Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the amount of existing plastic waste in the environment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
One way plastic enters the environment is through littering. Local authorities have a statutory duty to keep their public land clear of litter and refuse.
We have been proud to support and endorse national clean-up initiatives such as the Great British Spring Clean, and the Great British Beach Clean, and we will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and businesses as possible to participate in these types of events again.
Community Payback also plays a key role in clearing up communities, working in partnership with Local Authorities and the voluntary sector. The Government has pledged to inject up to a further £93 million of additional investment into Community Payback, to ensure criminals sentenced to probation-supervised community sentences across England and Wales complete up to eight million hours of unpaid Community Payback per year. This will involve picking litter, clearing wastelands, and extending offenders’ involvement in Keep Britain Tidy’s projects.
The UK Government is also proud to have supported the proposal by Rwanda and Peru that led to the ambitious resolution to start negotiating an international legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, being agreed at the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022. The process to negotiate a new agreement is now underway, and the UK has taken an ambitious stance, including calling for provisions in the instrument to remediate and remove existing plastic pollution from the environment.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether Ministerial approval is required for project adjustment requests.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recently published our plan to simplify the funding landscape for local authorities. More information can be found here.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans for the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot to (a) start and (b) finish.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The government has published a plan for simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities.
We will shortly be publishing further information about the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the ten local authorities taking part in the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The government has published a plan for simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities.
We will shortly be publishing further information about the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce a system to help people locate local dental surgeries accepting new NHS patients.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
From 25 November 2022 it became a contractual responsibility for NHS dental practices to ensure their NHS.UK profile is kept up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. Practices are required to update their information at least once every 90 days, including information on whether they are accepting new patients.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of working alongside local decision makers when allocating levelling up funding.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department has used a range of criteria and approaches to ensure all levelling up funds are distributed fairly and equitably around the UK. We have been transparent throughout, publishing our criteria, assessment methodology and decisions on GOV.UK.
The department works closely with local government in all parts of the UK.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the causes of regional imbalance in the allocation of levelling up funding.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department has used a range of criteria and approaches to ensure all levelling up funds are distributed fairly and equitably around the UK. We have been transparent throughout, publishing our criteria, assessment methodology and decisions on GOV.UK.
The department works closely with local government in all parts of the UK.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has appointed a reviewer to conduct a review of voter ID changes at the May 2023 local elections.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As the Government set out in the House of Lords debate titled Voter Identification Regulations 2022 on 13 December 2022 (Official Report HL, Volume 826, Column 566), the report on voter identification and the polls held in May 2023 will be compiled by an independent research agency. Further details will be set out in due course. We will publish the evaluation report on the policy in November 2023.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the terms of reference for the review of voter ID changes.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As the Government set out in the House of Lords debate titled Voter Identification Regulations 2022 on 13 December 2022 (Official Report HL, Volume 826, Column 566), the report on voter identification and the polls held in May 2023 will be compiled by an independent research agency. Further details will be set out in due course. We will publish the evaluation report on the policy in November 2023.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2023 to Question 151412 on Energy Bills Rebate, what progress his Department has made on providing energy cost support to travellers and itinerant liveaboard boaters.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for travellers and itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their caravan or boat is their main or sole residence, whilst protecting public funds. The Government is working to resolve this issue and will communicate this decision with key stakeholder associations who represent these households when it has been made.