Q14

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Kate Osborne (Jarrow) (Lab):

Privatisation does not work. It does not work for our national health service—we have another amber alert in the NHS blood service, which this week’s Chancellor sold when he was Health Secretary. Nor does it work for our postal service—Royal Mail Group took £758 million in profit last year, yet our universal service obligation is at risk, and workers’ pay and conditions and 10,000 jobs are under threat. Will the Prime Minister continue to let obscene amounts of profit be made while services are cut and stamp prices rise, or will she launch an inquiry into the gross mismanagement of Royal Mail?

Q9

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Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD):

The Government’s botched Budget gave unfunded tax cuts to some of the richest companies, while across the country there are hospitals worried that their roofs might collapse at any moment: Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Frimley Park Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which is in the Prime Minister’s own local area. Those are just three of a number of hospitals that together need hundreds of millions of pounds, some of them urgently. Will the Prime Minister promise that every affected hospital will be given the money it needs to fix those dangerous roofs in the next 12 months?

Is the Foreign Secretary aware that the FCDO has set an annual budget limit for the Independent Commission for Aid Impact that will prevent it from carrying out the workplan to scrutinise UK aid that it previously agreed with my Select Committee? Will she look into this, please?

Members of the all-party parliamentary group on Fairtrade recently met Bismark, a Fairtrade producer from Ghana who attended COP26 to explain how climate change was affecting his crops. As we approach Fairtrade fortnight, will international development Ministers outline how a farmer like Bismark will be able to access the climate-adaptation finance that the UK pledged at COP26 and that will support producers, tackle climate change and improve food security?

Today is the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that 1.6 million women experienced domestic abuse last year. Since the pandemic began, domestic abuse has intensified and women have reported finding it harder to escape. Yet 10 years of sustained cuts to services have left just 4,000 beds available for women who are fleeing domestic violence. It is obvious that the funding provided so far is too little too late, so can the Minister say when the Government will adequately fund services and give women the confidence they need, so that they will be protected by this Government?

We expect employers to comply with the law in their treatment of disabled employees. Employers who discriminate against such employees rightly run the risk of claims for disability discrimination against them being taken to employment tribunals, which have power to award unlimited damages (including compensation for injured feelings) in addition to any award made in relation to employment law claims (such as loss of earnings).

Employment tribunal judgments, including those involving disability discrimination, are publicly available at https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions. Guidance for employers to help them avoid claims for disability discrimination against them are available from Acas and from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

In 2019 the EHRC published two pieces of guidance; a guide to help employees including disabled staff challenge discrimination at work, and a guide to help employers understand their responsibilities to provide disabled staff with additional support and workplace adjustments.

As an independent public body, decisions on the allocation of resources within the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s overall budget are matters for the Commission. In the current financial year, the EHRC has an allocated budget of £17.7m and has revised its allocated funding for enforcement of these regulations using existing funds.

The Government Equalities Office monitors the volume of complaints about accessible websites made in the first instance to the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS), and is satisfied that this remains well within the current budgets of both the EASS and the EHRC. This position will be kept under review.

Funding received by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in the last five years is set out in the table below;

The EnAble Fund for Elected Office was designed as an interim measure to allow political parties time to put in place support. Political parties were fully informed that the fund was for a limited period, and strongly encouraged to put support for their candidates in place.

While financial support for candidates in elections is a matter for political parties, the Government is also considering what support it might provide to succeed the current EnAble fund. The Disability Unit is considering options in connection with the National Strategy for Disabled People, which is due to be published in 2020.

The EnAble Fund for Elected Office was designed as an interim measure to allow political parties time to put in place support. Political parties were fully informed that the fund was for a limited period, and strongly encouraged to put support for their candidates in place.

While financial support for candidates in elections is a matter for political parties, the Government is also considering what support it might provide to succeed the current EnAble fund. The Disability Unit is considering options in connection with the National Strategy for Disabled People, which is due to be published in 2020.

We are keeping our families, communities and country safe by making sure the police have the resources they need to carry out their vital work. We protected police funding in real terms at the Spending Review 2015. Recognising that the police are responding to a shift in demand, in 2019/20 we have: increased the Government’s core grant to police forces by £161m; and, allowed Police and Crime Commissioners to increase their council tax precept referendum principle to £24, which if used in full would raise £509m.

The upcoming Spending Review will allow the government to consider its priorities across all spending.

The government recognizes how important an issue childcare is to families with young children and we’re taking action to help people with the cost of living. That is why we will be spending almost £6 billion a year on childcare support in 2019/20 – a record amount. Spending decisions beyond 2019/20 will be considered in full at the Spending Review.

The government recognizes how important an issue childcare is to families with young children. That is why we will be spending almost £6 billion a year on childcare support in 2019/20 – a record amount. This includes an initial allocation of around £3.5 billion for free childcare. Spending decisions beyond 2019/20 will be a matter for the Spending Review.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Transport regularly discuss a variety of transport proposals. The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the Strategic Outline Business Case for the proposed Midlands Rail Hub, including the request for funding to undertake an Outline Business Case.

At Budget 2018, the government announced that £10 million from UK Research and Innovation will be invested into the fisheries and seafood industries to help ensure the UK is a world leader in safe, sustainable and productive fishing.

Defra and Cefas will deliver this funding. I understand they expect to launch the fund shortly.

The Chancellor has regular discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on a range of topics.

The government is committed to helping parents into work, and recognises that childcare costs can affect their decisions to take up work or increase their hours. That is why we are spending almost £6 billion in 2019-20 on childcare.

Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85% of their childcare costs, compared to 70% under the legacy benefit system. This can be claimed up to a month before starting a job, and is worth up to £13,000 a year for a family with two children. Where claimants face difficulty in paying their costs upfront, Jobcentres will use the Flexible Support Fund, which is a non-repayable award. Budgeting advances are also available for those already in work.

Dementia care is supported by both NHS and adult social care finding. As part of the NHS’s cash increase of £33.9bn a year by 2023-24 and outlined in their long-term plan, the NHS will provide better support for people with dementia through a more active focus on supporting people in the community. And over three years (2017-18 to 2019-20) we have given councils access to up to around £10bn more dedicated funding for adult social care.

Work is the best route out of poverty. Since 2010 there are 667,000 fewer children living in workless households – a near record low. Employment is at a record high, unemployment is at its lowest rate since the 1970s, and wages have outstripped inflation for a year.

As a result of UK Government decisions at Budget, the Welsh Government benefited from a £550 million funding boost. This includes over £25 million resulting from a 5% uplift in Barnett consequentials as agreed in the Welsh Government’s Fiscal Framework. It is for the Welsh Government to decide how to spend this funding according to its priorities.

Treasury ministers regularly discuss public spending issues with Cabinet Colleagues.

This year the Government is investing £43 billion of core funding into schools, ensuring that core schools funding grows in real terms per pupil. The National Funding Formula is providing every local authority with more money for every pupil in every school.

This means thousands of underfunded schools will attract significantly larger gains of up to 6% per pupil and every school attracting at least 1% more per pupil over the last two years.

Dementia care is supported by both NHS and adult social care funding. As part of the NHS’s cash increase of £33.9bn a year by 2023-24 and outlined in their long-term plan, the NHS will provide better support for people with dementia through a more active focus on supporting people in the community. And over three years (2017-18 to 2019-20) we have given councils access to up to around £10bn more dedicated funding for adult social care.