Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

If he will make it his policy to abolish standing charges on energy bills.

Standing charges cover the costs energy suppliers take on to provide consumers with electricity. Although they are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them. Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving some supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. We will continue to support Ofgem in this work and ensure that standing charges are reduced.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to issue new guidance on the handling of chickens by their legs.

We are carefully considering the recommendations in the Animal Welfare Committee’s report on the welfare implications of carrying methods for poultry to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare and will set out next steps in due course.

If he will make it his policy to introduce a permanent ban on the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Last year, Ofgem introduced stringent rules for the involuntary installation of prepayment meters. Under these new rules, energy suppliers are required to make at least 10 attempts to contact an indebted customer, carry out a site visit prior to involuntary installation, and refrain from installations in households where a vulnerable person is present. Energy suppliers are only able to restart involuntary prepayment meter installation when they can demonstrate to Ofgem that they are able to comply with the new rules. We are working with Ofgem to actively monitor the impact of these changes to involuntary installations and will continue to engage with them closely on this.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of passporting pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit onto the Winter Fuel Payment for this year, ahead of planned alignment changes.

We will shortly be directly contacting approximately 120,000 pensioners who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We will be inviting these pensioners to claim Pension Credit ahead of 21st December so that they may also be entitled to this year’s Winter Fuel Payment. In the longer term, the Government will bring together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit, so that pensioner households receiving Housing Benefit also receive any Pension Credit that they are entitled to, which was pushed back by the previous government.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing South Western Railway's Arterio Class 701 trains back into service.

Department officials have regular discussions with South-Western Railway on the introduction of the Arterio Class 701 fleet. The first trains have entered passenger service, with a gradual roll out expected over the next two years.

How many additional staff recruited to process additional Pension Credit claims have been appointed.

Since the announcement to means test Winter Fuel payments, to date we have increased the resource in Pension Credit claims by approximately 500 staff through a combination of internal redeployments, use of external providers and external recruitment. This is in line with the overall resourcing plan for Pension Credit claims and Winter Fuel payments.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with local authorities that are (a) trialing and (b) intend to trial a four-day working week.

Local authorities are independent employers, responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces and any announcements on local authorities that are trialling or intending to trial a four-day working week will be made in the usual way.

If her Department will make a comparative assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) safety of operating train doors by (i) Driver Control Operation and (ii) the driver opening doors and the guard closing them.

We look to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent safety regulator for Britain’s railways, to ensure operators have the right procedures in place for both driver and guard operated doors to safeguard passengers when embarking and disembarking trains. The ORR has concluded that passengers can be dispatched safely and effectively with driver control operated doors, provided suitable equipment, procedures and competent staff are in place. These should be consistent with the principles for driver-controlled operation that the ORR has developed in consultation with train operators and trade unions. The ORR will, nonetheless, continue to keep dispatch arrangements under review to ensure any risks are mitigated effectively.

If she will have discussions with South Western Railway on the use of Arterio Class 701 trains.

Department officials have regular discussions with South-Western Railway on the introduction of the Arterio Class 701 fleet. The first trains have entered passenger service, with a gradual roll out expected over the next two years.

Whether his Department plans to increase investment in the children’s mental health system to (a) reduce waiting times and (b) ensure that more (i) children and (ii) young people can access support.

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult and children and young people’s mental health services. We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services.The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our manifesto commitment of accessing a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give patients detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.

What data her Department holds on the average income of single parents who are affected by the two-child benefit cap.

1. About half (52%) of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit households affected by the policy, or 230,000, are single adult households, and about half (48% or 220,000) are couples, as show in Figure 2 of the latest statistics commentary published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 2. In April 2024, 82,000 (40%) of single parents who are affected by the policy were in work. 3. In April 2024, the mean average take home pay of single parents who are affected by the policy and were in work was £1,038 per month.

What data her Department holds on the proportion of parents affected by the two-child benefit cap who are single parents.

