Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department made an impact assessment before ending the Air Quality Grant Scheme.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the recipients of the £6 million air quality grant will be announced for the 2023-24 period.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase the air quality grant for 2024.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I had concerns that the Local Air Quality Scheme would not deliver the most positive outcomes for local air quality at this particular time and so I have asked Defra officials to consider redesigning the Scheme in the future, to be able to better deliver those positive outcomes and therefore enhanced value for money for taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 72 of the National Disability Strategy, published in July 2021, what progress his Department has made on establishing the Extra Costs Taskforce.

Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities

We are pleased that we can restart the work around the Extra Costs Taskforce. The Taskforce will be focused on bringing together disabled people, regulators and businesses, to better understand the extra costs faced by disabled people, including how this breaks down for different impairments.

The Disability Unit is currently working up a project plan and engaging with other government departments to take this commitment forward. The Disability Unit has begun to engage with interested stakeholders, including the Disability Charities Consortium, to develop an understanding around the definition of extra costs and what the terms of reference and focus areas of the Taskforce could be.

The Disability Unit will also be using insight from the Disability Action Plan consultation findings regarding the impact of the cost of living on disabled people when taking forward work on the Extra Costs Taskforce.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13050 on Railways: Access, what recent progress his Department has made on assessing applications for Access for All funding.

Answered by Huw Merriman

As part of our recent Network North announcement, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of our train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding. At stations awarded funding this will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much aid he has given to organisations providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza since October 2023.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We committed over £100 million in 2023-24. This funding was mainly allocated and delivered through partners; for example: £8.25 million to the World Food Programme, £13.75 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Pooled Fund, £7.75 million to the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, £12.22 million to UNICEF, £2.75 million to Emergency Health Response, £1.35 million to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, £1.5 million to WHO.

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