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1702505

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept id	215
	answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	hansard heading	Energy Ombudsman
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the enforcement powers of the Energy Ombudsman.
	tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
	uin	22717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>Ofgem, the independent regulator, is responsible for compliance and enforcement of license conditions.</p><p> </p><p>As an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, the Energy Ombudsman does not have the enforcement powers of Ofgem does. The Energy Ombudsman can however tell suppliers to take practical action, make an apology, offer financial awards up to £10,000, and make recommendations to prevent an issue from happening again. Energy suppliers are legally bound to implement decisions made by the Ombudsman.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 24/04/2024 11:09:05 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

1702513

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	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	Hypnosis and Psychiatry: Regulation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people operating as (a) hypnotherapists and (b) psychotherapists are (i) registered and (ii) regulated.
	tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
	tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
	uin	22768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists are not statutorily regulated, and there are no current plans to introduce statutory regulation for either profession. The Professional Standards Authority for health and social care operates an accredited voluntary registers programme, providing a proportionate means of assurance for unregulated professions, by setting standards for organisations holding voluntary registers. There are currently two accredited registers related to hypnotherapy, and twelve accredited registers related to psychotherapy.</p><p>The Government keeps the professions subject to statutory regulation under review, and in 2022, published the consultation Healthcare regulation: deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate, which sought views on the criteria used to decide when regulation is necessary, and whether there are any unregulated professions that should be brought into statutory regulation. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 23/04/2024 15:29:37 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1702514

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	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	Pancreatic Cancer: Health Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Pancreatic Cancer UK's Optimal Care Pathway recommendations.
	tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
	tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
	uin	22769
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>NHS England is delivering a range of interventions that are expected to increase early diagnosis, and improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer and diagnose cancers sooner, creating new pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms that could be linked to a range of cancer types, and increasing general practice direct access to diagnostic tests. NHS England has also formed an expert group to consider a pathway for hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers, including pancreatic cancer.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 23/04/2024 13:24:05 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1702532

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Department for Transport: Maladministration
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	22735
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Department was recently requested to set out the steps it has taken to reduce the costs of fraud in the last three financial years: this response is provided in the Annex below. The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) defines the difference between fraud and error in relation to the dishonest intent of the individual or organisation involved in the incorrect payment. “Fraud” represents losses to the Department caused with intent by a counterparty. “Error” represents losses to the Department where intent cannot be proven. As the difference between fraud and error relates to the established intent of the counterparty rather than the activity itself, the Department has a single controls and assurance regime over fraud and error, which is set out in the Annex below.</p><p>In addition, the Department operates business-as-usual transactional and analytical controls to mitigate and detect risk of financial error caused by administrative errors.</p><p> </p><p>Annex A – Parliamentary Question 22574 To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of fraud in his Department in the last three financial years.</p><p> </p><p>Response provided on 23 April 2024</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Since the establishment of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) in 2022, the Department has been working closely with PSFA to implement the Counter Fraud Functional Standard framework, a common set of standards required by government departments to counter fraud, bribery, and corruption. To support compliance with the Functional Standard, the Department internally published its Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy for 2022-2025 to improve culture and awareness and build on the counter fraud activity delivered since the launch of DfT’s first strategy in 2019.</p><p>The following key activities have taken place to drive improvements in reducing fraud by improving detection activity, enhancing fraud prevention and building capability.</p><p>To support detection activity the department utilises Spotlight, a due diligence tool provided to departments by the Cabinet Office to help identify areas of risk and potential fraud and error. The department has also commenced a data analytics project utilising artificial intelligence to identify instances of fraud and error within high-risk spending areas. This initiative is providing comprehensive insights into fraudulent activities and errors that can be used to further strengthen controls and seek recovery of funds where fraud or error is identified. The Department’s contract management teams have furthermore increased their focus on fraud risks and detection, resulting in substantial sums recovered and returned to the Exchequer. Detected, prevented and recovered fraud is formally disclosed to the Cabinet Office who report publicly on these results across government in their annual Fraud Landscape Report.</p><p>On fraud prevention, a Fraud Risk Assessment (FRA) policy was introduced to enable accountable officers across DfT to take responsibility in ensuring that fraud, bribery, and corruption risks are adequately understood and effectively managed. The FRA process has been embedded into business-as-usual activity and has supported the department in identifying fraud risks, driving control improvements, and fostering continuous improvement in fraud risk management practices.</p><p>To build capability DfT has increased its engagement with the PSFA to enhance oversight, prioritisation of risks, delivery against counter fraud functional standards and sharing of best practice. We have increased our collaboration across the departmental group and across government networks to share lessons learnt, horizon scan for new and emerging trends and deliver collaborative best practice workshops, training sessions and awareness campaigns on areas of development e.g. risk assessment.</p><p>In 2023 and early 2024, DfT was one of the first departments assessed under the latest framework by PSFA for compliance against the Counter Fraud Functional Standard. The Department is now working with PSFA to take forwards the recommendations from this review to drive further improvements in the Department’s counter-fraud function.</p> answering member constituency South Cambridgeshire answering member printed Anthony Browne question first answered 24/04/2024 08:59:58 answering member 4801 label Biography information for Anthony Browne
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1702533

