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1131388

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Empty Property
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the name and location of the land and buildings owned by her Department that is (a) sitting empty and (b) in the process of being sold or disposed of; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	263036
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2017 the Office of Government Property published the Guide for the Disposal of Surplus Land, providing detailed guidance on how to plan for and execute land disposals.</p><p> </p><p>This guide mandates that departmental land holdings must be registered on the e-PIMs central record system. Land holdings deemed surplus are recorded on the Register of Surplus Land for at least 40 days for other government departments to express an interest.</p><p> </p><p>Homes England and Department for Education/LocatEd are given a higher allowance of 50 days to express an interest if the site could be developed for housing or a free school.</p><p> </p><p>After the 50-day period surplus land holdings are recorded <a href="https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/06/2019 16:45:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1136028

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department offers employees a payroll deduction to enable staff to join a credit union; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	271333
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>In 2016 DWP launched a payroll savings scheme with credit unions to allow staff to start automatically saving through their payroll. This was launched by their Welfare Reform Minister at the time Lord Freud.</p><p>DWP has made arrangements with three credit unions to offer a savings facility and other financial services to employees and payroll deductions can be made from salary into each of these. 4512 employees have so far joined one of the three credit unions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/07/2019 16:38:59 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1170459

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of food banks.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	2416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to a sustainable solution to poverty in all its forms, by building a strong economy and reforming the benefit system so that it supports employment and higher pay.</p><p>Households where all adults are in work are around 6 times less likely to be in relative poverty than adults in a household where nobody works. Compared to 2010, there are 3.7 million more people in work and around 1 million fewer workless households.</p><p>We have worked with food insecurity experts, the Office for National Statistics and the Scottish Government to introduce a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey starting from April 2019. This means that we will in future be able to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity across the UK and for specific groups, to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/01/2020 17:02:51 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1185820

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to universal credit claimants infected by covid-19.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	30668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by over £1000 a year.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are also temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested them.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance system works, and works quickly.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated. In order to allow the Universal Credit system to cope with the unprecedented demand, we must limit the changes made to its framework.</ins></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/03/2020 12:58:32 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:03:39 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 14658 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1185821

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to shorten or bypass the universal credit assessment period for people who (a) need to self-isolate or (b) are out of work due to the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	30669
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by over £1000 a year.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are also temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested them.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance system works, and works quickly.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated. In order to allow the Universal Credit system to cope with the unprecedented demand, we must limit the changes made to its framework.</ins></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/03/2020 12:58:32 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:03:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 14659 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1549989

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2022
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Department of Health and Social Care: Trade
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have been allocated to deal with issues related to international trade in (a) each of the past five years and (b) the next two years; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	106299
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/12/2022 answer text <p>The Department has a central coordinating team working directly on issues related to international trade. The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the central coordinating team in each of the last five years.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>FTE officials</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>11.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>11.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>In the next two years, the number of staff will be dependent on business planning. The central team is supported by advice from Departmental officials on specific policy areas as needed.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/12/2022 14:43:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1568752

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Care Workers and Health Professions: Visas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on speeding up the processing of Health and Care Worker visas for those people roles in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	127691
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had no recent discussions with the Home Secretary on speeding up the processing of Health and Care Worker visas for those people in roles in the National Health Service.</p><p>Health and social care workers who apply for the Health and Care Worker visa benefit from a shorter service standard of 15 working days for a decision on their visa.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 26/01/2023 13:41:36 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1626969

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Neuroblastoma: Research
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated for research into treatment of neuroblastoma in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	184561
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2023 answer text <p>A table is attached showing the research funding into treatment of neuroblastoma.</p><p>The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is also supporting delivery in the health and care system of neuroblastoma research, funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. For example, over the last 10 years, the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported approximately 27 neuroblastoma related studies.</p><p>The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neuroblastoma. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/05/2023 15:19:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince attachment 1 file name Table - spending .xlsx title Research funding
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1641113

	registered interest
	date	02/06/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Mount Vernon Cancer Centre: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what avenues for new capital funding are available for the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	187020
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2023 answer text <p>We are investing over £9 billion in the National Health Service this year to deliver significant new capacity, including through additional beds, community diagnostic centres, surgical hubs, discharge facilities, hospital upgrades and new hospitals.</p><p>As the vast majority of funding has already been allocated to individual schemes within these programmes, any new schemes will be considered through a new rolling capital investment programme, that will allow for the construction of more hospitals in the long term.</p><p>In the meantime, NHS Trusts should continue to engage with their Integrated Care System to help consider whether there is scope to prioritise schemes within local investment plans.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/06/2023 15:28:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1641114

	registered interest
	date	02/06/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Northwick Park Hospital: Hospital Beds
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on arranging capital funding for intensive care bed expansion at Northwick Park Hospital; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	187021
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2023 answer text <p>NHS England are currently allocated an additional £250 million to support trusts to increase capacity and improve flow across urgent and emergency care. Northwick Park made a bid as part of the Urgent Emergency Care (UEC) capital fund for a modular unit to reduce pressure on urgent and emergency care services. The programme allocations will be announced in due course.</p><p>Investments outside the UEC capital fund would need to be prioritised through the operational capital of integrated care systems.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/06/2023 11:48:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas