Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jas Athwal this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 142 · this parliament
Whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on improving the running of the Elizabeth line.
Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London (TfL) on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL has overall responsibility for the management of the Elizabeth Line which is operated by their current contractor MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on reducing pollution in (a) London and (b) Ilford South constituency.
Poor air quality continues to be the biggest environmental risk to human health. Responsibility for air quality is devolved in London, but we welcome the progress made in London to address air pollution and improve people’s health. Defra officials regularly meet with the Greater London Authority to discuss air quality.
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce levels of poverty among children in Ilford South constituency.
The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and is exploring all available levers across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change. The Devolved Governments and Local Authorities are a key part of our approach to learning directly about the experience of poverty in different communities and solutions already underway. The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments. The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform the Strategy. The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers. To further support struggling households, funding of £742 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.
What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in (a) Ilford South constituency and (b) London.
The information requested is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help protect children from (a) deception, (b) bullying, (c) abuse and (d) harmful content online.
Our priority is the implementation of the Online Safety Act so children benefit from its protections.The Act requires services to protect users from illegal content. Companies will also need to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children and provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, such as abuse, bullying, and content that promotes eating disorders or self-harm. Measures include using age assurance and changing their algorithms to filter out harmful content.The illegal content duties are now in effect and the child safety duties will be enforceable by this summer.
What steps his Department is taking to help improve preventative HIV care in London.
The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030. The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and partners are developing the new HIV Action Plan for England, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address improving preventive HIV care and HIV health promotion campaigns across England, including in London.HIV testing is partly funded by local authorities through the ringfenced Public Health Grant (PHG). In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.The London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP) and Sexual Health London (SHL) are key organisations at the centre of London’s HIV prevention efforts, working to reduce new HIV diagnoses and improve access to testing. The LHPP promotes early testing and prevention, particularly among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, through its Do It London campaigns and targeted outreach. In parallel, SHL offers free, easy-to-access sexually transmitted infection testing for Londoners aged 16 years old and over via online self-sampling and local collection points.
What steps his Department is taking to help ensure the effectiveness of HIV health promotion campaigns in reaching (a) under served and (b) at risk communities.
The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030. The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and partners are developing the new HIV Action Plan for England, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address improving preventive HIV care and HIV health promotion campaigns across England, including in London.HIV testing is partly funded by local authorities through the ringfenced Public Health Grant (PHG). In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.The London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP) and Sexual Health London (SHL) are key organisations at the centre of London’s HIV prevention efforts, working to reduce new HIV diagnoses and improve access to testing. The LHPP promotes early testing and prevention, particularly among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, through its Do It London campaigns and targeted outreach. In parallel, SHL offers free, easy-to-access sexually transmitted infection testing for Londoners aged 16 years old and over via online self-sampling and local collection points.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products.
We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products. As part of considerations around mandatory healthiness targets, the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) was created in 2023. This was a shared programme of work across the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency. The FDTP was paused at the General Election and is being reviewed alongside other obesity policies.The UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is used as the underpinning model for The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024. A product will be in scope if it falls within one of the product categories in the schedule to these regulations and scores four or above for food, or one or above for drink when applying the 2004 to 2005 NPM using the 2011 technical guidance. We do not require businesses to publish information related to the NPM.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling Ukrainian refugees who are living in the UK to obtain the right to remain.
The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications on 4 February 2025, which enables Ukrainians in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes to apply for a further 18 months’ temporary permission to remain in the UK.We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine to assist in the rebuilding of the country. It is important our approach respects these wishes.This is why the temporary sanctuary Ukraine visa Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK. We continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.
If she has made any assessment of the potential merits of the free provision of period products in public buildings in England.
This Government's approach is to resolve the issue at the source by tackling the reasons women and girls are pushed into period poverty to start with. We are protecting women’s living standards, alongside the public services they rely on, so that no one has to go without life's essentials. We are also continuing to make free period products available through several different avenues, including in schools and hospitals, to ensure that they are accessible to those most in need.
What steps her Department is taking to (a) improve access to pension information and (b) introduce the Pension Dashboards Scheme.
The Government ensures everyone has access to free impartial pension guidance through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Their MoneyHelper service provides guidance to the public on all areas of UK pensions. In September 2024, MaPS launched a new digital service to give individuals more choice on how to access guidance from Pension Wise, which is part of MoneyHelper. Pensions dashboards will improve access to pensions information by allowing people to view information about their pensions, including the State Pension, securely and in one place online. This will help promote greater engagement with pensions information, empowering people to better prepare for retirement. MaPS oversees the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which is responsible for designing and implementing the digital architecture that will make pensions dashboards work. The PDP continues to test the connection journeys with around 20 volunteer participants. This activity will help support the connection of pension schemes and providers to the dashboards digital architecture from the end of April 2025, in line with the published timetable. The connection of schemes and providers in line with the dates in guidance will enable MaPS and the PDP to undertake user testing, in turn helping to inform the launch of dashboard services at the earliest possible point. Further information on dashboards delivery progress is set out in the update report, published biannually on the PDP’s website: www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/progress-update-report.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) counselling and (b) psychological support for patients who receive a diagnosis of terminal illness.
NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help protect grassroots sports venues in London.
This Government recognises that grassroots sports facilities are important to communities up and down the country. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Sport England’s site Buddle provides free learning and support resources to inspire and strengthen clubs and community organisations offering sport and physical activity.The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities. £123 million is being invested UK-wide via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2024/25, including support for 20 projects in London.
What steps his Department is taking to tackle inequalities in access to end of life care services.
NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in high streets in (a) London and (b) Ilford South constituency.
The government is fully committed to revitalising our high streets and supporting businesses to make our towns, including those in London and Ilford South constituency, successful. We recognise the important role Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) provide, such as Ilford BID, that attract investment and improve trade in local town centres. We have introduced High Street Rental Auctions, which give local authorities the power to auction off the lease of persistently vacant commercial premises, to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants. Through our UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the London Borough of Redbridge is providing support for local businesses and has invested in improvements to Ilford town centre public realm. The Small Business Strategy Command Paper, to be published in 2025, will set out this Government’s plans to improve access to finance and inward investment to foster thriving high streets.
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes based on religion in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Ilford South constituency.
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, and the Government continues to work closely with community partners to tackle it. The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The Government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences. In 2024/25, up to £50.9 million is available to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths. The Government established a new working group to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, advising government and other bodies on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims. Since his appointment, the Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement has made it a priority to meet with people of all major faiths and beliefs across our diverse country.
What steps she is taking to help reduce phone theft in (a) east London and (b) Ilford South constituency.
On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London and leading tech companies to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves.As a result of the summit, representatives from policing and tech agreed to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the organised criminal networks driving this problem and to instigate new work to tackle the problem.To aid police investigations and recovery of stolen goods, our Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to those premises and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. We are also committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers.The Crime Survey for England and Wales provides national estimates of the number of victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales; this data is not broken down to sub-national geographies.
What steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.
This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud.In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.The Bill was introduced on 22nd January, and is currently being examined at the Committee Stage.Utilising emerging technology to counter fraud is vital. That’s why the Public Sector Fraud Authority uses advanced analytics and is developing artificial intelligence tools to help counter fraud experts better understand, prevent and detect fraud.
What steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in (a) England, (b) London, and (c) Ilford South constituency.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.That’s why we are delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing, putting 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities by the end of the Parliament .We will also equip the police to crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets and in communities. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced tougher powers to tackle repeat offending, including the new Respect Order to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.
Whether she has had discussions with representatives of the mobile phone industry on (a) using technology to prevent stolen phones from being re-used and (b) the adequacy of security on banking phone apps.
On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London and leading tech companies to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves.As a result of the summit, representatives from policing and tech agreed to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the organised criminal networks driving this problem and to instigate new work to tackle the problem.To aid police investigations and recovery of stolen goods, our Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to those premises and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. We are also committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers.The Crime Survey for England and Wales provides national estimates of the number of victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales; this data is not broken down to sub-national geographies.