Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member constituency answering member printed answering member printed answering member label answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1342269

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2021 to Question 14126 and with reference to the findings of the Dame Carol Black review of drugs: phase one report, what assessment has been made of the effect of county line closures and drugs seized on (a) drug availability or rates of drug use, (b) potency, (c) price and (d) new trends including local recruitment of children and children being missing for longer periods in adaption to police activity and covid-19; what Government national leadership and oversight on the implementation of a public health approaches to youth violence has taken place; how the Department for Education is involved with that oversight; what assessment she has made of the ethical implications of state use of children to be used as a covert human intelligence source as detailed in The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill; and whether a Child Rights impact assessment has been undertaken in relation to that proposed policy.
	tabling member constituency	Reigate
	tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
	uin	24876
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2021 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">In May 2021, the National County Lines Coordination Centre published the latest County Lines strategic assessment. The assessment found that county lines continue to be at the forefront of drug supply nationally and have evolved in response to environmental changes.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The county lines business model remains heavily weighted towards the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. NCLCC’s latest assessment indicates that there has been a reduction in the total number of potentially active deal lines, with numbers reported to have fallen from between 800-1,100 in 2019/20 to 600 in 2020/21.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">We continue to work with partners to address the underlying drivers of exploitation and ensure support and protection is in place for children exploited through county lines criminality. Wehave funded specialist support for victims of county lines exploitation to deliver one-to-one support to under 25s and their families in the three largest county lines exporting force areas</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">This Government is also delivering a range of initiatives to tackle youth violence including investing over £105.5 million from 2019 to 2022, (VRUs). The Home Office also works closely with the Department for Education to tackle youth violence.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">We will continue to use data on rates of drug use to monitor trends and inform the Government’s approach to addressing drugs and drug harms’.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Government acknowledges the strength of feeling on juvenile CHIS, however, we must recognise that some juveniles are involved in serious crimes, as perpetrators and victims. In some circumstances a young person may have unique access to information or intelligence that could play a vital part in preventing or detecting serious offences.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Young people are only authorised as CHIS in rare circumstances. Between January 2015 and December 2018, there were only 17 instances where law enforcement bodies deployed those under 18 years old as CHIS, and their participation in criminal conduct is rarer still.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 includes a commitment on the face of the legislation that young people will only be authorised to undertake criminal conduct in exceptional circumstances.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In May 2021, the National County Lines Coordination Centre published the latest County Lines strategic assessment. The assessment found that county lines continue to be at the forefront of drug supply nationally and have evolved in response to environmental changes. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The county lines business model remains heavily weighted towards the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. NCLCC’s latest assessment indicates that there has been a reduction in the total number of potentially active deal lines, with numbers reported to have fallen from between 800-1,100 in 2019/20 to 600 in 2020/21. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We continue to work with partners to address the underlying drivers of exploitation and ensure support and protection is in place for children exploited through county lines criminality. We have funded specialist support for victims of county lines exploitation to deliver one-to-one support to under 25s and their families in the three largest county lines exporting force areas</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This Government is also delivering a range of initiatives to tackle youth violence including investing over £105.5 million in Violence Reduction Units from 2019 to 2022. The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education to tackle youth violence.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We will continue to use data on rates of drug use to monitor trends and inform the Government’s approach to addressing drugs and drug harms.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government acknowledges the strength of feeling on juvenile CHIS, however, we must recognise that some juveniles are involved in serious crimes, as perpetrators and victims. In some circumstances a young person may have unique access to information or intelligence that could play a vital part in preventing or detecting serious offences. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Young people are only authorised as CHIS in rare circumstances. Between January 2015 and December 2018, there were only 17 instances where law enforcement bodies deployed those under 18 years old as CHIS, and their participation in criminal conduct is rarer still. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 includes a commitment on the face of the legislation that young people will only be authorised to undertake criminal conduct in exceptional circumstances. </ins></p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 06/07/2021 08:08:09 question first ministerially corrected 08/07/2021 13:33:52 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse previous answer version 11642 answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1490734

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Agnes Wanjiru
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the case of the death of Agnes Wanjiru has been a barrier to the final ratification of the Defence Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Kenya.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Yardley
	tabling member printed	Jess Phillips
	uin	39867
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2022 answer text <p>After engagement with the Kenyan Government, and the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee of the Kenyan Parliament, the ratification treaty was tabled on 13 July 2022. That session of the Kenyan Parliament was subsequently cancelled. The existing Defence Cooperation Agreement remains<ins class="ministerial">, with a bridging agreement,</ins> in place in the meantime.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wells answering member printed James Heappey question first answered 27/07/2022 13:34:04 question first ministerially corrected 09/08/2022 09:04:07 answering member 4528 label Biography information for James Heappey previous answer version 15999 answering member constituency Wells answering member printed James Heappey answering member 4528 label Biography information for James Heappey
	tabling member	4370 label Biography information for Jess Phillips

