Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ian Byrne this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 208 · this parliament
What assessment has she made of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.
I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Liverpool West Derby, to my written statement of 22 April 2025, which is available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-04-22/hcws589.
What steps his Department is taking to support local pubs.
Hospitality businesses, including pubs, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth. We've launched a licensing taskforce aimed at cutting red tape and removing barriers that hinder progress. The Government also plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000.Additionally, we've introduced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities. This includes helping those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity across the sector.
What assessment her Department has made of the decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance on rates of poverty.
No assessment has been made using current economic assumptions and methodological practices.However, the department has previously produced a poverty impact assessment using OBR economic assumptions from 30 October 2024 on an outdated version of the model. Using this methodology, the department has estimated the poverty impact of uprating the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to the 30th percentile of rents in a broad rental market area compared to freezing it. Uprating the LHA to the 30th percentile in each year has been estimated to decrease the number of individuals in relative poverty after housing costs by 50,000 (0.1%) individuals in 25/26 and 100,000 (0.1%) individuals in 28/29 compared to freezing it at April 2024 levels.Estimates have been rounded to the nearest 50,000 and are on a UK basis. The poverty impacts are independent of the underlying trends in poverty, so they are not an estimate of the total change in poverty over time.Since this version of the model, the welfare policies announced at Autumn Budget and Spring Statement have been incorporated into the model and the economic assumptions have been updated to OBR's March 2025 assumptions.At last year’s Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State’s decision to maintain LHA at current levels for 2025/26 was taken after a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024, and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years.Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the fiscal context.For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of social housing.
At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 25 March 2025 (HCWS549).The investment made at Spring statement follows the £800 million in new in-year funding which has been made available for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme and that will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.We will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.We also confirmed a range of new flexibilities for councils and housing associations, both within the Affordable Homes Programme and in relation to how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts. Having reduced Right to Buy discounts to their pre-2012 regional levels, we have allowed councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales.The government recognise that Registered Providers need support to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply. Between 30 October 2024 and 23 December 2024, the government consulted on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement, to give Registered Providers the certainty they need to invest in new social and affordable housing.
What steps his Department is taking to protect workers' rights for app-based taxi drivers.
Our Plan to Make Work Pay will modernise the UK labour market and address challenges thrown up by new trends and technologies. The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivery, and will provide a new baseline of security for workers. Once implemented, it will raise the minimum floor of employment rights, raise living standards across the country and level the playing field for businesses engaged in good practices.We have also committed to consult on a simpler employment status framework, distinguishing between workers and the genuinely self-employed, ensuring that all workers have the comfort of protection at work.
What steps she is taking to ensure state schools have adequate levels of funding.
The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning that it will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a 6% overall increase, which against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal picture, demonstrates the government’s commitment to enabling every child to achieve and thrive through delivery of the Opportunity Mission.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of pausing student loan interest from accruing while new parents are in receipt of statutory maternity pay.
Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.The student finance system protects borrowers if they see a reduction in their income for whatever reason. This includes those in receipt of statutory maternity pay, or any other person on parental leave. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a regulator for artificial intelligence.
The vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at point of use and our expert regulators are best placed to do this. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to identifying capability needs for regulators to mitigate AI risks and drive growth.The most advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks, and the Government is therefore developing legislative proposals to allow us to safely and securely realise the benefits of these systems. We are refining our proposals and will launch a public consultation in due course.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on disabled students' future employment prospects.
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather their feedback and insights on the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance funding.The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on student retention rates at universities.
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather their feedback and insights on the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance funding.The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.
What estimate he has made of the number of NHS Ophthalmology departments that do not have enough consultants to provide a full service for patients needing treatment for (a) glaucoma and (b) wet macular degeneration.
The Department does not hold information on shortages of ophthalmology consultants. Appropriate levels of staffing will be decided by local system workforce planning.NHS England publishes quarterly National Health Service hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. The publication sets out vacancy rates for total NHS staff and, separately, for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level. The latest data for December 2024 shows the vacancy rate for doctors was 5.2%. The data is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for ophthalmology consultants.
