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1503574

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2022
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Period Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether it remains her Department's policy to end period poverty by 2025.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	45284
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2022 answer text <p>Period poverty is an issue the government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.</p><p>Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021. We are pleased to confirm that the continuation of free period products in schools in England for all learners who need them until 2024. We have expanded the range of products included to ensure more environmentally friendly and sustainable products, based on user feedback.</p><p>Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished - with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.</p><p>As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.</p><p>In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway grouped question UIN 45367 45383 question first answered 07/09/2022 06:00:28 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1602239

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2023
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Epilepsy: Family Planning
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to support women with epilepsy to make informed family planning choices and have safe pregnancies.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	903995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2023 answer text <p>Tighter restrictions continue to reduce the number of pregnancies exposed to sodium valproate and support women to make informed choices. The MHRA and Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has announced it will introduce tighter restrictions to reduce pregnancies exposed to sodium valproate, including the recommendation for no new patients under 55 years of age to be prescribed valproate unless two specialists independently consider and document that no other medicine is effective or tolerated.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 08/03/2023 17:33:01 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1605506

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2023
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Disability: Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make it her policy to amend the Equality Act 2010 to require employers to make reasonable adjustments for people with a disability visiting a premises for work purposes.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	169333
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>There are two types of reasonable adjustment duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) - the first is the reasonable adjustment duty on employers and the second is the ‘anticipatory’ duty on service providers (that is businesses that provide services to the public or which exercise public functions), which requires such providers to consider reasonable adjustments even before an individual disabled person accesses their services.</p><p>The Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the disabled employee’s job. These adjustments ensure that disabled employees are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to their non-disabled colleagues. The failure of an employer to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee or job seeker, or discounting a job application simply because the applicant is disabled could amount to direct disability discrimination under the Act.</p><p>However, the 2010 Act also recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled employees and the circumstances of their employers. What is ‘reasonable’ will therefore vary from one employer to another because of factors such as the practicality of making the adjustment, the cost of the adjustment to the employer and the resources available to different employers. There are no plans to modify these provisions.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 27/03/2023 13:50:55 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1642329

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2023
	answering body	Wales Office
	answering dept id	28
	answering dept short name	Wales
	answering dept sort name	Wales
	hansard heading	Wales Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for March 2023, what items his Department purchased from Barrow Hepburn and Gale on 19 March 2023; and for what purpose those items were purchased.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	188044
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2023 answer text <p>The items purchased from Barrow Hepburn and Gale on 19 March 2023 were: Ministerial box (x2), Ministerial box repair (x1), normal Ministerial folder (x4), narrow Ministerial folder (x4) and Privy Seals box repair (x1).</p><p>The purpose of these purchases was to update and replace the folders and boxes used by Wales Office Ministers with His Majesty The King’s cypher, following the passing of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.</p> answering member constituency Monmouth answering member printed David T C Davies question first answered 12/06/2023 10:05:05 answering member 1545 label Biography information for David T C Davies
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1524610

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Banks: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of bank branches which have closed in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each year since 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	67933
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2022 answer text <p>The way people bank in the UK continues to develop at pace, with more consumers and businesses than ever enjoying the convenience, security, and speed of digital banking. In 2021, 86% of UK adults used a form of remote banking, such as an app, online or on the phone. Banking customers have never had more choice in how they fit their banking into their everyday lives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.</p><p /><p>Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to close their branches or free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK. New shared bank hubs are also being piloted, providing basic banking services and dedicated space where community bankers from major banks can meet customers of that bank.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, the Government has introduced legislation to protect access to cash. The Bill protects access to cash by establishing the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator and providing it with appropriate powers to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 25/10/2022 13:35:17 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1602305

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Cost of Living Payments: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what evidential basis his Department set the disability cost of living payment at £150.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	161322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2023 answer text <p>At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced it will provide a further Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 in 2023/24. This was on top of the previous one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment, worth £150, announced in May 2022.</p><p> </p><p>Cost of Living Payments, available to those on means-tested benefits, are also designed to support those on low incomes with the rising cost of living, with a £650 payment announced in May and a £900 payment announced at Autumn Statement 2022.</p><p> </p><p>Disabled people and those with long-term health conditions will also benefit from other forms of Cost of Living support. This includes the Energy Price Guarantee, Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Council Tax rebate.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 16/03/2023 11:24:23 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1643666

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for April 2022, which teams in his Department have access to the digital whiteboard software purchased from Metro Retro on 20 April 2022; and for what purpose it is used.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	188982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2023 answer text <p>Digital whiteboard software is vital for business planning and enables joint up remote working.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 20/06/2023 17:05:43 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1643667

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, (a) for which individuals and (b) for how many nights accommodation was purchased from (i) Marriott Hotels on (1) 17 April 2022 and (2) 10 October 2022, (ii) Capital Hotel Plc on 7 June 2022, and (iii) Transcorp Hotels Plc on 29 September 2022; and what were the (A) locations of each hotel and (B) purpose of each stay.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	188983
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2023 answer text <p>The accommodation referenced in the question related to stays for meetings with the IMF and providing technical assistance to the government of Nigeria.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 21/06/2023 15:35:35 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1643668

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the services purchased from (i) Chauffeur Services North East Ltd on 18 May 2022 and (ii) RD Chauffeur Services on 13 August 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	188984
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2023 answer text <p>The taxi services relate to transportation for HM Treasury and BEIS officials in Teesside and Belfast.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 21/06/2023 15:23:09 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1643669

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of procurement card spend greater than £500, for (a) which individuals and (b) how many nights was accommodation purchased from Radisson Blu Hotels on (i) 15 May 2022, (ii) 23 June 2022, and (iii) 16 November 2022; and what were the (A) locations of those hotels and (b) the purpose of those stays.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	188985
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2023 answer text <p>This visit was for attendance at OECD led meetings of the Inclusive Framework Steering Group in Paris.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 21/06/2023 14:50:14 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith