Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to monitor the effectiveness of the work undertaken by each department on helping to achieve the Government's net zero targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Delivering net zero is a cross-government effort as evidenced by publication of strategies such as the Carbon Budgets Delivery Plan.
Ministers and officials in the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero regularly meet with counterparts across Government to coordinate action and manage risks. The Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Committee ensures a coordinated approach to delivering net zero across Government. The sector specific commitments in the Net Zero Growth Plan also help to drive accountability for achieving net zero.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking with (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions to improve the financial sustainability of those organisations.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Government is committed to retaining the UK’s position as one of the most innovative and competitive financial centres in the world. The Chancellor recently set out an ambitious reform programme at Mansion House, building on the success of the Edinburgh Reforms, which will help to deliver the Government’s vision for a financial sector that is open, sustainable, technologically innovative, and globally competitive. Additionally, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 introduced new secondary objectives for both the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulatory Authority to facilitate the international competitiveness of the UK economy (including the financial services sector), and its growth in the medium to long term.
Financial stability is a pre-requisite for economic growth and is crucial for the competitiveness of the financial services sector. The government, working closely with the financial regulators, has made major improvements to the resilience of the banking system since the financial crisis with capital requirements for banks now three times higher. The government has also considered it a priority to build resilience in the non-bank system and has been working closely with the regulators and international bodies to achieve this.
The Bank of England also undertakes regular stress tests on the UK’s major banks to test their resilience to severe economic scenarios and for the first time will be undertaking a system wide exploratory scenario which aims to improve the understanding of how banks and non-banks behave during stress and how these behaviours might interact to amplify shocks.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to encourage (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions to engage in corporate social responsibility.
Answered by Bim Afolami
Corporate social responsibility, where such actions go beyond what is required in regulation, is a matter for banks and financial institutions to make individual decisions on.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a rating of legal firms by their environmental social governance each year.
Answered by Mike Freer
Under the Legal Services Act 2007, the legal services sector, together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on law firms’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The department has no plans to publish ratings of law firms by their ESG performance.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money from dormant funds has been transferred to (a) the National Lottery Community Fund and (b) non-profit organisations in the last 10 years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew
Since the Dormant Asset Scheme’s inception in 2011, £982 million has been transferred to The National Lottery Community Fund to tackle financial exclusion and problem debt; break down barriers to work for young people; and invest in charities and social enterprises, particularly in more deprived areas. As of February 2024, £771 million has been apportioned to England.
Funding for the English portion is distributed through four independent organisations, to deliver the Scheme’s initiatives. These organisations draw down from their allocations annually, according to need. Up to and including the 2023/24 financial year, the Secretary of State has allocated the following sums in England:
Youth Futures Foundation has been allocated £125 million;
Fair4All Finance has been allocated £145 million;
Big Society Capital has been allocated £444 million; and
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment has been allocated £73 million.
These allocations include support for initiatives such as £15 million to expand the No Interest Loan Scheme to reach 69,000 more people and £15 million for the Building Futures Programme, supporting young people at risk of becoming not in employment, education or training.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the value is of dormant funds transferred to (a) the National Lottery Community Fund and (b) other organisations in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew
Since the Dormant Asset Scheme’s inception in 2011, £982 million has been transferred to The National Lottery Community Fund to tackle financial exclusion and problem debt; break down barriers to work for young people; and invest in charities and social enterprises, particularly in more deprived areas. As of February 2024, £771 million has been apportioned to England.
Funding for the English portion is distributed through four independent organisations, to deliver the Scheme’s initiatives. These organisations draw down from their allocations annually, according to need. Up to and including the 2023/24 financial year, the Secretary of State has allocated the following sums in England:
Youth Futures Foundation has been allocated £125 million;
Fair4All Finance has been allocated £145 million;
Big Society Capital has been allocated £444 million; and
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment has been allocated £73 million.
These allocations include support for initiatives such as £15 million to expand the No Interest Loan Scheme to reach 69,000 more people and £15 million for the Building Futures Programme, supporting young people at risk of becoming not in employment, education or training.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money has been raised (a) in total and (b) for (i) charitable and (ii) community causes by the charge for single-use carrier bags in each year since 21 May 2021.
Answered by Robbie Moore
Since the Government introduced the charge, it has generated over £190 million for good causes and the number of single-use plastic carrier bags used in the main supermarkets has fallen by more than 7 billion, a reduction of over 98%.
A full dataset of details for each retailer on the amount of gross proceeds, VAT, total costs and net proceeds can be found on gov.uk.
Defra publishes a summary of this data which includes the amounts of money given to good causes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england.
There is no requirement in the legislation which requires retailers to donate proceeds from the charge to good causes. Only large retailers are required to keep a record of and report on the uses to which these proceeds have been put.
With regards to the request to provide a detail of how much money has been raised (a) in total and (b) for (i) charitable and (ii) community causes by the charge each year since 21 May 2021, this level of breakdown is not something that Defra holds.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) charities and (b) community organisations have received funds from the charge for single-use carrier bags in each year since 21 May 2021.
Answered by Robbie Moore
Since the Government introduced the charge, it has generated over £190 million for good causes and the number of single-use plastic carrier bags used in the main supermarkets has fallen by more than 7 billion, a reduction of over 98%.
A full dataset of details for each retailer on the amount of gross proceeds, VAT, total costs and net proceeds can be found on gov.uk.
Defra publishes a summary of this data which includes the amounts of money given to good causes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england.
There is no requirement in the legislation which requires retailers to donate proceeds from the charge to good causes. Only large retailers are required to keep a record of and report on the uses to which these proceeds have been put.
With regards to the request to provide the detail of which (a) charities and (b) community organisations have received funds each year since 21 May 2021, this information is not something that Defra holds.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which industries experience the highest (a) loss and (b) retention of female staff after maternity leave.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake
The 2019 Parental Rights Survey shows that over a fifth (22%) of mothers reported not returning to work or starting another job following birth. Mothers working in ‘Hospitality’ (38%) and ‘Wholesale and Retail’ (27%) sectors were more likely to report they did not return or start another job than mothers in ‘Public Administration, Health and Education’ (15%).[1]
Over half (54%) of all mothers returned to the same job following birth. Mothers working in ‘Public Administration, Health and Education’ were more likely (63%) to report returning to the same job than those in ‘Business, Professional Services, Leisure and Other Services’ (50%) and ‘Hospitality’ industries (35%)[2].
1, [2] The sectors reported represent those where there are statistically significant differences from the total.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled Outcomes of the review of the initial teacher training core content framework and early career framework, published in January 2024, whether her Department held discussions with autistic people and their families as part of that review.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department has reviewed the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework alongside the Early Career Framework (ECF) during 2023, in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation and groups of sector experts, including Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) specialists. This included a public call for evidence. Following this review, the updated and combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) was published on 30 January 2024, for delivery from 2025.
The department’s review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with SEND. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, some of which has been adapted from the new National Professional Qualification for Special Educational Needs (SEN) Coordinators to be relevant for trainees and ECTs. The department has also made some edits to existing statements to improve inclusivity for SEND throughout the framework.
Recognising the importance of ensuring trainees and ECTs are confident in supporting pupils with SEND to succeed. The department will also be enhancing the requirements on ECF lead providers when creating SEND exemplification materials.
The ITTECF is based on the best peer-reviewed evidence about what works and is designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching. The framework therefore deliberately does not detail approaches specific to particular additional needs, such as autism, but what makes the most effective teaching. When reviewing the frameworks in 2023, the department tested this approach with SEND educational experts, with the consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with SEN.