Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Young of Old Scone, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
A Bill to promote the protection and stewardship of heritage trees in England; and for connected purposes.
Baroness Young of Old Scone has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.
Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.
The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.
Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.
The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.
Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.
The Department estimated there were around 930,000 households who were potentially eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Figures published on GOV.UK on 11th May show that, as of 3rd May, there were a total of 169,770 applications for the scheme in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Take-up figures for the scheme will be updated on 15th June 2023.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding launched on 27 February providing 3 months for eligible applicants to apply before the scheduled 31 May deadline. The government does not currently propose to extend the application period. Throughout the scheme we have engaged with social housing partners, providing them with information to help support their residents through the application process.
The Department has not made any assessment of the proportion of households eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding who have wrongly been denied funding on the basis that they have received the £400 via their electricity supplier. If individuals believe this to be the case, they can request a review of their application by calling the contact centre on 0808 175 3287 (0808 175 3894 for Northern Ireland).
The Land Use Framework will be published in due course. The Framework will build on the insight from the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee’s inquiry and support delivery of the full range of Government commitments through multifunctional, resilient and productive landscapes.
On 19 December 2022, the European Commission issued an announcement which provides for a three-year extension to the grace period for veterinary medicines until 31 December 2025. These arrangements will mean that the current processes for moving veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will continue to be administered as they have been up to this point.
We welcome this extension to the veterinary medicine grace period from the Commission and are looking forward to further discussions on veterinary medicines in the New Year. We will continue to work for a long-term, sustainable solution to the supply of veterinary medicines.
We currently have regulations which protect water courses under the farming rules for water. Farming rules for water require land managers to leave unfertilised zones adjacent to watercourses and boreholes and to assess the pollution risk of fertilisers and manures they apply.
The farming rules for water require land managers to take action to prevent soil loss caused by agricultural or horticultural activity. This does not require land managers to take the same specific action as in cross compliance but provide a generalised provision that has the same policy aim as GAECs 4 and 5. Additionally, the farming rules for water require farmers to manage livestock so as to prevent pollution.
We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.
Hedgerows and field boundaries are the very essence of our British countryside. They provide vital resources for mammals, birds and inspect species. As well as being an important habitat in their own right, they act as wildlife corridors allowing dispersal between isolated habitats. Many are also important historical and cultural landscape features.
We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.
Cross compliance and the rules they enforce are still in place and will continue to operate for the time being. Whilst farmers continue to receive a basic payment scheme payment or are part of most agri-environment schemes they will be subject to the cross-compliance rules.
The rules within cross compliance are mostly in domestic legislation and will continue to apply as we move away from CAP schemes.
We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes that will pay farmers to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare, and reduce carbon emissions. The Agricultural Transition Plan set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes. We have also recently published more details on the first phase of piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive, including the actions we will pay farmers to take to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way.
The successful projects for the recent round of Darwin Plus will be announced shortly.
I was encouraged that we received a strong response to the Call for Evidence on ‘Safeguarding the environment in British Overseas Territories', with 51 responses received from the Overseas Territories, NGOs and other interested parties. This was an important evidence gathering-exercise designed to inform the Government’s preparations for the next spending review. The summary of responses was published on 31 March 2020, after the application and assessment of Darwin Plus applications was completed. The findings of the Call for Evidence will be used to inform future funding for environmental support in the Overseas Territories.
The Government is committed to supporting the unique biodiversity of the Overseas Territories, which contain over 90% of the UK family’s total endemic species.
A summary of responses to 2019’s call for evidence on safeguarding the environment in the British Overseas Territories will be published shortly. This will be used to inform decisions on future public funding and support, which to date has supported important conservation work in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments in the Territories. In addition, last year the UK announced an extension to the Blue Belt Programme (BBP) until 2021, with a further £7 million to provide ongoing support for protection of the diverse marine ecosystems present around the Overseas Territories.
The ocean supports the livelihoods of one in every ten people, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable worldwide. Recognising the link between ocean health and its effect on the development prospects of the most disadvantaged communities, this Government will establish a £500 million Blue Planet Fund (BPF).
Financed from the Official Development Assistance Budget, the BPF will help ODA-eligible countries. The fund seeks to protect their marine resources from key human-generated stressors including plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. This new financing will build on the success of the BBP, embracing the wider ocean’s role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The scope of the Nature for Climate Fund is under development, but as set out in our manifesto, the Fund will help to drive a step change in tree planting, peatland restoration and nature recovery in England.
The annual report on HS2’s impact on ancient woodland was published on 23 February 2022. This report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The annual report on HS2’s impact on ancient woodland was published on 23 February 2022. This report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The annual report on HS2’s impact on ancient woodland was published on 23 February 2022. This report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The Government continues to be guided by the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding the deployment of COVID-19 vaccinations across the UK. On 19 May 2022, the JCVI published interim advice on an autumn COVID-19 vaccination booster programme. The primary objective of the programme is to offer protection against severe COVID-19 disease, specifically hospitalisation and death.
The interim advice from the JCVI is that an additional COVID-19 booster vaccine should be offered in autumn 2022 to residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those aged 65 years old and over; and adults aged 16-64 years old who are in a clinical risk group.
The JCVI continues to review the definitions of clinical risk groups and the need for any further COVID-19 vaccination of other patient groups. Further information on the number of people eligible for the autumn COVID-19 booster programme will be subject to the final advice from the JCVI, which is expected autumn 2022.
The Government continues to be guided by the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding the deployment of COVID-19 vaccinations across the UK. On 19 May 2022, the JCVI published interim advice on an autumn COVID-19 vaccination booster programme. The primary objective of the programme is to offer protection against severe COVID-19 disease, specifically hospitalisation and death.
The interim advice from the JCVI is that an additional COVID-19 booster vaccine should be offered in autumn 2022 to residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those aged 65 years old and over; and adults aged 16-64 years old who are in a clinical risk group.
The JCVI continues to review the definitions of clinical risk groups and the need for any further COVID-19 vaccination of other patient groups. Further information on the number of people eligible for the autumn COVID-19 booster programme will be subject to the final advice from the JCVI, which is expected autumn 2022.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme will continue to be centrally coordinated. Whilst it is expected that the programme will continue to be managed at national, regional and local levels, the National Health Service is working with providers, local authorities, voluntary and community sector leaders and communities on the delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations. This includes maximising uptake and coverage, ensuring flexibility to respond to local needs and promoting better understanding of the benefits of vaccination and public health prevention initiatives.
We are committed to ensuring that local authorities and Directors of Public Health have the data they need to understand uptake in their local areas and tailor efforts to reach those who have not yet taken up the offer of a vaccine appointment.
Data on number of COVID-19 vaccinations given is being shared with Directors of Public Health at both a Middle Layer Super Output Area level and a lower tier local authority level. This includes both data by age cohort and ethnic group. Directors of Public Health also receive vaccination uptake and denominator information for age cohorts and priority groups, by ethnicity and deprivation index at sustainability transformation partnership and Lower Layer Super Output Area level. This provides information on vaccine uptake that enables local conversations about designing and improving operational delivery locally.
There is no embargo on sharing local COVID-19 vaccination data. This data is published weekly online by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
We are also collecting and monitoring uptake data to drive and improve the national deployment plan, as well as sharing data to support local uptake action and decision-making.