Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing the use of loyalty card points to buy baby formula.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Regulations relating to infant formula set robust nutritional and compositional standards which mean that all infant formula for sale in the United Kingdom are suitable for meeting the nutritional requirements of babies, regardless of price or brand. The regulations also restrict the inappropriate marketing and promotion of infant formula so as not to discourage breastfeeding, which evidence shows delivers the best health outcomes for babies and mothers.
The Department has published guidance on infant and follow-on formula and food for special medical purposes which advises businesses on the implementation of the regulations. Where loyalty or reward card schemes are being used to induce the sale of infant formula, this is prohibited under the regulations. Loyalty and reward card schemes vary between retailers, and it is for businesses to ensure that their activities are in compliance with the regulations. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with (a) NHS England and (b) Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board on transitioning from a clinical commissioning group to an integrated care system; and if her Department will publish guidance on the lessons learned from this process for other integrated care systems and integrated care boards.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England led a transition programme to support the transfer from clinical commissioning groups to integrated care boards (ICBs). Throughout the process, there was careful joint planning and progress monitoring between NHS England and the Department. All 42 ICBs were legally established on 1 July 2022 with no significant transition issues reported.
There are no plans to publish additional guidance, however the Department, via the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Programme, has recently commissioned an independent research study to evaluate the implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022.
The study aims to understand the different ways that partners within Integrated Care Systems, namely ICBs, integrated care partnerships, and wider system partners) are coming together to design, commission and deliver services, fulfil their duties, and the potential impacts. All study outputs, including interim reports, will be published. An interim report is due in late 2024.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) pension companies to hold a consultation when considering closing a defined benefit pension scheme and (b) independent assessment of the potential closure of such a scheme.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The legal requirements for employers on certain changes to occupational pension schemes are detailed in The Pensions Act of 2004. This states that larger employers with 50 or more workers are required to consult with affected members or their representatives about proposed significant changes to their pension scheme, including closure, before implementing the change.
These requirements ensure that scheme members are aware of the change and the impact on their future pension, and that they have an opportunity to comment. The Pensions Regulator provides information for employers on closing a pension scheme to new members or future accruals and winding up a scheme at their website including detailed regulatory guidance and can be found at https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/managing-a-scheme/closing-your-scheme.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of how many XL bully dogs there are in the UK; and what plans she has for such dogs once a ban comes into effect.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Further details will be provided ahead of the tabling of the legislation later this year. Dog owners do not need to take any action at this stage.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of physics teachers in (a) South Leicestershire constituency and (b) Leicestershire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As at the last school workforce census (November 2022, published on 8 June 2023), the number of teachers remains high, with 468,400 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers working in state funded schools across the country. This is over 27,000 (6%) more than in 2010. The last school workforce census is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
In November 2022 (latest available data), there were 5,331 FTE teachers in state funded schools in Leicestershire. This is an increase of 1.3% from last year (5,263) and an increase of 0.6% since 2010, when the school workforce census began (5,298).
In November 2022 (latest available data), there were 845 FTE teachers in state funded schools in South Leicestershire constituency. This is an increase of 0.8% from last year (838) and an increase of 12.2% since 2010 (753).
The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and thrive in the profession.
The Department announced a financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for those starting initial teacher training (ITT) in the 2023/24 academic year. The Department is providing bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing. The Department has extended bursary and scholarship eligibility to all non-UK national trainees in languages and physics.
The Department provides a Levelling Up Premium for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools nationally, including within Education Investment Areas. There are 18 schools in the Leicester Local Authority area and 12 schools in the Leicestershire Local Authority eligible for Levelling Up Premium payments worth up to £2,000. The eligibility criteria and list of eligible schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers.
The Department launched a pilot initial teacher training course in spring 2022 called ‘Engineers teach physics’. It was designed to encourage engineering graduates and career changers with an engineering background to consider a career as a physics teacher.
The Department has increased the number of providers offering ‘Engineers teach physics’ in the second year to 18. This expansion of providers will ensure that this programme will be available to more trainees across the country.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the rate of fines for parents and carers taking their children out of school during term times on encouraging school attendance.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Parents have a duty to ensure their child of compulsory school age, who is registered at school, attends regularly.
The Department has not formally assessed the impact of penalty notices. Data shows that absence due to unauthorised holidays, for which 85% of penalty notices are issued, has remained stable between 2017/18 (85%) and 2021/22 (85%). Data for 2020/21 should not be used due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Department has consulted on a new framework to improve consistency and fairness in issuing penalty notices and to ensure they are used effectively as part of the suite of parental responsibility measures. The Department will be responding to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's progress towards achieving his Smokefree 2030 targets.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
In April, we announced a range of measures to help more people in England quit smoking. These include a new national swap to stop scheme to provide vapes to one million smokers, and a financial incentives scheme to help all pregnant smokers to quit. We are confident that these new measures, in addition to the actions we are already taking, will set us on course to achieve our Smokefree 2030 ambition, and we will monitor progress.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) Cancer Research UK and (b) other relevant stakeholders on the Smokefree 2030 campaign.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government consults widely with stakeholders on the Smokefree 2030 ambition. My officials regularly meet with organisations such as Cancer Research UK, as well as other relevant individuals and organisations.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance the UK is providing to South Sudan through the UNHCR programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK's humanitarian portfolio in South Sudan is delivered via a combination of UN and international NGO partners, focusing on delivery of critical assistance to the most vulnerable populations across the country. The UK Government does not provide direct funding to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in South Sudan. We are in close contact with humanitarian partners, including the UNHCR, on the response to those affected by the crisis in Sudan. On 24 May, I [Andrew Mitchell] announced £143 million in humanitarian aid for East Africa this financial year, including £18.9 million for South Sudan.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to limit microplastic pollution caused by automobile tyres.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
The development of policy to limit emissions from tyre wear depends on the development of an internationally recognised test procedure for measuring them. This issue is being examined by the UN ECE Particle Measurement Programme (PMP), which includes DfT officials, other international governments, and the automotive industry. DfT is one of the founders of PMP and has played a leading role since its inception.
To support the work of the UN ECE, the Department commissioned a 4-year research project in February 2021 aimed at understanding better the measurement techniques, material properties and control parameters of brake and tyre wear emissions from road vehicles. The outcomes of the project will inform policy and legislation aiming at reducing these emissions on a domestic and international level.
Furthermore, Government is continuing to invest through Innovate UK grants in emerging technologies which reduce non-exhaust emissions.