Lisa Smart MP: written questions
321 published records · newest first.
Written questions
New Homes OmbudsmanMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 37745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will make it her policy to require all housing developers to register with the New Homes Ombudsman Service.
Answer: The government believes that existing redress mechanisms for those buying a new home are inadequate. We are therefore working with the devolved administrations to implement the statutory UK-wide New Homes Ombudsman (NHO) to investigate and resolve complai...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: EnergyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34984More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether measures are in place to prevent private landlords from inflating the cost of electricity when reselling it to tenants.
Answer: Ofgem’s Maximum Resale Price Guidance protects tenants from being charged inflated electricity costs by their landlord. It sets a maximum price that can be charged for electricity and gas which has already been bought from an authorised supplier.The curre...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRented Housing: UtilitiesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34983More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to (a) issue guidance and (b) strengthen regulations to ensure that landlords provide (i) transparent and (ii) fair billing when reselling utilities
Answer: Measures are already in place to protect tenants from landlords passing on inflated utility bills. Where tenants pay their landlord for their water, rather than paying a water company directly, they are protected by Ofwat’s guidelines on water resale. Thi...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34666More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered introducing a transitional funding arrangement for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond March 2025 to prevent a gap in therapeutic support for eligible children.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as ...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children currently undergoing therapy funded by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund do not experience disruption to their care due to uncertainty around th
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as ...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34664More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund funding not being extended beyond March 2025 on children receiving therapy through that fund
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as ...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRoad Works: UtilitiesDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34343More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing increased powers to local councils to help them ensure that utility companies adhere to agreed timescales for completing emergency works on cr
Answer: The Government continues to review how works are planned, managed and communicated and how this can be improved. The Government announced in December that we will be clamping down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment: HealthDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34342More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will encourage the adoption of the Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment toolkit across (a) Government Departments and (b) local authorities.
Answer: We would like the mental health impacts on adults, children, and young people to be considered in all policymaking across Government. We are considering how to support the relevant departments to do this.Mental health cannot just be the responsibility of ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: Workplace PensionsTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34039More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on ensuring that tax guidance relating to the McCloud remedy is issued in a timely manner.
Answer: HM Treasury and responsible departments are supporting public service pension schemes to ensure they are able to provide a timely remedy to affected members. HMRC has issued a range of tax guidance to assist pension schemes in administering the McCloud re...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: Workplace PensionsTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34038More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and (b) other pension providers have adequate (i) resources and (ii) support to complete the McCloud pension remedy process by 31 March
Answer: HM Treasury and responsible departments are supporting public service pension schemes to ensure they are able to provide a timely remedy to affected members. HMRC has issued a range of tax guidance to assist pension schemes in administering the McCloud re...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34037More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS hospital staff receive adequate (a) training and (b) support to manage dementia patients in general hospital wards.
Answer: Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver the appropriate treatment for patients. Individual trusts are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to carry out ...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: Care HomesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34036More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in transferring dementia patients from hospitals to social care settings.
Answer: Almost one million people in the United Kingdom are living with dementia, and that figure is expected to rise. Each of those people, alongside their friends, families and carers, have their own unique and important story of living with dementia, and this ...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34035More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to issue updated guidance on the placement of dementia patients in hospital wards.
Answer: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on dementia states which aspects of care should be expected to ensure quality dementia care in hospital. This includes appropriate admission to hospital, comprehensive assessments, an...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity OrdersMinistry of JusticeTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34034More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure individuals subject to a community order are able to complete their unpaid work in a neighbouring local authority area.
Answer: Community Payback allows offenders to pay recompense to the communities they have harmed by completing between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work. The work primarily takes place in the local area to where the offender resides. This allows for reduced travel ...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDangerous Driving: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will undertake a review of sentencing guidelines for causing serious injury by careless driving.
Answer: The Sentencing Guideline for the offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving was published by the Sentencing Council in June 2022 and came into force in July 2023.The Council is independent of Parliament and Government. As an in...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLand Banking: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34032More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to replace Business Rates with a Land Value Tax collected by local authorities to disincentivise land banking by developers.
Answer: We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. At the Autumn Budget, we published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for reform and invites stakeholders to hav...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Workplace PensionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34031More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of issues with the reconciliation of pension contributions by Capita on GPs.
Answer: General practitioners (GPs) are required to submit either a type one or type two annual certificate each year to Primary Care Support England (PCSE). Each certificate received by PCSE is reconciled on an individual basis, and the GP’s record is updated ac...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Workplace PensionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34030More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to hold Capita accountable where it fails to provide GPs with accurate annual pension statements under the Primary Care Support England scheme.
Answer: Capita, who delivers Primary Care Support England (PCSE), does not issue pension statements to general practitioners (GPs), as this is the responsibility of NHS Pensions, which is managed by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). PCSE updates GP p...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: DeductionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34029More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the priority order of Universal Credit deductions; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that child maintenance payments have prio
Answer: The Government is committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes, and in support of this the Chancellor announced at the Autumn Budget, the Fair Repayment Rate (FRR), this measure is a permanent ch...
Answered 4 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Direct DebitsTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34028More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 20062 on Bank Services: Direct Debits, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that organisations receiving payments via Direct Debit always (a) verify
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 18 December 2024 to PQ UIN 20062.
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34027More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any redress mechanisms are available for claimants who were misadvised by Jobcentre Plus staff to claim Universal Credit before their official migration date and consequently lost entitlement to
Answer: Customers who are unhappy with the service provided by DWP can contact us by phone, in person or in writing. Universal Credit claimants can also use their journal. Complaints procedure - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34026More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Jobcentre Plus advisers provide (a) accurate and (b) comprehensive advice to claimants on (i) entitlement to transitional protection and (ii) other asp
Answer: All Jobcentre advisers are given key information about Move to UC. We have a network of Transformation Leads attached to each Area who represent our Jobcentre and Service Centre network within Move to UC to ensure that our colleagues are getting the upski...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDangerous Driving: AnimalsDepartment for TransportTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34025More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending sections 1 to 3A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to extend dangerous driving offences to include incidents causing the (a) death and (b) serious i
Answer: The Government has no plans to consider amending the Road Traffic Act 1988 in the way suggested.
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Mental HealthDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34024More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to make Personal Independence Payment application forms more accessible for people with mental health issues; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (
Answer: It is a fundamental principle that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment should not just consider whether an individual can complete an activity, but the way they can do it. When formulating their advice to the decision maker, health profess...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLegal Profession: InsolvencyMinistry of JusticeTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34023More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is taking steps to support people who have been left personally liable for legal costs following the collapse of no-win-no-fee law firms.
Answer: The legal profession in England and Wales together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). Given the sector’s ind...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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