Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of the Land Use Framework for balancing infrastructure development with environmental targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Framework’s focus on more informed decision making, including spatial targeting, shows how we can meet our homes and infrastructure goals while supporting nature recovery.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what monitoring arrangements will be established by the proposed Land Use Unit to assess progress against the Land Use Framework’s objectives.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Land Use Unit will monitor land use change in England to assess progress against the Land Use Framework’s objectives. Specific monitoring plans will be announced later this year following the set up of the Unit.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria she will use to determine national spatial priorities under the Land Use Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Land Use Framework informs decision-makers at all scales of spatial planning to identify areas to be safeguarded for agriculture or prioritised for nature, and to find the right areas for development and infrastructure.
The Framework will support a more strategic approach to spatial planning, which will help to manage trade-offs at a local level to ensure land use change is coherent and fair, and takes account of local knowledge and values.
Publishing the Framework was the first step. This year we will establish a Land Use Unit to put the framework into action and share updated analysis online.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Land Use Framework on the availability of agricultural land for food production.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has been clear that food security is national security. The Framework makes a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England while increasing resilience to climate change and to protect the most productive farmland.
Defra’s analysis shows that it is possible to achieve the scale of change required without reducing domestic food production. The UK will produce food more sustainably from less land using a mixture of productivity improvements and the expansion of highly efficient sectors.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Land Use Framework on housing delivery in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Land Use Framework sets out a plan for how we can use our land in a more informed and more efficient way, showing there is enough land to deliver the homes our communities need, whilst protecting and enhancing the environment.
The Land Use Framework is not intended to be used as material consideration in planning decisions for the preparation of development plans or for making decisions on planning applications.
The impact of land use change for housing will be assessed as part of the implementation of the Land Use Framework and will inform policy on housing, infrastructure, food and the environment.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential regulatory implications of allowing credit unions to retain members following retirement.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by:
The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms.
The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what monitoring arrangements will be put in place to evaluate the impact of common bond reforms on financial inclusion outcomes.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by:
The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms.
The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of proposed common bond reforms on levels of access to credit union services in (i) Milton Keynes and (ii) Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by:
The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms.
The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis she has undertaken of the potential impact of extending membership eligibility to students on credit union balance sheets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by:
The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms.
The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of increasing the locality common bond membership cap on the number of credit union mergers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.
On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by:
The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK.
The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms.
The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.