Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications to the adoption and special guardianship support fund were (a) made and (b) successful (i) in total and (b) by local authority area; and what the average amount awarded was for those claims (A) in total and (B) by local authority area in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested can be found in the attached table.
.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided through the adoption and special guardianship support fund in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested can be found in the attached table.
.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on increasing the take up of voluntary food waste reporting by large businesses.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State decided in November 2023 to look again at how best to secure the benefits of food waste reporting for large businesses. We are currently gathering further evidence, including ways to enhance voluntary reporting, and will re-consider all options in the 2022 consultation using the latest available data. We expect to make the decision later this year.
The consultation’s Impact Assessment includes an assessment of the effectiveness of the voluntary and mandatory approaches to reporting.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to make a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of (a) voluntary and (b) mandatory food waste reporting.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State decided in November 2023 to look again at how best to secure the benefits of food waste reporting for large businesses. We are currently gathering further evidence, including ways to enhance voluntary reporting, and will re-consider all options in the 2022 consultation using the latest available data. We expect to make the decision later this year.
The consultation’s Impact Assessment includes an assessment of the effectiveness of the voluntary and mandatory approaches to reporting.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising the threshold on the Rent a Room scheme.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Rent a room relief provides an effective incentive for people to make spare rooms available for rent.
In 2016, the threshold was raised to give an income tax exemption on income of up to £7,500 for individuals who let furnished accommodation in their only or main residence. This aligns with the Government’s objectives of supporting living standards and increasing the availability of low-cost housing. It also reduces and simplifies the tax and administration burden for those affected and has taken some taxpayers out of self assessment entirely.
The Government does not currently have evidence that increasing the rent a room relief threshold above £7,500 would further encourage spare rooms to be made available for rent. As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government will keep this under review.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the level of food waste reporting by large businesses.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to tackling food waste, which is why we are taking action to increase the take up of the voluntary approach to reporting through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap delivered by WRAP. Last year more than £2 million went to our food waste prevention programme, with action across the supply chain including working with trade associations and businesses to measure and report their food waste. We ask all businesses to sign up to the Roadmap and to ‘Target, Measure and Act’ on their food waste.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Eastbourne constituency have applied for a grant for senior mental health lead training.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department began offering schools and colleges a grant to train senior mental health leads in October 2021. A list of schools and colleges receiving a senior mental health lead training grant is published and updated throughout the year. This list can be found at the following link, alongside details of other payments to institutions: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-data-on-funding-claims-by-institutions.
In the 2021/22 financial year, seven schools and colleges within the Eastbourne constituency applied for the senior mental health training grant. In the 2022/23 financial year, a further five schools and colleges applied for the grant, which totals twelve grant applications to date. In the 2023/24 financial year, there were no grant applications in this constituency for Q1 and Q2.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress her Department has made on launching the consultation on barriers to developing community energy projects.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working with the Community Energy Contact Group on the content of the consultation. The Government hopes to publish the consultation as soon as possible, though until these discussions have concluded I am unable to provide a definitive timeline.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to increase public awareness of the new EU entry passport requirements coming into force in 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system. This includes working with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border. Whilst EES and ETIAS are EU schemes, we expect that government communications to the travelling public will focus on the Gov.UK and FCDO travel advice websites, with additional bespoke communications to trade groups and carriers to enable them to support their members and customers.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging the airline industry to alert passport holders at the time of booking about new EU exit passport requirements in 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We continue to work with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border. Whilst EES and ETIAS are EU schemes, we expect that government communications to the travelling public will focus on the Gov.UK and FCDO travel advice websites, with additional bespoke communications to trade groups and carriers to enable them to support their members and customers.