1. About half (52%) of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit households affected by the policy, or 230,000, are single adult households, and about half (48% or 220,000) are couples, as show in Figure 2 of the latest statistics commentary published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 2. In April 2024, 82,000 (40%) of single parents who are affected by the policy were in work. 3. In April 2024, the mean average take home pay of single parents who are affected by the policy and were in work was £1,038 per month.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to means test the winter fuel payment on the expected number of excess deaths in winter 2024-25.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives. However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control. 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 pressures on the NHS. The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26. Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure). Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

What data her Department holds on the proportion of single parents affected by the two-child benefit cap who are in paid employment.

1. About half (52%) of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit households affected by the policy, or 230,000, are single adult households, and about half (48% or 220,000) are couples, as show in Figure 2 of the latest statistics commentary published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 2. In April 2024, 82,000 (40%) of single parents who are affected by the policy were in work. 3. In April 2024, the mean average take home pay of single parents who are affected by the policy and were in work was £1,038 per month.

What steps she is taking to assess the levels of (a) tax avoidance and (b) tax evasion within the economy.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Table 7.1 of the online tables shows the illustrative tax gap time series by behaviour, including avoidance and evasion. The tax gap for avoidance was £1.8 billion and for evasion was £5.5 billion in tax year 2022 to 2023. The online tables are available at: Measuring tax gaps tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of hypothecating future tax increases to fund specific public services.

It is right that public spending is sustainably funded through a mix of taxes. The government will ensure that its tax reforms support its wider objectives of making the tax system fairer whilst protecting working people. The Chancellor will set out tax and spending plans at the Budget on 30 October.

If she will make an estimate of the additional income generated per year by adding 1% to the (a) 40% and (b) 45% rate of income tax.

The number of individuals with a tax liability, set out by tax band, can be found in Table 2.1 below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-ageHMRC does not publish estimates on the number of individuals below the Personal Allowance. However, the population statistics in the link below provide estimates of the total population, from which an assessment of non-taxpayers (those in the population but without sufficient income to pay Income Tax) can be estimated.https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2023 The Exchequer Impact of changing the rates of income tax by 1 percentage point can be found in HMRC’s “Direct Effects of Illustrative Tax Changes” publication, and includes the impact of a 1p change on the higher rate (40% rate of income tax) and the impact of an increase in the additional rate (45% rate of income tax) by 1p.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes

If she will make an assessment of the potential savings to the public purse if the higher rate of pension tax relief was reduced to (a) 30 and (b) 20 percent.

The Government does not publish such estimates.

How many people are (a) below the threshold for income tax, (b) paying income tax at 20%, (c) paying income tax at 40% and (d) paying income tax at 45%.

The number of individuals with a tax liability, set out by tax band, can be found in Table 2.1 below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-ageHMRC does not publish estimates on the number of individuals below the Personal Allowance. However, the population statistics in the link below provide estimates of the total population, from which an assessment of non-taxpayers (those in the population but without sufficient income to pay Income Tax) can be estimated.https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2023 The Exchequer Impact of changing the rates of income tax by 1 percentage point can be found in HMRC’s “Direct Effects of Illustrative Tax Changes” publication, and includes the impact of a 1p change on the higher rate (40% rate of income tax) and the impact of an increase in the additional rate (45% rate of income tax) by 1p.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes

If she will hold discussions with Ofsted on the potential merits of identifying young carers as a specific group within the education system.

Young carers were added, as a specific group within the education system, to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. Ofsted has committed to developing and consulting upon a revised schools’ inspection framework for September 2025. This will support the new school report card, which will also be in place from that time. A consultation on the framework and report card is scheduled to launch early in the new year. The department and Ofsted are engaging closely to take this forward. This includes considering how schools are to be assessed in future in terms of their contribution to inclusion, in the context of the government’s mission to ensure that all children, including young carers, can achieve and thrive at school. Local authorities have a statutory duty to undertake a Young Carers’ Needs Assessment where it appears that a young carer may need support or where an assessment is requested by a young carer or by a parent of a young carer. The Children’s Social Care National Framework, which was issued in December 2023, is statutory guidance for local authorities. It provides clarity on the outcomes that children’s social care should achieve when supporting children, young people and families, including young carers. The department is clear that the everyone working within children’s social care should use the National Framework to understand how they can improve the outcomes and break down barriers for opportunity for children, young people, and families. We have included specific expectations, in the framework, for practice for senior leaders, practice supervisors and practitioners on providing help to young carers.