What estimate he has made of the number of NHS Ophthalmology departments that do not have enough consultants to provide a full service.
The Department does not hold information on shortages of ophthalmology consultants. Appropriate levels of staffing will be decided by local system workforce planning.NHS England publishes quarterly National Health Service hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. The publication sets out vacancy rates for total NHS staff and, separately, for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level. The latest data for December 2024 shows the vacancy rate for doctors was 5.2%. The data is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for ophthalmology consultants.
What assessment he has made of the quality of lenses used by private providers of NHS cataract surgery.
No assessment has been made of the quality of lenses used by private providers of National Health Service cataract surgery.The safety of all patients, whether they are treated in the NHS or the independent sector, is a top priority for the Government. All providers of healthcare are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality, below which care should never fall.
What estimate he has made of the number and proportion of patients who have received NHS cataract surgery in private clinics and have then been re-admitted post-surgery to NHS providers in each of the last six years.
A table showing the number and proportion of patients who received National Health Service cataract surgery in private clinics, who were then re-admitted post-surgery to NHS providers in each of the last six years, is attached.
What recent estimate he has made of the number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment for (a) wet macular degeneration and (b) glaucoma in (i) England, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) Liverpool.
The classification codes required to identify pathways where patients may have glaucoma or macular degeneration do not allow for distinction between the two conditions. The following table provides an estimate of the number of patients who have been waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment specifically for wet macular degeneration and glaucoma in England, Merseyside, and Liverpool, via the latter’s integrated care boards (ICBs), as a snapshot for the week ending 27 April 2025, extracted on 8 May 2025:ConditionEnglandCheshire and Merseyside ICBNHS Liverpool Sub ICBGlaucoma or macular degeneration782412Source: Waiting List Minimum Data Set, NHS England.However, these figures may include patients that also have other conditions, as full coding for glaucoma and macular degeneration procedures requires diagnostic codes that are not available in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his policy on arms trade with Israel.
In September 2024, we took decisive action, suspending licences for the Israeli Defence Forces that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. We have maintained the suspension and assess there are no export licences currently being used for military operations in Gaza. This is subject to the specific measures taken with respect to the global F-35 programme.
What estimate he has made of the number of patients to have undergone NHS cataract surgery in private clinics in each of the last six years.
The following table shows the number of patients who have undergone National Health Service cataract surgery in private clinics in each of the last six years:YearIndependent provider totalDifferenceAdmissionsPatientsAdmissionsPatients2017/1875,09657,676--2018/19101,60977,65226,51319,9762019/20132,980100,81531,37123,1632020/2199,18577,98233,79522,8332021/22230,717175,985131,53298,0032022/23373,252276,175142,535100,1902023/24457,714327,12184,46250,9462024/25377,265267,01180,44960,110Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England. Note: the data for 2024/25 is provisional as counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final data set.
Whether he plans to extend the Nursery Milk Scheme entitlement to the end of the academic year in which a child turns five.
The Nursery Milk Scheme is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five who attend a setting for two or more hours per day. Schools can claim reimbursement from the scheme in respect of their pupils aged under five years old.There are no plans to extend eligibility for the Nursery Milk Scheme to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. Separate legislation allows pupils from lower-income families, and who are eligible for free school meals, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.
What estimate he has made of the number and proportion of NHS hospital trusts unable to deliver comprehensive eyecare services to (a) adults and (b) children.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning secondary eye care services to meet local population need. Appropriate levels of staffing are decided by local system workforce planning.We recognise the challenges facing secondary eye care services. NHS England has been testing how IT connectivity can improve the triage and referral of patients between primary and secondary care, and how to allow more patients to be managed in the community, increasing secondary eye care capacity.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing monitoring compliance with School Food Standards.
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool West Derby to the answer of 9 May 2025 to Question 48872.