Written questions by Darling.

If he will have discussions with NICE on the potential merits of offering Paxlovid to people over the age of 50.

Decisions on whether licensed medicines should be recommended for routine National Health Service funding are made independently by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), on the basis of the evidence of the costs and benefits. The Department has no plans to speak to the NICE about offering Paxlovid to all people over the age of 50 years old.NICE guidance recommends Paxlovid, which contains nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, as an option for treating COVID-19 in adults only if they do not need supplemental oxygen for COVID-19 and if they are or have any of the following:an increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19, as defined in the guidance;are aged 70 years old and over;a body mass index of 35 kilograms per meter squared of height, or more;diabetes; orheart failure.The NICE has agreed to NHS England’s proposal to a phased implementation of its recommendations on Paxlovid, to allow more time for the NHS to put in place the capacity and infrastructure needed for full rollout to all eligible patients. Paxlovid is currently available to NHS patients at highest risk of severe COVID-19, in line with the approach to the rollout set out in the NICE’s guidance.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of PIP to support disabled people with the extra cost of disability.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities. DWP pays close attention to estimates of the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to improve the evidence in this area, DWP is now undertaking a new survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has a methodological advisory group including representatives of disabled people’s organisations, disability charities and academic experts. It is expected to produce findings in Summer 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to improve accident and emergency services at Torbay Hospital.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance across the country, including in Torbay. This includes returning to the standard set out in the NHS Constitution, that 95% of patients attending accident and emergency departments are admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours.Torbay hospital is part of the New Hospital Programme, with plans including delivery of a new emergency department at the hospital.

Media and Sport, what steps his Department plans to take support community-based volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering is critical to a vibrant and resilient civil society; it benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on local communities. Government undertakes a range of policy work to enable as many people to volunteer as possible, from developing the wider volunteering ecosystem to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to take part, to supporting the sustainability of the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector.This Government recognises the vital role that civil society plays in supporting volunteering, and is committed to resetting the relationship with civil society. Government understands the need to treat civil society as an equal, expert partner who is integral to the delivery of the Government’s vision for national renewal. The first step in rebuilding that relationship is going to be the co-creation of the recently announced Civil Society Covenant.We currently support people to volunteer nationally through a range of programmes. These include the Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund, an up to £30 million funding package running until March 2025, designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.We also provide funding to the #iwill Fund, a £66 million joint investment between DCMS and the National Lottery Community Fund, running since 2016, which supports the creation of new opportunities to engage young people in volunteering and community engagement in their local areas.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 in improving services for people with disabilities.

It is crucial that we ensure everyone is treated fairly when accessing services, so that they can thrive and reach their full potential, including people with disabilities.We believe that the Equality Act 2010 is effective in ensuring service providers make anticipatory reasonable adjustments to facilitate access for people with disabilities and where they do not, it offers a means of redress. The way it operates is kept under review, and the EHRC’s Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, is under consultation currently.

What steps she is taking to support British pensioners residing overseas.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, based on a person’s National Insurance record, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. People move abroad for many reasons and may have access to their host country’s benefit system or other sources of income such as an occupational pension. Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, if he will review the postal voting system to help improve accessibility for blind and partially sighted people.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10319 on 29 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to recover costs incurred by local authorities in maintaining the safety, security and environmental integrity of the property portfolio originating from the administration of the Carlauren Group ;and whether she has made an estimate as to the total cost to local authorities of this work since 2019.

Local authorities have flexibility over the money they receive, enabling them to work with their residents to decide how best to spend it on local priorities. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for commissioning a diverse range of care and support services that enable people to access quality care.The responsibility for management of any of Carlauren Group’s former properties sits with the current freeholders, who would be responsible for any related costs. Local authorities can decide how to pursue recovery of any costs incurred in line with their broader financial responsibilities.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of an enhanced financial support package for care leavers aged 18 to 25.

We understand the challenges care leavers face and that is why the department continues to provide additional dedicated support through a series of safeguards and easements aimed at simplifying their interaction with the benefit system. This includes support with preparing applications for Universal Credit when approaching their 18th birthday, an exemption from the Shared Accommodation Rate until their 25th birthday, and, for those aged 18-21, access to Universal Credit and housing support if they wish to take up full-time study in non-advanced education. More widely, the Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit.

If she an estimate of the cost of providing all care leavers in England with the over 25 rate of Universal Credit.

No such estimate has been made.

Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to publish the prospectus on the Long-Term Plan for Towns.

The Chancellor confirmed at the Budget on 30 October that the Long-Term Plan for Towns will be retained and reformed as part of a new regeneration programme.A revised prospectus for the programme will be published in due course, confirming the associated timelines and a new set of strategic objectives aligned to this government’s missions.

If she will include bespoke support for unemployed care leavers in the Youth Guarantee.

We recognise the challenges care leavers face as they move out of the care system and are working closely with Department for Education to ensure care leavers can access the right skills, opportunities, and wider support, to move towards sustained employment and career progression. Under the new Youth Guarantee, all young people between 18-21 years will be able to access support to enter employment, education and training opportunities. This includes Care Leavers who we know are more likely than their peers to not be in education, employment or training and may benefit from more tailored support to support their transition as they leave the care provided by their Local Authority. We are working closely with the Department for Education on the design of the Youth Guarantee, which is in the early stages of development. The Autumn Budget announced that we will establish eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazer areas to test new ways of supporting young people into employment, education or training, by bringing together and enhancing existing programmes in partnership with local areas. Further details will be set out the up-coming ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper.

What recent discussions his Department has had with NICE on reducing the time taken for patients to access treatment for very rare diseases in cases when there is uncertainty on the (a) incidence and (b) prevalence of the disease.

The Department has regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of issues, including in relation to timelines for appraisals. The NICE aims to issue draft guidance on new medicines, including for rare diseases, as close to the time of licensing as possible.

If he will review support for parents who will not be entitled to Neonatal Care Leave and Pay because they (a) are self-employed and (b) have another ineligible employment status.

The Government recognises the challenges and worry facing parents whose babies are admitted to neonatal care; we will set out more information on our plans in this area shortly.The Government is committed to reviewing the parental leave system so that it best supports working families.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of benefits sanctions on children in the households of those sanctioned.

Our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is a key priority for this Government. The Child Poverty Taskforce has already started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of benefit sanctions on children in the households of those that have been sanctioned. The Department records information on the number of children living in Universal Credit (UC) households as part of the official Universal Credit Statistics. The Department also records information on the number of people on UC who have received a sanction as part of the official Benefit Sanctions Statistics. These statistics are produced using different methodologies, therefore information on the number of children living in households subject to a UC sanction is not readily available.

How much funding per (a) primary and (b) secondary school student is provided In (i) Cornwall, (ii) Plymouth, (iii) Torbay, (iv) Devon and (v) in the five local authorities with the highest level of education attainment.

Mainstream schools receive the majority of their core school funding through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). DSG has funding data for Cornwall, Plymouth, Torbay and Devon. It does not include funding in respect of the ‘local authorities with the highest level of education attainment’ because there are a number of different ways in which education attainment can be measured. The local authorities which have the highest level of education attainment would depend on which of these measures were used. The primary and secondary per-pupil funding for the 2024/25 financial year through the schools block of the DSG can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025. The DSG funding excludes the additional funding schools have received through other grants, notably the 2024/25 teachers’ pay additional grant, the 2024/25 teachers’ pensions employer contribution grant and the 2024/25 core schools budget grant.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of compensating commercial fishermen who are displaced from fishing grounds by offshore wind development projects.

Impacts of proposed offshore wind developments on affected stakeholders, including fishers, is considered during the development consent process. The Government encourages offshore wind developers and the fishing industry to discuss potential impacts at an early stage.In cases where there have been monetary settlements for disruption or displacement, these have been agreed on an individual project basis between the offshore wind developer and the affected fishers.

Whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the over-25 rate of universal credit to care leavers.

The Government supports care leavers by offering a series of safeguards and easements aimed at simplifying and improving their interaction with the benefit system. This includes single care leavers qualifying for the more generous one-bedroom Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate until their 25th birthday. The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit. Details of the review will be set out in due course.

What assessment she has made of the impact of the stronger nudge to pensions guidance on Pension Wise guidance usage by pension savers.

The Stronger Nudge to pension guidance regulations were introduced in June 2022. In the year following this (June 2022 to May 2023) around 124,000 Pension Wise appointments were attended, and in the subsequent year (June 2023 to May 2024) around 119,000 appointments were attended. These figures represent a 14% and 9% increase, respectively, on the number of appointments prior to the introduction of the regulations. Overall, Stronger Nudge has accounted for around 16% of attended Pension Wise appointments between June 2022 and October 2024, according to unpublished data from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Increases in Pension Wise uptake cannot be solely attributed to the Stronger Nudge regulations. The Department for Work and Pensions works closely with MaPS to understand what pensions guidance people are using and to help people get the right guidance at the right time, with further support available through multiple channels. Depending on individual circumstances, these channels may direct people, through triaging, to Pension Wise (delivered by MaPS) or may help them decide Pension Wise is not appropriate for them at that time. For example, in the 2023/24 financial year, 258,000 people accessed the more holistic Money Helper pensions guidance (also delivered by MaPS). This is a 13% increase from 2022/23.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that care leavers below the age of 26 are given priority need status for homelessness support.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people and care leavers. We will look at these issues carefully and will consider youth and care leaver homelessness as we develop our long-term, cross-government strategy working with Mayors and councils across the country, to get us back on track to ending homelessness.Helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. We will improve access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and exempt them from local connection and residency tests for social housing. We will work with the sector and engage with relevant stakeholders to bring forward these changes in due course.The Homelessness Reduction Act places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness. These duties apply irrespective of whether a person has 'priority need' or if they are 'intentionally homeless'.