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1672623

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Biometrics: Retail Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with private facial recognition surveillance suppliers on use of live facial recognition in the retail sector.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	3448
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government supports the appropriate use of facial recognition to solve and prevent crimes, bring offenders to justice, and keep people safe.</p><p>I have been engaging with a wide range of facial recognition suppliers, including those who supply to the retail sector, where it can play an important role in tackling retail crime.</p><p>The National Retail Crime Steering Group brings together Government, trade organisation, retailers and enforcement partners to discuss to ensure the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be, which has included discussions on facial recognition.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 30/11/2023 16:21:26 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1660125

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of accrued interest on student loans on the ability of women to pay off student loan debts.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	199025
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>The Government wants a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and taxpayers, and which continues to enable anyone with the ability and the ambition to benefit from higher education to do so. The student finance system will continue to protect borrowers, including women on maternity leave, or any person on any form of parental leave, if they see a reduction in their income. Student loan repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant repayment threshold.</p><p>The recent student loan, Plan 5 reforms, will make the student loan system fairer for taxpayers and fairer for students, helping to keep the system sustainable in the long term. The new loan plan asks graduates to repay for longer and from an income threshold of £25,000 per year, but also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing interest rates to match inflation only. This change ensures that borrowers on the new Plan 5 terms will not repay, under those terms, more than they originally borrowed over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation.</p><p>Lower earners will still be protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold of, currently, £25,000 per year, they won’t be required to make any repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of borrower protection.</p><p>A comprehensive equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022. More information is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 199026 question first answered 18/09/2023 17:07:53 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1660126

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure there is no adverse financial impact on women of student loan interest accrued while they are on maternity leave.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	199026
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>The Government wants a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and taxpayers, and which continues to enable anyone with the ability and the ambition to benefit from higher education to do so. The student finance system will continue to protect borrowers, including women on maternity leave, or any person on any form of parental leave, if they see a reduction in their income. Student loan repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant repayment threshold.</p><p>The recent student loan, Plan 5 reforms, will make the student loan system fairer for taxpayers and fairer for students, helping to keep the system sustainable in the long term. The new loan plan asks graduates to repay for longer and from an income threshold of £25,000 per year, but also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing interest rates to match inflation only. This change ensures that borrowers on the new Plan 5 terms will not repay, under those terms, more than they originally borrowed over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation.</p><p>Lower earners will still be protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold of, currently, £25,000 per year, they won’t be required to make any repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of borrower protection.</p><p>A comprehensive equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022. More information is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 199025 question first answered 18/09/2023 17:07:53 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1658123

registered interest
date	05/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her interview with Sky News on 4 September 2023, if she will provide details of the portacabin providers her Department has contracted to provide temporary accommodation for schools affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	197688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day to day basis, to manage the maintenance of their schools. These responsible bodies may deploy temporary buildings for a wide range of reasons, not all of which will relate to building or refurbishment works. In addition, most building and refurbishment works within schools and colleges do not involve RAAC and will not require the involvement of the Department. The Department does not therefore hold information on the number of schools using temporary classrooms.</p><p>Where schools need to vacate buildings due to RAAC, they use a range of different types of accommodation including accommodation on and off site. On site accommodation can include semi rigid structures and temporary classrooms. Where this is the case, the Department is working with three contractors to accelerate the installation of temporary units in particular. The Department has not, therefore, produced central estimates of the number of temporary classrooms required, however, we can confirm that we have secured significant capacity to meet current needs, and can increase this if necessary. Our focus is on working closely with individual settings to make sure they have workable plans for their individual circumstances and context. Based on the experience where RAAC assessed as critical was found, the Department expects the vast majority will be able to continue to provide face to face teaching with either minimal or no disruption.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 197386 198823 question first answered 18/09/2023 20:04:02 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1657955

registered interest
date	04/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on how many portacabins have been supplied by each provider to schools which need temporary accommodation because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC); and how much her Department has paid to each such provider.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	197386
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day to day basis, to manage the maintenance of their schools. These responsible bodies may deploy temporary buildings for a wide range of reasons, not all of which will relate to building or refurbishment works. In addition, most building and refurbishment works within schools and colleges do not involve RAAC and will not require the involvement of the Department. The Department does not therefore hold information on the number of schools using temporary classrooms.</p><p>Where schools need to vacate buildings due to RAAC, they use a range of different types of accommodation including accommodation on and off site. On site accommodation can include semi rigid structures and temporary classrooms. Where this is the case, the Department is working with three contractors to accelerate the installation of temporary units in particular. The Department has not, therefore, produced central estimates of the number of temporary classrooms required, however, we can confirm that we have secured significant capacity to meet current needs, and can increase this if necessary. Our focus is on working closely with individual settings to make sure they have workable plans for their individual circumstances and context. Based on the experience where RAAC assessed as critical was found, the Department expects the vast majority will be able to continue to provide face to face teaching with either minimal or no disruption.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 197688 198823 question first answered 18/09/2023 20:04:02 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1656339

