper will help us achieve the bold, long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate, meaning over two million more people in work and the UK as one of the top performing labour markets in the OECD.

Backed by £240m of funding announced in the Budget, the White Paper sets out ambitious reform outlined in three interconnected parts:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_56

John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 16761 on Employers’ Contributions: Public Sector, what the assumed unit cost per (a) headcount and (b) FTE employee of the estimated increase in National Insurance contributions on employers in the public sector was for the estimate. \p Darren Jones: The Government plans to update Parliament on the allocations of support by department in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_57

John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 16761 on Employers’ Contributions: Public Sector, if she will publish the methodology used to draw up the estimates of support. \p Darren Jones: The Government plans to update Parliament on the allocations of support by department in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_58

John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10442 on Government departments: communication and public consultation, what non-essential spending in each Department has been stopped to deliver the £50 million of savings in (a) 2024-24 and (b) 2025-26. \p Darren Jones: To identify savings in Communications spending for 2024-25 and 2025-26, the UK Government conducted a comprehensive review of communications campaigns through the Spending Review. This review looked at the strategic logic, join-up, role for communications and value for money of each campaign. This led to 39 campaigns being cancelled, 46 continuing with reduced budgets and 46 aiming to reduce their expenditure by 25%.

As a result, Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed an £85 million saving from reducing unnecessary communications spend in 2024-25 and up to £96m in 2025-26 – exceeding the £50 million target set out in the Chancellor’s July 2024 Inheritance speech.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_59

Kenneth Stevenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of gross national income has been allocated to Official Development Assistance spending for the next three financial years; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of such spending in the last three years. \p Darren Jones: The Government remains committed to international development. This is why we allocated £13.7 billion to ODA in 2025/26 at Autumn Budget 2024. We will restore Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to the level of 0.7 percent of GNI as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact scrutinises all UK aid spending to ensure it is spent effectively, and all reports are available on their website. The Chancellor announced Phase 2 of the Spending Review at Autumn Budget, which is the process by which ODA allocations for future financial years will be decided.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_60

Liam Byrne:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what role the Growth Mission Board will have in the Spending Review. \p Tulip Siddiq: Delivering growth is the government’s number one mission; through the growth mission, the government is restoring stability, increasing investment, and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK. This will be reflected in the government’s approach to the Spending Review, as part of which departments will be required to prioritise growth within their spending plans. The Growth Mission Board will continue to drive forward the government’s growth mission to rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_61

John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12389 on Pensions: Inheritance Tax, whether the (a) partner and (b) dependent's scheme pension for the (i) Civil Service Alpha scheme and (ii) Ministerial Pension Scheme will be included in the value of the estate for inheritance tax for (A) married couples, (B) unmarried couples and (C) couples in a civil partnership. \p James Murray: Dependant scheme pensions, including partner pensions, are not subject to Inheritance Tax. This is the same for registered and unregistered UK schemes, and will not be impacted by the changes announced at Autumn Budget 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_62

John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, whether the (a) pension and (b) associated pension benefits under the tax-unregistered Judicial Pension Scheme will be liable for inheritance tax. \p James Murray: There are three different types of UK statutory defined benefit judicial pension schemes. As defined benefit schemes, none of these have a dedicated fund which can be inherited as defined contribution schemes do.

Dependant scheme pensions, including partner pensions, are not subject to Inheritance Tax. This is the same for registered and unregistered UK schemes, and will not be impacted by the changes announced at Autumn Budget 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_63

Dr Ben Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much Government investment into retinoblastoma research was in 2023-24; and which public bodies provided that investment. \p Feryal Clark: The Department of Health and Social Care funds medical research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology was awarded £20 million funding for a five-year period starting from December 2022.

UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally. UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects. This includes a wide variety of areas including physiological, biological, and mechanistic aspects that are applicable to many eye diseases and disorders of vision.

Details of UKRI and NIHR funding on specific areas is provided in the table below:

NIHR funding in FY 2023/24

UKRI Funding in 2023/24

open-angle glaucoma

NIHR allocated £140,000 for open-angle Glaucoma research in 2023-24

The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for glaucoma research was £1,209,175 for 3 awards (1 award from Innovate UK; 2 awards from MRC).

closed-angle glaucoma

NIHR did not commit any specific funding for closed-angle glaucoma research during the financial year of 2023-24.

wet macular degeneration

NIHR did not commit any specific funding for wet macular degeneration research during the financial year of 2023-24.

The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for macular degeneration research was £3,941,644 for 11 awards (1 award from BBSRC; 3 awards from EPSRC; 1 award from Innovate UK; 3 awards from MRC; 2 awards from centrally managed UKRI schemes).

dry macular degeneration

NIHR did not commit any specific funing for dry macular degeneration research during the financial year of 2023-24.

diabetic retinopathy

NIHR allocated £977,340 for diabetic retinopathy research in the financial year 2023-24.

The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for diabetic retinopathy research was £1,068,246 for 2 awards (1 award from Innovate UK; 1 award from EPSRC).

retinitis pigmentosa

NIHR did not commit any specific funding for retinitis pigmentosa research during financial year 2023-24.

UKRI did not commit any specific funding for retinitis pigmentosa research in 2023-24.

retinoblastoma

NIHR did not commit any specific funding for retinoblastoma research during the financial year of 2023-24

UKRI did not commit any specific funding for retinoblastoma research in 2023-24.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-10 conversation_64

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year. \p Feryal Clark: