Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing support for citizen science to help improve understanding of the UK's water quality.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Citizen Science initiatives can provide invaluable data about our water environment, which complements monitoring and assessment work conducted by the Environment Agency (EA). In recognition of this the EA is delivering the first phase of a three-year citizen science project: Supporting Citizen Science. This project is working with partners across England to explore how the EA can best utilise citizen science evidence alongside its own monitoring data to further increase understanding of water quality. Recommendations from this project are expected in 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking citizen science programmes to (a) test water quality and (b) provide that data to his Department.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We recognise the value of citizen science data, and the additional insight it can provide to complement monitoring and assessment work conducted by the Environment Agency (EA).

The EA is delivering the first phase of a multi-year citizen science project: Supporting Citizen Science. The project is working with partners across England to explore how the EA can best work with citizen science groups to observe and measure the environment, alongside their ongoing monitoring to further increase understanding of water quality.

Citizen scientists are not being asked to test water quality on behalf of the EA: the focus is instead on citizen science data providing supplementary insight.

The EA is working with catchment partners to provide data management guidance to support citizen scientists in the collection and storage of data to improve our understanding of the water environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce year-round water quality testing.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Bathing Water Regulations require the Environment Agency to sample bathing waters at a fixed location using a pre-determined sampling schedule during the bathing season, which runs from 15 May to 30 September. The Government is committed to reviewing the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 to ensure they reflect changes in how and where people use bathing waters. That is why Defra has recently announced plans to consult on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations for England. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season.

The EA also conducts wider water quality monitoring for a range of purposes including understanding the state of the environment year-round.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential barriers to wider deployment of biomass fuels.

Answered by Anthony Browne

The government’s Biomass Strategy, published in 2023, analysed biomass availability and recognised that sustainable biomass is a limited resource and there is uncertainty around future availability for use in the UK. It concluded its use should be prioritised where it offers the greatest environmental, economic, and social benefits.

This analysis has been built on in the government’s response to the second Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate consultation, published in April 2024. This set out that while biofuels have a significant role to play, international availability of different types of sustainable biomass may limit their total application for the decarbonisation of aviation.

The Government is preparing a Low Carbon Fuel Strategy for future publication.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help increase the rate of reunification of children in kinship care with their birth families.

Answered by David Johnston

The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.

In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.

The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.

The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to (a) measure and (b) publish their performance on reuniting children in kinship care with their birth parents.

Answered by David Johnston

The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.

In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.

The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.

The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the impact of local authority specialist family reunification teams on trends in the number of children who have been reunited with their birth parents in the last 10 years.

Answered by David Johnston

The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.

In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.

The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.

The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.

Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has had discussions with the Clewer Initiative on the impact of its funding on its work; and whether the Church is taking steps to support the Clewer Initiative.

Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner

The Clewer Initiative was set up as a joint programme between the Church of England and the Trustees of the Community of St John the Baptist (known as the Clewer Sisters). It was launched in October 2017 with the backing of the then Prime Minister Theresa May and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It started as an initial three-year programme working to help the Church of England's 42 dioceses support victims of modern slavery and identify signs of exploitation in their local communities. Information about its work can be found here: https://theclewerinitiative.org/

Over the past seven years the Clewer Initiative has worked with a large network of volunteers drawn from across the Church of England. Sadly, the Trustees of CSJB feel unable to continue with funding and, in the absence of an alternative funding stream, the Clewer Initiative will close this summer. The National Church Institutions are currently working to ensure that the assets of the project, especially valuable tools such as the Car Wash App, which have led to many investigations and prosecutions for Modern Day Slavery, are transferred to other charities working in this field. The Church of England remains committed to combating modern day slavery and will consider other ways to continue its work in this area.

Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has had discussions with the Clewer Initiative on tackling modern slavery in the last 12 months.

Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner

The Clewer Initiative was set up as a joint programme between the Church of England and the Trustees of the Community of St John the Baptist (known as the Clewer Sisters). It was launched in October 2017 with the backing of the then Prime Minister Theresa May and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It started as an initial three-year programme working to help the Church of England's 42 dioceses support victims of modern slavery and identify signs of exploitation in their local communities. Information about its work can be found here: https://theclewerinitiative.org/

Over the past seven years the Clewer Initiative has worked with a large network of volunteers drawn from across the Church of England. Sadly, the Trustees of CSJB feel unable to continue with funding and, in the absence of an alternative funding stream, the Clewer Initiative will close this summer. The National Church Institutions are currently working to ensure that the assets of the project, especially valuable tools such as the Car Wash App, which have led to many investigations and prosecutions for Modern Day Slavery, are transferred to other charities working in this field. The Church of England remains committed to combating modern day slavery and will consider other ways to continue its work in this area.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024, what estimate the Government has made of the potential cost of providing compensation to eligible women.

Answered by Paul Maynard

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women's State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024.

Answered by Paul Maynard

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

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 impact of changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s on those women in Eastbourne constituency.

Answered by Paul Maynard

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of parents of children with special educational needs have returned to work due to the provision of Universal Credit in (a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex over the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Answered by Jo Churchill

The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants are parents of a child with special educational needs in (a) the UK and (b) Eastbourne constituency.

Answered by Jo Churchill

The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the code-based system for accessing government-funded childcare to reduce the administrative burden on early years providers.

Answered by David Johnston

The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.

The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.

This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.

The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the take up of the newly introduced funded childcare.

Answered by David Johnston

The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.

The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.

This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.

The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a curiosity-led learning approach in early years settings.

Answered by David Johnston

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to give children the right foundation for future progress in school and life. The EYFS defines three characteristics of effective teaching and learning: playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Early years settings have the flexibility to utilise different learning approaches and design their own curriculum, based on the EYFS statutory requirements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to encourage early years providers to adopt a curiosity-led learning approach.

Answered by David Johnston

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to give children the right foundation for future progress in school and life. The EYFS defines three characteristics of effective teaching and learning: playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Early years settings have the flexibility to utilise different learning approaches and design their own curriculum, based on the EYFS statutory requirements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing Government (a) financial and (b) other support for people looking to open new nurseries.

Answered by David Johnston

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Found: Current membership Robin Walker MP (Conservative, Worcester ) (Chair) Caroline Ansell MP (Conservative

Found: Wedn esday 8 November 2023 Members present Robin Walker , in the Chair 1 Caroline Ansell Miriam

Found: Mr Robin Walker (Conservative, Worcester) (Chair) (added 16 Nov 2022) 22 of 22 (100.0%) Caroline Ansell

Found: Robin Walker (Conservativ e, Worcester) (Chair) (added 16 Nov 2022) 16 of 16 (100.0%) Caroline Ansell

Found: Andrew Jones Elliot Colburn Daniel Kawczynski Sir Paul Beresford Sir David Evennett Caroline Ansell

Found: _NC15 Caroline Ansell Sally-Ann Hart Rachael Maskell Ms Marie Rimmer Robin Millar Bob Blackman

Found: Andrew Jones Elliot Colburn Daniel Kawczynski Sir Paul Beresford Sir David Evennett Caroline Ansell

Found: _NC15 Caroline Ansell Sally-Ann Hart Rachael Maskell Ms Marie Rimmer Robin Millar Bob Blackman