Rachael Maskell MP: written questions
708 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Fuel PovertyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3727More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that people (a) who use a prepayment meter and (b) in fuel poverty are able to heat their homes in Winter 2024-2025.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting households with the cost of energy this winter, and we are continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households. The setting of prices for c...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: MetersDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3726More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to ensure that people on a prepayment meter pay no more for energy than those on a contract.
Answer: The setting of prices for customers on a prepayment meter or on a fixed contract is a commercial matter for energy suppliers. The Ofgem price cap for the period 1 October 2024 to 31 December was published in August, and the price cap level for prepayment ...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: BillingDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3725More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to enable people on a prepayment meter to move onto an energy contract.
Answer: It is a commercial matter for energy suppliers and their customers to determine which payment method customers should use. Any consumer who wishes to change their payment method or amend their contract should speak to their supplier. It is worth noting th...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: Disability and Older PeopleDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3724More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to prioritise his Department's housing retrofit programme to target (a) older and (b) disabled people.
Answer: The Government's current energy efficiency schemes are targeted at consumers with low incomes and those in the least efficient households in the UK.Through the Warm Homes Plan, we will invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next five years in clean heat an...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: Older PeopleDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3723More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to ensure that energy companies have a legal responsibility to ensure that homes belonging to people in receipt of the State Pension are (a) warm and (b) damp-fr
Answer: Government is supporting households through our Warm Homes Plan, including energy efficiency schemes such as ECO4 and GBIS, which are legal obligations placed on energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency measures to eligible households, making homes w...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDeath: WeatherDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3722More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of estimates of the number of deaths in cold housing.
Answer: The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing p...
Answered 16 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3721More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure (a) people just above the Pension Credit threshold and (b) other older people can meet their energy costs,.
Answer: Over the next five years we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioner...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3720More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a Winter Fuel Payment for older people (a) based on Council Tax Band and (b) as a payment liable to tax.
Answer: It would not be possible to pay winter fuel payments to pensioners according to their council tax band as my department does not hold data on people’s council tax banding. Additionally, council tax band is not always an accurate reflection of someone’s in...
Answered 12 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordOccupational Health: BusinessDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3719More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a requirement for large businesses to offer their employees access to occupational health services.
Answer: Expert-led impartial advice and interventions such as occupational health can help employers provide appropriate and timely work-based support to manage their employees’ health conditions, and also support business productivity. Occupational Health can pl...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordOccupational Health: UnemploymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3718More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to use occupational health to help reduce levels of economic inactivity.
Answer: Expert-led impartial advice, including occupational health, can help employers provide appropriate and timely work-based support to manage their employees’ health conditions, and also support business productivity. Occupational health supports employers t...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordRespiratory Syncytial Virus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3717More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what criteria he selected the ages for RSV vaccine roll out.
Answer: The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programmes began on 1 September in England. The immunisation offer consists of a maternal programme for pregnant women to protect newborn babies, a routine programme for those turning 75 years old, and a c...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDental ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3716More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, what steps he plans to take to increase the NHS participation rate for dentists.
Answer: As we fix the National Health Service, we will deliver the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, so patients are always cared for by the right, qualified healthcare professional. The NHS has for years been facing chronic workforce shortages and we must be honest ...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDentistry: RecruitmentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3715More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to recruit additional (a) academic and (b) non-academic dental school staff before September 2026.
Answer: Individual dental schools are responsible for the recruitment of their academic and non-academic staff.
Answered 23 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDentistry: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3714More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, when he plans to announce which schools will provide (a) new and (b) additional dental training places from September 2026.
Answer: No specific date has been set for the Office for Students to commence the process for dental training place applications from 2026 onwards. The Department will set out next steps in relation to dental training in due course.We are determined to fix our Na...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordPlanningMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 3713More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to help planning authorities prioritise reducing health inequalities.
Answer: As part of the current government consultation on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we are seeking views on proposed changes intended to ensure that the planning system supports the increased provision and modernisation of key public serv...
Answered 10 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordNHS: PayDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2383More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Government's pay offer to non-Pay Review Body staff on (a) recruitment and (b) retention in those organisations.
Answer: No assessment has been made, on either recruitment or retention, of the impact of pay uplifts confirmed by the Government on non-Pay Review Body (PRB) staff.Independent organisations, organisations that fall outside of the PRB’s remit, such as social ente...
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordJunior Doctors: PayDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2382More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the pay differential between junior doctors and Agenda for Change staff following his Department's recent pay offer to junior doctors.
Answer: The different roles and responsibilities of junior doctors, compared to Agenda for Change (AfC) staff, makes it difficult to draw a simple comparison. Junior doctor pay scales cover a wide range of experience, from new medical graduates, to those about to...
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordAll Saints Roman Catholic School York: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2381More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether All Saints School in York will receive funding for (a) repairs and (b) development.
Answer: The department has confirmed that All Saints School is in the School Rebuilding Programme. The department currently expects feasibility and procurement, planning and design to start from April 2025.
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordTransport: North YorkshireDepartment for TransportTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2380More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which (a) road and (b) rail projects have been cancelled in North Yorkshire.
Answer: The Chancellor set out on 29 July a range of pressures on public spending, including £2.9 billion of unfunded transport specific spending. Following this, the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement on 30 July set out that the Department is und...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2379More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with elderly medical care specialists on the potential impact of stopping winter fuel payments on the health needs of the elderly.
Answer: This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the governme...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2378More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support people who cannot afford their energy bills in winter 2024-25.
Answer: The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides an annual £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households. We are also extending the Household Support Fund to help struggling households with bills and essentia...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Children and Winter Fuel PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2377More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of households that are impacted by the two child benefit cap and the ending of their Winter Fuel Allowance.
Answer: The two-child limit does not apply in Pension Credit No estimate has been made of the number of households that are impacted by the policy to support a maximum of two children and the ending of their Winter Fuel Payment. This government is committed to pe...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2376More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment on levels of equality.
Answer: This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the governme...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordClass SizesDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2375More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase class sizes to accommodate children moving from the independent sector to the state sector.
Answer: The number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of changes in the independent sector is expected to represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector. Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research has estimated that up t...
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsTreasuryTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2374More
Question: To ask the Chancellor for the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that pupils without an education, health and care who have experienced trauma are exempt from the introduction of VAT on private school fees.
Answer: The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential publ...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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