Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities enables institutions to mitigate losses incurred from the decline in international student recruitment.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department considers it important that it has a sustainable system to support students and support higher education (HE), that is responsive to the needs of labour markets and the wider economy and is fair to students and fair to taxpayers. In 2021/22, the total income of the HE sector in England was £40.8 billion, which was up from £28 billion in 2014/15. Of the £40.8 billion, approximately £16 billion was provided by government. This is on top of the department’s £1.3 billion capital investment for teaching and research over the current Spending Review period.
Through the Strategic Priorities Grant, the department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to support high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. In addition, the department has provided £450 million of capital funding across the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to allow HE providers to invest in a greater range of projects that will deliver better facilities for students.
With our world-class universities, the government fully expects the UK to continue to be a major destination of choice for international students. The department will continue to work closely with the Home Office on the student visa system and on how it impacts international students.
Longer-term funding plans for the HE sector will be set out at the next multi-year Spending Review, in line with the approach to long-term public spending commitments across government.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 28 March 2024 to Question HL3136 on Poultry: Animal Welfare, what his timeline is for consideration of the findings of the Animal Welfare Committee Opinion on the welfare implications of different methods and systems for the catching, carrying, collecting and loading of poultry; what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Welsh and (b) Scottish government; and when he plans to decide on next steps.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We continue to consider in detail the various findings and recommendations in the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on poultry catching and handling. In doing so we are working very closely with the Welsh and Scottish Governments and engaging in regular discussions with them on options to ensure, where possible, a consistent approach. Once our analysis of the options is complete, we will be able to set out a timeline for next steps.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of research on the impact of (a) microplastics and (b) nanoplastics on (i) atheromas and (ii) other cardiovascular events.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No such assessment has been made. While there are National Health Service trusts involved in research on the effects of microplastics on certain health issues, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, there is not an NHS policy position in respect to cardiovascular disease treatments at this time.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of the (a) removal of the ability of students on taught masters courses to bring dependants and (b) increase in (i) visa and (ii) Immigration Health Surcharge fees on levels of demand for the Graduate visa.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
An Impact Assessment has been prepared to accompany the dependant changes to the Student route, announced in May 2023, which came into force in January 2024. The Impact Assessment will be published in due course.
Impact assessments estimating the impacts of increasing visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge were published alongside the explanatory material for the changes. These can be found at The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 - Impact Assessment (legislation.gov.uk) and The Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2023 - Impact Assessment (legislation.gov.uk).
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2023 to Question 1544 on Renewable Energy: Community Development, when she expects discussions with the Community Energy Contact Group to conclude.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. We have met our commitment to consult on the barriers to community energy projects as this Call for Evidence was published on 8 April 2024. It will remain open for 12 weeks until 30 June 2024.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has committed (a) tax-payer and (b) tariff-backed guarantees to the North-West Hynet project.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has announced up to £20 billion for the early deployment of CCUS in the UK and aims to establish four clusters by 2030, including the Track-1 HyNet cluster.
No contracts have yet been awarded through the Cluster Sequencing process. The form and amount of support provided to projects is subject to ongoing negotiations. Final decisions on whether to award support will be subject to achieving value for money outcomes for taxpayers and consumers.
To maximise participation, diversity, and resilience in the Cluster Sequencing process, we have also supported early-stage design work in industrial clusters, via the existing Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund, which is run by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). They announced the outcome of the challenge in 2021, committing up to £171m across nine projects, including £33m to projects in the HyNet cluster, crowding in private sector co-funding.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 18876 on Offshore Industry: Employment, on what date OEUK shared the underlying data with her Department; and if she will place a copy of that data in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) have shared underlying data pertaining to their workforce estimates at various points in time. Most recently, in December 2023, OEUK has shared a workbook listing regional breakdowns of the oil and gas sector workforce compiled by Experian. The underlying data is commercially sensitive and owned by Experian. Sharing of this data is a matter for them.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 Heads of terms agreement with Eni regarding the North-West Hynet project, signed in October 2023, whether she consulted with (a) public bodies, (b) affected communities and (c) other stakeholders on the terms of this agreement; and if she will make it her policy to conduct a public consultation prior to a commercial contract being signed in relation to this project.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heads of Terms agreement was primarily commercial. No formal consultation was required or undertaken. Before granting an economic licence to authorise the implementation of carbon dioxide transport and storage activities, the Secretary of State is required to give notice of the proposal to do so in accordance with Section 9 of the Energy Act 2023, as well as consider any representations or objections which are duly made.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 19037 on Climate Change: Investment, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing an additional £3 billion per year for nature restoration for adaptation as set out in the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled Investment for a well-adapted UK, published on 1 February 2023; and how much funding his Department plans to provide for nature restoration and adaptation in each of the next ten years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the Environment Act 2021, the Government committed to the legally binding target of creating or restoring more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected site by 2042. Taking actions for nature, including protecting our land and species, is also a core part of our third National Adaptation Programme.
This Government is not currently planning to make an additional assessment around providing £3bn per year on nature restoration for adaptation and cannot commit to funding beyond the life of this parliament, but regularly reviews budgets as part of business planning and spending review decisions.
Defra has guaranteed an average £2.4bn annual budget for the farming sector for the life of this Parliament. This includes paying farmers to restore valuable habitats such as lowland peat and to engage in sustainable agroforestry and wetland management, which will support adaptation to climate change. A range of bespoke funding also exists to support nature restoration. Our recently awarded Species Survival Fund is supporting 20 projects with £25m for habitat creation and restoration, while Natural England has launched 12 Nature Recovery Projects spanning over 300,000 hectares since 2022, with 13 more to come by 2025.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to lay commencement regulations to bring section 115 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Regulations (2024/452) have been laid on 4 April 2024 to commence section 115 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, and this will come into force on 25 April 2024.