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
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	Voice over Internet Protocol: Cybercrime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of a cyber attack on the rollout of the Digital Voice services.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	195912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>Ofcom is responsible for ensuring telecoms providers adhere to their regulatory obligations throughout the migration process. Ofcom has published <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/123118/guidance-emergency-access-power-cut.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a> which states that providers must take steps to identify and protect at-risk consumers who are dependent on their landline. Providers have a range of solutions to ensure vulnerable consumers receive additional support. These options include, among others, free battery back-up units to engineer supported installations or hybrid landline phones. The Government is working together with Ofcom to ensure customers receive appropriate levels of communication and vulnerable consumers are protected.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the Department meets regularly with Communications Providers to discuss the progress made in migrating their customers, and to ensure they have adequate plans in place to inform and protect vulnerable consumers.</p><p> </p><p>While the PSTN migration is an industry-led process, industry is accountable to Ofcom in ensuring the security of any new technologies used in their network.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications networks and services. Since October 2022, public telecommunications providers have been required under the Communications Act 2003 (as amended by the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021) to identify and reduce the risk of a wide range of security compromises. The specific requirements providers must follow are set out in the Electronic Communications (Security Measures) Regulations 2022, with accompany technical guidance in a code of practice. Ofcom has also been given powers and duties to investigate, rectify, and penalise any infringement of the statutory security and resilience obligations of network providers.</p><p> </p><p>DSIT also works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, the UK’s technical authority for cyber security, on issues related to the cyber security of the UK's telecoms network. The NCSC is responsible for helping to protect the UK’s critical services from cyber attacks, manage major incidents, and improve the underlying security of the UK's telecoms networks through technological improvement and advice to citizens and organisations. The NCSC issues a range of guidance on its website to support organisations in ensuring secure design and management of their networks.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale grouped question UIN 195917 question first answered 12/09/2023 13:59:59 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1656340

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Voice over Internet Protocol
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the migration of households from the public switched telephone network to the Digital Voice service on the functionality of free-to-use cash machines.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	195913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>The finance sector, including ATM providers are well-prepared for the switch over from the public switched telephone network to voice over internet (VoIP) in 2025.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 11/09/2023 13:12:41 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1656341

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
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	Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with relevant industry stakeholders on the progress towards switching off the public switched telephone network by 2025.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	195914
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department engages regularly with relevant stakeholders to ensure there are adequate plans in place to inform consumers and protect the most vulnerable consumers. This includes, but is not limited to, quarterly progress meetings with individual providers, quarterly meetings with Communications Providers and all government departments, and quarterly meetings with Ofcom. The Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure also convened a roundtable with the largest providers in January 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, is also monitoring the progress of Communications Providers. Ofcom is responsible for ensuring telecoms providers adhere to their regulatory obligations throughout the migration process.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale question first answered 12/09/2023 08:20:49 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1656342

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
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	Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of the public switched telephone network that has been retired as of August 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	195915
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>According to Ofcom’s latest figures, as of August 2023, more than 50% of the UK’s 30 million premises have been moved from the PSTN. The premises that are no longer on the PSTN have moved to various technological options, including 8 million (27%) that have moved to a broadband based Digital Voice solution.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale grouped question UIN 195916 question first answered 12/09/2023 13:48:45 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1656343

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
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	Voice over Internet Protocol
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of households have been switched to the Digital Voice service as of August 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brent Central
tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
uin	195916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>According to Ofcom’s latest figures, as of August 2023, more than 50% of the UK’s 30 million premises have been moved from the PSTN. The premises that are no longer on the PSTN have moved to various technological options, including 8 million (27%) that have moved to a broadband based Digital Voice solution.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale grouped question UIN 195915 question first answered 12/09/2023 13:48:45 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler