Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, during the Urgent Question on Sudan of 3 September 2024, Official Report, column 161, if he will publish a breakdown of the £97 million funding announced for Sudan this financial year by (a) sector (i) multilateral, (ii) non-governmental organisations, (iii) local and (iv) national responders in Sudan and (b) geographic area.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As of the end of September 2024, £70 million of this year's £97 million bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Sudan had been disbursed. The rest of the UK's funding to Sudan this year will be distributed by the end of the financial year. The majority of this funding supports key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF who are providing life-saving food assistance in Sudan. UK ODA also contributes to: the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which is supporting local and national responders, including Emergency Response Rooms; a consortium of International non-governmental organisations delivering protection services, including on sexual and gender-based violence associated with conflict; and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s work on emergency preparedness and response, protection of civilians, and providing life-saving healthcare across Sudan.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that prisoners are (a) being routinely provided with meals that meet the recommended daily allowance calorie intake and (b) receiving prescribed medication on time.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All establishments are required to ensure prisoners receive three nutritionally balanced meals a day as set out in PSI 44/2010 Catering - Meals for Prisoners: Prisoner meals: PSI 44/2010 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These must meet the religious, cultural, and medical needs of all prisoners.
All health treatment in custody is the responsibility of NHS England and NHS Wales. NHS services are commissioned on the basis of equivalence with those received in the community by the general public. His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is committed to ensuring that people in prison are able to access NHS commissioned services in custody in a timely manner. Should any issues arise, established governance arrangements provide the means for Governors, NHS Health and Justice Commissioners (England) or Local Health Boards (Wales) and providers to address concerns about local healthcare delivery.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the first bullet point on page 23 of EDF Energy Holdings Limited Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 December 2023, what estimate he has made of the amount of compensation that will be paid from Sizewell C to Hinkley Point C; and how that cost will be allocated between (a) private investors, (b) the UK Government and (c) electricity consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the terms of a contractual agreement between HPC and SZC, which was agreed at the time of the Final Investment Decision on HPC, a payment is payable from SZC to HPC if SZC takes a positive FID. This payment reflects benefits for SZC, including the significant learning and ‘avoided First-of-a-Kind’ costs that SZC will gain from being a ‘second-of-a-kind’ replica of HPC.
The payment would be financed by the investors in SZC and would be added to the cost base of SZC, and is therefore included in the Government’s Value for Money assessment of the SZC project.
The value of the payment to HPC is intended to be broadly equal to £3/MWh in Net Present Value terms, reflecting the size of the reduction in the strike price at HPC if a positive FID on SZC is taken.
Taking into account the lower HPC strike price, the overall effect of the payment on GB electricity consumers would be broadly neutral.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the debate on COP29: UK Priorities on Tuesday 10 September 2024, Official Report, Col 232WH, what the membership is of the Local Net Zero Forum; when the next meeting will take place; and what topics will be on the agenda.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to strong collaboration with local government on net zero, as demonstrated by having recently signed up to CHAMP - the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action.
The previous government ran the Local Net Zero Forum of which terms of reference, membership and meeting minutes can be found on the Local Net Zero Forum gov.uk page. The Government is currently reviewing the approach and will set out plans in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will launch a public consultation when undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the (a) Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and (b) Public Order Act 2023.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 will be subject to post-legislative parliamentary scrutiny between 3 and 5 years after Royal Assent, i.e., between April 2025 and April 2027. The Government has also reaffirmed the commitment made by the previous administration to undertake expedited post-legislative scrutiny on all aspects of the Public Order Act 2023 next year.
The Government will carefully consider the best approach to undertaking this post-legislative scrutiny to ensure all measures are appropriately assessed.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' Humanitarian Situation Update No. 221 on the Gaza Strip, if he will have discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the proportion of (a) coordinated humanitarian movements in Gaza that were (i) denied and (ii) impeded in August 2024 and (b) planned World Health Organisation missions to Gaza between 13 and 18 September that were (A) significantly delayed and (B) denied.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is closely monitoring the impact of the conflict and is deeply concerned by UN reports that humanitarian access is becoming ever more difficult, particularly to northern Gaza. As set out in the Foreign Secretary's statement on 2 September, Israel could and must do more to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza. This was one of the factors in the UK Government's decision in September to suspend some arms export licences to Israel. The Prime Minister reaffirmed the need for greater aid access in his statement to the UN General Assembly on 26 September. The Foreign Secretary also continues to press Israeli leaders to allow unfettered aid access in Gaza.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3626 on Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, when she plans to publish the report on the operation of public order measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Sections 73, 74 and 79 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act 2022) are currently being reviewed by the Government in line with commitments made in Parliament when the Act was passed. The final report on these sections will be published before the end of the year.
In addition, the Act itself will be subject to post-legislative parliamentary scrutiny between 3 and 5 years after Royal Assent, i.e., between April 2025 and April 2027.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the ability of local authorities to (a) take enforcement action against private sector landlords leaving private tenants with dangerous disrepair and (b) bring related prosecutions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have powers to tackle hazardous conditions in private rented housing, including being able to issue landlords with improvement notices. Non-compliance with local authority enforcement action is a criminal offence.
The Renters’ Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, will strengthen these powers and support local authorities to enforce effectively. The Bill will introduce a new civil penalty of up to £7,000 where private landlords have failed to keep their properties free of dangerous hazards and applies a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. The Bill also introduces a new Private Rented Sector Database which will enable local authorities to quickly identify landlords and better target enforcement.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to reduce the upfront cost of heat pumps for households.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will set out a range of measures to support upgrading millions of homes over this parliament, including grants and low interest loans to support investment in low carbon heating, focusing on incentivising people to transition to clean sources of heat.
The Government is also continuing with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which offers grant payments of £7,500 towards the cost of installing heat pumps, supporting property owners transition away from fossil fuel heating. These grants are in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on the purchase of heat pumps, which will last until March 2027.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will expand the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant to cover the costs of connecting to a low-carbon heat network.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is intended to cover the cost of installations of heat pumps and biomass boilers in individual properties.
However, the Government recognise that heat networks will be one of the primary low-carbon technologies for decarbonising home heating over the next decade and will play a key role in all pathways to 2050.
The Government is working with industry and local authorities and has invested over £500 million to transform the heat network market, protect consumers, improve existing networks, and build new low-carbon ones.