Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether she will make it her policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on guarantees for (a) safe and (b) adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation through a comprehensive regulatory framework.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government notes the UN Committee's recommendations on ensuring safe and adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation.
Our Homelessness Code of Guidance provides a summary of the homelessness legislation duties, powers and obligations on local housing authorities, including the quality standards of temporary accommodation.
Legislation is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for the needs of the household and that suitability of accommodation should be kept under review. Households may ask for a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
Through the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government will consult on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors in due course. It is the government’s intention that the Decent Homes Standard should apply to as much of the temporary accommodation sector as possible.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) quality of child's rights impact assessments prepared by Government Departments on (i) reserved and (ii) other matters and (b) extent to which children’s (A) views and (B) experiences have been taken into account in these assessments.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Departments are responsible for carrying out assessments on their policy or legislation area. The Department for Education does not collect information centrally on the number or quality of assessments carried out and the extent to which children’s views and experiences have been taken into account in those assessments. This is the responsibility of individual departments and their policy teams to oversee.
Child’s Rights Impact Assessments are encouraged to be used across government to ensure new or significant changes to policy or legislation do not adversely affect children’s rights and wellbeing.
The department co-produced, with civil society experts, a Child’s Rights Impact Assessment template with guidance that has been shared with other departments. Within the template, the guidance prompts the departments to detail what steps have been taken to directly or indirectly gather the views of children and young people.
We value the voices and lived experiences of children and young people and recognise the importance of listening to how decisions made in government impact them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a child's rights impact assessment has been prepared for the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A number of economic impact assessments, economic notes and equality impact assessments covering measures in the Crime and Policing Bill have been published, and can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938/publications.
The Government has also published a human rights memorandum covering the measures in the Bill.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to incorporate (a) the impact of climate change and (b) access to (i) water and (ii) nutritious food into the UK's future defence strategy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) agrees that Climate Change will have impacts on the world to which our Armed Forces may need to respond, both directly and indirectly. The MOD carefully considers climate change impacts, along with other drivers of food and water insecurity, when conducting strategic planning.
The MOD continues to play an important part in contributing to Government's Plan for Change, including our contributions to the energy security and sustainability Mission.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of Natural England's resources to run the Nature Restoration Fund, as outlined in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working closely with Natural England and the wider Government to ensure appropriate resources are in place to administer the Nature Restoration Fund.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 impact of the Nature Restoration Fund on the size of populations of (a) great crested newts, (b) bats, (c) dormice and (d) other protected species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In December, we published a working paper on our proposal to establish a Nature Restoration Fund through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We have listened carefully to feedback from the working paper and engagement with the development industry, nature conservation organisations and other stakeholders in developing this legislation. We continue to engage stakeholders and will work with private providers and land managers, including district licensing scheme providers, to ensure competition and innovation in securing impactful and good value for money interventions.
We are committed to delivering a win-win for nature and the economy. An Environmental Delivery Plan can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of development.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 impact of the Nature Restoration Fund on district licensing schemes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In December, we published a working paper on our proposal to establish a Nature Restoration Fund through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We have listened carefully to feedback from the working paper and engagement with the development industry, nature conservation organisations and other stakeholders in developing this legislation. We continue to engage stakeholders and will work with private providers and land managers, including district licensing scheme providers, to ensure competition and innovation in securing impactful and good value for money interventions.
We are committed to delivering a win-win for nature and the economy. An Environmental Delivery Plan can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of development.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he had with (a) NGOs and (b) district licensing scheme providers other than Natural England on the potential impact of the inclusion of species in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on (i) protected species and (ii) farming revenues.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In December, we published a working paper on our proposal to establish a Nature Restoration Fund through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We have listened carefully to feedback from the working paper and engagement with the development industry, nature conservation organisations and other stakeholders in developing this legislation. We continue to engage stakeholders and will work with private providers and land managers, including district licensing scheme providers, to ensure competition and innovation in securing impactful and good value for money interventions.
We are committed to delivering a win-win for nature and the economy. An Environmental Delivery Plan can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of development.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32022 on Schools: Pay, whether the new productivity initiatives include consideration of the use of AI technology to reduce the employment of (a) teaching and (b) teaching assistant staff.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the within-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcomes. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.
The department is committed to supporting schools in driving high standards for every child and addressing workload challenges. Our productivity initiatives include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other evidence-based technology to reduce the time teachers spend marking, planning and form filling so that their drive, energy and passion is fully focused on delivering change for children.
AI, when made safe and reliable, represents an exciting opportunity to give our schools leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life. The department wants our teachers and support staff to not only stay in our classrooms, but to thrive in them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the abolition of NHS England on the Federated Data Platform and Associated Services contract awarded to the consortium led by Palantir Technologies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by James Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down.