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1712757

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Universities
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his immigration policies on universities.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	22835
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities. Impact assessments are produced and considered when developing Government policies.</p><p>We have been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy goal of hosting 600,000 students per year by 2030, earlier than planned, and expect universities to be able to adapt to policy change.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 29/04/2024 15:57:44 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1712784

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Veterans: Social Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan 2022-24, what steps the Office for Veterans Affairs has taken to improve veterans' access to social housing.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	22836
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>The Veterans Strategy Action Plan sets out over sixty commitments from across government to deliver on the vision and principles of our 2018 Strategy for our veterans, including on housing.</p><p>The Government is committed to providing high priority access for social housing and temporary accommodation. To improve access to social housing, we changed the law so that veterans with urgent housing needs are always given ‘additional preference’ (high priority) for social housing, and that those who left the forces within the preceding 5 years cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection or residency requirement.</p><p>We have also published dedicated statutory social housing allocations guidance which sets out how local authorities can support veterans and their families to access social housing.</p><p>To ensure the sustainable supply of social housing, the £20 million Veteran Capital Housing Fund continues to award grants to fund the refurbishment of existing, affordable and social rental properties, as well as the development and delivery of new build projects.</p><p><strong></strong><br><br></p> answering member constituency Plymouth, Moor View answering member printed Johnny Mercer question first answered 01/05/2024 15:48:03 answering member 4485 label Biography information for Johnny Mercer
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1712785

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Office for Veterans' Affairs: Finance and Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual budget for the Office for Veterans Affairs is for the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year; and how many people work for the Office for Veterans Affairs as of 22 April 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	22837
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>This Government is investing record amounts to support our veterans and their families.</p><p>The Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan totals more than £70 million from across government, with an injection of a further £33 million in the Spring Budget 2023, topped up by a further £10 million in the Chancellor's Autumn statement. As of 22 April 2024, 58 people work in the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Plymouth, Moor View answering member printed Johnny Mercer question first answered 01/05/2024 15:39:52 answering member 4485 label Biography information for Johnny Mercer
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1712786

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Veterans Welfare Service: Finance and Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget of the Veterans Welfare Service is; and how many staff work for that Service.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	22838
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>The Veterans Welfare Service forms part of Defence Business Services (DBS), and is not an independent entity.</p><p> </p><p>Budgets and staff numbers are allocated within DBS at the delivery of veterans' services level referred to publicly as Veterans UK, and includes the administration of compensation claims, veterans' welfare services, pensions, some support to serving personnel and the running of Ilford Park Polish Home. It is not possible to break this information down to only the Veterans Welfare Service.</p><p> </p><p>The Veterans Services overall budget for financial year (FY)2023-24 was £20.003million and includes the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card project delivery.</p><p>The average Full Time Equivalent (FTE) across all Veterans Services for FY2023-24 was 437.91.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 01/05/2024 14:44:56 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1712823

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	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	Universal Credit: Veterans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans have been identified as Universal Credit claimants since the introduction of the new DWP marker.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	22839
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.</p><p> </p><p>It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”.</p><p> </p><p>By 14th March 2024, an armed forces status of “served in the past” had been recorded for approximately 110,000 claimants with UC claims for which a statement had been generated. This figure includes some people who are no longer on the UC caseload, some who had a nil payment claim and some who subsequently reported a different armed forces status, e.g. “currently serving”. It should be noted that the available data does not allow a comprehensive estimate of the total number of UC claimants who are, or have been, veterans.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. The figure provided is for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.</p><p>2. The figure provided has been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 26/04/2024 12:07:07 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1700949

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Telecommunications: Infrastructure
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require broadband companies to gain the consent of (a) the local authority and (b) residents before erecting telephone poles.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	21525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>Telegraph poles play an important role in delivering efficient and cost-effective coverage and connectivity to communities, particularly in hard to reach areas without costly and disruptive roadworks, or where existing infrastructure cannot be used.</p><p> </p><p>Permitted development rights allow telegraph poles and lines to be deployed without requiring case-by-case approval from the local planning authority, and we have no plans to introduce legislation to change permitted development rights for telegraph poles.</p><p> </p><p>However, we are aware of the concerns that residents in some parts of the country have about the deployment of telegraph poles. There are existing measures to minimise pole deployment and avoid inappropriate siting, and we are also taking further action to respond to those concerns.</p><p> </p><p>For example, the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) set out the legal requirements operators must adhere to.</p><p> </p><p>Already, Local Planning Authorities should be notified 28 days before poles are installed in many circumstances as set out in the 2003 Regulations, and can impose conditions on this installation which operators must adhere to provided that the conditions are reasonable. The 2003 regulations also state that operators should share infrastructure where practicable.</p><p> </p><p>There is also a Code of Practice in place, which provides guidance on ways operators can ensure new installations are placed appropriately, and that local authorities and communities are to be engaged with regarding proposed installations.</p><p> </p><p>Ofcom can take enforcement action in respect of breaches of the restrictions and conditions contained in the 2003 regulations. Ofcom have also stated that they would investigate any cases where poles are sited in a way which is not consistent with the requirements and guidelines in place – including where they block residents’ drives or where operators systematically fail to engage with local planning authorities’ suggestions. We encourage Local Planning Authorities to make complaints to Ofcom if they feel these criteria apply.</p><p> </p><p>I recently met with Melanie Dawes, CEO of Ofcom, to discuss this, and to explore ways DSIT and Ofcom can work together to raise awareness of statutory roles and responsibilities and ensure better compliance.</p><p> </p><p>I also wrote to all fixed line operators on 14 March, setting out the government’s concerns and emphasising the importance of infrastructure sharing. Specifically, I have asked them to do everything possible to share existing telegraph poles before installing new ones.</p><p> </p><p>Separately, DSIT is considering how revisions to the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice might be delivered to promote better working practices.</p><p> </p><p>I met interested MPs on Monday 25 March 2024, and I remain keen to hear and understand the concerns shared by MPs and their constituents. I am also meeting fixed-line operators to discuss these concerns.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 19/04/2024 08:12:45 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe