Ian Sollom MP: written questions 2024
50 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Local Government: St NeotsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15869More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of having officials from her Department work at the St Neots Citizen Hub (a) on a permanent basis and (b) one day a week, in the context of helping
Answer: Our Service Leader for East Anglia is very happy to explore the potential to deliver job club/job search sessions at St Neots Citizen Hub. Our Partnership Manager for Cambridge, Huntingdon, Ely and Haverhill has already established a relationship with the...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: Children and Young PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15867More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on ensuring that children and young people in every community have access to drop in mental health support.
Answer: The Government is committed to improving mental health support for children and young people. Our commitment to roll out a network of Young Futures Hubs in every community to provide open access mental health support is proof of this.We are currently work...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: Children and Young PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15866More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the extra funding awarded to early support hubs after March 2025.
Answer: My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented the Autumn Budget to Parliament on 30 October 2024. As a Department, we are finalising the outcomes of the Budget. We will set out plans for mental health funding for 2025/26 in due course. We ...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance Service: CourtsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15843More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of backlogs in court cases on the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to ensure parents receive child maintenance payments on time.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the impact of backlogs very seriously and regularly makes assessments in order to ensure payments are received on time. The Department and HM Courts and Tribunals Service maintain a vitally close working relations...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14780More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that Infected Blood compensation payments to the estates of deceased infected people are the same as those for living infected people.
Answer: The compensation amounts available to people who are infected and affected differ depending on their circumstances. As recommended by the Inquiry, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme has been designed as a tariff-based framework. The proposed tariffs h...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation Scheme: InternetCabinet OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14778More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that information on the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Summary gov.uk webpage remains (a) readily available, (b) accessible to the public and (c) up to date.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring there is regular communication with the public on infected blood. We will ensure that the gov.uk pages are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure the information remains up to date and correct. The Infected Blood ...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14777More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that affected (a) siblings, (b) children and (c) parents of deceased infected people receive the same Infected Blood compensation payments as affected partners of deceased people.
Answer: The compensation amounts available to people who are infected and affected differ depending on their circumstances. As recommended by the Inquiry, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme has been designed as a tariff-based framework. The proposed tariffs h...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14775More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Infected Blood compensation payments to affected (a) siblings, (b) children and (c) parents of deceased infected people will be given the same priority as those to living infected people.
Answer: Following feedback from the infected blood community, the previous administration committed to prioritising making payments to people living with infections as a result of contaminated blood or blood products first. This Government has upheld this commitm...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation Scheme: HepatitisCabinet OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14774More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper entitled Infected Blood Compensation Scheme overview: Living infected persons, published on 23 August 2024, when he plans to publish further evidence requirements for people in
Answer: Under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, there are two ways for a directly infected individual to show eligibility, depending on the date of infection. For those infected during the specified date ranges, they only need to show that they received inf...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCompulsorily Detained Psychiatric PatientsHome OfficeTabled 15 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14520More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained in health-based places of safety under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each year between 2017 and 2023; and what section of that Act they were held under.
Answer: The Home Office annually collects and publishes data on detentions under section 136 and section 135 of the Mental Health Act 1983 as part of the Police Powers and Procedures publication series.The most recent data can be found in the Detentions under the...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordVisas: English LanguageHome OfficeTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14162More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the introduction of Secure English Language Test on (a) international students, (b) research students and (c) skilled workers.
Answer: Secure English Language testing is already in place via commercial arrangements that underpin the policy requirements. The commercial arrangements, and those being considered for the future, will not negatively impact our customers but continue to support...
Answered 22 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHigher Education: VATTreasuryTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14160More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting VAT charges for universities that undertake shared services as a cross-sharing group.
Answer: Universities can already benefit from exempting VAT charges for shared services within a cost sharing group providing certain conditions are met. This enables them to make efficiency savings by working together and sharing qualifying costs without incurri...
Answered 22 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAcademies: AccountabilityDepartment for EducationTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13957More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure academy trusts are subject to local accountability by parents and communities in instances where school policies and complaints procedures fail to resolve concerns.
Answer: Academies are required to have a complaints procedure in place that adheres to Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. Where parents or carers have concerns, they should first approach the academy, and it is their responsi...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance Service: StandardsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the Child Maintenance Service since the reforms announced in February 2024.
Answer: On the 26 February 2024, regulations came into place to remove the £20 Child Maintenance Service application fee as part of the Government’s response to help with the cost-of-living increase.This has resulted in an increase in applications in the quarter ...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance ServiceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13953More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Child Maintenance Service more accessible to parents.
Answer: The aim of the Child Maintenance Service is to create a modern accessible service through our digital transformation and Service Modernisation programmes, to allow our customers to have greater choice of how and when they contact us. Through our digital t...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance Service: StandardsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the percentage of applications cleared by the Child Maintenance Service within six weeks.
Answer: In the year to June 2024 there were 138,000 new applications to the Child Maintenance Service, an increase of 10% since June 2023. The Department’s most recently published statistics show that 76% of applications received were cleared within 6 weeks (up t...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of parents who did not receive their child maintenance payments on time in the last 12 months.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service does not hold data on the timeliness of payments; however, we do hold data on the number of Child Maintenance arrangements on the statutory scheme and the collection of maintenance. The Department publishes the quarterly stat...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordChildren: MaintenanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that all parents receive the correct amount of child maintenance payment on time.
Answer: A principle of child maintenance is to increase levels of cooperation between separated parents and encourage parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support. Where a family-based child maintenance arrangement is no...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood: AllergiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13593More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to help ensure safe dining in restaurants for people with food allergies.
Answer: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a statutory role in leading government policy on food safety, including in gathering evidence and advising the government. Following the FSA Board decision in December 2023, FSA officials are progressing a programme of ...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordJobcentres: St NeotsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13084More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a jobcentre in St Neots.
Answer: The Department for Work and Pensions continually keeps under review the location of Jobcentres across Great Britain to balance customer demand and the range of services required, while also providing value for money for the taxpayer. There are no plans to...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDriving Tests: St NeotsDepartment for TransportTabled 6 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13083More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a driving test centre in St Neots.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13044More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 Vaccine.
Answer: All vaccines in the United Kingdom must be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be placed on the UK market. The MHRA assesses all applications for authorisations of vaccines promptly, to ensure their...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordLarge Goods Vehicles: ConcreteDepartment for TransportTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12239More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will carry out an assessment of the impact of the regulatory changes to volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2018 on the construction industry.
Answer: The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for VCMs. Any potential changes to the current policy position on VCM weight limits will need to consider the implications for r...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordWines: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10360More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make the temporary duty easement for wines permanent from 1 February 2025.
Answer: In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume. The reforms aimed to modernise and simplify the system, to prioritise public health and incentivise consumpt...
Answered 24 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: ReformDepartment for EducationTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9821More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of delaying the outcome of her short review of post-16 qualification reforms until December 2024 on (a) schools’ ability to provide effectiv
Answer: In July, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a short review of qualifications reform. The rapid review is focused on Level 3 qualifications currently scheduled to have funding removed on 31 July 2025.The department unders...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
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