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	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: Maladministration
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	22736
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>We are committed to tackling both fraud and error. DWPs quality assurance framework plays an important role in identifying common errors which contribute to over and underpayments. In addition, the department and HMRC has committed to provide assurance this winter over the integrity of the National Insurance records and how they interact with DWP’s benefit system.</p><p> </p><p>The Department launched a robust plan to drive down fraud and error from the benefits system, alongside investment of £900 million that will deliver £2.4 billion of savings by the end of 2024/25. This plan includes proposed powers to require the transfer of data from third-parties, which has been introduced as part of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (No.2). This legislation is forecast to save up to an additional £600m over the Treasury scorecard period.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 24/04/2024 12:29:57 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1702537

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept id	215
	answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	hansard heading	Energy Company Obligation: Compensation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Energy Company Obligation redress schemes in ensuring that households receive fair and timely redress for problems arising from the scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	22775
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The scheme administrator, Ofgem has set out a comprehensive route to redress for any issues arising from measures installed under the scheme, which can be found at: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ofgem.gov.uk%2Feco4-complaints-process&amp;data=05%7C02%7CParliamentary.PQ%40energysecurity.gov.uk%7C0f4b75258b7a4ab3c74008dc6393d8d2%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C638494733847405970%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=d1zgFZidXrBsqmb8tKYXHaRqIN8SFt5BCjIDQIl65CU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.ofgem.gov.uk/eco4-complaints-process</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) green heating and insulation review, the government also announced work which is being undertaken to improve consumer protection. A link to the government’s written statement of 21 February 2024 can be found <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-statements%2Fdetail%2F2024-02-21%2Fhlws267%23%3A~%3Atext%3DIn%25202022%252C%2520the%2520CMA%2520commenced%2Cgreen%2520heating%2520and%2520insulation%2520sectors.&amp;data=05%7C02%7CParliamentary.PQ%40energysecurity.gov.uk%7C0f4b75258b7a4ab3c74008dc6393d8d2%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C638494733847405970%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=jDZKOiHrhkMIO4sS9Lp43Ji98QY5DsrDXC55Ulkoq54%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>We remain fully committed to protecting all consumers undertaking home retrofit work.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 24/04/2024 12:34:45 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1702538

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept id	215
	answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	hansard heading	Energy Company Obligation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the protection afforded to households who are affected by poor standard of workmanship provided by the companies under the Energy Company Obligation Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	22776
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>As part of the ongoing evaluation of the current iteration of the Energy Company Obligation, ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with installations. Installation companies must be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government endorsed Quality Scheme for home improvements. TrustMark registered businesses are required to adhere to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standards, providing a warranty to the householder when a measure is installed in case something goes wrong. Ofgem, the scheme administrator, has a route to redress for consumers should they be dissatisfied with the measures delivered.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 24/04/2024 12:33:10 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1702539

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept id	215
	answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	hansard heading	Energy Company Obligation: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the protection afforded to households who are affected by high charges from companies operating under the Energy Company Obligation Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	22777
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) places a requirement on larger energy suppliers to deliver heating and insulation measures to eligible households. Energy suppliers are assumed to recoup the cost of delivery through consumer bills. Homes benefitting from ECO4 are assumed to cut an average of £430 off their annual energy bills based on the latest price cap.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 24/04/2024 12:30:52 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1702540

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept id	215
	answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
	hansard heading	Energy Company Obligation: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the number of households in Wales affected by (a) charges which represent a significant proportion of their income and (b) poor standards of workmanship under the Energy Company Obligation Scheme since July 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	22778
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) places a requirement on larger energy suppliers to deliver heating and insulation measures to eligible low-income and fuel poor households. Energy suppliers recoup delivery costs through consumer bills.</p><p> </p><p>Homes benefitting from ECO4 will cut approximately £430 off their energy bills.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold data on the number of households affected by poor standards of workmanship under ECO. Through the ongoing evaluation of ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with installations.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 24/04/2024 12:29:31 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1702542

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	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	NHS: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of decoupling the age at which an individual can claim their NHS Pension from the State Pension Age.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	22738
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. A new reformed scheme was introduced in 2015, to ensure the costs are sustainable for the future. The reforms included linking scheme retirement age to an individual’s state pension age, in response to people living healthier, longer lives.</p><p>Individuals can claim their National Health Service pension earlier than their state pension age, although their benefits will be reduced in value, to account for the fact that they are being paid for longer. This reduction is waived when the scheme accepts a claim for early retirement on ill-health grounds. Where an NHS pension is claimed after state pension age, the reverse applies, and the value of benefits will be increased. The scheme also offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down all or part of their pension, and continue working in a more flexible way.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 23/04/2024 13:53:43 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders