Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to (a) support a repair and reuse economy and (b) prioritise waste reduction measures; and whether his Department plans to help reduce advertising of disposable products.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will map our transition to a circular economy, supported by a series of roadmaps that detail the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis.
Defra recognises that reuse and repair are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Strategy.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that care proceedings are concluded within 26 weeks.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reducing unnecessary delays in family courts is a priority for this government. The Family Justice Board (FJB) meets quarterly to set direction and oversee performance in the family justice system. This includes progress in meeting the 26-week Public Law Outline.
The department is investing £10 million over 2024/25 to implement and test new solutions to address the causes of the longest delays in care proceedings. This work consists of the following three pilots.
The department is working closely with local authorities in five designated family judge ‘trailblazer’ areas to complete deep dive analysis as well as to develop and test targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.
The department is piloting an initiative to bring the child’s Cafcass Guardian and Local Authority Social Worker together before the first case management hearing, to reduce delays caused at the earliest stage of proceedings.
Finally, the department is piloting the use of a new service for suspected inflicted injury in children within the NHS, to address delays caused by the lack of independent medical experts engaging in family court work.
These pilots are due to conclude at the end of March 2025, after which the department will receive an independent evaluation, which will help inform future decisions around reducing family court delays.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that there is adequate training for physics teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The within-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high quality teaching. We want to ensure all teachers have access to and stay up-to-date with best practice in continuing professional development at every stage of their career, giving them the expertise and support needed to deliver high quality teaching.
Through the revised initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), new teachers now benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across initial teacher training (ITT) and into their induction. The department has also launched a new and updated suite of national professional qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.
For the 2025 teacher trainee recruitment cycle, the department awarded the Institute of Physics (IOP) a grant agreement worth around £200,000 as part of the two-year ITT Scholarship Programme. This enables the IOP to offer 175 scholarships to talented individuals with a passion for physics and the potential to become inspirational teachers. Between 2022 and 2024, the IOP has recruited 256 scholars who received a bursary uplift, currently £2,000, on top of the standard £29,000 ITT bursary for physics.
The department also supports physics recruitment through ‘Engineers teach physics’, an established national ITT course. The department continues to work closely with sector experts, representative bodies and academic institutions, such as the IOP, Engineering UK, the University of Birmingham and the Gatsby Foundation, to ensure that this course reflects best practice and includes the most up-to-date industry knowledge.
The subject knowledge for physics teaching programme supports non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge and confidence through a series of blended learning courses covering the key stage 3 and key stage 4 physics curriculum.
This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics, with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. We are committed to resetting the relationship with the sector and restoring teaching’s status as a valued and respected profession, one that new graduates want to join and existing staff wish to remain in and thrive.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's planned timetable for abolishing ground rents and implementing broader leasehold reforms is.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
On 31 January 2025, provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to remove the two-year qualifying period in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.
On 10 February, we laid regulations in Parliament to implement the reforms contained in the Act concerning the Right to Manage and these will come into force on Monday 3 March.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle increases in building insurance premiums for leaseholders in high-risk buildings.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Buildings insurance premiums remain unacceptably high for many leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues, who have been paying too much for too long.
My officials have already started working with the insurance industry, as announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, to consider whether, for the duration of remediation programmes, government might support industry to reduce fire related liabilities, in order to reduce the high insurance bills some leaseholders are facing.
We have also launched a public consultation on the introduction of a fair and transparent fee for leaseholders to pay to those who manage insurance for their buildings.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of parental employment on child poverty.
Answered by Liz Kendall - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Child Poverty Action Group estimates 38% of children in My Hon Friend’s constituency are now growing up in poverty
Increasing the employment rate for lone parents, and increasing the number of second earners in couples, is absolutely crucial to tackling this problem.
Our Get Britain Working plan, backed by £240m of additional investment, is reforming employment support and overhauling JobCentres to help more people get work and get on at work.
And increasing parental employment is a key focus of our Child Poverty Taskforce too.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate co-operation under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 between local authorities in cases of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse.
Since 2021, local authorities in England have had a duty to ensure that all victims and their children who need to flee their homes have access to support within safe accommodation when they need it.
MHCLG statutory guidance is clear that tier one local authorities should work collaboratively with tier two and neighbouring local authorities to develop a shared understanding of need, including for victims who need to flee their local area for their safety.
The government has raised total funding for this duty to £160 million in 2025/26, to enable local authorities in England to expand these essential services for victims of domestic abuse.
MHCLG regularly runs workshops with the Local Government Association to support local authorities to deliver their duties effectively. In addition, I am establishing a new Domestic Abuse Housing Group, co-chaired by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to maintain oversight and ensure that councils have the support they need to deliver their duty requirements.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of outdoor education for (a) children’s access to outdoor learning opportunities and (b) the development of skills; and the (i) adequacy and (ii) sustainability of the funding for outdoor education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature.
Spending time in, and connecting with, nature has been linked with improved mental and physical health outcomes for children and young people. The most consistent findings point to improved resilience, decreased stress, increased levels of physical activity, and lower levels of obesity. Outdoor education specifically is also linked to improved motivation, social capital, and sense of belonging in school.
The department is supporting a 12-month project (running from July 2024 to June 2025) led by researchers at the University of Oxford. The project will assess the evidence of nature-based programmes for mental health and wellbeing in young people, delivered through schools. Evidence will help the department understand the value of nature for mental health in the school environment. We expect to receive outputs, including a peer reviewed paper and policy brief, in summer 2025. More information about the project can be found here: https://www.agile-initiative.ox.ac.uk/sprints/is-nature-a-policy-solution-to-mental-health-in-schools/.
Through the National Education Nature Park initiative, children and young people have exciting opportunities to participate in low or no cost outdoor education within the boundaries of their education setting.
Participating children and young people will also develop their scientific, analytical and digital mapping skills. This will allow them to build careers and access jobs that require a knowledge of sustainability and climate change to support the transition to net zero and nature’s recovery.
The department announced £15 million of capital funding over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years as part of the roll out of the National Education Nature Park. This funding is available to support settings and young people that need the most help in accessing nature.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is having discussions with Royal Mail on (a) instances of repeat error charges and (b) the effectiveness of its complaints processes, in the context of the universal service obligation.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. However operational issues such as error charges and complaints procedures are a matter for Royal Mail as an independent business, with the delivery of the universal service obligation overseen by Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Following its 2022 review of the regulatory framework for post, Ofcom issued new guidance which took effect from 1 April 2023 on improving complaints handling processes to ensure postal operators’ compliance with their existing regulatory obligations. Ofcom has committed to ongoing monitoring of the new provisions. Further information on Ofcom’s findings in its review are available on Ofcom’s website: www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/postal-regulation-review.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has for the future of community involvement schemes following the closure of the Community Ownership Fund.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment.
The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment and there will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.