Helen Whately MP: written questions 2024
124 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Local Government: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17574More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria she uses to call in planning applications before they are discussed by local councillors.
Answer: Call-in decisions are inherently about process and not the merits of any given planning application.I refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 26 March 2019 (HCWS1452), and on 26 October 2012, columns 71WS-72WS.All relevant matter...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment Schemes: FinanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17573More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the £240 million funding allocated to her Department in the Autumn Budget 2024 for trialling new ways of getting people back into work on savings
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 17010 on 5th December 2024, for the details of how we have allocated the £240 million funding across the White Paper measures.We are working with trailblazers to create their local plans and we are ...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordConnect to Work and Universal SupportDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17572More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the differences are between the (a) Connect to Work and (b) Universal support schemes.
Answer: Connect to Work will use the funding that was initially reserved for the Universal Support Programme. There are aspects of Connect to Work that have similarities with that previously announced programme, such as it being an evidence-based Supported Employ...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordWork Capability AssessmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17193More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Office for Budget Responsibility on the timing of the implementation of changes to the Work Capability Assessment on their projections.
Answer: The Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced. This needs to come alongside a proper plan to support disabled people into work. We will continue to deliver the savings set out by the previous government but will set ou...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordConnect to WorkDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17192More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Connect to Work programme will be implemented in 2025, in the context of its predecessor programme being planned for 2024; and if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of
Answer: As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper published 26 November 2024 Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK, the new voluntary, locally led, supported employment programme Connect to Work will be the first programme under the Government’s new ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment: Mental Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17191More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published November 2024, whether the 384,000 additional Talking Therapies places in Priority 1 were previously (a) announced and (b)
Answer: The Government inherited a £22 billion blackhole in the nation’s finances which has required necessary choices around spending priorities. Despite this backdrop, we were determined to identify the funding required to support NHS Talking Therapies.The Whit...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: SoftwareDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17012More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November 2024, what differences there are between DWP ASK and the A-cubed tool.
Answer: A-cubed was a proof-of-concept project built to test the feasibility of utilising generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist DWP Work Coaches in finding Universal Credit guidance. After the successful completion of the proof-of-concept project, the...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment: DevolutionDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17011More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding for supported employment provision in integrated settlements for devolved authorities is spent in line with the delivery plans for that funding.
Answer: Government has committed to give areas the tools and powers they need to deliver growth, which includes offering integrated settlements. Integrated settlements will give Mayoral Combined Authorities who have shown exemplary management of public money the ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment Schemes: FinanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17010More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what new funding has been provided for the Get Britain Working Fund.
Answer: To help us deliver and build on labour market reforms to Get Britain Working, £240 million was announced in the recent budget. Measures will include:£45m for Youth Guarantee Trailblazers so that all young people in England, aged 18-21, can access quality ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMinimum Wage: Young PeopleDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16970More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing minimum pay age bands for the National Minimum Wage on youth (a) inactivity and (b) unemployment.
Answer: In April 2025, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for workers aged 18 to 20, workers under 18, and apprentices will increase significantly – narrowing the gap between those rates and the National Living Wage.The impact of wage levels on youth employmen...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordWorkWellDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16969More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department’s press releases entitled (a) Good work is good for health, published on 6 November 2024 and (b) New £64 million plan to help people stay in work, published on 7 May 202
Answer: The original WorkWell funding settlement supported up to 59k participants based on unit cost. As part of our grant competition, and as outlined in our Prospectus, local systems were required to bid for the volume of participants they expected to support, ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage: Social Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16784More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Living Wage on the (a) number of people claiming Universal Credit and (b) amount of working age benefi
Answer: The independent Low Pay Commission has published the labour market evidence underlying its recommendations for the April 2025 National Living Wage Rates available at: Low Pay Commission summary of evidence 2024.The Department for Business and Trade, will ...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage: Young PeopleDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16783More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Living Wage on youth (a) inactivity, (b) unemployment and (c) employment.
Answer: In April 2025, the National Living Wage, payable to eligible workers who are 21 years old and over, will increase by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour. The impact of wage levels on youth employment, unemployment and inactivity (usually defined as 16-24-year-olds) a...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordWorkWellDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to expand the WorkWell pilot.
Answer: WorkWell is a pilot that went live from October and will run in 15 areas across England, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16744More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department intends to implement the recommendations of the Disability Action Plan, published on 5 February 2024.
Answer: The Disability Action Plan was an initiative of the previous administration. This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people. We will build on the insights shared by disabled people and their representative organisations, working...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordAutism Employment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16743More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of the recommendations in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment.
Answer: We welcome the independent Buckland Review focused specifically on autism and employment. We intend to build on this to meet our commitment to promoting awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. We are gathering expert evidence on how bes...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment Rights BillDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16742More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the labour market.
Answer: The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with Cabinet and ministerial colleagues, regarding a range of matters. Our ambitions are to reverse the trend of inactivity, and to raise both productivity and living standards whilst improving the qua...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment Rights BillDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16741More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on levels of (a) employment, (b) unemployment and (c) economic inactivity.
Answer: The Employment Rights Bill Impact Assessments was published on October 21 and can be found here. It illustrates that the provision of better-quality work, more family friendly employment protections and flexible working rights could increase the range of ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16740More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions announced the Autumn Budget 2024 on jobs.
Answer: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate by 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the i...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEmploymentTreasuryTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16739More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on jobs.
Answer: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 forecast, which takes into account impacts from policy measures announced in the Budget, expects the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15506More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with producer organisations on the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answer: The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, ...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15504More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to make a decision on the future of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answer: The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, ...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15461More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme beyond 31 December 2025.
Answer: The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, ...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordGarden Communities and M2: SittingbourneMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15023More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to decide on the proposed (a) M2 motorway junction and (b) Highsted Park outline planning applications.
Answer: The decision to call in this application was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in p...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordGarden Communities: SittingbourneMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15022More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with the developers of the Highsted Park outline planning applications.
Answer: The decision to call in this application was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in p...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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