Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish his Department's assessment of the full systems costs of a fully decarbonised, renewables-based grid by 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan ‘a new era of clean electricity’ on 13 December 2024 detailing our plan to achieve deliver clean power by 2030.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the suggested guidance on single-sex spaces in the NHS drafted by the Darlington Nurses Union.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with five nurses from the Darlington Nursing Union last month, to hear about their concerns regarding single-sex spaces for staff in National Health Service hospitals
Since the meeting the nurses have shared correspondence setting out suggested policy on single-sex spaces for staff in the NHS. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will reply at the earliest opportunity. The Government is clear that everybody deserves to feel safe and to be treated with respect at work.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of carbon prices in 2030.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The price of carbon allowances in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme is set by the market and not the Government. A market-determined price of carbon is the most efficient way to decarbonise the traded sector.
It is the role of the UK ETS Authority to set the scheme’s cap, which sets a limit on the volume of greenhouse gases participants captured by the scheme can emit. This ensures the covered sectors will reduce their emissions in line with net zero and establishes a long-term investment signal.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what guidance the Office for Equality and Opportunities has produced on whether positive discrimination on the basis of gender identity is permitted under the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Positive discrimination is treatment which favours someone solely because he or she has a particular protected characteristic such as their sex or race. Positive discrimination is generally unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and therefore guidance has not been issued.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her planned timetable is for the publication of the response to the call for evidence on single-sex spaces; and how many responses to the call for evidence have been received.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will publish a response to the call for input on single-sex spaces guidance, including the number of valid responses, in due course.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what legal costs have been incurred by her Department for the appeal by the Freedom of Speech Union against her decision to pause the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 as of 1 November 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The requested information is not known while this claim is in process and it is not appropriate to comment on live legal proceedings.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet the senior Jewish academics who wrote to her on 11 August 2024 on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills Baroness Smith confirmed to the House of Lords on 10 October 2024 that she will meet with the Jewish academics who wrote to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education on 11 August. That meeting has now been arranged by her office.
Departmental officials and Minister Smith have met with over 40 individuals to discuss the future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, including academics with concerns about constraints on freedom of speech and academic freedom, as well as representatives from minority groups. These meetings will inform decision making on the future of the Act.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help counter the influence of the Chinese state in British universities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK welcomes international partnerships and students, including from China, who make a very positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole. However, the government will always protect its national security interests, human rights and values.
There are a set of measures that protect against undue foreign interference in our universities. These range from the Academic Technology Approval Scheme, which vets students and researchers seeking to study in sensitive areas, to the provisions of the Education Act 1986, which require HE providers to uphold freedom of speech within the law for staff, students and visiting speakers. In England, all registered providers must also uphold applicable public interest governance principles to meet the regulatory requirements of the Office for Students, including principles on academic freedom and accountability, such as operating openly and with integrity.
To support the HE sector to maximise the opportunities of international collaboration whilst managing the risks, the government offers practical advice through the National Protective Security Authority, the National Cyber Security Centre and the Research Collaboration and Advice Team. The department works alongside these partners and engages directly with the sector to increase their understanding of the risks and their ability to respond to them.
This government will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. The department will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must. We are contributing towards the government’s audit of the UK’s relationship with China as a bilateral and global actor, to improve our ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of VAT on independent school fees on (a) number of pupils requiring SEND services in the state education sector and (b) associated costs; and whether she plans to amend the funding available for those services.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicate that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes is likely to represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector, with any displacement expected to take place over several years. This research can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.
The department works to support local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient places for children that need them and works to provide appropriate support for pupils with special educational needs.
Where pupils’ places in private schools are being funded by local authorities because their needs can only be met in private school, for example in England, where attendance at a named private school is required by a child’s education, health and care plan, local authorities will be able to reclaim the VAT.
The government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the impacts of the VAT changes alongside the Finance Bill.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many unfilled state-funded (a) primary and (b) secondary school places there are in East Surrey.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on unfilled state-funded school places as at May 2023 is published at local authority level in the annual School Capacity statistics publication found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.
The number of unfilled primary and secondary school places in Surrey can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f7aaa7c5-c62c-4112-40d8-08dce44cbd16.
School Capacity data is also published at school level. This can be combined with information from ‘Get Information About Schools’ (GIAS) to identify parliamentary constituency, which can be accessed here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. GIAS currently reflects the changes made following the general election parliamentary constituency changes.