1330652

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2021
	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	Oral Cancer
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to help improve patients’ understanding of the merits of regular dental check-ups in helping to ensure the early diagnosis of oral cancer.
	tabling member constituency	Bootle
	tabling member printed	Peter Dowd
	uin	12162
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2021 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial">No assessment has been made. Whilst dentists play a valuable role in detecting potential oral cancers through dental check-ups, patients with concerns should seek advice from their dentist or general practitioner. </ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">No assessment has been made. Whilst dentists can play an ad hoc role in detecting potential oral cancers as a by-product of dental check-ups, oral cancer is primarily detected through the medical system. The Department currently has no plans to promote dentist appointments for the specific purpose of oral cancer diagnosis. Patients with concerns should seek advice from their general practitioner and not wait for their next dental appointment.</del></p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 18/06/2021 09:55:05 question first ministerially corrected 16/07/2021 13:09:36 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill previous answer version 7367 answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4397 label Biography information for Peter Dowd

1139382

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken in response to the April 2019 High Court judgment on the 45 day limit for support for victims of modern slavery; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Gedling
	tabling member printed	Vernon Coaker
	uin	277641
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">This Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and ensuring that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">We are always building our understanding of the complex needs of victims of modern slavery and striving to improve the support available. This case has highlighted the importance of tailoring support according to the individual needs of victims and, in response, we will be embedding a more needs-based approach in our services.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">In October 2017, Government announced an ambitious package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – our system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery. We have already made significant progress in delivering this complex reform programme and we will continue to drive improvements to the services available to ensure they are meeting the recovery needs of victims.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government is committed to stamping out modern slavery and providing victims with the support they need to rebuild their lives.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are always working to improve our understanding of the complex needs of victims of modern slavery and to improve the support available.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In October 2017, Government announced an ambitious package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – our system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery. We have already made significant pro-gress in delivering this complex reform programme. We will now make further improvements to this offer – including embedding a needs-based approach to support – to better tailor support services to the needs of victims. The spe-cific details and timeline associated with this work is being developed.</ins></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 24/07/2019 15:45:30 question first ministerially corrected 24/07/2019 16:03:01 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins previous answer version 131078 answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	360 label Biography information for Lord Coaker

1185247

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Clean Air Zones: Software
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the software required to enforce clean air zones is available by 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	29995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The UK-wide Pollinator Monitoring Research Partnership was established with funding from Defra and the Scottish and Welsh Governments.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The total cost over the three-year project period from 2016 to 2019 was £282,720.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">In-kind contributions from UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK CEH) and other academic and voluntary organisations were also committed to the project, to a value of £201,804 (for example for staff time, data sharing, software). The monitoring work itself was co-ordinated by UK CEH.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">A follow-up project is now underway, building on the outcomes from this first one. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website at:</del></p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/" target="_blank">http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/</a></del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government is working with a number of local authorities to put in place the digital infrastructure to support Clean Air Zones. The vehicle compliance checker launched earlier this year, with the payment portal launching in the summer. This will enable users to check if they may be charged to drive in a zone.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Local authorities will be responsible for the enforcement of Clean Air Zones and the collection of any penalty payments arising.</ins></p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 24/03/2020 16:19:52 question first ministerially corrected 02/04/2020 14:46:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow previous answer version 14429 answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1282883

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2021
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Kashmir: Human Rights
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take diplomatic steps to support the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	147995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2021 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial"> <p><ins class="ministerial">The UK remains concerned about the situation in Kashmir and we continue to follow developments there closely. The Foreign Secretary raised Kashmir with his counterpart, External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar, during his visit to India in December 2020. Officials at the British High Commission in New Delhi engage regularly with human rights organisations on the situation. Any allegation of human rights abuses is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. The UK's position remains that it is for India and Pakistan to identify a lasting political resolution to the situation, one that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.</ins></p><br /></ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">The UK condemns the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar, and the arbitrary detention of democratically elected politicians and civil society by the military. It is essential that Aung San Suu Kyi, and all those arbitrarily detained, are released. Under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and the Myanmar Sanctions Regime the UK had already sanctioned 16 individuals, responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. In July 2020, we sanctioned the Commander-in-Chief and his Deputy, in our first tranche of sanctions under the Global Human Rights Sanctions regime. We are working closely with international partners to consider next steps with the aim of ensuring that democratic wishes of Myanmar's people are respected and politicians and civil society leaders are released.</del></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams previous answer version 80236 answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams 80324 answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams question first answered 04/02/2021 17:55:12 question first ministerially corrected 05/02/2021 14:59:02 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1488843

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	Poverty: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help reduce the numbers of children living in poverty in Manchester Gorton constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:30 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13615 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1488845

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	Poverty: Children
	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 make an estimate of the number of children living in poverty in Manchester Gorton.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:53 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13616 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1488846

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	Poverty: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support families with children who are in poverty, in the context of the level of child poverty in Manchester Gorton constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:07:02 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13614 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1567773

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2023
	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: Cold Weather Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing people in receipt of Universal Credit who work but have limited capacity to work to be eligible for the Cold Weather Payment.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	125487
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2023 answer text <p>Cold Weather Payments make an important contribution towards the additional heating costs incurred during periods of exceptionally cold weather, between 1st of November and the 31st of March each year. <ins class="ministerial">There are no plans to change eligibility.</ins></p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 24/01/2023 17:45:51 question first ministerially corrected 26/01/2023 10:05:08 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott previous answer version 49806 answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan