Fleur Anderson Portrait

Fleur Anderson

Labour - Putney

First elected: 12th December 2019

Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)

(since September 2023)

Shadow Paymaster General
4th Dec 2021 - 4th Sep 2023
Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill
6th Dec 2022 - 7th Dec 2022
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
7th Jan 2021 - 4th Dec 2021
Elections Bill
15th Sep 2021 - 26th Oct 2021
Education Committee
21st Sep 2020 - 13th Jul 2021
Education Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 11th May 2020


There are no upcoming events identified
Division Votes
Wednesday 29th November 2023
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
voted Aye - in line with the party majority
One of 140 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 194 Noes - 275
Speeches
Thursday 30th November 2023
Business of the House
December 9th marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the genocide convention. I am chair of the all-party parliamentary …
Written Answers
Wednesday 29th November 2023
Driving Licences: Applications
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to allow people applying for …
Early Day Motions
Monday 24th February 2020
Clean water and climate change
That this House is very concerned that 2.2 billion people around the world still don’t have a reliable source of …
Bills
Monday 20th June 2022
Plastics (Wet Wipes) Bill 2022-23
A Bill to prohibit the manufacture and sale of wet wipes containing plastic; and for connected purposes.
MP Financial Interests
Monday 16th October 2023
4. Visits outside the UK
Name of donor: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Address of donor: 33A Islington park Street, London N1 1QB
Estimate of the …
EDM signed
Monday 25th October 2021
Campaign to secure the future of the Covid Memorial Wall
That this House welcomes the creation of the Covid Memorial Wall on Albert Embankment by Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice; …
Supported Legislation
Wednesday 23rd March 2022
Short and Holiday-Let Accommodation (Registration) Bill 2021-22
A Bill to establish a national register of short and holiday-let accommodation; to give local authorities powers to require information …

Division Voting information

During the current Parliamentary Session, Fleur Anderson has voted in 786 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Fleur Anderson Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(23 debate interactions)
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative)
President of the Board of Trade
(22 debate interactions)
Rebecca Pow (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(21 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(104 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(43 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Elections Act 2022
(18,762 words contributed)
Environment Act 2021
(16,836 words contributed)
Trade Bill 2019-21
(9,342 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Fleur Anderson's debates

Putney Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

Millions of UK citizens have a disability or serious medical condition that means they use more energy. Many people need to use a ventilator 24/7. People use electric pumps to feed through a tubes. People need to charge their mobility equipment, such as electric wheelchairs, stair lifts, bath seats.

Disabled people should be included alongside carers in the £650 one off payment as part of the Cost of Living support package. We have larger utilities bills and food costs when compared to non-disabled people. We rely on these utilities and food to stay alive.

Call an immediate general election so that the people can decide who should lead us through the unprecedented crises threatening the UK.

Reverse the plan to withdraw funding for most applied general qualifications such as BTECs and guarantee they will continue to play a major role in the qualifications landscape. Students should not be forced to choose between studying A levels or T levels from the age of 16.

We would like the Government to ban all animal testing UK, including for the development of cosmetics, household products and medicines. Alternatives need to be actively funded. Many products that are tested on animals end up not being suitable for humans. Animal testing is outmoded and should end.

The Government must recognise the urgent need to use animal-free science and publish a clear and ambitious action plan with timetables and milestones to drive the phase-out of animal experiments. As well as preventing animal suffering, this will benefit public health and business.

We have the second most expensive childcare system in the world. A full time place costs, on average, £14,000 per year, making it completely unaffordable for many families. Parents are forced to leave their jobs or work fewer hours, which has a negative impact on the economy and on child poverty.

There should be a public inquiry into Government contracts granted during Covid-19. Many contracts have been granted without full and open procurement processes. A public inquiry would be able to ascertain whether contracts had been procured fairly and represent value for money for tax payers.

We want the Government to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/immunity passport to the British public. Such passports could be used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine, which would be unacceptable.

To not decide to scrap free travel for those who are under 18. As a teenager who has relied so much on free travel, it has allowed for me to go to school without the worry of an extra expense and explore around the beautiful city of London also. Destroying free travel would hurt so many of us.


Latest EDMs signed by Fleur Anderson

23rd September 2021
Fleur Anderson signed this EDM on Monday 25th October 2021

Campaign to secure the future of the Covid Memorial Wall

Tabled by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
That this House welcomes the creation of the Covid Memorial Wall on Albert Embankment by Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice; notes that this memorial now includes over 150,000 hand-painted hearts to symbolise all those who lost their lives during the coronavirus pandemic; praises the work of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for …
139 signatures
(Most recent: 21 Feb 2022)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 96
Scottish National Party: 15
Liberal Democrat: 10
Conservative: 5
Democratic Unionist Party: 5
Independent: 4
Plaid Cymru: 3
Green Party: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
14th January 2021
Fleur Anderson signed this EDM on Monday 18th January 2021

Godfrey Colin Cameron

Tabled by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
That this House is deeply saddened by news of the death of Godfrey Colin Cameron, a hardworking member of Parliamentary security staff and member of the PCS trade union who passed away aged just 55 after contracting covid-19; extends our sincere condolences to his devoted wife Hyacinth, children Leon and …
139 signatures
(Most recent: 8 Feb 2021)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 113
Scottish National Party: 15
Independent: 6
Plaid Cymru: 3
Alba Party: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
View All Fleur Anderson's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Fleur Anderson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


1 Urgent Question tabled by Fleur Anderson

7 Adjournment Debates led by Fleur Anderson

Tuesday 14th November 2023
Monday 30th January 2023
Friday 21st January 2022
Wednesday 14th April 2021

2 Bills introduced by Fleur Anderson


A Bill to prohibit the manufacture and sale of wet wipes containing plastic; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 20th October 2023

A Bill to prohibit the manufacture and sale of wet wipes containing plastic; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 6th May 2022

1162 Written Questions in the current parliament

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
8 Other Department Questions
20th Apr 2023
What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the equality impact of the Spring Budget 2023.

Providing increased opportunities for all, including the most vulnerable in society, has been at the centre of the decisions taken at Spring Budget 2023. Older people, women, individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds and disabled people are amongst those who will benefit from the actions taken, demonstrating this Government’s belief in fairness and equality of opportunity.

In developing proposals for the Spring Budget, the Treasury takes care to consider the equality impacts on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, race, and disability, in line with both its legal obligations and this Government’s strong commitment to promoting fairness.

Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
20th Sep 2022
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Common Commission, what the level of pay has been for all Parliamentary cleaning staff in each of the financial years from 2018 to 2022; and whether all Parliamentary cleaning staff are paid the London Living Wage.

The House of Commons employs a team of part-time Heritage and Book Cleaners (Pay Band E2) in our Office Service Delivery team. Full-time salaries (based upon 36 hours net per week, excluding breaks) and hourly pay rates since April 2018 are shown in the table below:

Cleaners (Band E2)


Date


Salary (Full-Time)


Hourly Rate


Apr 18


19,766


10.56


Sep 18


20,161


10.77


Apr 19


20,766


11.09


Apr 20


21,389


11.43


Apr 21


21,639


11.56


Apr 22


21,804


11.65

As part of an overall 5% pay award from April 2022, Cleaners (E2) received a one-off non-consolidated pensionable payment of £916.96 (pro-rata part time staff).

In addition, we employ Cleaning Supervisors (Pay Band E1). Full-time salaries and hourly pay rates since April 2019 are shown below:


Cleaning Supervisors (Band E1)


Date


Salary (Full-Time)


Hourly Rate


Apr 18


20,606


11.01


Sep 18


21,018


11.23


Apr 19


21,649


11.56


Apr 20


22,298


11.91


Apr 21


22,548


12.04


Apr 22


22,731


12.14


As part of an overall 5% pay award from April 2022, Cleaning Supervisors (E1) received a one-off non-consolidated pensionable payment of £944.40 (pro-rata part time staff).

The House of Commons is accredited by Citizens UK as a London Living Wage Employer and all Cleaners employed by the House of Commons are paid, at least, the London Living Wage. The terms of our accreditation licence also requires that contractors and sub-contractors with dedicated staff who are based on parliamentary premises are paying those staff at least the London Living Wage.

We can confirm that to our knowledge, all dedicated staff are being paid either the London Living Wage or the UK Living Wage. However, we do not hold details of the earnings of people who are not directly employed by the House of Commons. Contracts with service partners require the payment of the London Living Wage or the UK Living Wage as appropriate.

22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle ageism in society.

The Equality Act prohibits age discrimination in a variety of fields, including employment, the provision of services and the exercise of public functions. Differential treatment based on a person’s age is permitted, but only where this can be objectively justified.

Other legislation in recent years has also helped to tackle ageism – for example the abolition of the default retirement age in 2011 – but our approach goes beyond basic legal protections. For example, to support older workers to remain in work, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers are working with employer organisations – including CIPD, British Chambers of Commerce, ACAS and Local Enterprise Partnerships – to encourage employers to support their older workers, retain them in the workforce and benefit from their skills and experience.

For those who become unemployed, the Government’s Plan for Jobs provides new funding to ensure more people, including those aged 50 and over, get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to help them find work and to build the skills they need to get into work. As part of the Jobcentre Plus offer for people aged 50 and over, we are also providing dedicated support through 50 PLUS Champions, to ensure they fully benefit from the Plan for Jobs package and existing Jobcentre Plus support.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
19th Jul 2021
To ask the President of COP26, what engagement the Government has had with community groups on tackling the climate emergency ahead of COP26.

As Presidency, we are committed to securing an outcome that respects and reflects the interests of all Parties, including those most impacted by climate change. We are working with civil society to amplify the voices of those on the front line of climate change to deliver a truly ‘all of society’ and inclusive COP. Civil society organisations, with their links to on-the-ground communities and practitioners, are agents of change and their knowledge and leadership is necessary to deliver effective local solutions. I have established a civil society and youth advisory council which includes community groups and Indigenous Peoples from around the world. I also meet with civil society and youth groups on my international visits.

Ahead of COP26, we have launched the ‘Together for our Planet’ campaign to engage the public in the run-up to COP26 and to celebrate the work people across the UK are doing to combat climate change. The campaign aims to drive awareness and create opportunities for people across the UK to participate in the run-up to COP26.

The Together for our Planet campaign is building momentum in the lead-up to COP26 by showcasing how people across the UK are going One Step Greener to tackle climate change. Our One Step Greener ‘Climate Leaders’ will show how much inspirational action on climate change is already taking place.

We also encourage MPs across the UK to engage with their local communities in the run up to COP, in order to support this. We shared an MP engagement pack with the House to this effect.

Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
28th Jun 2021
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many Freedom of Information requests have been referred by her Department for advice on handling to the Cabinet Office’s clearing house for Freedom of Information requests in each year since 2016.

The Equality Hub is an integral part of the Cabinet Office, therefore I refer the hon. Member to the response given to PQ 21941 on 29 June 2021.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
6th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle age discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 provides protection for adults against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment, the provision of goods, services, public functions and in private clubs. The 2010 Act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee or a job applicant because of their actual or perceived age or the age of someone they are associated with. Similar rules apply to service providers.

A person who believes that they have experienced discrimination because of age may take their case to an employment tribunal or a County Court (Sherriff’s Court in Scotland) in non-employment cases. The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the helpline for anyone who believes that they have been discriminated against in the provision of goods, services and public functions, can provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support. The EASS can be contacted via its website - www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, by telephone on 0808 800 0082, or by text phone on 0808 800 0084. Acas can assist in relation to employment discrimination issues, their number is 0800 464 0979.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) also deals with discrimination complaints relating to employment. Acas provides authoritative and impartial advice free to employees or employers via their website (http://www.acas.org.uk) and telephone helpline 0300 123 1190 or text relay service 18001 0300 123 1190. Acas also provides employees and employers with Early Conciliation to help them resolve/settle their workplace dispute without going to court.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
6th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an inquiry on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on frail and elderly people.

The Government is putting its full efforts into fighting the virus and remains committed to supporting all people during this time, including the frail and elderly.

This includes the work I am carrying out with the Race Disparity Unit to examine the disparities in the risks and outcomes of COVID-19 following the PHE Review.

The terms of reference can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/next-steps-for-work-on-covid-19-disparities-announced and age is one of the factors being considered.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
3rd May 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps is he taking to ensure that Government technology and infrastructure is cyber secure.

The Government Cyber Security Strategy, published in January 2022, sets out how we will build and maintain our cyber defences; by building greater cyber resilience across all government organisations, and working together to ‘defend as one’ - exerting a defensive force greater than the sum of our parts.

The Strategy sets a clear target for the Government's most critical functions to be appropriately resilient by 2025, with all government organisations being resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030. Last month, as a key component of the strategy, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the launch of GovAssure. GovAssure is a new, more robust and independent cyber assurance regime for the whole of government.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
24th Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse has been of legal services provided by Peters and Peters for the Privileges Committee investigation of the Rt hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

I refer the Hon Member to PQ 111722. As set out in my previous answer, the Government has previously committed to setting out the final costs of the total legal support in relation to the Privileges Committee in due course after the conclusion of this matter.

24th Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the value for money of funding the legal fees for the Rt hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip for his involvement in the inquiry by the Privileges Committee into his conduct.

As set out by the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer of the Cabinet Office at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on 26 January 2023, the contract award has followed the proper processes present under successive administrations.

22nd Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the Government Communications Service Propriety Guidance on determining which news organisations to invite on Departmental visits.
21st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK Government Resilience Framework, published on 19 December 2022, what his planned timetable is for delivering the UK Resilience Academy.

The UK Resilience Academy is set to be launched for all those with a role in resilience by 2025. Planning began in early 2023 with Departments, Devolved Administrations, national colleges, academia, and local resilience stakeholders to inform the scope of the Academy.

21st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK Government Resilience Framework, published on 19 December 2022, what estimate he has made of when a new Head of Resilience will be appointed.

The Framework committed the Government to appointing a Head of Resilience to provide systematic leadership of the Government’s programme to strengthen national resilience. The current role of the Resilience Director in the Cabinet Office will evolve into the Head of Resilience role. We are currently undertaking a review of responsibilities and accountabilities across Lead Government Departments, which includes detailed consideration of the role of the Head of Resilience.

21st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK National Resilience Framework, published on 19 December 2022, when he plans to make the first annual statement to Parliament on civil contingencies risk and the UK Government’s performance on resilience.

As set out in the action plan for implementation, the annual statement on resilience will be established by 2025, although our intention is to make a first statement within the next year.

21st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure that Emergency Alerts reach people who (a) are digitally excluded and (b) do not have smart phones.

The emergency alerts system is an additional tool that supplements the Government’s warning and informing systems for use in emergencies. Alerts work on all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK. Those without a compatible device would still be informed about an emergency through other accessible channels including television, radio and print media. Any live emergency alerts will also be uploaded to view on the www.gov.uk/alerts webpage.

Emergency alerts do not replace any other form of warning tools available to the government. They are an additional tool in our national resilience toolbox to keep the public safe.

17th Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Government decided to publish Lord Pannick KC’s legal opinion on the Privileges Committee investigation into the Rt Hon Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

I refer the Hon. Lady to my response of 20 March, PQ 166245, to her colleague, the Rt Hon Lady, the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne.

14th Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department's Accounting Officer was consulted on the decision to award legal services contract reference C2298 to Peters & Peters.

As set out by Alex Chisholm, the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer of the Cabinet Office at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on 26 January 2023, the contract award has followed the proper procurement process.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff his Department currently employs in its Planning and Analysis Secretariat; and at which grades those members of staff are employed.

The Planning and Analysis Secretariat was absorbed into the Economic and Domestic Secretariat as part of a consolidation of Cabinet Office secretariat structures in September 2022.

The functions of the Planning and Analysis Secretariat now sit in two directorates of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat - the Resilience Directorate and the Joint Data and Analysis Centre (JDAC).

The Resilience Directorate was established last year to take a more strategic approach to national resilience and drive work across the system to strengthen it. The Directorate currently has approximately 65 staff.

The Joint Data and Analysis Centre (JDAC) was established to support emergency response and strategic policy choices at the heart of Government. The multidisciplinary team of analysts, economists, technologists and data scientists aim to ensure key Government decisions are based on the best possible data and strategic analysis. JDAC includes the National Situation Centre, which brings timely data analysis and insights from across and beyond Government to support situational awareness on crisis and national security issues, drawing upon lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. JDAC currently has approximately 70 staff.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff and at what grades are employed in the Emergency Planning College.

The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.

The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.

The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.

The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff and at what grades are employed in the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate.

The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.

The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.

The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.

The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff his Department currently employs in the National Resilience Framework Team in the Cabinet Office; and at which grades those staff are employed.

The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.

The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.

The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.

The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to launch the new Emergency Alerts capability announced in August 2022 and outlined in the National Resilience Framework in December 2022; and whether his Department is taking steps to put in place a public information strategy on the introduction of emergency alerts.

The Emergency Alerts capability is due to be trialled nationally this year with an initial focus on flooding and extreme weather-related events. Subject to the outcome of an evaluation, its scope will likely be widened to other use cases.

Emergency Alerts offer the ability to rapidly disseminate life-saving information to the public via their mobile phones. It is rapid, targeted to those in an affected area, and has no data or privacy implications (no information on a recipient or their location is gathered or shared).

The launch will be preceded by a public information campaign culminating in a UK-wide test message - a nationwide simultaneous alert sent to all compatible mobile phones across the United Kingdom. This approach has been found elsewhere to maximise awareness and understanding on how recipients should react on receiving alerts.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require that (a) former Prime Ministers must have served a minimum of 12 months in post before becoming eligible for the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), (b) the PDCA can only be claimed for 10 years and (c) claims for the PDCA are published.

The Public Duty Costs Allowance was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers who are still active in public life. It has operated under successive administrations and continues to support Prime Ministers who formed previous governments.

It is not a form of salary; payments are made only to reimburse actual administrative costs incurred in the fulfilment of public duties. Generally, these costs can include managing an office (staffing, payroll and administration); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities.

The allowance has an annual limit of £115,000, which has remained frozen since 2011. The amount received by each claimant is published annually in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

The Government keeps the allowance under review.

17th Feb 2023
To ask Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what recent steps the Government is taking to prevent potential conflicts of interest that may result from Ministers and MPs being on the boards of private energy companies.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Ministerial Code (Section 7 and Annex B) which can be found on gov.uk.

The conduct and interests of Members of Parliament who are not Ministers is a matter for the House, not the Government.

10th Jan 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the flight taken by the Prime Minister and officials from London to Leeds on 9 January 2023.

All Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.

As a whole, domestic flights within the United Kingdom allow Ministers to visit more parts of the United Kingdom in the time available, particularly areas further away from London, and reduce the need for overnight accommodation for Ministers and accompanying staff. Security considerations are also taken into account.

Details of departmental business travel are published in the Cabinet Office audited annual report and accounts.

23rd Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department is responsible for Places for Growth.

Minister of State Baroness Neville-Rolfe is responsible for Places for Growth.

23rd Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the Conflict Stability and Security Fund.

Minister of State Baroness Neville-Rolfe is responsible for the Conflict Stability and Security Fund.

23rd Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the Government Property Agency.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP, is responsible for the Government Property Agency, supported by Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart MP.

23rd Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the Government Communications Service.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP, is responsible for the Government Communications Service, supported by Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart MP.

22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much ministerial severance pay has been (a) paid out by his Department and (b) accepted since 1 June 2022.

The provision of payments connected to the loss of ministerial office is set out in legislation. Outturn figures will be published in the department’s audited annual reports and accounts in due course.

15th Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the maintenance of the covid-19 memorial wall opposite the Palace of Westminster.

In July 2021, the Government established the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration to consider how the COVID-19 pandemic should be remembered and commemorated across the UK. It is independent of the Government and it will report to the Prime Minister by the end of March 2023. As part of its work, it has launched a public consultation which will close on 5 December. The results of the consultation, including the number of responses will be set out in the Commission’s final report.

We are aware of the call for the National Covid Memorial Wall to become a permanent memorial. The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration is considering the appropriate way to remember those who have lost their lives during the pandemic.

15th Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many responses to the Covid Commemoration Consultation his Department has received.

In July 2021, the Government established the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration to consider how the COVID-19 pandemic should be remembered and commemorated across the UK. It is independent of the Government and it will report to the Prime Minister by the end of March 2023. As part of its work, it has launched a public consultation which will close on 5 December. The results of the consultation, including the number of responses will be set out in the Commission’s final report.

We are aware of the call for the National Covid Memorial Wall to become a permanent memorial. The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration is considering the appropriate way to remember those who have lost their lives during the pandemic.

15th Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to publicise the Covid Commemoration Consultation.

In July 2021, the Government established the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration to consider how the COVID-19 pandemic should be remembered and commemorated across the UK. It is independent of the Government and it will report to the Prime Minister by the end of March 2023. As part of its work, it has launched a public consultation which will close on 5 December. The results of the consultation, including the number of responses will be set out in the Commission’s final report.

We are aware of the call for the National Covid Memorial Wall to become a permanent memorial. The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration is considering the appropriate way to remember those who have lost their lives during the pandemic.

10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support local resilience forums.

The 2021 Integrated Review committed the Government to considering how to strengthen support for Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) and this work is being taken forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Cabinet Office is working closely with DLUHC on this commitment as well as to ensure LRFs are well supported in preparing for upcoming potential challenges.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish all correspondence on the granting of government contracts to SThree.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if will make it his policy to apply a minimum liquidity threshold to companies applying to tender for Government contracts.

The Sourcing Playbook includes a specific guidance note on “Assessing and monitoring the economic and financial standing of suppliers”, which provides advice on effective evaluation and monitoring both pre and post procurement and is relevant to all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies.

Assessing and monitoring the economic and financial standing of suppliers is about understanding the financial capacity of suppliers to perform a contract in order to safeguard the delivery of public services.

The guidance states that all assessments of bidders’ economic and financial standing should be proportionate, flexible, contract specific and not overly risk averse while ensuring protection of taxpayer value and safety and compliance with relevant procurement law.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of public procurement contracts were issued by private enterprise companies with Government framework agreements to contract on behalf of the public bodies in the latest period for which data is available.

All Government Departments and their individual Arm's Length Bodies and agencies are responsible for their own public procurement contracts and are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts. This information is not centrally held for all government departments.

Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of public procurement is contracted directly from suppliers by public bodies.

The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to remove conflicts of interest in the government procurement process.

There are specific legal duties in the Public Contracts Regulations that require government departments to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures, so as to avoid any distortion of competition and to ensure equal treatment of all bidders and suppliers.

Companies may be excluded from bidding for government contracts where a conflict cannot be effectively remedied.

An updated Procurement Policy Note was published in May 2021 on the management of actual and perceived conflicts of interest in order to provide commercial teams across government with further information on the roles and responsibilities of those involved in decision making, risk management and how provisions may be applied to suppliers.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Risk Register.

The National Risk Register (NRR) is the public-facing version of the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), a classified assessment of the national security risks facing the UK. The NRR is published by the Cabinet Office.

Every risk in the NRR is owned and assessed by lead government departments working with a wide range of partners to coordinate, enact and test plans. The NRR is informed by the expertise of government departments, academia, private sector and the wider scientific community via a scientifically rigorous process.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
27th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of its plans to pause civil service fast-stream recruitment on (a) organisational effectiveness and (b) diversity in recruitment.

The Fast Stream is a talent pipeline for government departments and professions. It is only right we pause bringing in candidates as departments set out how they might achieve the Prime Minister’s commitment to return the Civil Service to the size it was in 2016.

Whilst we pause the Fast Stream for the 2023 intake, we will take the opportunity to further improve the Fast Stream offer. This reform will ensure that when the scheme reopens, it is focused on driving up specialist skills in the Civil Service, as well as improving the regional representation of the Fast Stream. In this sense, both organisational effectiveness and diversity recruitment can be enhanced.

We will also seek to maintain other approaches towards diversity and inclusion in recruitment - such as continuous improvement of our assessment and selection approaches. The Declaration on Government Reform set out our commitment to a skilled and capable Civil Service, our united Campus for government training and Curriculum framework will enable all Civil Servants to access quality, relevant training.

26th May 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all staff members employed by Number 10 who were asked to complete questionnaires by the Metropolitan Police as part of its investigation into breaches of covid-19 regulations completed them.

Details of the Metropolitan Police Service's investigation are rightly an operational matter for the police, not the Government.

22nd Apr 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of recent civil service pay freezes on employee recruitment and retention.

Recruitment and retention data covering the period of the public sector pay pause is not currently held. In 2020/21, Civil Service turnover (includes all moves out of the Civil Service) was 5.9%.

In light of the pay pause, which was necessary in order to help protect public sector jobs and protect investment in public services, the Government ensured that the lowest paid across all of the public sector were protected. Anyone below a full time equivalent salary of £24,000 received an uplift of £250 or the new National Living Wage rate, whichever was greater. This was c.128,000 civil servants around the time the pay pause was announced in November 2020.

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on October 27th 2021, the temporary public sector pay pause will be lifted. Pay awards will be made to public sector workers over the next three years as we return to a normal pay-setting process. It is for departments to monitor and consider their recruitment and retention challenges when determining future pay awards.

1st Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 pandemic has not started.

The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.

Draft terms of reference will be published in due course, following consultation with Baroness Hallett and ministers from the devolved administrations. As set out in the Prime Minister’s statement on 15 December, Baroness Hallett will then lead a process of public consultation, including with bereaved families and other affected groups, before the terms of reference are finalised.

1st Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the draft terms of reference for the covid-19 public inquiry will be published.

The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.

Draft terms of reference will be published in due course, following consultation with Baroness Hallett and ministers from the devolved administrations. As set out in the Prime Minister’s statement on 15 December, Baroness Hallett will then lead a process of public consultation, including with bereaved families and other affected groups, before the terms of reference are finalised.

1st Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the covid-19 public inquiry will formally commence.

The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.

Draft terms of reference will be published in due course, following consultation with Baroness Hallett and ministers from the devolved administrations. As set out in the Prime Minister’s statement on 15 December, Baroness Hallett will then lead a process of public consultation, including with bereaved families and other affected groups, before the terms of reference are finalised.

26th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, what (a) meetings were had and (b) electronic communications were sent between his Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the evacuation of animals from Pen Farthing's Nowzad animal shelter in Afghanistan.

I have been asked to reply. The evacuation from Afghanistan under Op Pitting from 14 August to 29 August was entirely organised and controlled by the Ministry of Defence.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, whether any non-pass holders attended the meeting in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that that process.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, whether any cost to the public purse was incurred for the purchase of (a) food and (b) alcoholic beverages at the gathering held in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that that process.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, whether minutes were taken at the meeting held in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that that process.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, which officials attended the meeting in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that that process.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, what the purpose of the meeting held in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020 was.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that that process.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the investigation led by Sue Gray into allegations of breaches of covid-19 regulations will include the gathering held in the gardens of Downing Street on 15 May 2020.

As the terms of reference for the inquiry into staff gatherings make clear, where there are credible allegations into other gatherings, these may be investigated. This includes the allegations relating to 15 and 20 May 2020.



16th Dec 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, if (a) he or (b) Number 10 officials will meet with the Metropolitan Police to facilitate a police investigation into allegations of gatherings in Number 10 offices during December 2020.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Paymaster General to 90509.

16th Dec 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, whether the Cabinet Secretary will be given access to (a) mobile phone messages and (b) other electronic communication relevant to his investigation into the gatherings held at Number 10 in 2020 during Tier 3 restrictions.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Paymaster General to 90509.

16th Dec 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, whether the Metropolitan police maintain records of visitors to Number 10 when they pass through security screening.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Paymaster General to 90472.

16th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether an alarm was triggered at Number 10 offices on the evening of 18 December 2020.

It is a long-standing practice that administrations do not comment on security arrangements on the Downing Street estate.

9th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the scope of the Cabinet Secretary's investigation into social events in Downing Street will include the costs to the public purse of any catering and alcohol supplied for the attendees.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

9th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which gatherings are currently under investigation by the Cabinet Secretary as of 9 December 2021.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

9th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) the Cabinet Secretary and (b) any officials working on the Cabinet Secretary's Inquiry into government staff parties were in attendance at any of the gatherings under investigation.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Office update from the Second Permanent Secretary which has been published on GOV.UK and placed in the Library of the House.

9th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish any covid-19 risk assessment undertaken before any parties that took place on Government premises in November and December 2020.

In relation to government policy on risk assessments, I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to PQ89703.

In relation to alleged gatherings, I refer the Hon. Member to the update from the Second Permanent Secretary, which is in the Library of the House and on GOV.UK.

8th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer to the Question from the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 December 2021, if he will instruct the Cabinet Secretary to undertake an inquiry into allegations of an additional party held on 13 November 2020.

I refer the Hon Member to the answers given by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 December and those given by me in the House on 9 December. Copies of the terms of reference for the Cabinet Secretary’s investigations have been placed in the Libraries of the House and are also available on the GOV.UK website.

9th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken in response to the recommendations from the Interim Operational Reviews of the Covid-19 National Foresight Group.

Government Ministers and officials working on the response to COVID-19 regularly meet with a range of stakeholder groups to learn from them and to consider their recommendations.

The Government’s decision-making has always, and will continue to be, guided by the relevant data, science and evidence available at that time.

The Government is reviewing the recommendations from the C19 National Foresight Group Interim Operational Reviews and is also considering the findings from the Lincolnshire Interim Operational Review - also published by the group.

9th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has met the National Foresight Group to discuss their reports on the Government response to covid-19 and the recommendations made in those reports.

Government Ministers and officials working on the response to COVID-19 regularly meet with a range of stakeholder groups to learn from them and to consider their recommendations.

The Government’s decision-making has always, and will continue to be, guided by the relevant data, science and evidence available at that time.

The Government is reviewing the recommendations from the C19 National Foresight Group Interim Operational Reviews and is also considering the findings from the Lincolnshire Interim Operational Review - also published by the group.

9th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the readiness of each local resilience forum to respond to future emergencies.

Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) have well established plans to respond to emergencies and routinely review their preparedness.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA), and the associated Regulations, place statutory duties on Category 1 responders (those organisations at the core of the response to most emergencies including the emergency services, local authorities, NHS bodies) to conduct risk assessments and maintain emergency plans. Duties under the CCA rest with responders but can be exercised through the LRF.

The Cabinet Office's Civil Contingencies Secretariat has developed National Resilience Standards for LRFs which are intended to establish a consistent and progressive means for LRFs and their constituent local responder organisations to: assure their capabilities, assure their overall level of readiness, and guide continuous improvement against mandatory requirements.

The Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities have a network of regionally-based resilience advisers who offer support and challenge to LRFs on their preparedness for the range of emergencies that could occur in their respective local areas.

22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Independent report entitled Findings of a Review into the Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance in Government, published on 22 July 2021, what recent assessment he has made of (a) transparency in Government and (b) management of ministerial lobbying.

I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 15 July.

The Government will respond to Mr Boardman’s findings, and any recommendations, in due course.

21st Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2021 to question 30420 on on Public Bodies: Ventilation, what (a) budget has been made available for enforcement activities and (b) enforcement action has been taken in respect of ventilation in buildings in which civil servants work in each of the last ten years; and when he last met (i) civil service permanent secretaries, (ii) chief executives of arms-length bodies and (iii) representatives of civil service trade unions to discuss ventilation in buildings in which civil servants work.

As outlined in the response to PQ 30420 on 16 July 2021, the safe return of more civil servants to the workplace will be enacted by departments in line with updated Safer Working guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive. This includes guidance for ventilation.

The enforcement of this guidance lies with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Any budgets for any action taken in respect of ventilation in buildings has been managed by each department responsible for the buildings.

Details of official Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
20th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to preclude Secretaries of State from appointing (a) sitting elected representatives with party affiliation and (b) current special advisers as departmental non-executive directors.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life published an interim report last month which recommended that the appointment process for Non-Executive Board Members of government departments should be regulated. We are grateful for the work being undertaken by Lord Evans and his Committee and will respond formally to the Committee’s final recommendations when they are published in the Autumn.

Departments publish their register of interests for all members of the departmental board alongside their Annual Report and Accounts.

As employees of departments, current Special Advisers are not eligible to be appointed as Non-Executive Board Members of departments, and none have been so appointed. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies sets out that where appointed as a Non-Executive Board Member, there is no bar on elected representatives taking a political party whip relating to their political role. They must exercise proper discretion on matters directly related to the work of the body and recognise that certain political activities may be incompatible with their role as a board member.

20th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to require every Government Department to publish a quarterly register of interests that includes each member of their departmental board.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life published an interim report last month which recommended that the appointment process for Non-Executive Board Members of government departments should be regulated. We are grateful for the work being undertaken by Lord Evans and his Committee and will respond formally to the Committee’s final recommendations when they are published in the Autumn.

Departments publish their register of interests for all members of the departmental board alongside their Annual Report and Accounts.

As employees of departments, current Special Advisers are not eligible to be appointed as Non-Executive Board Members of departments, and none have been so appointed. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies sets out that where appointed as a Non-Executive Board Member, there is no bar on elected representatives taking a political party whip relating to their political role. They must exercise proper discretion on matters directly related to the work of the body and recognise that certain political activities may be incompatible with their role as a board member.

20th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to incorporate existing guidance on the appointment of departmental Non-Executive Directors into the Governance code on public appointments.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life published an interim report last month which recommended that the appointment process for Non-Executive Board Members of government departments should be regulated. We are grateful for the work being undertaken by Lord Evans and his Committee and will respond formally to the Committee’s final recommendations when they are published in the Autumn.

Departments publish their register of interests for all members of the departmental board alongside their Annual Report and Accounts.

As employees of departments, current Special Advisers are not eligible to be appointed as Non-Executive Board Members of departments, and none have been so appointed. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies sets out that where appointed as a Non-Executive Board Member, there is no bar on elected representatives taking a political party whip relating to their political role. They must exercise proper discretion on matters directly related to the work of the body and recognise that certain political activities may be incompatible with their role as a board member.

20th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to treat departmental Non-Executive Directors in a manner equivalent to other members of public boards; and whether that role will be regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life published an interim report last month which recommended that the appointment process for Non-Executive Board Members of government departments should be regulated. We are grateful for the work being undertaken by Lord Evans and his Committee and will respond formally to the Committee’s final recommendations when they are published in the Autumn.

Departments publish their register of interests for all members of the departmental board alongside their Annual Report and Accounts.

As employees of departments, current Special Advisers are not eligible to be appointed as Non-Executive Board Members of departments, and none have been so appointed. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies sets out that where appointed as a Non-Executive Board Member, there is no bar on elected representatives taking a political party whip relating to their political role. They must exercise proper discretion on matters directly related to the work of the body and recognise that certain political activities may be incompatible with their role as a board member.

19th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he or any of the Ministers of his Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.

Further to the answers given on 8 July 2021, Cabinet Office Guidance to departments on the use of private emails provides guidance on this issue.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) indices of deprivation and (b) measures of median wages will be integrated into the Government's levelling up framework.

Levelling up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and to deliver for citizens in every part of the UK. As per the Prime Minister’s speech, deprivation levels in London have been dramatically reduced but there is still much more to do. The details of how we plan to level up will be published later this year, as part of our landmark Levelling Up White Paper, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the UK, including London.

19th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 July 2021, which areas of London have been identified within the Government's levelling up agenda.

Levelling up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and to deliver for citizens in every part of the UK. As per the Prime Minister’s speech, deprivation levels in London have been dramatically reduced but there is still much more to do. The details of how we plan to level up will be published later this year, as part of our landmark Levelling Up White Paper, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the UK, including London.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve response times to correspondence from (a) hon. Members and (b) Peers.

The Government places great importance on the effective and timely handling of correspondence. While each department and agency is responsible for its own performance, the Cabinet Office published data on response timeliness for each department on 15 July 2021, and will publish data more frequently in the future. While the overall performance against departmental targets decreased from 85% in 2019 to 70% in 2020, the volume of correspondence sent from MPs and Peers to the Government increased by 81% between 2019 and 2020.


To further improve the timeliness of correspondence, the Cabinet Office will shortly publish a revised Guide to Handling Correspondence to remind departments and agencies of their obligations and the expected standard of service.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
15th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value is of covid-19-related contracts awarded to Topham Guerin (a) in total and (b) without competitive tender.

Details of government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
9th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he (a) has issued or (b) plans to issue to civil service permanent secretaries and chief executives of arms-length bodies on ensuring adequate ventilation in buildings where civil servants work to reduce the risks of transmission of covid-19 infection; to what standards they should (i) plan and (ii) measure such ventilation; whether his Department plans to undertake enforcement to ensure that the risk is reduced; and whether he proposes to make funds available to improve standards of ventilation in those building.

The Prime Minister has set out the arrangements that will be in place in England once we move to Step Four of the Government roadmap. It will no longer be necessary for the government to instruct people to work from home and so employers, including the Civil Service, will be able to support the safe return to the workplace. The safe return of more civil servants to the workplace will be enacted by departments in line with updated Safer Working guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive. This includes guidance for ventilation.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
28th Jun 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what financial payments his Department makes to its non-executive directors; how many times his departmental Board will meet in 2021-22; and what work the non-executive directors undertake.

All financial payments to non-executive directors, their work and the work of the Board are published in the publicly available annual report and accounts, available on GOV.UK. For 2019/20: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020

All CO non-executive directors’ declarations of interest are published annually on GOV.UK here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/920469/Register_of_Non_Executive_Board_Members__Interests_August_2020.pdf

Appointment dates for the department’s non-executives are published in the annual report and accounts for each year on GOV.UK. For current non-executives see 2019/20 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020. For previously appointed non-executives, the relevant annual report is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019

The process of NEDs is set out in Guidance: Role of government non-executives and departmental boards https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/role-of-government-non-executives and the overarching Code of Practice 2017, both published and available on GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-governance-code-for-central-government-departments-2017

16th Jun 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to WhatsApp communications dated 27 April 2020, published by Dominic Cummings on 16 June 2021, whether he held discussions with officials in his Department on 27 April 2020 on his confidence in the competency of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in managing his Department's response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Throughout this pandemic, the whole of Government’s priority has been to save lives, protect the NHS, and support people’s jobs and livelihoods, right across the United Kingdom. We have stood side-by-side with the private sector, procuring enormous volumes of goods and expertise with extreme urgency – often, these were literally matters of life and death. This has delivered:

  • The biggest vaccination programme we have ever undertaken.

  • The largest diagnostic network in British history – with over 190 million tests conducted.

  • A stockpile of over 32 billion items of PPE as a result of a phenomenal cross-government, international purchasing effort.

16th Jun 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to WhatsApp communications dated 27 April 2020, published by Dominic Cummings on 16 June 2021, whether the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) the Department for Health of Social Care held ministerial responsibility for the negotiation of PPE contracts on 27 April 2020.

Throughout this pandemic, the whole of Government’s priority has been to save lives, protect the NHS, and support people’s jobs and livelihoods, right across the United Kingdom. We have stood side-by-side with the private sector, procuring enormous volumes of goods and expertise with extreme urgency – often, these were literally matters of life and death. This has delivered:

  • The biggest vaccination programme we have ever undertaken.

  • The largest diagnostic network in British history – with over 190 million tests conducted.

  • A stockpile of over 32 billion items of PPE as a result of a phenomenal cross-government, international purchasing effort.

16th Jun 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to WhatsApp communications dated 27 April 2020, published by Dominic Cummings on 16 June 2021, whether he had (a) discussions and (b) WhatsApp communications with his Senior Adviser, Dominic Cummings, on 27 April 2020 on the adequacy of the supply of PPE during the covid-19 outbreak.

Throughout this pandemic, the whole of Government’s priority has been to save lives, protect the NHS, and support people’s jobs and livelihoods, right across the United Kingdom. We have stood side-by-side with the private sector, procuring enormous volumes of goods and expertise with extreme urgency – often, these were literally matters of life and death. This has delivered:

  • The biggest vaccination programme we have ever undertaken.

  • The largest diagnostic network in British history – with over 190 million tests conducted.

  • A stockpile of over 32 billion items of PPE as a result of a phenomenal cross-government, international purchasing effort.

11th May 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has a policy on procuring (a) products and (b) services that have involved child labour.

This government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
26th Apr 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on the procurement of products that contain cotton from Xinjiang, China; when that policy was introduced; where that policy is stated; and whether that policy includes mandatory provisions; and to which parts of the public sector that policy applies.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
23rd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to incorporate workplace rights and protections into Government procurement policy.

Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out the grounds in which contracting authorities can procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances. In our recently published Green Paper, we have set out our proposals to clarify these rules, learning from the experience in the pandemic.

The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee. We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.

All G-Cloud suppliers must publicly show their security certifications, standards and approach to personnel security on the Digital Marketplace. Suppliers must also maintain physical and IT security that follows good industry practice to ensure there is no unauthorised access to any confidential information and data. Along with this, suppliers must inform Crown Commercial Service of any data breaches within 48 hours and Crown Commercial Service has the power to undertake security audits of suppliers.

Transforming Government Procurement will make it easier to take into account issues relating to workplace rights and protections through aligning the value for money definition with that of the Green Book, and removing in certain circumstances the need for wider policy considerations to be linked to the subject matter of the contract.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
23rd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to prevent data breaches when awarding contracts for cloud services to multi-national corporations.

Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out the grounds in which contracting authorities can procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances. In our recently published Green Paper, we have set out our proposals to clarify these rules, learning from the experience in the pandemic.

The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee. We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.

All G-Cloud suppliers must publicly show their security certifications, standards and approach to personnel security on the Digital Marketplace. Suppliers must also maintain physical and IT security that follows good industry practice to ensure there is no unauthorised access to any confidential information and data. Along with this, suppliers must inform Crown Commercial Service of any data breaches within 48 hours and Crown Commercial Service has the power to undertake security audits of suppliers.

Transforming Government Procurement will make it easier to take into account issues relating to workplace rights and protections through aligning the value for money definition with that of the Green Book, and removing in certain circumstances the need for wider policy considerations to be linked to the subject matter of the contract.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
23rd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government has made on implementing the recommendations of the Boardman Review on Cabinet Office procurement processes, published on 8 December 2020.

Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out the grounds in which contracting authorities can procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances. In our recently published Green Paper, we have set out our proposals to clarify these rules, learning from the experience in the pandemic.

The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee. We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.

All G-Cloud suppliers must publicly show their security certifications, standards and approach to personnel security on the Digital Marketplace. Suppliers must also maintain physical and IT security that follows good industry practice to ensure there is no unauthorised access to any confidential information and data. Along with this, suppliers must inform Crown Commercial Service of any data breaches within 48 hours and Crown Commercial Service has the power to undertake security audits of suppliers.

Transforming Government Procurement will make it easier to take into account issues relating to workplace rights and protections through aligning the value for money definition with that of the Green Book, and removing in certain circumstances the need for wider policy considerations to be linked to the subject matter of the contract.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
23rd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there are minimum capital requirements criteria under the Government's emergency procurement rules for the awarding of procurement contracts.

Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out the grounds in which contracting authorities can procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances. In our recently published Green Paper, we have set out our proposals to clarify these rules, learning from the experience in the pandemic.

The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee. We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.

All G-Cloud suppliers must publicly show their security certifications, standards and approach to personnel security on the Digital Marketplace. Suppliers must also maintain physical and IT security that follows good industry practice to ensure there is no unauthorised access to any confidential information and data. Along with this, suppliers must inform Crown Commercial Service of any data breaches within 48 hours and Crown Commercial Service has the power to undertake security audits of suppliers.

Transforming Government Procurement will make it easier to take into account issues relating to workplace rights and protections through aligning the value for money definition with that of the Green Book, and removing in certain circumstances the need for wider policy considerations to be linked to the subject matter of the contract.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
3rd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to provide large-type accessible postal ballots for people who are partially sighted for the elections in May.

Whilst large print ballot papers can be provided for information, it is not possible for large print ballot papers to be voted on and submitted to the count as this could make it possible to identify who the ballot paper belonged to and thus undermine the secrecy of the ballot. If electors require documents in accessible formats they should contact their local electoral services office.


The Government is committed to ensuring that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote and is working with the RNIB to consider options to improve the voting process for blind and partially sighted people.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the requirements for UK small businesses that only sell their products within the UK to have an EU address on products for goods that will subsequently be sold within Northern Ireland.

There is no requirement for an EU Member State address for any goods to be sold in Northern Ireland. Where rules applied by the Protocol mean that manufactured goods must be labelled with importer information in addition to manufacturer details, the relevant address may be either in Northern Ireland or the EU.

In the case of food labelling, specifically the requirement for a food operator address, a proportionate and risk-based enforcement approach is in any case being implemented to support businesses. Full guidance on the specific rules that apply in each case is available on gov.uk.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
7th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on guaranteeing interviews for veterans applying to the civil service; and what the timeframe is for the roll-out of the pilot scheme for that policy.

As part of the Government’s commitment to making the Civil Service a Great Place to Work for Veterans any veteran applying for a Civil Service post will be interviewed, as long as they meet the minimum criteria for the role. Veterans can already apply to Civil Service roles and the addition of this scheme will further open up a broad range of exciting opportunities in the Civil Service, alongside existing schemes such as the Going Forward Into Employment Programme, and make it easier for the Civil Service to benefit from the talents and skills that veterans have to offer. We are committed to rolling out the pilot for this new scheme as soon as we can. Further details will be announced in the usual way.

Johnny Mercer
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate Parliamentary scrutiny of the future trading relationship with the EU.

Further to the comments I made during the debate on the EU-UK’s Partnership in the House on 4 June 2020, this Government is determined to give Parliament appropriate opportunity for scrutiny.

On 27 February the Government laid a Command Paper before Parliament setting out its approach to negotiations. On 19 May the Government published 12 draft legal texts which represent the legal articulation of the document published on 27 February and which have been used in discussions with the EU.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has appeared before the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union three times since negotiations began.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
18th Mar 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions the Government has had with the EU on extending the transition period in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to PQ 28064 on 11 March 2020.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
23rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of the National Minimum Wage Apprentice Rate on the ability of apprentices to afford (a) housing and (b) food in (i) Putney constituency and (ii) the UK.

On 1 April 2023, the Apprentice National Minimum Wage (ANMW) rate increased by 9.7% to £5.28. This is an above inflation increase and worth over £850 a year before tax for a full-time apprentice.

The ANMW is designed and set at a rate that acknowledges the particular costs for employers and benefits for young people involved in the provision of apprenticeships and which does not adversely affect apprenticeship opportunities in the labour market.

The Government has published a full impact assessment on gov.uk that assesses the regional impacts of the National Minimum Wage increases.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many overseas companies in the Register of Overseas Entities hold UK property assets through nominee arrangements on behalf of others; and whether the details of those natural persons ultimately controlling the underlying property are known to Companies House.

Overseas entities are required to provide information about their beneficial owners. If a beneficial owner is a nominee, the overseas entity in most circumstances is still required to provide information about the real beneficial owner, i.e., the person behind the nominee.

It is not possible to ascertain how many overseas entities hold assets through nominee arrangements. The Register will show the details of the registrable beneficial owners of the overseas entity, who may include both nominees and the natural persons behind them.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many beneficial owners listed in the Register of Overseas Entities are trusts based overseas; and for what reasons Companies House does not publish details about the beneficiaries and other parties of these trusts.

Currently, 8,857 registrable beneficial owners are recorded as either the trustees of a trust or having significant influence or control over a trust. An estimated 4,340 trusts have so far been registered with Companies House. Trusts associated with an overseas entity may or may not themselves be based overseas. Information about them is required to be provided to Companies House because they are associated with land held via an overseas entity. The figure provided relates to all trusts recorded on the Register of Overseas Entities.

Information about trusts is available to law enforcement and public authorities. Trusts are used for a wide range of purposes, including personal family arrangements, and providing for minors and vulnerable people. The Government needs to balance the right to privacy for these individuals against the value of transparency in combatting money laundering and economic crime.

NOTE

These figures are Companies House management information and are unaudited. They are subject to change and should be regarded as an indication only.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of the use of nominee trust arrangements in the Register of Overseas Entities to avoid transparency declaration rules.

Overseas entities are not required to declare nominees to Companies House. This is because if a beneficial owner is a nominee, the overseas entity in most circumstances is still required to provide information about the real beneficial owner, i.e., the person behind the nominee.

Companies House keeps the information provided to the Register of Overseas Entities under review to ensure that it is accurate, and that overseas entities have met their legal obligations. The Registrar investigates where there is suspicion about the information provided to Companies House, and appropriate action will be taken if an overseas entity is found to have failed to provide accurate information.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
3rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report by Transparency International entitled Through the keyhole, published in February 2023, what recent assessment the Government has made of that report's finding that almost 52,000 UK properties are owned anonymously; and whether the Government has taken recent steps to improve transparency in UK home ownership.

There is already a high level of transparency. HM Land Registry holds publicly accessible records of the registered proprietors of land and buildings in England and Wales. If the registered proprietor is a UK company or overseas entity, information is publicly available from Companies House.

Over 28,000 overseas entities have complied with the requirements of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. HMRC and law enforcement agencies have access to all the information provided.

Further measures to enhance land transparency are being brought forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities via the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
24th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government has taken recent steps to increase transparency on overseas ownership of UK property.

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 created a new Register of Overseas Entities to crack down on foreign criminals using UK property to launder money. Government legislated for it within weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, and with the assistance of Parliament expedited regulations needed to launch the Register, which opened on 1 August 2022.

Please see my Written Ministerial Statement made on 1 February 2023, which provided an implementation update at the end of the six-month transitional period.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has held discussions with employers on offering flexibility and part-time work to people with long Covid-19.

The Department speaks regularly with employers and business representative organisations about flexible working. These discussions have covered a range of issues, including the importance of flexible working in managing employees with long term health conditions, such as long covid.

In December 2022 the Government announced plans[1] to make the right to request flexible working a day one right, alongside other changes to make flexible working more accessible to all employees. The Government is pleased to support the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Private Members' Bill[2] which will deliver several of these changes.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default

[2] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring (a) the public sector and (b) UK businesses to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence.

The Government supports and encourages the current voluntary approach to due diligence by UK businesses as set out in international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.

Whilst the Government keeps this approach under review, we currently have no plans to require companies to conduct due diligence assessments for human rights and environmental protection on top of their existing annual corporate reporting obligations.

The Department has made no assessment of due diligence policies across the activities of the public sector as whole.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of creating a garment trade adjudicator to monitor trading practices on (a) pay and conditions, (b) environmental rights, (c) women's rights and (d) trade union representation in the supply chains of UK brands and retailers.

In response to the Single Enforcement Body consultation published in 2021, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to continue engaging with enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.

The fashion sector relies on complex supply chains crossing multiple borders. Retailers only have direct relationships with suppliers they have a contract with, not their tier 2 or 3 suppliers, and an adjudicator could not regulate relationships with sub-contractors. This raises issues in terms of feasibility of an adjudicator to effectively regulate the vast complexity of global fashion supply chains, and risks driving even more production offshore.

Since October 2020, a wide group of stakeholders comprising retailers, manufacturers and non-profit organisations have worked with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority to address poor working, pay, and purchasing practices in UK supply chains.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve legislation on environmental and climate standards in British retailer and company supply chains.

In April 2022 the UK became the first G20 country to introduce mandatory reporting in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, for economically significant UK companies. Additionally, section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires directors to have regard to the impact of their company’s operations on the community and the environment, amongst other things. The Government strengthened this requirement in 2019 by requiring directors to make an annual statement explaining how they have discharged their section 172 duty in practice over the previous reporting year.

The UK Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to help tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. In 2021-22 we ran a consultation to seek views on how we should implement Environment Act provisions, including which commodities we should regulate through the first round of secondary legislation, and have since published a summary of responses, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-illegal-deforestation-in-uk-supply-chains.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
20th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that gas prices determine the cost of (a) electricity and (b) renewable electricity prices.

Like all commodities markets globally, the UK's wholesale electricity market works through marginal pricing, where the price is set by the additional unit needed to meet overall demand. This provides a signal of the value of consuming or generating an additional unit at any given time, on which both operational and investment decisions can be made.

As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to maintain the benefits of marginal pricing, while shielding consumers from the impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and ensuring they benefit from lower cost renewables.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce wait times for new green energy projects to connect to the national grid.

The Government is supporting industry led workstreams to release network capacity and reduce connection timescales, including the Electricity System Operator’s Five Point Plan to accelerate transmission connections and the Energy Network Association’s Three Step Plan for distribution. The Government is also working with Ofgem and the network companies to further reform the connection process, and will publish details in the summer in a Connections Action Plan.

Andrew Bowie
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
11th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of proposals to introduce an explicit legal duty for Ofgem to support work towards the UK's net zero targets.

On 10th May, the Government published a consultation for a Strategy and Policy Statement (SPS) for energy policy, which sets out Ofgem's role in promoting the UK's net zero targets. Ofgem will be required to have regard to the SPS, and has a statutory duty to protect consumer interests in the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps the Government has taken to maximise the (a) take up and (b) speed of the roll out of the ECO+ scheme.

The Great British Insulation Scheme is expected to be established by summer 2023. Obligated energy suppliers are able to deliver measures before this, from 30 March 2023, following the publication of the Government response to last year’s consultation on scheme design. Yearly targets will be set, including minimum levels of delivery, whilst allowing energy suppliers to progress more rapidly and have measures counted towards their overall scheme obligation.

The Government is also working with energy suppliers to launch a new service in the summer to allow householders to check eligibility and refer themselves to the scheme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people with Parkinson's Disease do not enter poverty due to the cost of energy bills in winter 2023-24.

The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, assessing the need for specific support for disabled people.

Officials are considering the options and proactively discussing these with stakeholders. In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
14th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of public opinion on (a) installation and (b) capacity of onshore wind.

The Department conducts regular public opinion research into a range of energy technologies, including onshore wind. The full results of these studies are published on our website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
14th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the money provided to fossil fuel companies as a result of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Data relating to Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases, including under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), can be found on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) website. The UK has not faced a successful ISDS claim, including under the ECT.

The UK Government does not routinely gather data relating to Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases, where it is not a party to such disputes.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2022 to Question 46172 on Energy: Tenants, whether his Department is introducing regulations to require heat networks to pass on the benefit of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme to end consumers.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme regulations require heat networks to pass through the discount to end consumers in a just and reasonable manner.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change entitled Sixth Assessment Report, published on 20 March 2023; and whether his Department plans to take further steps to (a) reduce fossil fuel use in the energy system and (b) transition to a renewable energy system.

The Government is committed to reaching net zero by 2050, in line with advice from the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee, and consistent with findings from the IPCC’s Synthesis Report[1].

The Government outlined its plans to reach net zero and nearer term targets in the Net Zero Strategy, published October 2021, and the British Energy Security Strategy, published April 2022.

The Government is committed to decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by 2035, subject to security of supply. While oil and gas remain an essential resource, around 40% of UK electricity now comes from renewable generation, up from 7% in 2010.

[1] https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6syr/pdf/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
9th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of proposed new oil and gas field developments, including Jackdaw and Rosebank, on (a) the environment and (b) the wider economy.

The environmental impact of proposed offshore oil and gas developments is subject to rigorous regulatory assessment by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), including a full environmental impact assessment and consultation with statutory nature protection bodies and the public.

While the Government has not undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of proposed new oil and gas field developments on the wider economy, Equinor estimates that Rosebank could create £8.1bn of direct investment. Jackdaw is part of a £20bn to £25bn investment by Shell UK in the UK energy system over the next decade.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on energy supplies of the permanent lighting of (a) advertising boards, (b) luxury car showrooms, (c) high street shops and (d) office buildings.

The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. It is confident in its plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios.

The Government’s new energy demand reduction commitment, announced as part of the 2022 Autumn Statement, aims to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030 against 2021 levels.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of proposals for a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty.

The UK has been a strong advocate for Energy Charter Treaty modernisation. At the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty was postponed. The UK has been closely monitoring the situation surrounding the Energy Charter Treaty’s modernisation process, including the positions taken by other Contracting Parties.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the original Energy Bill Relief Scheme for hospices.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will come to an end as planned on 31st March 2023. The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) will run from April 2023 until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount on energy bills to eligible non-domestic customers including hospices.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
7th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the REDD+ Early Movers Programme uses the company Verra to verify carbon emission reductions from avoided deforestation.

The REDD Early Movers Programme does not use the company Verra to verify carbon emission reductions.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with mobile phone operators on improving mobile reception in (a) London and (b) England.

This Government is taking steps to improve both 4G and 5G coverage across the country.

Improvements in 4G coverage have already started to be delivered across England through the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This agreement will see the government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage across the UK to 95%.

London already has good 4G and, as with other cities, will not be targeted by the SRN programme. However, in addition to the SRN, the mobile network operators independently invest around £2 billion annually in enhancing and improving their networks.

In our Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April this year, we set out the Government’s vision for wireless connectivity and shared a new ambition for nationwide coverage of standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. This provides a long-term vision to help the private sector invest in 5G networks by supporting competition, driving down deployment costs and driving the take-up of innovative, 5G-enabled tech by the business and public sectors.

The Department provides extensive guidance for local authorities and operators to help facilitate broadband deployment through the Digital Connectivity Portal. We have also taken steps to make it easier and cheaper for operators to deploy 4G and 5G. This includes reforming the planning system in England. Alongside this, measures within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, will support upgrades of sites to 5G.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in (a) London and (b) England.

This Government is taking steps to improve both 4G and 5G coverage across the country.

Improvements in 4G coverage have already started to be delivered across England through the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This agreement will see the government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage across the UK to 95%.

London already has good 4G and, as with other cities, will not be targeted by the SRN programme. However, in addition to the SRN, the mobile network operators independently invest around £2 billion annually in enhancing and improving their networks.

In our Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April this year, we set out the Government’s vision for wireless connectivity and shared a new ambition for nationwide coverage of standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. This provides a long-term vision to help the private sector invest in 5G networks by supporting competition, driving down deployment costs and driving the take-up of innovative, 5G-enabled tech by the business and public sectors.

The Department provides extensive guidance for local authorities and operators to help facilitate broadband deployment through the Digital Connectivity Portal. We have also taken steps to make it easier and cheaper for operators to deploy 4G and 5G. This includes reforming the planning system in England. Alongside this, measures within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, will support upgrades of sites to 5G.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
10th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on reducing national carbon emissions and tackling the climate emergency.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions on a range of issues with my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Ministerial colleagues across Government. Our net zero target remains a Government priority and the net zero transition will provide huge opportunities for jobs, investment, innovation and exports. The Prime Minister is committed to addressing climate change and leaving behind an environment which is better for future generations. At COP27, the Prime Minister pledged to speed up the transition to renewables, to create new high-wage jobs, protect UK energy security and deliver on net zero.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to (a) remove potential barriers to local communities from setting up new community renewable energy projects and (b) increase the number of new community renewable energy projects in the UK.

Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.

The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.

The Government has also reintroduced the Community Energy Contact Group to strengthen its engagement with the sector.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the closure of the feed-in tariff on (a) investments in new renewable energy projects, (b) investments in new community renewable energy projects and (c) the ability of low-income communities to set up their own community renewable energy projects.

No post-closure assessment of the Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme has been undertaken. Data available on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) dashboard indicates that current deployment of solar at this small-scale, which accounts for 99% of all installations supported under the FIT scheme, is comparable to levels seen under the scheme prior to 2016 when reduced FIT tariffs were introduced.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of fireworks on (a) animals and (b) vulnerable people; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) prohibiting the sale of fireworks except between 29 October and 5 November, (iii) restricting the days when they can be used, (iv) introducing fireworks control zones, (v) legislating to make all fireworks silent and (vi) reducing the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks for public sale from 120dB to 90dB.

The Government endorses the considerate use of fireworks and action taken to reduce the risks and disturbances to individuals, animals and property. The majority of individuals who use fireworks do so in a responsible and safe manner and there are enforcement mechanisms in place to tackle situations when fireworks are misused.

The Department has no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) prohibiting the sale of fireworks except between the 29th October and 5th November and restricting the days when they can be used, (b) introducing fireworks control zones, (c) legislating to make all fireworks silent and (d) reducing the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks for public sale from 120dB to 90dB but the Government continues to monitor the situation and engage with stakeholders to listen to and understand their views.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
1st Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Putney constituency have had solar power panels installed as of 31 October 2022.

At the end of October 2022, there were 368 domestic installations of solar panels recorded in Putney.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Putney constituency have had under floor insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

The Government does not hold estimates for how many homes per constituency have these features overall. However, BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 800 cavity wall insulation measures, 100 loft insulation measures and less than 5 under floor insulation measures[1] were installed in Putney constituency. This data collectively spans the period from January 2013 to September 2022 and does not include installations in October 2022.

[1]Exact number suppressed to prevent disclosure

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Putney constituency with lofts had had loft insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

The Government does not hold estimates for how many homes per constituency have these features overall. However, BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 800 cavity wall insulation measures, 100 loft insulation measures and less than 5 under floor insulation measures[1] were installed in Putney constituency. This data collectively spans the period from January 2013 to September 2022 and does not include installations in October 2022.

[1]Exact number suppressed to prevent disclosure

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Putney constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 31 October 2022.

The Government does not hold estimates for how many homes per constituency have these features overall. However, BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 800 cavity wall insulation measures, 100 loft insulation measures and less than 5 under floor insulation measures[1] were installed in Putney constituency. This data collectively spans the period from January 2013 to September 2022 and does not include installations in October 2022.

[1]Exact number suppressed to prevent disclosure

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
21st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his planned timetable is for the conclusion of agreements with the EU on the UK's participation in (a) Horizon Europe, (b) Euratom Research and Training Programme, (c) Fusion for Energy and (d) Copernicus.

The Government’s policy remains to seek association to EU Programmes as negotiated and agreed in December 2020 and we continue to do everything we can, but we cannot wait much longer. The EU is in breach of the agreement reached under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement for the UK to participate in EU programmes. At the UK-EU Specialised Committee meeting, which marked the end of the consultation period, the UK once again requested that the EU fulfil its obligation to finalise the UK’s association. It is regrettable that the EU continues to decline this request. The Government is now considering next steps. Our priority is to support the UK’s world leading R&D sector and we have already introduced the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, announced up to £484m additional funding to be invested in the UK R&D sector and outlined potential options for increasing international research collaborations.

15th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to (a) expand and improve Britain’s energy storage systems and (b) improve the resilience of the national grid.

The Government recognises the need to have energy storage in place to provide system flexibility.

All possible options are considered to maintain security of gas supply, and that includes the future of natural gas storage if required. We are exploring options to store clean energy, such as hydrogen and electricity, through the UK Hydrogen Strategy and the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.

The Government works with the energy industry, regulators and others to continually improve the resilience of energy infrastructure, networks and assets.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that future impact assessments considering the impact on net zero targets of Government policies are as (a) transparent, (b) accurate and (c) reliable as possible.

Impact Assessments use a sound evidence base and are assessed for their quality by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee. Impact assessments are subsequently published online for transparency. HM Treasury publishes the Green Book guidance on how to appraise the impacts of government policy. As part of this, BEIS publishes supplementary guidance to the Green Book, on how to estimate the impacts on energy and greenhouse gas emissions based on the latest science and in line with internationally recognised standards: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-of-energy-use-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-for-appraisal.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support independent businesses whose finances have been impacted covid-19 pandemic.

Our ‘Pay as You Grow’ options for Bounce Back Loan Scheme borrowers provide additional flexibility for those who need it to repay their loans over a longer period and in a way that better suits businesses’ individual circumstances. So far, over a fifth of borrowers have used one or more of the options available.

The Recovery Loan Scheme provides government-guaranteed loans and other types of finance, up to £2 million per business group, for SMEs that would not be able to access a fully commercial facility, or would only be able to do so on worse terms.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
1st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) generators and (b) heating systems will be provided to Ukraine via (i) coordination or (ii) funding from the Government in the next two months.

In March 2022, BEIS set-up a Ukraine Electricity Network Support Taskforce, involving distribution network operators and the Energy Networks Association. Through this Taskforce, BEIS has funded the procurement of more than 850 mobile generators for Ukraine, worth £6.1 million. This supports the UK’s overall humanitarian response, led by FCDO. BEIS regularly engages with Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy to discuss priority needs.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
1st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) generators and (b) heating systems have been provided to Ukraine via (i) coordination or (ii) funding from the Government in this year.

In March 2022, BEIS set-up a Ukraine Electricity Network Support Taskforce, involving distribution network operators and the Energy Networks Association. Through this Taskforce, BEIS has funded the procurement of more than 850 mobile generators for Ukraine, worth £6.1 million. This supports the UK’s overall humanitarian response, led by FCDO. BEIS regularly engages with Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy to discuss priority needs.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
1st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Department is coordinating the provision of generators and heating systems to Ukraine.

In March 2022, BEIS set-up a Ukraine Electricity Network Support Taskforce, involving distribution network operators and the Energy Networks Association. Through this Taskforce, BEIS has funded the procurement of more than 850 mobile generators for Ukraine, worth £6.1 million. This supports the UK’s overall humanitarian response, led by FCDO. BEIS regularly engages with Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy to discuss priority needs.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department will publish the impact assessment for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

The impact assessment for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is currently being scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC). We are waiting for the RPC opinion before making it publicly available.

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department will update the retained EU law dashboard.

Since the publication of the dashboard in June, the Government has continued to develop this authoritative catalog of where EU-derived legislation sits on the UK statute book. Subsequently, we anticipate over 100 additional pieces of legislation will be added to the REUL dashboard.

Government officials are currently working to quality assure this data and any amendments to the data will be reflected in an update of the dashboard this Autumn.

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many further pieces of retained EU law his Department plans to add to the retained EU law dashboard in its next update, broken down by Department.

Since the publication of the dashboard in June, the Government has continued to develop this authoritative catalog of where EU-derived legislation sits on the UK statute book. Subsequently, we anticipate over 100 additional pieces of legislation will be added to the REUL dashboard.

Government officials are currently working to quality assure this data and any amendments to the data will be reflected in an update of the dashboard this Autumn.

5th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of households that receive their heating from heat network systems in the latest period for which data is available.

The most recently available experimental statistics on heat networks were published in March 2018, when there were 439,549 households that received their heating from heat network systems: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-trends-march-2018-special-feature-article-experimental-statistics-on-heat-networks

ONS statistics showed that there were 27.6 million households in the UK in 2018.

Therefore, in 2018 approximately 1.6% of households received their heating from heat network systems.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support households that receive heating from heat networks.

The Government has announced unprecedented support within its Growth Plan to protect households and businesses from high energy prices, which includes those on heat networks. The Government has provided £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, as well the Energy Price Guarantee which will support millions of households and businesses with rising energy costs, and they will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is on top of a further £800 one-off support provided to eight million of the most vulnerable households to help with the cost of living.

The Government will continue to monitor the prices of fuels and will consider further intervention if required to protect UK households from extraordinary fuel prices.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to ensure that people are able to add funds to their energy top up cards without being required to purchase additional items at top up points.

There is no requirement for shopkeepers to ask customers to purchase additional items when adding credit to their energy top up cards. If this were to happen, then customers are entitled to raise a complaint with their supplier.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will make it his policy for the UK to re-join Horizon Europe.

The EU is in breach of the agreement reached under the TCA for the UK to participate in EU programmes and these unjustified delays are causing uncertainty for our research and business communities. Our preference remains association to the EU programmes as agreed under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), including Horizon Europe, and we continue to do everything we can to secure this.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to apply the energy price cap to residential blocks of flats being classified as non-domestic buildings because they use a communal boiler.

The Government has announced that it will effectively cap the price of heat sold by heat networks through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme this winter by reducing the commercial prices of energy used by networks and introducing Regulations requiring networks to pass on the benefit of the EBRS to end consumers.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
8th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to bring forward regulations to require new portable electronic devices to use a USB Type-C charger.

The Government is aware of the proposal of the EU for a single charging solution for certain electronic devices. There are currently no plans to introduce similar requirements in domestic law, but we will monitor developments in this area.

17th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on businesses of Recovery Loan Scheme repayments; and if he will publish the findings of that assessment.

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) provides financial support to businesses across the UK as they recover and grow following the coronavirus pandemic. Finance advanced under the Recovery Loan Scheme may be in the form of loans, overdrafts, asset finance or invoice finance. These facilities are supporting growth and investment across the UK.

Borrowing through the Recovery Loan Scheme is subject to a lender’s affordability assessment of the borrower. The checks and approach taken to this assessment may vary between lenders. The business remains 100% liable for repayment of the facility.

An evaluation of the Recovery Loan Scheme will be carried out in due course.

17th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of UK companies that have set up EU businesses and registered for EU VAT numbers in (a) 2022 as of 17 March 2022 and (b) each of the last four years.

The Department does not collect this data.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to introduce a national minimum wage to help with the cost of living.

The Government considers the independent and expert independent advice of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) when setting the NMW rates. The Low Pay Commission conducts extensive consultation, analysis and evidence gathering when recommending the minimum wage rates balancing the requirements between the needs of workers, the affordability for businesses and the impact on the economy.

On 1 April 2022, the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for over 23s by 6.6% to £9.50. This keeps the Government on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the NLW to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. This 59p increase is the largest increase to the NLW since its introduction. A full-time worker on the rate will see their annual earnings rise by over £1,000.

All the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for younger workers and apprentices will also increase on 1 April 2022. We expect the increases to the NLW and NMW in April 2022 to give a pay rise to around two and a half million workers.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made on the implementation on the recommendations of the Competition and Market Authorities' report on secondary ticket sales, published on 16 August 2021.

The Department, working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is considering the CMA’s report and we will issue a government response shortly.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) increase the number of high wage jobs in British industry.

The Government aims to support a high-skilled, high productivity, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business.

There are high paying jobs across all sectors and regions of the UK economy, including 600,000 high wage manufacturing jobs. Whilst businesses ultimately drive job growth, it is for the Government to create the right environment for job creation, and since 2010 there are an additional 3.6 million more people in work with the majority in high-skilled occupations.

The Government remains committed to the target of UK economy-wide R&D investment reaching 2.4% of GDP by 2027. This investment will continue to support a high innovation economy and deliver high wage jobs over the long term.

Lee Rowley
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
15th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase safety of toys being sold online; and whether he plans to bring forward a strategy for online marketplaces to (a) improve their verification and complaints processes, (b) inform consumers when they are buying from a third party, (c) remove unsafe products, and (d) proactively identify unsafe products, such as recalled goods.

All toys placed on the UK market must meet essential safety requirements under the UK Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011. This includes toys sold online, and online marketplaces have a significant role to play with regards to consumer safety.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is leading a national programme of regulatory action to tackle the risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold on online marketplaces. In 2021, 12,500 products (including toys) have been removed from supply due to OPSS interventions. OPSS is also running an expanded test purchasing programme, examining more than 1,000 products sold on online marketplaces to help ensure gifts given at Christmas are safe for families.

In parallel, the Government is undertaking a thorough review of the UK’s product safety framework, including the impact of e-commerce. Our aim is to ensure the framework remains robust and is future-proofed – so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. A Call for Evidence to inform the review has been completed and the Government’s response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence. In light of this, we are developing a full range of options to address the sale of unsafe products online and intend to consult in due course.

26th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to tackle rising energy costs for households.

Rising energy costs are the result of unprecedented increases in the wholesale price of gas in global energy markets. The Energy Price Cap will continue to protect households, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy.

The Government will continue to support low income and fuel poor households with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Further, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments, ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
26th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department categorises burning trees as a source of renewable energy.

The Government considers biomass a renewable, low-carbon energy source. The Government only supports the use of biomass where it complies with strict sustainability criteria. The sustainability criteria require that where biomass is sourced from forests, these should be ‘forest waste or residues’ derived from existing forestry operations and not whole trees purposely grown for bioenergy.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
25th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) regulate the gig economy, (b) ensure that gig economy workers are receiving pay for all working time and (c) ensure that unfair dismissals in the gig economy sector are being reduced.

This Government is clear that that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy, both in terms of fair pay and fair working conditions.

An individual’s entitlement to rights at work is determined by their employment status, employee, worker or self-employed. Gig economy workers can be classed under any of these depending on their employment relationship.

Employees are entitled to all rights including being protected against unfair dismissal (subject to qualifying periods) and have responsibilities towards their employer. An employer needs to have a valid reason and take appropriate steps if they are to dismiss an employee. Employees who consider that their dismissal was unfair can complain to an employment tribunal, generally subject to a qualifying period of two years’ service.

Workers have more flexibility over when, how much, and where they work but they are entitled to core protections such as minimum wage and holiday pay. If any worker is concerned they are not being paid at least the minimum wage, they should complain to HMRC who enforce the minimum wage. HMRC consider every complaint they receive, and since 2015 have ordered employers to return £100m to 1 million workers who had been underpaid. We have doubled the budget for minimum wage enforcement since 2015.

15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of (a) the effect of rising sea levels on the proposals for Sizewell C in Suffolk and (b) the impact of the proposed site on (i) SSSI RSPB Nature Reserve and (ii) species in surrounding areas.

The examination of the application for development consent for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station closed on 14 October 2021 and the Examining Authority is now writing its report which will set out its conclusions and recommendations on the proposals.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
9th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he has held or attended to discuss the potential merits of introducing a scheme to replace the Green Homes Grant scheme since applications to that scheme have closed; and with whom those meetings were with.

Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) receives its core funding from the MRC and BBSRC which are part of UK Research and Innovation. Core funding is reviewed every five years as part of the assessment of the impact of the NC3Rs and the quality of its work. The review includes robust international peer review and assessment by an independent expert committee.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether she plans to (a) review and (b) decrease the use of (i) rats and (ii) other live animals in testing procedures.

In the UK, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulates the use of animals in science and the regulator only authorises the use of animals in science where there are no alternatives and only to the minimum degree needed to meet the scientific research objectives and gain the benefit from the research.

The Government is committed to supporting the development of new approaches and technologies such as computer models and complex cell cultures that reduce the use of laboratory animals. This is primarily delivered by the NC3Rs which has made awards of over £100M for research and innovation to find alternatives which either replace or reduce the use of animals or improve their welfare.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps she has taken to reduce the use of dogs for research purposes.

The NC3Rs has recently launched a £2.6 million call for the development of a virtual dog for assessing the safety of new medicines during drug development. The call is part of the NC3Rs CRACK IT Challenges competition and aims to build virtual canine tissues and organs using advanced computational and mathematical modelling approaches, ultimately to help replace the use of dogs. The Challenge builds on an international project led by the NC3Rs that has demonstrated that there are opportunities to use one rather than the standard two species for some studies in drug development.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the threats posed by the climate emergency following the extreme weather events in (a) the UK, (b) Germany and (c) China.

Recent global weather and climate extremes observed in the UK, Germany and China are consistent with expectations from climate research that we will see increases in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events. This is being borne out by observations; the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the Physical Science Basis of Climate Change says, “the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events have increased since the 1950s over most land area for which observational data are sufficient for trend analysis (high confidence), and human-induced climate change is likely the main driver.”

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the national shortage of building materials reported by the Construction Leadership Council in May 2021, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that shortage on the Government’s ability to fulfil its commitment to upgrade as many homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2035.

The Government is aware that a range of building materials are in short supply nationally. This is driven by demand and increased global competition to secure supplies.

In light of this, and in view of more local disruptions in the supply of some products, the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force has established a Product Availability Working Group, comprised of product manufacturers, builders’ merchants and suppliers, contractors of all sizes, and housebuilders. The Task Force continues to monitor the supply and demand of products, and identify those in short supply.

The Task Force also issues regular statements on product availability. The Task Force has set out that where products are in short supply, any allocation systems should be as transparent as possible so that all customers can be seen to be treated fairly. Additionally, the Task Force has emphasised the importance of good forward-planning and clear communication within the industry. The Task Force has also recommended that where relevant, production for major projects should not be seen to adversely affect volumes available for smaller, regular customers.

The product availability statements also include detailed updates on the availability of specific products in affected material areas in order to keep the market informed. These can be accessed at: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made an assessment of the potential effect of the current shortage of building materials on the Government’s ability to fulfil its commitment to upgrade as many homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2035.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the national shortages of building materials reported by the Construction Leadership Council in May 2021, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized construction firms continue to have access to building materials.

The Government is aware that a range of building materials are in short supply nationally. This is driven by demand and increased global competition to secure supplies.

In light of this, and in view of more local disruptions in the supply of some products, the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force has established a Product Availability Working Group, comprised of product manufacturers, builders’ merchants and suppliers, contractors of all sizes, and housebuilders. The Task Force continues to monitor the supply and demand of products, and identify those in short supply.

The Task Force also issues regular statements on product availability. The Task Force has set out that where products are in short supply, any allocation systems should be as transparent as possible so that all customers can be seen to be treated fairly. Additionally, the Task Force has emphasised the importance of good forward-planning and clear communication within the industry. The Task Force has also recommended that where relevant, production for major projects should not be seen to adversely affect volumes available for smaller, regular customers.

The product availability statements also include detailed updates on the availability of specific products in affected material areas in order to keep the market informed. These can be accessed at: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made an assessment of the potential effect of the current shortage of building materials on the Government’s ability to fulfil its commitment to upgrade as many homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2035.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to (a) phase out the subsidies for electricity companies that burn wood from cutting down forests and (b) increase subsidies for the production of electricity from solar and wind power.

This Government has a long tradition of supporting clean electricity, and we have announced ambitious plans to support up to 12GW capacity of renewable electricity in the next allocation round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which would be double what was secured in the previous round.

The Government announced in March 2020 that solar projects, onshore wind, floating wind and remote island wind will be able to bid for contracts in the next CfD allocation round, which is planned to open in December this year. The scheme has already awarded contracts to around 800MW of onshore wind and solar capacity combined, alongside 13GW of offshore wind.

We recently announced that coal-to-biomass conversions will be excluded from future CfD allocation rounds. This means there will be no new coal-to-biomass conversions under the scheme. We have no plans to remove support for biomass conversions prior to 2027 for generating stations that are already supported under the Renewables Obligation and CfD schemes.

In the Government’s response to the Climate Change Committee’s annual progress report to Parliament, we announced that we will publish a new Biomass Strategy in 2022. This strategy will review what amount of sustainable biomass could be available to the UK and how this resource could be best utilised across the economy to help eliminate the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050.

Sustainable Biomass is a renewable organic material, such as food waste, wood residues or other plant material which has a wide array of applications including as a substitute for fossil-fuel based energy production, but with lower associated carbon emissions because the carbon that is released from the organic material was sequestered recently from the atmosphere, compared to fossil fuels where the carbon was sequestered millions of years ago.

The UK only supports biomass which complies with strict sustainability criteria which take into account a range of social, economic, and environmental issues including protecting biodiversity, land use rights, sustainable harvesting, and regeneration rates. They ensure that the carbon stock of the forest from which the pellets are derived is not decreased, by requiring that biomass fuels are from forest waste wood and residues and the forest owner adheres to the relevant legal requirements, to protect biodiversity and the environment.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
12th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what will replace the Green Homes Grant scheme.

Following a review, the Green Homes Grant Vouchers scheme closed to new applications on 31 March 2021. We will refocus efforts and funding on alternative approaches which will maximise delivery of home retrofits for consumers who are most in need.

The Government will be expanding its funding commitment in financial year 21/22 for both the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Local Authority Delivery element of the Green Homes Grant scheme with £300 million of new funding and up to £100 million of recycled funding from the Green Homes Grant Vouchers, depending on take up.

All valid applications made to the voucher scheme up to 31st March 2021 will be processed, and all vouchers issued will be honoured.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
18th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who will deliver the planned training courses advising business and organisations on how to submit an honours nomination.

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29th and 31st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
18th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set out the content of the training courses advising businesses and organisations on how submit an honours nomination.

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29th and 31st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
18th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria were used to select the businesses and organisations that were contacted with the opportunity to attend training courses on submitting an honours nomination.

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29th and 31st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
18th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of businesses and organisations that have been contacted by his Department with the opportunity to attend training courses on how to submit an honours nomination.

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29th and 31st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
15th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to classify scrubs as personal protective equipment.

Scrubs such as those for use in health care environments do not fall within the definition of personal protective equipment (PPE) set out in the PPE Regulation 2016/425. There are no plans to change the scope of products which fall in the definition. Scrubs are designed to promote a hygienic environment for patients and have not been manufactured to meet the essential health and safety requirements necessary for PPE. Guidance for PPE within the health and care settings can be found within the UK Infection Prevention and Control guidance which is agreed by the UK’s four chief Medical and Nursing Officers and is published by Public Health England.

1st Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the country of origin to be displayed on (a) textiles and (b) other consumer goods.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers. Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin. The Government does not have plans to introduce such a requirement.

8th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for Green Homes Vouchers have been (a) received and (b) successful; and what the financial value is of those successful vouchers in the 2020-21 financial year.

As of 8th February, 71,953 applications have been received for the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme, with 22,165 vouchers having been issued to customers. The value of these vouchers is currently £94.1 million.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing dry cleaners, which are currently classed as essential retail, to access a wider range of support funds in response to a loss of income resulting from the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

The Government continues to offer an unprecedented support package for business including loan schemes, grant funding, tax deferrals, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all of which have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK.

Local authorities have been allocated a further £500m in discretionary funding via the Additional Restrictions Grant to support those businesses that are significantly impacted by the restrictions even though they may not be required to close. This is in addition to £1.1bn already allocated in November 2020. Local authorities have discretion to use this funding to support businesses in the way they see fit. For example, this could include supporting businesses such as dry cleaners or those which supply the retail sector.

28th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support he is offering to businesses that have been allowed to remain open but suffered a significant loss in income due to reduced trade and footfall during the covid-19 outbreak.

Local Authorities have been provided with funding via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). The ARG is a discretionary scheme aimed to support businesses, including those that have not been mandated to close but have had their trade adversely affected by the nationalised restrictions.

Local Authorities have been allocated a further £500m in discretionary funding via the ARG, in addition to £1.1bn already allocated in November 2020. Local Authorities can use the ARG to support businesses in their local area, as they see fit.

During the period of localised restrictions, Local Authorities were provided with similar discretionary funding via the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) when entering Tier 2 (High) or Tier 3 (Very High) restrictions.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will enable open air car wash businesses which operate safely to remain open during the covid-19 outbreak.

Only automated car washes can operate during the current National lockdown restrictions.

23rd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will temporarily suspend the requirement of a 14-day refund period stipulated in travel packages regulations for small travel companies unable to process refunds.

The Government has no plans to suspend consumers’ right to a refund within 14 days for package holidays. The Government recognises the challenges some businesses are experiencing in processing refunds for cancelled travel arrangements, andtravel businesses are encouraged to utilise the generous and comprehensive financial support packages put in place by the Government to help minimise the disruption caused by COVID-19, which includes two business interruption loan guarantee schemes, grant funding, tax deferrals and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Many travel businesses are already offering consumers credit notes or alternative dates, which consumers are able accept if they choose to. However, the Government has always been clear that consumers must be offered a genuine choice between a refund or a credit note and be able to choose a refund if that is their preference.

18th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will suspend Sunday trading hours and extend them in December 2020 to allow for social distancing during the Christmas shopping rush on the limited number of Sundays between the end of lockdown and Christmas.

The Government has regular conversations with the retail sector and other key stakeholders,?and many have advocated a temporary change to?Sunday trading rules to?help manage social distancing.? We currently have no plans to change the legislation,?but?we will keep measures like this under review.

7th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility for the Green Homes Grant to all homes without wall or floor insulation.

The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme is open to owner occupiers, park homeowners and landlords who let privately or through the social rented sector. Solid wall, cavity wall and under floor insulation are all eligible for grant funding as primary measures, although the suitability of each type of insulation will vary by property.

20th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) lettings agents and (b) other independent businesses, required by covid-19 guidance to restrict activity, that are in shared access premises qualify for the Retail and Hospitality grant if they pay business rates and meet the relevant thresholds.

Businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March?with?a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for the following cash grants per property via the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund:

  • Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to?and including?£15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.
  • Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.

Only businesses with their own assessment for business rates and eligible for the Expanded Retail Discount, with a rateable value below £51,000, will be eligible for the grant. Businesses which are not ratepayers are not eligible.

We understand for some shared space/service offices, individual users do have their own rating assessment and may be eligible. In these cases we encourage landlords to support local government in ensuring the grant reaches eligible ratepayers.

In addition, on?1 May,?the Government announced that up to £617 million has been made available to local authorities?in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants. The?Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs that are not liable for business rates or rates reliefs.

17th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has established a second wave business support plan to prepare for a potential second wave of covid-19 (a) infections and (b) lockdowns.

The Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and Joint Biosecurity Centre to monitor Covid-19 incidence rates and the need for local responses.

We have pressed for a smarter, more targeted approach to local lockdowns to help reduce business impacts, including shaping the new, targeted regulations that allow local authorities to avoid widespread business closures.

We will take decisions on further business support for local lockdowns on the basis of evidence of need, recognising that the Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of enabling beauty salons that have adequate (a) safety measures and (b) personal protective equipment to re-open as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

We have now provided close contact services – like beauty salons – in England, except Leicester, with the certainty they need to reopen from Monday 13 July, subject to them following the COVID-secure guidelines.

11th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he last met with the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss Official Development Assistance spending.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.

As the largest Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending department after the Department for International Development (DfID), the Department works very closely with DfID on delivery of its ODA programmes.

The Secretary of State recently met with Lord Goldsmith to discuss linkages between his Department, DfID, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding ODA spending on climate policy.

27th Apr 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will extend the Coronavirus Small Business Grant scheme to all active businesses, including (a) limited companies and (b) sole traders registered with HMRC who are not eligible for business rates relief.

The two existing business grants schemes have helped support many thousands of small businesses. In order to ensure that Local Authorities can help businesses that are not eligible for the grant schemes, the Government has allocated an additional £617 million funding to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants.

The following businesses should be considered as a priority for these funds:

· Businesses in a range of shared workspaces;

· Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment;

· B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and

· Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

18th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent panic buying.

The UK is well prepared for this type of outbreak; we are taking all necessary precautions to protect the public, such as engaging with industry and businesses to discuss their preparedness planning. We will continue to work closely with sectors, companies, and business representative organisations to ensure we are fully aware of the issues and how to best provide support.

In order to help the industry respond to Covid-19, we will work with local authorities to extend delivery hours for supermarkets and other food retailers. This will allow retailers to increase the frequency of their deliveries and move stock quickly from warehouses to shelves.

The Government has also announced a temporary relaxation of the enforcement of EU drivers’ hours rules in England, Scotland, and Wales. This extends to drivers of vehicles involved in the delivery of food, non-food (personal care and household paper and cleaning), and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Additionally, we have announced a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours, allowing delivery drivers to work the hours needed to meet the demand for home deliveries.

The Government has also announced the temporary relaxation of elements of competition law to allow supermarkets and retailers to work together. Legislation is being laid to amend elements of the Competition Act 1998, which prevents certain types of anti-competitive behaviour.

16th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the insurance sector on extending compensation for individuals affected by covid-19-related cancellations not covered by their insurance policy.

The Government is well prepared for this type of outbreak. We will continue to take all necessary precautions, such as engaging with key industry partners and employer organisations, to understand the potential effect of Covid-19 on workers and to discuss their preparedness planning. The Secretary of State is frequently communicating with Business Representative Organisations and businesses, including the Association of British Insurers, to gain intelligence on Covid-19’s impacts and share the latest guidance and information with them.

On 17 March, the Government announced unprecedented support for businesses and workers to protect against the economic emergency caused by Covid-19. This includes unlimited loans and guarantees to support firms and help them manage their cashflows through this period. The Government will also make an initial £330 billion of guarantees available – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP.

24th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with multi-national corporations on their role in reducing carbon emissions.

We are committed to delivering on our world-leading target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050. The UK was the first major economy to legislate for a net zero target, which will end our contribution to climate change.

With our expert scientists, business leaders and innovators, the UK has already excelled at cutting emissions while creating wealth and we will continue to engage with domestic and international businesses of all sizes to look at opportunities to reduce their carbon emissions and also invest in and develop low carbon technologies, services and systems.

13th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will reintroduce subsidies for home solar panel installation.

The cost of household solar panels has more than halved since 2011. Government support through the Feed-in Tariff between 2010 and 2019 supported over 830,000 small solar projects – and helped drive this reduction in cost.

Now, under the Smart Export Guarantee, we have given scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as?homes with?solar?panels, the right to?be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. This reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that low carbon electricity – whether at the household level or the national level –?is?central to the?transition to?the?smart?and flexible?energy systems of the future. Unlike the previous Feed-in Tariff scheme, the Smart Export Guarantee is a market-driven mechanism and paves the way to projects being deployed without subsidies.

15th Nov 2022
BBC
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is taking steps to support the BBC with preventing cuts to (a) BBC News, (b) BBC World Service and (c) other BBC television channels.

As set out in its Charter, the BBC has a vital role to play in enabling all audiences to engage fully with major local, regional, national, and global issues and participate in the democratic process, at all levels, as active and informed citizens.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and decisions over how it delivers its services are for the BBC to make. However, the government is clear that the BBC must continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes. It should prioritise using its £3.8 billion annual licence fee income as necessary to deliver that remit.

On top of its licence fee income, FCDO is continuing to provide the BBC World Service with over £94 million annually for the next three years, supporting services in 12 languages and improving key services in Arabic, Russian and English. This is in addition to nearly £470 million FCDO have already provided through the World2020 programme since 2016. In 2022-23, the Government is also providing the BBC with an additional £4.1 million in emergency funding, to support the World Service in continuing to deliver services in Ukraine and Russia.

More broadly, it is important to recognise that the broadcasting sector is changing rapidly, with changes in audience viewing habits and increasing competition posing challenges for all of our Public Service Broadcasters. The BBC needs to be forward looking so it can meet the challenges of modern broadcasting, both at home and abroad.

The Government is committed to working with the BBC and supporting it in pursuing necessary reforms so that it can continue to best serve audiences and remain a global beacon long into the future. We will continue to work with the BBC as we progress this Government’s Roadmap for Reform of the BBC in preparation for the next Charter Review, and as we deliver much needed reform to the ‘compact’, the balance of benefits and obligations conferred on our public service broadcasters, to ensure they can continue to deliver for audiences across the United Kingdom.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
20th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to safeguard bereaved families from abusive press attention.

The Government is committed to a free and independent press, and does not intervene in what the press can and cannot publish. We are clear, however, that with this freedom, comes responsibility, which media organisations must take seriously. There is an independent self regulatory regime to ensure that the press adheres to a wide set of clear and appropriate standards, and to offer individuals a means of redress where these are not met.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
25th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effects of the Online Safety Bill on requirements for voice recognition or other voice services to (a) remove illegal content from their services and (b) set terms and conditions to address legal but harmful content.

The Online Safety Bill will apply to all companies that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other. This will include a broad range of websites, apps and services, some of which will enable voice recognition. The Bill will make sure that the UK is the safest place to be online, requiring all in-scope companies to take robust action against illegal content.

Additionally, the largest and riskiest services will face additional duties, including specifying in their terms and conditions what measures they are taking for the most harmful content to adults, and must enforce these rules consistently.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason Section 103, Chapter 8 of the Draft Online Safety Bill, relating to Media Literacy did not appear in the Online Safety Bill introduced on 11 May 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Ofcom has an existing statutory duty to promote media literacy under section 11 of the Communications Act (2003). Clause 103 of the draft Online Safety Bill clarified Ofcom’s responsibilities under this duty but did not grant Ofcom any new powers or duties. On 6 December 2021, ‘Ofcom’s Approach to Online Media Literacy’ was published. This strategy document published by Ofcom outlined its plans to expand its media literacy programme in a manner which substantially met the responsibilities set out in the draft Bill. As such, it is no longer necessary to include these clarifications in primary legislation.

The Online Safety Bill increases Ofcom’s powers relating to media literacy. Ofcom’s transparency reporting and information gathering powers cover media literacy and give Ofcom enhanced oversight on industry spend and activity. DCMS’s Secretary of State has powers to direct Ofcom’s media literacy activity in special circumstances, for example where there is a significant threat to public health as a result of health misinformation. The Bill also directs in-scope companies to consider measures to promote users’ media literacy as part of the risk assessment process.

Media literacy remains a vital part of the government’s agenda to support online safety. In April 2022 the government published its second Media Literacy Action Plan which sets out an ambitious expansion of its media literacy programme, supported by over £2m of funding.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to help prohibit all Russian players from the Wimbledon Tennis Championship 2022.

Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state. President Putin must not be allowed to exploit major sporting and cultural events on the world stage to seek to legitimise his regime’s invasion.

In response, the UK Government, alongside 36 other nations, issued a joint statement calling on international sporting federations to endorse the principles that:

  • Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for or be awarded any international sporting events.

  • Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs.

  • Wherever possible, appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states.

The issue of Russian or Belarusian individual sports persons participating in a truly neutral capacity - in the UK and overseas - adds further complexity, and our position will have the greatest impact if it is taken in line with other nations.

We are engaging with national governing bodies, including the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and international counterparts in order to reach an agreed position that can be implemented as consistently as possible.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
9th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the names of the members of the Advisory Assessment Panel for the appointment of the Chair of the National Lottery Fund.

The appointment of the Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund is made by the Secretary of State. The appointment is made in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments, which is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Membership of the Advisory Assessment Panel has been publicly available since the campaign launched in August 2020 at https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/. The Panel for this campaign was chaired by Sam Lister, Director General for Strategy and Operations at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. He was joined by Senior Independent Panel Member Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle and Emma Boggis, Vice-Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will increase the number of youth clubs and sports clubs to support young people engaged in or at risk of involvement in gangs and youth violence.

£130.5 million has been made available to tackle serious violence this year. This investment will support Violence Reduction Units to deliver a range of early intervention and prevention programmes for young people, including funding support workers, youth and sports clubs. It will also provide funding for early intervention programmes, including trauma-informed training for frontline professionals as well as therapy and specialist support for children and young people in crisis moments.

Universal youth services, including youth and sports clubs, help to reduce the risk factors associated with involvement in gangs and youth violence. Following the 2021 Spending Review, we are investing £560 million in youth services in England over the next 3 years, to support young people. This investment will provide up to 300 new or refurbished youth facilities in deprived areas across the country and create hundreds of thousands of positive activities for young people.

In addition, we set out our commitment to grassroots sports, investing £205 million to build or transform up to 8,000 multi-use sports facilities; £21.9 million to refurbish park tennis courts; and up to £30 million per year to increase access to school facilities.

We are continuing to provide bursaries to help increase the number of qualified youth workers available to support young people. Over the past two years we have worked with the National Youth Agency to help more than 900 youth workers gain qualifications.

Furthermore, the government has made a £200 million investment over 10 years in the Youth Endowment Fund, to test what works in preventing young people from becoming involved in violence.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will increase the number of support workers available to support young people engaged in or at risk of involvement in gangs and youth violence.

£130.5 million has been made available to tackle serious violence this year. This investment will support Violence Reduction Units to deliver a range of early intervention and prevention programmes for young people, including funding support workers, youth and sports clubs. It will also provide funding for early intervention programmes, including trauma-informed training for frontline professionals as well as therapy and specialist support for children and young people in crisis moments.

Universal youth services, including youth and sports clubs, help to reduce the risk factors associated with involvement in gangs and youth violence. Following the 2021 Spending Review, we are investing £560 million in youth services in England over the next 3 years, to support young people. This investment will provide up to 300 new or refurbished youth facilities in deprived areas across the country and create hundreds of thousands of positive activities for young people.

In addition, we set out our commitment to grassroots sports, investing £205 million to build or transform up to 8,000 multi-use sports facilities; £21.9 million to refurbish park tennis courts; and up to £30 million per year to increase access to school facilities.

We are continuing to provide bursaries to help increase the number of qualified youth workers available to support young people. Over the past two years we have worked with the National Youth Agency to help more than 900 youth workers gain qualifications.

Furthermore, the government has made a £200 million investment over 10 years in the Youth Endowment Fund, to test what works in preventing young people from becoming involved in violence.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of (a) live music venues and (b) theatres on Government support since the publication of Government guidance on the transmission of the Omicron covid-19 variant on 8 December 2021.

The Government remains committed to working closely and collaboratively with all our sectors whilst we mitigate the risks of the coronavirus pandemic. Ministers meet regularly with representatives from the music and performance arts sectors to discuss the impacts of Covid-19. A ministerial roundtable was held on 17 December, which included attendees from HM Treasury, to listen to and understand the challenges faced by our sectors at this time.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward proposals to strengthen age verification for legal pornography in the Online Safety Bill.

The strongest protections in the draft Online Safety Bill, published in May 2021, are for children. Where pornography sites host user generated content or facilitate online user interactions (including video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming), they will be in scope of the Online Safety Bill.

The online safety regime will capture the most visited pornography sites, social media platforms, video-sharing sites, forums and via image or video search engines. Companies will be required to protect children from harmful content such as online pornography, or face enforcement action by the regulator, which could include significant fines or, in the most egregious cases, Ofcom can apply for access to be restricted in the UK.

The Government recognises the concerns that have been raised about protecting children from online pornography on services which do not currently fall within the scope of the Bill. The Government will use the draft Bill’s pre-legislative scrutiny to explore ways to provide wider protections for children from online pornography, including on sites that do not fall within scope of the duty of care.

19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to celebrate the recent achievements of the England football team.

The England team enjoyed a magnificent run in Euro 2020 and I once again pass on my huge congratulations to the team for their work on and off the pitch.

We continue to work closely with the FA on ensuring their players get the appropriate recognition, and recognise that they are already focused on qualification for the Qatar World Cup next year.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2021
What plans he has to help charities to support the recovery of the civil society sector from the covid-19 outbreak.

This Government has provided a multi-billion-pound package of support for Britain's charities to continue their vital work and mitigate the risks created by the pandemic.

Charities continue to benefit from the extension of cross-economy support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

We continue to monitor sector health closely. Government is working with charity sector representatives to shape a future programme of work to support a strong and resilient charity sector.

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) social media, (b) gaming and (c) e-sports companies on cross-platform online harms risks; and what plans he has to tackle those risks in the proposed online safety Bill.

We have published the interim codes alongside the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper to provide companies with our expectations of what they should be doing to address Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and terrorist content. The interim codes are voluntary and will enable companies to take swift action in tackling the most serious of online harms before the regulator is established.

We engaged extensively with industry stakeholders, civil society organisations and non-government organisations in the development of the interim codes.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders on a variety of issues, including cross-platform online harms risks. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. The Online Safety Bill, which will be ready this year, will require all in scope companies to put in place systems and processes to keep their users safe.

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) gaming companies, (b) e-sports companies and (c) gaming ancillary chat platforms on (i) online harms and (ii) those companies' plans to improve (A) user safety and (B) child protection in line with the Interim Codes of Practice on online safety, published on 15 December 2020; and if he will make a statement.

We have published the interim codes alongside the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper to provide companies with our expectations of what they should be doing to address Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and terrorist content. The interim codes are voluntary and will enable companies to take swift action in tackling the most serious of online harms before the regulator is established.

We engaged extensively with industry stakeholders, civil society organisations and non-government organisations in the development of the interim codes.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders on a variety of issues, including cross-platform online harms risks. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. The Online Safety Bill, which will be ready this year, will require all in scope companies to put in place systems and processes to keep their users safe.

2nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to regulate online rental companies that accept bookings in cities that are subject to stay at home orders.

Guest accommodation providers such as hotels, B&Bs, short term lets and caravan parks may remain open for the specific reasons set out in law, including where guests are unable to return to their main residence, use that guest accommodation as their main residence, need accommodation while moving house, are self-isolating as required by law, or would otherwise be made homeless as a result of the accommodation closing.

As such, accommodation providers have not been required to stop accepting bookings under the current national restrictions, nor have the online platforms that facilitate those bookings.

Accommodation businesses should take all reasonable steps to encourage guests to adhere to government restrictions, including informing guests of restrictions when taking bookings and communicating to all customers. We expect people to act responsibly and in line with the law. Accommodation businesses should not intentionally facilitate bookings that do not adhere to government restrictions. Those not complying with these responsibilities may be at risk of the premises being closed.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
25th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the health risks of allowing tennis courts and golf clubs to re-open during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

Sports and physical activity are crucial for our mental and physical health and I recognise golf and tennis are a popular choice for many to get active.

Nobody wanted to be in the position of having to introduce further National Restrictions. However as the Prime Minister has said, with the virus spreading faster than expected we cannot allow our health system to be overwhelmed. This is something we cannot allow to happen and is why the current national lockdown was introduced.

The current restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions and in order for these measures to have the greatest impact, we will all need to sacrifice doing some things that we would otherwise like to do, for a short period of time. These regulations were voted on by the House on 6 January and are expected to last until the situation in hospitals improves.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 14th December 2020 to Question 127515, what additional funding allocations he plans to make available for cinemas seeking financial relief as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The government recognises the significant cultural and economic value of cinemas, and has supported them through both sector-specific and economy-wide measures. In the first round of the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, more than 200 independent cinemas have so far received funding from a £30m pot. This funding was administered by the BFI on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, as part of the biggest ever single investment in this country’s cultural sectors.

Grants have been awarded to cinema sites in every corner of the country, with cinemas outside London benefitting from 78% of funding to date. Further to this, we announced in December that cinemas will be able to apply for another £14 million in grants as part of the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund in 2021. This will support cinemas as they transition back to a viable and sustainable way of operating in the months ahead. Cinemas have also been eligible to apply to the second round of Arts Council England’s Repayable Finance scheme, with a total of £100m available.

Cinemas have been able to benefit from the further extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 30 April 2021, which sees employees receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. In addition, the government has supported cinemas through the VAT cut on tickets and concessions and a business rates holiday. In light of recent tightening in restrictions, businesses in England that are forced to close will receive up to £3,000 for each 28 day period affected. We have also recently announced that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors can apply for a one-off grant worth up to £9,000 per property.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to make a decision on the timescale for SportCheer England to be granted approval on its Return to Play guidance document.

SportCheer England's Return to Play guidance was approved in October 2020 and they are on the list of approved governing bodies on the GOV.UK team sport guidance page.

However, the virus is spreading rapidly and incidence rates are rising across the country which is why we have taken decisive action to protect the NHS. Under the current national restrictions, which were introduced on Monday 4 January 2021, grassroots sport cannot take place. Outdoor exercise within households, or with one other person is permitted so people can continue to stay active together safely. We will make grassroots sports' return an immediate priority as soon as it is possible to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
5th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what targeted support the Government is providing to the events and exhibitions sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

We are aware that the events and exhibition sector, as well as other sectors, has been severely impacted by Government measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

Events businesses have been able to access a number of the Government’s support measures throughout this period. In the context of new national restrictions, events businesses and individuals can continue to seek support in the form of various government-backed loans, new business grants and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes. The recently announced discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant guidance for Local Authorities specifically refers to businesses in the events sector.

We are engaging with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
5th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide a timetable for the resumption of conferences and exhibitions.

We are aware that many in the sector support the notion of publishing a timetable for reopening conferences and exhibitions.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

We also recognise that the new national restrictions will have a significant impact on jobs and the economy, as well as on mental health and wellbeing. We’ve confirmed that there will be an extensive package of financial support in place, including the extension of various government-backed loans, new business grants and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
3rd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether outdoor tennis played by people from (a) one household or (b) different households respecting social distancing guidelines is possible during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.

Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

Nobody wanted to be in the position of having to introduce further National Restrictions. However as the Prime Minister said, with the virus spreading faster than expected we cannot allow our health system to be overwhelmed. Therefore, from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December indoor and outdoor leisure including tennis courts will need to close. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions.

In order for these measures to have the greatest impact, we will all need to sacrifice doing some things that we would otherwise like to do, for a short period of time. As soon as we're in a position to start lifting restrictions, grassroots sports will be one of the first to return.

People are still allowed to leave their homes for exercise and recreation outdoors, with their household or alone, or with one person from another household or support bubble.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
19th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling amateur music groups to resume rehearsals and performances during the covid-19 outbreak.

In Medium Local Covid Alert Level areas (Tier 1) it is against the law to gather in groups of more than 6, unless everyone is from the same household and support bubble. In High (Tier 2) and Very High (Tier 3) areas, it is against the law to gather indoors in groups which do not consist only of the same household and support bubble. A number of exemptions apply. For example, some activities - such as those organised for under-18s including education or training supervised activities provided for children, including wraparound care, youth groups and activities - are exempt.

In addition, in a COVID-secure venue or public outdoor place, non-professional performing arts activity, including choirs, orchestras or drama groups can continue to rehearse or perform together where this is planned activity in line with the performing arts guidance and if they can do so in a way that ensures that there is no interaction between separate and distinct groups of no more than 6 (In Medium areas and outdoors) or individual households (in High and Very High areas) at any time (depending on Local Covid Alert Level restrictions). If an amateur group is not able to ensure that no mingling takes place between these sub-groups (depending on Local Covid Alert Level restrictions) - including when arriving at or leaving activity or in any breaks or socialising - then such non-professional activity should not take place. Local Covid Alert Level guidance (Medium, High, Very High) provides details on group size.

We will continue to work with the Performing Arts sector to understand how the new regulations affect those engaging in activity. We have always been clear that the easing of restrictions depends on the prevalence of COVID-19.

14th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the planned timescale is for allowing (a) conferences and (b) exhibitions to be held during the covid-19 outbreak.

We recognise the events industry’s disappointment at the delayed reopening of large business conferences and exhibitions.

We have always been clear that our roadmap to recovery is dependent on continued progress against the virus. Due to the sharp rise in cases over recent weeks, we needed to pause the planned 1st October reopening of business conferences and exhibitions.

Meetings of up to 30 for training, education and work purposes can still take place in permitted venues, as per the Covid-19 Secure guidance for the visitor economy. Since 11 July, a range of outdoor events have been able to take place, although again this is subject to COVID-secure guidelines.

We are also aware that many in the sector support the notion of a publishing a timescale for reopening events. We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
14th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support he is providing to the events and exhibitions sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

We are aware that the events and exhibition sector, as well as other sectors, has been severely impacted by Government measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

We also recognise that the new national restrictions will have a significant impact on jobs and the economy, as well as on mental health and wellbeing. We’ve confirmed that there will be a full package of financial support in place, with the Job Retention Scheme extended for this period of lockdown. Businesses can continue to apply for government-backed loans, and self-employed individuals can access the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing the sector. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to permit the reopening of (a) small tuition and (b) therapy swimming pools as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased; and whether the reopening of those pools will be earlier than the reopening of larger leisure centre swimming pools.

The government recognises the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and we agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by an understanding of the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.

The government is actively working towards a safe way to re-open these facilities, with supporting guidance.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether dance studios can reopen for educational activities for school children if they adhere to the same covid-19 social distancing measures as schools.

A dance school (or other sport activity for children) which operates for fewer than 18 hours per week would generally be considered to be an out-of-school setting. As the Prime Minister confirmed in his announcement on 23 June, providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children can operate over the summer holiday, with safety measures in place. Providers of these settings have been able to open since 4 July, provided that they follow the protective measures set out by government. However, providers should check the latest government guidelines on which businesses and venues can open and for which purposes as some premises may only be able to open for certain limited purposes.

Protective measures guidance for community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Providers who offer indoor sports activities for children should refer to the guidance for Keeping workers / volunteers and customers safe during COVID-19 for providers of grassroots sports and gym / leisure facilities. As announced on the 9 July, indoor gyms, sports courts and fitness and dance studios will be able to reopen from 25 July. They cannot be used for holiday clubs and activities for children until that point.

Sports activities that would typically take place in a gym, sports venue, or a fitness or dancing studio are permitted to take place in any venue legally able to open, such as an indoor community facility, subject to DfE guidance on protective measures being followed.

15th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he last met with the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss Official Development Assistance spending.

I have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on the full range of our international activity, including through Official Development Assistance (ODA). My Department supports international development through excellent ODA projects such as our Cultural Protection Fund and the International Tech Hubs programme. I welcome the creation of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and will continue to work closely with Ministerial colleagues to promote the UK's interests around the world.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
19th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with broadband providers on ensuring service reliability whilst social distancing is being advised.

The industry has well established business continuity arrangements to ensure that the sector remains resilient. DCMS is working with the industry and Ofcom to closely monitor such arrangements.

28th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to independently regulate the media.

Ofcom is the independent regulator of television and radio, which sets rules for licensed broadcasters to meet under the Communications Act 2003 and Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996. The Government will continue to ensure that Ofcom has the right balance of tools and powers to effectively regulate broadcasters.

There exists an independent self-regulatory system for the press. The majority of traditional news publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. A small number of publishers have joined Impress, while others have chosen to stay outside either self-regulator with their own detailed self-regulatory arrangements.

We have recently published an initial government response to the public consultation on last year’s Online Harms White Paper. Our plans for legislation will make companies more responsible for their users’ safety online, especially children, and will help build trust in digital markets. Online Harms proposals do not seek to regulate journalistic content. Full details about an exemption for journalistic content will be published in the full Government Response to the Online Harms Consultation later this year.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
21st Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to amend guidance on personal, social, health and economic education in schools to promote discussion and awareness of organ, blood and stem cell donation.

The national curriculum includes substantial content which can be used by teachers as an opportunity to inform pupils about organ, stem cell and blood donation. For example, pupils are taught about the function of the heart, blood vessels and blood as part of key stage 2 science and about stem cells as part of key stage 4 science.

Alongside the national curriculum, stem cell donation can be taught as part of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and as part of compulsory Health Education, as pupils should know the facts about organ and blood donation.

To support schools further, the teacher training module ‘physical health and fitness’ also includes information on blood, organ and stem cell donation. A link to this module can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-physical-health-and-fitness.

As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how and when they deliver these topical subjects and can respond according to pupil needs.

The department has been reviewing the RSE and Health Education guidance and aims to launch a public consultation very soon. Following the consultation, the department will make a decision about any new or revised content to be included in the statutory guidance, including additional content. The department anticipates that the revised guidance will be published in 2024.

Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help increase the number of visits by UK schools to EU countries.

The Department does not request or record data on school trips that have been independently organised and funded directly by schools. The Turing Scheme, launched in the 2020/21 academic year, provides funding for UK students to work and study around the world. For the current 2023/24 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing over £10 million in funding for 6,789 UK school pupils to take part in overseas visits, and over 4,400 of these pupils are due to visit EU countries for their Turing visits.

The Department recognises the importance of cultural and educational exchanges between the UK and other nations and will continue to support opportunities for children and young people, where appropriate.

At a recent UK and France summit, the UK committed to making the travel of school groups from France to the UK easier by changing the documentary requirements for pupils on organised trips from France. France committed to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for pupils travelling on organised school trips from the UK and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.

13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of school visits to EU countries that took place in (a) 2019 and (b) 2023.

The Department does not request or record data on school trips that have been independently organised and funded directly by schools. The Turing Scheme, launched in the 2020/21 academic year, provides funding for UK students to work and study around the world. For the current 2023/24 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing over £10 million in funding for 6,789 UK school pupils to take part in overseas visits, and over 4,400 of these pupils are due to visit EU countries for their Turing visits.

The Department recognises the importance of cultural and educational exchanges between the UK and other nations and will continue to support opportunities for children and young people, where appropriate.

At a recent UK and France summit, the UK committed to making the travel of school groups from France to the UK easier by changing the documentary requirements for pupils on organised trips from France. France committed to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for pupils travelling on organised school trips from the UK and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.

3rd Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the cost of public transport on students' (a) finances and (b) mobility.

The department continually monitors the impact of rising prices on students. The department recognises that the availability of student accommodation has been impacted by the current financial backdrop and that this can create additional transport costs for students. This is why the government has continued to increase living costs support each year with a 2.3% increase to maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2022/23 academic year, and a 2.8% increase for the 2023/24 academic year.

There is £276 million of Student Premium and Mental Health funding available this 2023/24 academic year, to support students who need additional help, including disadvantaged students. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.

The department works with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the Student Premium as higher education (HE) providers have established their own hardship funds, which allow discretionary funds to be paid to students who are in need.

Decisions on student finance will have to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of HE are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
2nd Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of covid-19 on the (a) health and (b) education of this year's cohort of (i) GCSE and (ii) A Level students; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that this year's (A) GCSE and (B) A-level exams reflect that impact.

GCSE, AS and A level exams in England have largely returned to pre-pandemic arrangements this summer. These arrangements are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. There will be some support in place for pupils in recognition that they have experienced some disruption to their education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ofqual has confirmed a return to pre-pandemic grading in 2023, but with protection in place for GCSE and A level cohorts because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Where national performance is found to be lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, senior examiners will make allowances when setting grade boundaries.

GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science students have been provided with formulae and equation sheets, to support them in these subjects. The GCSE, AS and A level exam timetable has been designed to space out exam papers in the same subject. This will give pupils more time to revise between papers than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the almost £5 billion made available to support children and young people to catch up on missed education, we are providing £1 billion through the Recovery Premium in 2022/23 and 2023/24 to allow schools to continue to focus on evidence based approaches and activities that support pupils, including those in exam cohorts. The Department has nearly doubled the premium rate for mainstream secondary schools to £276 per eligible pupil, reflecting evidence of need.

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is central to the Department’s £5 billion education recovery programme, which includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring. This support is especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged, vulnerable or those with the least time left in education, wherever they live. The NTP makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress of pupils who most need to catch up on education lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. Since November 2020 over 3 million courses have been started through the programme.

The Department has set the subsidy rate for the NTP for the next academic year at 50%. This change is in response to schools’ concerns over previously announced funding arrangements, which included a 25% subsidy rate. The 50% subsidy rate announced on 23 May means that schools now need to contribute less of their core funding to provide tutoring.

From September 2022, full time students in 16 to 19 education will be entitled to an average of 40 additional hours of education. A proportionate increase in hours will be offered to part time students. This is to ensure those with the least time left in education catch up on the vital education they missed during the pandemic. The Department has allocated over £800 million until 2024/25 to fund this.

Regarding student health, the Department publishes annual State of the Nation reports, which draw together the best available published evidence on the wellbeing of children and young people aged 5 to 24. The findings from this series of reports inform work across government to support young people's wellbeing. The most recent report was published in February 2023 and can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1134596/State_of_the_nation_2022_-_children_and_young_people_s_wellbeing.pdf.

2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve and increase support for student's (a) mental health, (b) safety and (c) well-being.

The mental health and wellbeing of young people is a high priority for the government. It is crucial that students get the effective mental health and wellbeing support they need to allow them to flourish at university.

The department is working closely with mental health charities and the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund effective practice to support student wellbeing and mental health.

To ensure that the sector goes further to support students, the department has made clear the ambition for all HE providers to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by 2026 and adopt a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing. The charter can be found here: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html.

Students need timely and effective health support and a smooth transition into university life. The Office for Students (OfS) has allocated £15 million of funding in 2022/23 to establish better partnerships between universities and local NHS services and to support transitions from school and college to university.

The department also wants students across the country to have easy access to the best mental health support tools and for interventions to be based on evidence base practice. The OfS have funded the online platform, Student Space, and are leading work to establish and share ‘what works’ across the sector. Student Space can be accessed at: https://studentspace.org.uk/.

Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the government is investing an additional £2.3 billion a year at least into mental health services by 2023/24. Part of this increased investment will enable an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 to get the mental health support they need.

The number of children and young people aged under 18 supported through NHS-funded mental health assistance, with at least one contact with services was 689,621 in the year up to July 2022, compared to 618,537 in the year up to July 2021.

Spend for children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to £995 million in 2021/22. Total spend for 2022/23 has yet to be confirmed, but we expect it to have risen to around £1.1 billion.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
18th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Putney constituency do not have qualified teacher status.

Information on the school workforce in England is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

The number of teachers without qualified teacher status in all state funded schools in England, including a breakdown by primary and secondary, and by local authority, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/29d83b82-2aba-44c7-bb82-08db371944c7.

Data relating to schools in individual constituencies can be found in the ‘teacher and support staff numbers by school’ file, within the additional supporting files section, available at: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/0728fb07-f014-492c-aac9-fd11bb441601/files/2dfcc772-c410-46ac-cb9d-08da713e9200.

There are 24,000 more teachers now than in 2010. The quality of teaching is the most important in school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Evidence is clear that high quality professional development can lead to improved pupil attainment.

The Department has invested in transforming training for teachers and head teachers. Every teacher and head teacher now has access to high quality, evidence based training and professional development at every stage of their career, starting with initial teacher training (ITT).

By 2024, a reformed ITT provider market will be delivering quality assured training leading to qualified teacher status (QTS) that places a greater emphasis than ever before on embedding structured practice into courses, ensuring trainees are ready to thrive in the classroom.

A new system of higher quality training provider partnerships will be supported by £36 million to introduce new Quality Requirements, including better training for mentors and the delivery of new, cutting edge, intensive training, and practice activity. Every teaching school hub will be involved in ITT to ensure that training places are available across the country.

QTS is considered desirable for teachers in most schools in England. In some schools, including academies, free schools, and independent schools, QTS is not a legal requirement. Academies have a fundamental freedom to employ talented people who do not necessarily have QTS.

Most teachers in all schools, including academies, have QTS and have undertaken initial teacher training. In the 2021/22 academic year, the latest data available, 14,771 teachers (headcount) did not have qualified teacher status, equivalent to 2.9% of teachers.

8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to increase the number of mental health counsellors working in schools.

The mental health of children is a priority for this government. We know schools can support pupil mental health in a variety of ways, particularly by providing safe, calm and supportive environments that promote good mental wellbeing and help prevent the onset of mental illness.

Schools are not specialist mental health providers, but they can play an important role in identifying and responding to emerging or existing mental health issues. This may include providing targeted pastoral support, or ensuring referrals are made to external specialist support.

It is important for schools to have the freedom to decide what support to offer to pupils based on their particular needs, drawing on an evidence base of effective practice. This support can include counselling, which can be an effective part of a whole school approach. However, counselling is not suitable for all needs and many pupils also benefit from other in-school support, including from trained pastoral staff and educational psychologists.

To support the effective use of training and guidance on mental health in schools, the department is funding all schools and colleges in England to train senior mental health leads who can put in place whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 11,700 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant, including over half of the eligible schools/colleges and more than six in ten state-funded secondary schools. This is backed by £10 million in the 2022/23 financial year. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/senior-mental-health-lead-training.

The department has also published a blueprint for schools on counselling services. This provides schools with practical, evidence-based advice, informed by schools and counselling experts, on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling.

To expand access to early mental health support, the Government is also increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges to 400 by 2023, covering around 35% of pupils in England. Over 500 MHSTs are planned to be up and running by 2024. Further information is available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the retention of (a) teaching staff and (b) maths teachers.

The number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full-time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools across the country, over 24,000 more than in 2010.

Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality, and the Department is action to support teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. The Department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices.

The Department has created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers. Underpinning this is the new initial teacher training (ITT) core content framework and the early career framework: together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.

Beyond the first few years of teaching, the Department’s priority is to help all teachers and headteachers to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so every child has the best start in life.

The Department has launched a new and updated suite of national professional qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and headteachers have been able to obtain scholarships to undertake fully funded NPQs.

The Department remains committed to delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract and retain the very best teachers: the Department has implemented the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a significant 8.9% pay uplift to teacher starting salaries outside London in 2022/23, bringing them up to £28,000.

The Department knows there is further to go to improve recruitment in mathematics. That is why range of measures have been put in place, including bursaries worth £27,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £29,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach mathematics. The Department is also offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for mathematics (and physics, chemistry and computing) teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.

8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to increase the number of professional careers advisers in school and colleges.

Secondary schools and colleges have a legal duty to secure independent careers guidance for all 12 to 18 year olds and to those up to the age of 25 with an education, health and care plan.

Secondary schools and colleges should adopt the Government’s careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, to develop and improve their careers programmes. The benchmarks describe eight aspects of high quality careers guidance based on international evidence.

Benchmark 8 focuses on personal guidance. It sets out that every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser trained to an appropriate level. These interviews should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. By setting this clear expectation in the Department’s statutory guidance for careers, the Department is increasing the demand from secondary schools and colleges for qualified careers advisers. The Department’s careers guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools.

There continues to be an increase in the number of young people accessing personal guidance with a qualified careers adviser. In 2021/22, 85% of schools reported that most pupils (over 76%) had an interview with a qualified careers adviser by the end of Year 11. This is up from 80% the previous year. 66% of schools provided two or more interviews with a qualified careers adviser by the end of Year 13, up from 58% the previous year.

The Department is investing £18.5 million in 2022/23 to support the full rollout of Careers Hubs across England. 90% of secondary schools and colleges are now part of a Careers Hub, a tried and tested model for partnership and collaboration in careers education that is proven to accelerate progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks. In 2021/22, overall achievement of the personal guidance benchmark for schools and colleges in a Careers Hub was 75%, compared to 61% for those not in a Careers Hub.

To show how to deliver the personal guidance benchmark effectively and affordably, the Department funded the Careers & Enterprise Company between 2018 and 2021 to develop new cost effective models of personal guidance, resulting in a range of case studies. Practitioners accessed funded training within the project with 156 careers advisers receiving training. 97 gained Level 6 qualifications.

The Department’s careers statutory guidance recommends that schools and colleges consult the UK Register of Careers Professionals, held by the Career Development Institute (CDI), when bringing in a careers professional. As of May 2022, approximately 1,800 people were on the register. The CDI has a number of programmes in place to train and upskill careers advisers, including a focus on digital skills.

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to correspondence dated 24 October 2022 from the hon. Member for Putney, case reference FA18772.

​​​​The Department has been unable to find a record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member for Putney with the case reference FA18772.​​​

17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to introduce sensory food play in the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.

The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five.

There are no current plans to add any mandatory requirements regarding sensory food education into the EYFS.

The department has published an article promoting sensory food education on the ‘Help for early years providers’ online platform, which is a resource for childminders, nursery leaders and pre-school practitioners. This supports practitioners to look at incorporating sensory food education into their practice, while delivering the statutory EYFS requirements. The article is available at: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help-to-improve-your-practice/sensory-food-education.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of childcare spaces in Britain; and how much additional funding her Department plans to allocate to childcare.

The department understands that childcare is a key concern for parents, which is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.

To increase the choice and availability of childcare, the department announced a package of measures in July 2022. This included taking action to open up the childminder market to support childminders and halt the decline in numbers, giving more parents access to affordable, flexible childcare.

The department also continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England, and if a local authority raises concerns about sufficiency issues, we will support it with any specific requirements. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.

In the 2021 Spending Review, the department announced additional funding for the early years entitlements of £160 million in the 2022/23 financial year, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year.

In the 2023/24 financial year, we will invest an additional £20 million into early years funding, on top of the additional £180 million for 2023/24. Taken together, this will help support providers at a national level with the additional National Living Wage costs associated with delivering the free childcare entitlements next year.

With the additional £20 million, local authorities are set to receive average funding increases of 3.4% for the 3- and 4-year-old free childcare entitlements and 4% for the 2- year-old entitlement, compared to their 2022/23 rates.

The department has again increased the Early Years Pupil Premium, which for 2023/24 will provide up to £353 per eligible child per year to support better outcomes for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds. Additionally, we have increased the Disability Access Fund, which will be worth at least £828 per eligible child per year.

The department continues to engage with sector stakeholders and local authorities to monitor dynamics within local markets, parents’ access to the government’s entitlements and the childcare they require, and the sustainability of the sector.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps the Government has taken to (a) improve support for deaf children and (b) increase the number of specialist teachers for deaf children.

I refer the hon. Member for Putney to the answer I gave on 23 February 2023 to Question 143709.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) linking student maintenance support to inflation, (b) changing eligibility criteria for Universal Credit to increase the number of students that are eligible, (c) capping student rent, (d) providing funding to education providers to deliver improved hardship funds and (e) adjusting maintenance loan thresholds, in the context of increases in the cost of living.

The government reviews the support provided to cover students’ living costs on an annual basis and recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students.

The department has boosted our student premium by £15 million to help students who need extra support. This extra funding, now totalling £276 million, will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department works with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.

In the 2022/23 academic year, there has been an increase of 2.3% in loans for living costs, and there will be a further increase of 2.8% for the 2023/24 academic year. Decisions on student finance have had to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and that the costs of higher education are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the 2022/23 tax year has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.

Loans for living costs are a contribution towards students’ living costs while attending university. The highest levels of support are targeted at students who need it the most, such as students from low-income families.

The primary source of financial help for students is provided through the student support system. As such, students on full-time higher education courses cannot normally satisfy the entitlement conditions for Universal Credit.

Exceptions are only made where students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, for example, if they are responsible for a child.

Further details on claiming Universal Credit as a student which includes a list of students who may qualify for Universal Credit can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students.

The government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. We encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure that they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart. This includes making accommodation available at a range of affordable price points, where possible.

More widely, the government does not support the introduction of rent controls in the private rented sector to set the level of rent at the outset of a tenancy. The White Paper, ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’, published on 16 June 2022 outlines the proposed reforms which will help prevent unfair rent increases for tenants, while ensuring landlords can continue to make necessary changes to rent. The measures include only allowing increases to rent once per year, ending the use of rent review clauses, and improving tenants’ ability to challenge excessive rent increases through the First Tier Tribunal.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
2nd Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Putney constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.

The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The data is being prepared and will be published as soon as possible.

Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.

The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Of the 400 so far selected, none are in Putney constituency. There are two schools in Wandsworth local authority.

The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.

Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to prevent job reductions at Birkbeck, University of London; and if she will meet with unions and management together.

Higher Education (HE) providers are independent, autonomous institutions responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.

The department will continue to work closely with the Office for Students and various parties, including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the HE sector.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government is taking steps to increase support for parents through (a) improvements in state funded childcare provision, (b) expanding and improving flexible working and (c) improvements to maternity and paternity leave.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We have spent more than £20 billion over the last five years to support families with the cost of childcare, and thousands of parents are benefitting from government childcare support.

To support public sector providers in particular, the department has announced an additional investment of £10 million into Maintained Nursery School supplementary funding from 2023/24, and are consulting on proposals to create a fairer distribution of this funding. This is on top of the increase in 2022/23, where the department has increased the Maintained Nursery School supplementary hourly funding rate by 3.5%, equivalent to the increase in the 3 and 4-year-old hourly funding rates. The department has also confirmed the continuation of Maintained Nursery School supplementary funding throughout the spending review period, providing the sector with long-term certainty.

The government’s response to its consultation on flexible working set out our position on expanding and improving flexible working. We have committed to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right, require employers to consult with employees before rejecting their requests, enable employees to make two flexible working requests a year and speed up the decision period. These measures will be taken forward through regulations and through the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill.

Regarding Maternity and Paternity Leave, our Maternity Leave entitlement is generous, qualifying employed women are offered 52 weeks of maternity leave, of which 39 weeks are paid. This is more than three times the EU minimum requirement. As set out in our Manifesto, the government is committed to making it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
28th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that students from low-income households who are not eligible for free school meals are able to eat healthy and enjoyable school lunches every school day, in the context of the cost of living crisis.

The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support. The Department keeps free school meal (FSM) eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the Department believes that the current level, which enables pupils to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

The Department spends around £600 million per year to ensure an additional 1.25 million infants enjoy a free, healthy, and nutritious meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy in 2014. Under this policy, all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in England’s state funded schools receive a free meal.

The Government encourages schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, including academies and free schools.

The Government spends approximately £1 billion annually on FSM and remains committed to supporting children, including through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and school breakfast clubs. The Government funds over £200 million a year on HAF, which provides healthy meals and holiday club places to children from low income families. The Government is allocating £24 million over two years for the national school breakfast programme, which benefits over 2,000 schools across the country.

22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much ministerial severance pay has been (a) paid out by her Department and (b) accepted since 1 June 2022.

The provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation.

Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in Departments’ annual reports and accounts.

22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase the free school meals income eligibility in line with inflation.

The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support. The Department will continue to keep free school meal (FSM) eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the Government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming benefits-related FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of school children are now provided with FSM.

15th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of trends in the level of interest on student loans on people repaying those loans during the cost of living crisis.

No student loan borrower will be paying more per month as a result of changes to interest rates. Monthly repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold and do not change based on interest rates or the amount borrowed.

The mechanism for setting student loan interest rates is set out in legislation. Interest rates for post 2012 (Plan 2) and Postgraduate (Plan 3) loans are set annually with reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March. The rates take effect from 1 September each year.

Student loans offer unique protections to borrowers. Monthly student loan repayments are calculated by income rather than by interest rates, or the amount borrowed. If income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection.

To further protect borrowers, the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. The government monitors student loan rates against the Bank of England’s data series for the effective interest rates on new and existing unsecured personal loans.

In June 2022 the government set interest rates at a maximum ceiling of 7.3%, for the duration of the 2022/23 academic year, in line with forecast market rates, to protect student loan borrowers on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans. The government confirmed that should the actual Prevailing Market Rate (PMR) turn out to be lower than forecast, a further cap would be implemented to reduce student loan interest rates accordingly. From 1 September 2022 to 30 November 2022, reflecting a lower than forecast PMR, the maximum interest rate is set at 6.3% for all Plan 2 and Plan 3 borrowers.

On 9 November it was further announced that from 1 December 2022 to 28 February 2023 the maximum interest rate will be set at 6.5% for all Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans, reflecting the most recent PMR.

From the 2023/24 academic year, student loan borrowers starting new courses will benefit from interest rates of RPI only. This change ensures that, under the new Plan 5 loan terms, new borrowers will not repay more than they originally borrowed, when adjusted for inflation.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the age limit for student loans for master’s degrees to 70 years old.

The student finance system has to be both fair and sustainable, and ensure that costs are split fairly between graduates and the taxpayer.

In determining the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.

The upper age limit of 60 years old was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan. The department believes that the current age restriction strikes the right balance between addressing the repayment challenge of older students and encouraging a broad range of individuals to undertake postgraduate study.

The department is closely monitoring take up of the loan and the response by students, the sector and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria or undertake any impact assessments.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the age limit for student loans for master's degrees on the ability of people over the age of 60 to (a) pursue their interests and values in their career and (b) contribute to (i) society, (ii) culture and (iii) the economy.

The student finance system has to be both fair and sustainable, and ensure that costs are split fairly between graduates and the taxpayer.

In determining the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.

The upper age limit of 60 years old was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan. The department believes that the current age restriction strikes the right balance between addressing the repayment challenge of older students and encouraging a broad range of individuals to undertake postgraduate study.

The department is closely monitoring take up of the loan and the response by students, the sector and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria or undertake any impact assessments.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that Black history is taught in schools all year.

Teaching a knowledge-rich, well-sequenced history curriculum means that black history can be taught at all Key Stages of the curriculum. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. This can include the voices and experiences of black people in Britain.

The freedom and flexibility in the history National Curriculum means that teachers can include black history as a natural part of the themes and eras in the curriculum, both in terms of British and world history, and their interconnection.

The Department published a blog on Black History Month in October, where it was emphasised that there is scope in the curriculum to teach black history all year round. References to high quality curriculum resources were included and it highlighted how important it is to celebrate the contribution black communities and individuals have made over the centuries in shaping the dynamic and diverse country we have today. The blog can be accessed at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/10/03/black-history-month-how-black-history-is-taught-in-our-schools-2/.

The Department is developing a Model History Curriculum to support teaching a history curriculum which reflects the diversity in history. This will be published in early 2024.

6th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to increase Government funding for early years providers.

The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on its early education entitlements and the government will continue to support families with their childcare costs.

In the 2021 Spending Review, we announced additional funding of £160 million in the 2022/23 financial year, £180 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £170 million in the 2024/25 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers and reflects cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the Spending Review.

For the 2022/23 financial year, the department has increased the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 21p an hour for the 2-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 17p an hour for the 3 and 4-year-old entitlement.

Over the summer, the department is consulting on proposals to update the formulae used to deliver the early years entitlements funding. This will ensure the funding system remains fair, effective and responsive to changing levels of need across different areas.

The department expects to announce the early years funding rates for local authorities for the 2023/24 financial year in the autumn in the normal way.

2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of the current Education Bill on local communities’ democratic input to the (a) governance and (b) curriculum of their local state schools.

The Government has undertaken detailed assessments of the policies within the Schools Bill, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074679/Schools_Bill_impact_assessment.pdf.

The Department knows that a high proportion of academy trusts already have some form of local governance arrangement. As set out in the recent Schools White Paper, the Department is continuing to discuss options with the sector to ensure all trusts benefit from local input.

Academies and free schools have greater freedom in how they operate for areas such as the curriculum, but they are expected to teach a curriculum that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum. Therefore, it is up to schools themselves to arrange opportunities for parents and the local community to input into the school curriculum.

The Department expects all schools to be transparent about their curriculum. All schools are required to publish information in relation to the content of their curriculum on their websites annually, including how parents can obtain further information about that curriculum. The Department also plans to write to schools to clarify what the law permits regarding sharing curriculum materials with parents.

The Academies Regulation and Commissioning Review is ongoing and is looking at the overall regulatory and accountability framework for multi-academy trusts in a fully trust-led system, including transparency.

2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Education Bill on church schools.

The Government has engaged regularly with the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and other faith groups regarding the Schools Bill.

The Bill includes academy specific legislation to ensure that academies with a religious character have, as far as possible, equivalent statutory protections as those that currently apply to maintained schools.

The published Schools Bill: impact assessment can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-bill-impact-assessment.

This provides an assessment of the policy and equalities impacts of the measures in the Bill.

28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to increase the size of student loans in line with the rate of inflation.

The department is currently reviewing options for uprating maximum grants and loans for the 2023/24 academic year.

Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and the department has announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% in the 2022/23 academic year.

In addition, we are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.

The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for the 2022/23 financial year.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
8th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) include anti-racism teaching in the national curriculum and (b) introduce anti-racism training for Ofsted school inspectors.

The department condemns and strives to tackle all forms of racial discrimination, prejudice, and harassment. Under the Equality Act 2010, schools have a duty to take steps to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations across all protected characteristics, including between people of different ethnic backgrounds.

As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies. This includes learning how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and can include experiences and voices of people from all backgrounds. The curriculum offers many opportunities for schools to do this, notably through citizenship education and relationships education. The history curriculum also gives teachers the flexibility to include the contribution of black and minority ethnic history into lessons. This aligns with the school’s duty to promote and foster good relations across all characteristics, including race.

Relationships education is now compulsory in all schools. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has a strong focus on equality, respect, the harmful impact of stereotyping, as well as on the importance of valuing difference. Guidance on the implementation and teaching of RSHE curriculum can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. The national curriculum content for citizenship can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.

Part B of the parliamentary question is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

1st Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the Ukraine Holomodor in the National Curriculum.

The national curriculum is a framework which sets out the content the department expects schools to cover in each subject. The department believes teachers should use their expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.

Pupils can be taught about the Holodomor in the 1930s as part of the history curriculum, which gives teachers the freedom to use specific examples when teaching about the history of Britain and the wider world. For example, the Holodomor could be taught as part of the statutory key stage 3 theme, ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’.

29th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the National Curriculum on disordered eating.

The department has no plans to assess the impact of the curriculum on disordered eating, but the white paper is clear that ensuring pupils are taught a broad and ambitious curriculum, which also supports their health, wellbeing, and wider development, is crucial, particularly as we recover from the pandemic.

Body image and mental wellbeing are explicitly covered in the relationships, sex, and health education curriculum and, at secondary level, teachers may choose to discuss disordered eating when teaching these topics. Although schools are not medical professionals, it is important that school staff understand eating disorders to inform the pastoral support that they offer to pupils and when to seek specialist support where it is needed.

To support this, the government’s £8 million for the ‘Wellbeing for Education Return’ programme funded advisers in every local authority in England. Further information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter. This is reaching up to 15,000 schools with free expert training, support, and resources for education staff to help them understand and respond to the mental wellbeing issues faced by children and young people.

The department has provided an additional £7 million in 2021/22 financial year to extend this with an additional focus on directing schools towards the right local support.

22nd Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will ensure that Education and Health Care Plan forms are available in languages other than English.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice makes clear that the format of an education health and care (EHC) plan is agreed locally. Local authorities must decide on the languages that EHC plans are available in, depending on local need. The SEND code of practice is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

22nd Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will reconsider state schools having to pay full business rates compared to the 20 percent business rates that independent schools pay as a result of their charitable status.

Local authorities receive funding for business rates through the national funding formula, to meet the full costs of schools’ business rates. This means the costs for local authority-maintained schools’ and academies’ business rates are currently covered by the department and there is no disadvantage to state-funded schools from paying full rates, or advantage from receiving rates relief. The department will pay business rates bills directly to 122 billing authorities on behalf of more than half of local authority maintained schools and academies from April 2022.

Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, including schools. Currently, 80% mandatory rates relief is applied to academies, voluntary-aided schools and foundation schools. The majority of special schools also receive full relief because they make provision for children with a disability. In addition, under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, local authorities are permitted to grant relief against the business rate liability to certain charitable and non-profit organisations. Local authorities are able to offer discretionary relief for local authority-maintained schools in their area.

14th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools and colleges will be required to collect further evidence of students' work in the event that exams are cancelled in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The government is fully committed to exams going ahead this summer and does not expect that to change except in the unlikely case of a public health emergency that prevents students being able physically to sit exams. However, it is right that contingency arrangements are in place.

For GCSEs, AS and A levels, Ofqual guidance published in November 2021 asked schools and colleges to collect evidence of their students’ performance covering the breadth of content usually seen in exams and assessment objectives. Once schools and colleges have this evidence, they are not obliged to collect any more. They should take a proportionate approach and, where sufficient evidence has already been collected, no school or college is obliged to continue collecting evidence into the summer term.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure children from Gypsy, Travelling and Roma communities are placed with families from their own communities if they are taken into care.

A child’s background is an important consideration when placing a looked after child. This is evidenced in the law. When making a decision with respect to a looked after child (or one that they are proposing to look after), a local authority must (under s.22 (5) of the Children Act 1989) give due consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, as well as their racial origin, cultural and linguistic background.

When it comes to placing a looked after child, the local authority must give preference to a placement with family or friends as foster carer. Where this is not possible, the local authority must place the child in the most appropriate available placement.

As part of this decision, the local authority must comply with several factors. These include enabling the child to live near their home and not disrupting their education unless this is not reasonably practicable. Whilst a child’s background is important, local authorities have additional factors to consider to ensure the child’s needs and best interests are met.

In relation to foster placements, regardless of whether a child is placed with a foster carer from their own religious, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic background, the Care Standards Act 2000 includes the National Minimum Standards for Fostering. These standards outline the necessity for care providers to ensure children are cared for in a way that ensures a positive self-view, emotional resilience, and knowledge and understanding of their background. This is also covered by reg 17 of The Fostering Services Regulations 2011.

The department has invested in behavioural insights research on fostering recruitment. This is done to test the ways we can support fostering service providers to attract carers able to meet the needs of looked after children locally. This includes increasing numbers of diverse foster parents, notably Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic carers. This will be published in due course.

26th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when alternative finance to student loans will be made available to students.

I refer the hon. Member for Putney to the answer I gave on 18 October 2021 to Question 53884.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
25th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will increase the number of teachers of the deaf.

Over 41,000 new trainee teachers were recruited to start training in 2020/21. This is 23% more than in academic year 2019/20.

The department is determined that all children and young people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, receive the support they need to succeed in their education. It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and colleges to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.

As a result of the Spending Review settlement, the department will make significant investment to ensure all children receive the support they need. This includes:

  • An additional £4.7 billion for the core schools’ revenue budget by financial year 2024-25, including an additional £1.6 billion for schools and high needs in 2022-23, on top of the funding we announced last summer.
  • £2.6 billion over the next three years to deliver new places and improve existing provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision.

22nd Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review early years funding before the Comprehensive Spending Review.

We keep early years funding and market sufficiency under regular observation and review.

We are making our usual preparations for the imminent Spending Review, which will conclude the government’s funding for 2022 to 2023 and beyond.

20th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any of his Ministers plan to visit (a) schools, (b) nurseries or (c) colleges in the Putney constituency in the next six months.

Currently there are no plans for any ministers to visit schools, nurseries, or colleges in the Putney constituency in the next six months.

The Department is keen for providers to continue to focus on delivering education for children and young people.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, it has been difficult for the Department to plan visits too far ahead. The Department will review visiting opportunities as COVID-19 restrictions are eased further.

11th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide clear facemasks to enable lip reading for deaf children in schools during the covid-19 outbreak.

On 10 May, the Department published updated guidance for schools, which included updated advice on face coverings in line with step 3 of the roadmap. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

As the guidance outlines, based on the current state of the COVID-19 outbreak and the positive progress being made, it is no longer necessary to recommend the additional precautionary face coverings measures put in place from 8 March.

From 17 May, in line with step 3 of the roadmap, face coverings will no longer be recommended for pupils in classrooms or communal areas in schools. Face coverings will also no longer be recommended for staff in classrooms. This is supported by Public Health England.

In all schools the Department continues to recommend that face coverings should be worn by staff and visitors in situations outside of classrooms where social distancing is not possible.

The reintroduction of face coverings for pupils, students or staff may be advised for a temporary period in response to particular localised outbreaks, including variants of concern. In all cases, any educational drawbacks should be balanced with the benefits of managing transmission. The Local Action Committee structure (bronze/silver/gold) should be used in such circumstances to re-introduce the use of face coverings. Immediate outbreak response (at the level of individual settings or a cluster of settings) remains for local directors of public health to advise on.

Where face coverings are recommended, our guidance remains that some individuals, including those who rely on visual signals for communication and those who communicate with or provide support to those who do, are exempt from wearing face coverings and the Department expects staff and pupils to be sensitive to those needs.

Where our guidance recommends face coverings, transparent face coverings can also be worn. Transparent face coverings may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19. However, the evidence to support this is currently very limited. Face coverings (whether transparent or cloth) should fit securely around the face to cover the nose and mouth and be made with a breathable material capable of filtering airborne particles.

The main benefit from a transparent face covering is that they can aid communication, for example enabling lip-reading or allowing for the full visibility of facial expressions, but this must be considered alongside the comfort and breathability of a face covering that contains plastic, which may mean that the face covering is less breathable than layers of cloth.

Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and students to support them to access education successfully. The Department has made this point clear in guidance.

12th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a covid-19 recovery plan for disabled children and their families.

We are committed to helping all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to make up learning lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

We have plans for COVID-19 recovery, which we are continuing to develop. As part of this, both special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings will be able to access funding to provide summer schools and the National Tutoring Programme, and we recognise the additional costs associated with offering provision to pupils in specialist settings. This means that eligible pupils in special schools, special units in mainstream primary and secondary schools and AP settings will attract a higher rate of the new one-off Recovery Premium funding worth £302 million, as well as funding for summer schools. We have consistently prioritised children who attend specialist settings in our Recovery Premiums to schools by providing additional uplifts both in 2020 and in 2021.

Young people with SEND aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan will be eligible for support via the 16 to 19 tuition fund, where they meet the fund criteria. Providers are asked to have regard to the needs of students with SEND when prioritising students that would benefit most for small group tuition. Furthermore, the proposals to support early language and literacy catch-up will benefit all children, including those with SEND.

£200 million will be available to all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs. The size and shape of the summer schools will be decided by school leaders who know best what a most effective summer school will look like for their pupils, allowing them to tailor support for pupils, including those with SEND.

Sir Kevan Collins has also been appointed as the Education Recovery Commissioner. He is considering how schools and the system can more effectively target resources and support at pupils in greatest need.

The department will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent COVID-19 recovery plans on all pupils, including those with SEND, to ensure that it targets support across the system most effectively.

12th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, from what date university students will be able to return to campus and resume in-person teaching as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.

The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.

We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
22nd Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many false positives from lateral flow tests have been reported by schools; and what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the guidance to allow a correct negative from a subsequent PCR test to be allowed to reduce the number of pupils being sent home.

The Government has removed confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for lateral flow tests taken at test sites following advice from Public Health England that, when COVID-19 prevalence rates are high, the performance of lateral flow devices (LFDs) and PCRs are broadly comparable when used at test sites, significantly reducing the need for routine confirmatory testing.

All positive results from rapid tests undertaken at home do need to be confirmed with a standard PCR test. Despite the low risk of false positives, this requirement is in place because tests at home are not conducted in a controlled environment with trained staff. When testing at the home, the individual should report positive, negative and void results to the school/college. If the result is positive, the individual and close contacts should isolate, and the school/college should help with contact tracing. The individual will also need to arrange a PCR test either online or via 119 to confirm the result. If the PCR test is negative, it overrides the LFD home test, and a child can return to school.

11th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there is an exemptions from the requirement for children to attend school if they live with a parent who is clinically extremely vulnerable who is shielding during the covid-19 outbreak.

It is important that children attend school for their education, well-being, mental health and long-term development. School attendance is mandatory and children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable should still attend school. This position is informed by the latest medical evidence and has been agreed with the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

The Department has asked schools to continue to implement a range of protective measures to ensure they are as safe as possible. Regular testing of children in schools will further reduce the risk of transmission. Most clinically extremely vulnerable adults will now have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

Where parents are anxious about their child's attendance, they should speak to their child's school about their concerns and discuss the protective measures that have been put in place to reduce the risk. They should also discuss other measures that can be put in place to ensure that their children can regularly attend school.

As usual, schools are also able, in exceptional circumstances, to grant leaves of absence to pupils. Schools should consider applications for leaves of absence from parents on an individual basis, taking into account the specific facts and circumstances, and the relevant background context behind the request. Where leave is granted, we would expect this to be for a limited period of time and reviewed on a regular basis.

9th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities have adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism; and what action is being taken against those universities that have not adopted that definition.

The government has asked all English higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition is an important tool in tackling antisemitism. Adopting this widely recognised definition sends a strong signal that higher education providers take these issues seriously. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to higher education leaders, most recently in October 2020, to reiterate the importance of the definition and to urge all providers to consider adopting it.

The government is pleased to report that at least 91 providers have now adopted the definition, with many more preparing to adopt. The decision on adoption of the definition rests with individual providers, but the government will continue to urge them to adopt the definition, and ensure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.

I am proud that so many providers have taken a positive step towards eradicating antisemitism by adopting the IHRA definition, but further progress is still needed to stamp it out. This is why, in the Secretary of State’s most recent strategic guidance letter to the OfS, the government asked the OfS to undertake a scoping exercise, to identify providers which are reluctant to adopt the definition. The letter asked them to consider introducing mandatory reporting of antisemitic incident numbers by providers, with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base, which the OfS can then use to effectively regulate in this area.

The Secretary of State also asked the OfS to ensure that, if antisemitic incidents do occur at a provider, they should consider if it is relevant in a particular case whether the provider has adopted the IHRA definition when considering what sanctions, including monetary penalties, would be appropriate to apply.

We will continue to work across government to ensure that racism and religious hatred of any kind is not tolerated anywhere, including in our world-leading universities.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
25th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether safeguarding measures have been implemented for pupils returning from international boarding school who have been required to quarantine in hotels during the covid-19 lockdown.

Arrangements for the quarantine of international boarders attending schools in England should be in place before boarding school pupils travel. Pupils can serve their quarantine within their boarding school (although different arrangements apply depending on whether they have travelled from a ‘red list’ country or not). Boarding school pupils have been able to return to the UK early so that they could serve the required quarantine period before school started on 8 March 2021.

Arrangement for boarders arriving from non-red list countries are laid out in the schools’ COVID-19 operational guidance published by the Department. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

Arrangements for boarders that meet the relevant UK entry requirements and will arrive from ‘red list’ countries (or having travelled through a ‘red list’ country in the 10 days prior to arrival) must be in line with the guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quarantine-arrangements-for-boarding-school-students-from-red-list-countries.

25th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether safeguarding measures have been considered and implemented for those returning international boarding school pupils made to quarantine in hotels.

Arrangements for the quarantine of international boarders attending schools in England should be in place before boarding school pupils travel. Pupils can serve their quarantine within their boarding school (although different arrangements apply depending on whether they have travelled from a ‘red list’ country or not). Boarding school pupils have been able to return to the UK early so that they could serve the required quarantine period before school started on 8 March 2021.

Arrangement for boarders arriving from non-red list countries are laid out in the schools’ COVID-19 operational guidance published by the Department. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

Arrangements for boarders that meet the relevant UK entry requirements and will arrive from ‘red list’ countries (or having travelled through a ‘red list’ country in the 10 days prior to arrival) must be in line with the guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quarantine-arrangements-for-boarding-school-students-from-red-list-countries.

25th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of quarantining boarding school pupils who have returned from abroad in boarding accommodation that is operated by the school during the covid-19 lockdown.

Arrangements for the quarantine of international boarders attending schools in England should be in place before boarding school pupils travel. Pupils can serve their quarantine within their boarding school (although different arrangements apply depending on whether they have travelled from a ‘red list’ country or not). Boarding school pupils have been able to return to the UK early so that they could serve the required quarantine period before school started on 8 March 2021.

Arrangement for boarders arriving from non-red list countries are laid out in the schools’ COVID-19 operational guidance published by the Department. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

Arrangements for boarders that meet the relevant UK entry requirements and will arrive from ‘red list’ countries (or having travelled through a ‘red list’ country in the 10 days prior to arrival) must be in line with the guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quarantine-arrangements-for-boarding-school-students-from-red-list-countries.

25th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking ensure the return of international boarders to boarding school during the covid-19 outbreak before 8 March 2021.

Arrangements for the quarantine of international boarders attending schools in England should be in place before boarding school pupils travel. Pupils can serve their quarantine within their boarding school (although different arrangements apply depending on whether they have travelled from a ‘red list’ country or not). Boarding school pupils have been able to return to the UK early so that they could serve the required quarantine period before school started on 8 March 2021.

Arrangement for boarders arriving from non-red list countries are laid out in the schools’ COVID-19 operational guidance published by the Department. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

Arrangements for boarders that meet the relevant UK entry requirements and will arrive from ‘red list’ countries (or having travelled through a ‘red list’ country in the 10 days prior to arrival) must be in line with the guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quarantine-arrangements-for-boarding-school-students-from-red-list-countries.

19th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total value of contracts awarded to Computacenter in 2020 was to help the Government’s response to covid-19.

The names of Department employees that have taken part in the procurement activities for the Get Help with Technology programme contracts, including Computacenter’s, cannot be shared due to General Data Protection Regulations. The Department can share the role titles of the individuals involved, which are the following: Commercial Lead, Commercial Practitioner, Associate Commercial Specialist, Commercial Deputy Director and Commercial Director. Representatives from the Get Help with Technology programme and legal advisors also supported discussions.

The total value of contracts and associated variations awarded to Computacenter in 2020 in response to COVID-19 activities is £229,133,959.90 excluding VAT.

19th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the attendees at negotiations for the contracts awarded to Computacenter to help deliver the Government’s covid-19 response.

The names of Department employees that have taken part in the procurement activities for the Get Help with Technology programme contracts, including Computacenter’s, cannot be shared due to General Data Protection Regulations. The Department can share the role titles of the individuals involved, which are the following: Commercial Lead, Commercial Practitioner, Associate Commercial Specialist, Commercial Deputy Director and Commercial Director. Representatives from the Get Help with Technology programme and legal advisors also supported discussions.

The total value of contracts and associated variations awarded to Computacenter in 2020 in response to COVID-19 activities is £229,133,959.90 excluding VAT.

2nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value is of service credits applied to Edenred’s contract for free school meal vouchers to date.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government.

School catering contracts are agreed locally, and are held by the school, academy trust or the local authority. The department does not hold a contract with Chartwells UK or any food company for the provision of free school meals or lunch parcels to children. We have guidance in place allowing schools to decide the best approach for their pupils. This can be through lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers, or the national voucher scheme.

Edenred are contracted to deliver the national voucher scheme. The department does not comment on the commercial arrangements of third parties but can confirm that we have only paid for the face value of goods delivered, in this case vouchers.

2nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what value of service credits has been applied to Chartwells’ contract to provide food hampers as free school meals.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government.

School catering contracts are agreed locally, and are held by the school, academy trust or the local authority. The department does not hold a contract with Chartwells UK or any food company for the provision of free school meals or lunch parcels to children. We have guidance in place allowing schools to decide the best approach for their pupils. This can be through lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers, or the national voucher scheme.

Edenred are contracted to deliver the national voucher scheme. The department does not comment on the commercial arrangements of third parties but can confirm that we have only paid for the face value of goods delivered, in this case vouchers.

2nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value is of service credits applied to Computacenter Ltd’s contract for providing laptops for schoolchildren.

There have been multiple contracts let with Computacenter Ltd (amongst other suppliers) through the course of the Get Help with Technology Programme. Across these, the Department has not applied Service Credits to the supplier due to Service Levels being met and a high level of performance delivered.



15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the forthcoming review of children’s social care in England.

The Department for Education will set out the expected timescales for the review in due course.

The terms of reference of the review are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952624/terms_of_reference_independent_childrens_social_care_review.pdf.

15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the forthcoming Children’s Social Care Review is planned to address racial disparities in adoption and fostering.

The Department for Education will set out the expected timescales for the review in due course.

The terms of reference of the review are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952624/terms_of_reference_independent_childrens_social_care_review.pdf.

12th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the International Baccalaureate organisation on exams due to take place in academic year 2020-21.

Ofqual, as the regulatory body for qualifications in England, is responsible for overseeing how individual awarding organisations award grades in qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to Ofqual on 13 January 2021, stating that the Department cannot guarantee that all students will be in a position to sit their exams fairly this summer and that alternative arrangements may be needed to award qualifications. The letter set out the Secretary of State for Education’s view that some other general qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate, which are similar to GCSEs and A levels, should be subject to similar alternative arrangements to those for GCSEs and A levels. The Department will be taking forward a consultation alongside Ofqual to consider these arrangements and how we can seek to ensure fairness for all students.

The letter is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951797/Letter_from_Gavin_Williamson_to_Simon_Lebus.pdf.

12th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that students due to sit International Baccalaureate exams in the UK in the 2020-21 academic year are not at a disadvantage compared with students able to sit the baccalaureate in other countries.

The Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework published by Ofqual sets out how qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate, can be adapted to mitigate disruption from COVID-19 to the teaching, learning and assessment of qualifications.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to Ofqual on 13 January 2021 stating that the Department cannot guarantee that all pupils will be in a position to sit their exams fairly this summer and that alternative arrangements may be needed to award qualifications. The letter set out the Secretary of State for Education’s view that some other general qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate, which are similar to GCSEs and A levels, should be subject to similar alternative arrangements to those for GCSEs and A levels. These arrangements will be considered through consultation the Department is taking forward with Ofqual, which includes consideration of how the arrangements will seek to ensure fairness for all pupils.

12th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that home-schooled pupils will be able to achieve the qualifications they are working towards at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Department will not be asking students to sit GCSE, AS and A level exams this summer as planned. The Department is working at pace to understand the implications of cancelling exams in all circumstances, including for home schooled pupils.

The Department has been clear that it is important to find an accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. A rapid consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives will be launching shortly. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. A full equalities impact assessment, informed by the results of the consultation, will be published in due course.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the long-term support available to clinically extremely vulnerable teachers working during the covid-19 outbreak.

As set out in the published guidance for schools on restricting attendance during the national lockdown, following the reintroduction of shielding on 5 January 2021, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals are advised that they should not attend the workplace: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf#page=30&zoom=100,72,76. Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals are those identified through a letter from the NHS or a specialist doctor as in the group deemed clinically extremely vulnerable (clinically extremely vulnerable or shielding list). The guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19.

Clinically extreme vulnerable people will get priority access to vaccination against COVID-19 before the general population and in line with the priority ordering set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Individuals will be contacted by the NHS with more information on when and how they will be invited to get the vaccine.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE) to develop specific guidance for school settings. All staff who attend school settings should follow the measures set out in the system of controls section of the published guidance to minimise the risks of transmission. Where schools implement the system of controls, in line with their own workplace risk assessment, PHE and DHSC confirm that these measures create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will) provide additional financial support to nurseries during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown period.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we have provided unprecedented support to the early years sector by continuing to fund the free childcare entitlements, making grants and loans available and ensuring early years providers can access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for their non-government funded income, and childminders the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). We continue to ensure that providers can access the support available.

On 17 December 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that both the CJRS and SEISS will be extended to April 2021. We also updated the CJRS guidance for early years so that all providers who have seen a drop in their overall income are able to furlough any staff (who were on payroll on or before 30th October) and who are not required for delivering the government’s funded entitlements. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

Where Early Years providers are struggling financially, they may be eligible to access support from the Additional Restrictions Grant, if not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes. Further information on both grants is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-local-restrictions-support-grant-for-open-businesses.

We stay in regular contact with the early years sector and will keep under constant review whether further action is needed.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether teachers and school staff will receive priority for covid-19 vaccination to protect staff, reduce disruption and increase the chances of exams being able to go ahead in the summer.

Receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement. The Department will continue to review the restrictions on schools, colleges and universities, and will ensure that children and young people return to face-to-face education as soon as possible.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them.

JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.

Regarding the next phase of vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other Government departments. The Department will input into this cross governmental exercise.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many more laptops and data packages are needed to allow all pupils in Wandsworth to access learning online.

The Government is investing over £300 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing over one million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 560,000 laptops and tablets that have already been delivered to schools, academy trusts, and local authorities in 2020.

As of 18 December 2020, 617 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools in Wandsworth local authority. Devices have also been delivered to academy trusts in Wandsworth which are not included in these figures. This information is published here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data.

Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Where schools need additional devices, to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of children in Years 3 to 11 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.

The Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile network operators, such as EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone, to provide free data to disadvantaged families, which will support access to education resources, including Oak National Academy, and other websites.

Families will benefit from this additional data until July 2021. Schools will be able to request free mobile data uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service.

In addition, the Department has already provided over 54,000 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.

11th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that universities provide Kosher food options to Jewish students who have been forced to self-isolate due to the covid-19 outbreak.

The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE institutions in this unprecedented situation, whilst mitigating the impact on education.

HE providers are autonomous institutions, independent from government, and have a responsibility to students when delivering services, including the provision of pastoral support, and taking steps to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of students.

To support universities with this responsibility and ensure students are well looked after during self-isolation, the department has provided advice on self-isolating students in the ‘higher education reopening buildings and campuses’ guidance and the ‘end of term and spring term’ guidance. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.

Universities UK have also produced a checklist for supporting students who are required to self-isolate, available here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2020/uuk-checklist-support-self-isolating-students.pdf.

Furthermore, and to impress the importance of supporting self-isolating students, I have previously written to Vice Chancellors, asking them to ensure that all self-isolating students have a range of choices available for access to food and other essential supplies. This includes providing food that is free or at a price that can be afforded within a student’s budget.

I expect this support to continue in the spring term and for universities and other HE providers to be sensitive to the diverse needs of their student population in providing this support.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
30th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the reduction in teacher training bursaries announced in October 2020.

The Department reviews the bursaries that we offer for initial teacher training (ITT) before the start of the annual recruitment cycle. In doing this, we take account of a number of factors including forecast economic conditions, previous recruitment, and teacher supply need in each subject. Being able to change bursary amounts gives us the flexibility to respond to the need to attract new teachers and means the Department is spending money where it is needed most.

The Department will next review the bursaries that we offer ahead of the annual recruitment cycle for ITT courses starting in academic year 2022/23.

16th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse is of his Department's contracts with (a) accountancy and (b) auditing for the purposes of supporting universities to access finances during the covid-19 outbreak.

Higher education providers are autonomous organisations and are responsible for their own arrangements for in-house and contracted expertise to support their financial management. The Department for Education does not contract with accountancy and audit firms on behalf of providers.

On 16 July my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced arrangements for the Higher Education Restructuring Regime which may be deployed as a last resort, if a decision has been made, to support a higher education provider in England at risk of financial failure, when other steps to mitigate the risks or preserve its viability have not proved sufficient.

The department will draw in accountancy and auditing expertise from external firms, on a call-off basis, to support demand-led individual casework as necessary.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
4th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to provide guidance to schools on the use of the covid-19 catch-up premium for SEND children who do not have an education, health and care plan.

Head teachers have discretion over how to use their catch-up premium funding to best support the needs of their students, but we expect them to prioritise those who need the most catch up support. To help schools make the best use of this funding, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published a support guide for schools with evidence-based approaches to catch up for all students, available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/#nav-covid-19-support-guide-for-schools1 and a further school planning guide, available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/guide-to-supporting-schools-planning/. The EEF support guide provides guidance on interventions to support specific groups of pupils, including those with identified special educational needs or disabilities.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on the attainment and progress of all pupils, including those with additional needs, is a research priority for the Government, and we have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to consider catch up needs and monitor progress over the course of the year.

21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure schools that do not use pupil premium funding to offset income lost as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The pupil premium conditions of grant set out the purpose of the funding. The conditions of grant are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2020-to-2021.

Pupil premium is provided to help schools improve the outcomes of their pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. School leaders choose how to use the grant to arrange extra support addressing their pupils’ needs.

The Department established the Education Endowment Foundation with £137 million to research and share the most effective approaches to improving pupil outcomes. School leaders are encouraged to consult its extensive resources, including its 2019 Pupil Premium Guide, when deciding how to use the grant.

Schools must publish an annual statement explaining their pupil premium strategy, including how much is spent on each activity. School leaders are held to account for their choices through performance tables and inspection.

Each school’s pupil premium expenditure is subject to the same rigorous annual auditing requirements as the rest of its funding.

21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that roles in (a) recruitment, (b) student support and welfare and (c) other administrative functions are protected in higher education institutions.

During and after the COVID-19 outbreak, our aim is for higher education (HE) providers to continue to deliver HE provision and support the needs of students, both on and off campus.

Since my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced this government’s unprecedented package of support to help keep staff employed and support businesses, the department has provided guidance for HE providers so that they are aware of the support that is available to them. This included guidance on how they may access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

On 31 October, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that the CJRS has been extended. It will now remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500.

We recognise that many students are facing additional challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Protecting students’ health and wellbeing is a priority and we expect providers to ensure that students are well looked after by staff with the right skills and experience to deliver the support they need. This includes the cleaning and security staff keeping campus safe and the catering staff providing meals, particularly for those self-isolating in halls, as well as those providing mental health, wellbeing and pastoral support. However, HE providers are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on staffing and employment issues. They should make employment decisions according to their own operational needs and the needs of their wider staff and student community.

I wrote to Vice Chancellors on 16 October to thank staff for the work that has taken place to support students over the first term of this academic year and to emphasise that student wellbeing and mental health should continue to remain a priority for all HE providers as we move through the autumn and winter terms.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
20th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to fill gaps in school attendance data to inform catch up plans.

Since March the Department has been collecting daily attendance data from Schools and nurseries. The latest attendance data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-42.

We have also introduced a new category of non-attendance for schools to use in the school census: ‘not attending in circumstances related to COVID-19’, to ensure that they record attendance accurately and consistently over this period.

In light of the disruption earlier in the year, the summer 2020 school census did not occur, and data for absence in the spring term 2019/20 was not collected. To reduce the burden on schools, the Department took a decision not to collect attendance data in the autumn 2020 school census relating to the summer 2019/2020 term.

Census data collection will resume in the spring 2021 census, collecting data on the autumn 2020/21 school term.

15th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools provided wrap around care in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020; and what funding is available for the provision of wrap around care.

According to the Spring School Census captured the following data, there were 16,161 schools providing school childcare in January 2020. This includes before school, after school, under 5s and holiday childcare either provided on site or signposted to by the school. In 2019, there were 16,073 schools providing the same provisions.

From the start of the autumn term, all schools should work to resume their breakfast and after-school provision, where possible. We have provided guidance to support schools on full opening. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

In addition, the department is investing up to £35 million into the National School Breakfast Programme from March 2018 to March 2021, using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. This includes an extension to the programme by a further year until March 2021 with up to an additional 650 schools being recruited and up to £11.8 million being invested. Overall, this money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. There are already more than 1,800 schools benefitting from the programme.

This summer also saw our £9 million Holiday Activities and Food Programme work, across 17 local authority areas, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities and building on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes.

However, we also want to give parents the freedom, support and choice to look after their children in the way that works best for them. That is why from 2021 we will be investing £1 billion to help create more high-quality wraparound and holiday childcare places. We will announce further details on this significant new investment in due course.

The government has also sought to make financial support available to employers and businesses that have found themselves adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Wraparound providers adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak can find out what financial support is available for their business at:
https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.

They may be eligible for tax relief, loans or cash grants depending on their circumstances.

8th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will highlight changes in guidance to schools to ensure that teachers are easily able to find small changes in long documents.

The response to COVID-19 is a fast-moving situation and, as it has evolved, guidance for schools has been needed on a range of issues. The Department have continued to update our guidance in response to feedback from school leaders and stakeholders, and to ensure that it reflects the most up-to-date medical and scientific information to make sure that teachers, parents and young people are as well-informed as possible in the current rapidly changing circumstances.

The Department published guidance for schools on full opening on 2 July, to support schools to prepare for the autumn term. We have kept this under review and updated it when needed. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Guidance from the Department lists any changes at the start of all documents to enable school staff and others to see what has been updated. The Department have also made efforts to reduce the number of different guidance documents on our website so that leaders can, as far as possible, access all the information they need in fewer places.

17th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has established a second wave nurseries, schools and universities plan to prepare for a potential second wave of covid-19 (a) infections and (b) lockdowns.

The Government has developed plans for the next academic year to ensure that children and young people can return to nurseries, schools, further and higher education. We have put inplace a system of controls that will reduce the risk of transmission for students and staff, as well as contingencies in the case of local lockdowns to ensure there is a high-quality remote education alternative.

We continue to work closely with the education sector to prepare for the autumn term.

Links to the relevant guidance are provided below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision/what-fe-colleges-and-providers-will-need-to-do-from-the-start-of-the-2020-autumn-term;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.

We will keep guidance under review and adjust and adapt our approach as necessary.

14th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 70510 on Schools: Coronavirus, if he will make emergency funding available to schools that have been affected financially by the covid-19 outbreak.

We are providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover unavoidable costs incurred between March and July due to the COVID-19 outbreak that cannot be met from their existing resources.

Schools are eligible to claim for: increased premises related costs associated with keeping schools open over the Easter and summer half term holidays; support for free school meals for eligible children who are not in school, where schools are not using the national voucher scheme; and additional cleaning costs required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, over and above the cost of existing cleaning arrangements. Schools are able to claim online until 21 July, and a second claims window will run in the autumn.

Where schools have members of staff delivering services funded from self-generated income, we have advised that they should first look to redeploy these staff or use existing budgets to absorb the cost. After having looked at all other options, schools have been able to consider using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Schools will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year, as usual, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. That will ensure that they are able to continue to pay their staff, and meet their other regular financial commitments.

13th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with external organisations on the inclusion of Black British history in the national curriculum.

On behalf of the Department, my officials have discussed the flexible scope of the history curriculum with a range of organisations such as the Historical Association, Runnymede Trust and The Black Curriculum.

The national curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the Department expects schools to cover in each subject. The curriculum does not set out how curriculum subjects, or topics within the subjects, should be taught. The Department believes teachers should be able to use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.

As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and this can include the voices and experience of Black people. The flexibility within the history curriculum means that there is the opportunity for teachers to teach about Black history across the spectrum of themes and eras set out in the curriculum.

We will continue to explore what more we can do to support the teaching of Black history and welcome the perspectives of committed individuals and groups, building on previous discussions.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help mitigate the loss of income from facility hire by schools during the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

We recognise that over the last three months, schools will have lost income from facility hire and this will put pressure on budgets.

Where schools have members of staff delivering services funded from self-generated income, we have advised that they should first look to redeploy these staff or use existing budgets to absorb the cost. After having looked at all other options, schools have been able to consider using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The Department has provided additional guidance for schools in this situation which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

6th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a bespoke support package for universities in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The government understands that the COVID-19 outbreak poses significant financial challenges to the sector. In May 2020, the government announced a package of measures combining different ways to give further support to higher education providers at this time of financial pressure.

We have stabilised admissions and are pulling forward an estimated £2.6 billion worth of forecast tuition fee payments to ease cashflow pressure this autumn. We are also bringing forward £100 million of quality-related research funding for higher education providers in England in the current academic year.

This is on top of the unprecedented package of support for businesses already announced, to help pay wages, keep staff employed and support businesses whose viability is threatened by the outbreak. We recently confirmed universities’ eligibility for these schemes, which the Office for Students estimates could be worth at least £700 million, depending upon eligibility and take-up.

In June, the government announced further UK-wide support in the form of the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy’s research stabilisation package. More details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-university-research-and-innovation-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

In July, the government announced the higher education restructuring regime, under which support for restructuring can be given, as a last resort, when other steps to preserve a provider’s viability and sustainability have not proved sufficient. More details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-restructuring-regime.

To prevent exploitative admissions processes, the Office for Students introduced a temporary registration condition designed to address specific circumstances relating to the impact of COVID-19. To ensure a fair, structured distribution of students across providers, temporary student number controls have been put in place for full-time, undergraduate domestic and EU students for academic year 2020-21 (with certain specific exemptions).

We are reminding providers, as part of existing programmes and using established procedures, that the department will consider purchasing land and buildings where they can be used for new or expanding schools and colleges in England. In this financial year, we have budgeted up to £100 million to acquire sites for planned projects in England.

The government has been clear that our world-leading universities, will always be open to international students. Our review of the International Education Strategy this autumn will respond to the new context and the challenges posed by COVID-19 across all education settings to ensure we can continue to welcome international students in the future.

The government has worked with the Office for Students to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. Providers are able to use the funding – worth around £23 million per month for Apri, May, June and July – towards student hardship funds.

The Department for Education and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have set up a University Research and Knowledge Exchange Sustainability Taskforce to consider how best to respond to the challenges universities face on research as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This year, students will be able to access better and more personalised information, advice and guidance, and an easy-to-use means to swap course or provider if, having reflected further and taking into account their calculated grades, students decide to change their firm choice.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
29th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether holiday clubs in schools will be permitted to open over the summer in 2020.

As per my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s announcement on 23 June, holiday clubs and out-of-school clubs for children will be able to restart over the summer, with safety measures in place. Adjustments to current measures for these clubs will be part of Step 3 of the recovery strategy (from 4 July). We have published guidance for the sector on how to implement the protective measures necessary to open:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Holiday clubs that open should implement this guidance from the end of summer term, when state schools in their local area have closed. Until then, while schools are open in a provider’s local area, they should follow the same protective measures as schools to limit different groups of children mixing.

We are not asking schools to open over the summer holidays; however, we are aware that some headteachers may be considering using their catch-up premium to provide summer school activities for their pupils. Schools may also consider hiring out their premises to holiday clubs. Where this is the case, they have the flexibility, discretion, and autonomy to decide how they want to do this.

16th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he last met the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss Official Development Assistance spending.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly meets with his Cabinet colleagues, including my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, to discuss a range of issues.

20th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of suspending student loan repayments for people who experience reductions in income due to the covid-19 outbreak.

The repayment of student loans, which includes borrowers from Wales, is governed by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). Department officials are in regular contact with the Devolved Administrations and will continue to liaise with them on Student Loan Repayment policy.

The current system protects borrowers if they see a reduction in their income. Repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the repayment thresholds. Repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold - if income drops, so do repayments made. Any outstanding debt is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.

If, at the end of the year, the borrower’s total income is below the relevant annual threshold, they may reclaim any repayments from the Student Loans Company made during that year.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
18th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support will be available to the (a) childcare sector and (b) child minders in the event of school closures and enforced social distancing.

On 17 March 2020, the Chancellor confirmed the government would continue to pay for free early years entitlement places for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds even if settings were closed on the advice of the government, or children were not able to attend due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

We expect local authorities to continue early entitlements funding for all childminders, schools and nurseries.

Further, the government has announced a package of support for workers and businesses which will benefit childcare providers.

Childcare providers will be eligible for a business rates holiday for one year. That means non-local authority providers of childcare (registered with Ofsted and providing early years foundation stage) will pay no business rates in 2020 to 2021, from 1 April. Local authorities will be working on this.

Nurseries in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief will benefit from small business grant funding of £10,000.

Some settings operate from shared spaces which may now benefit from a 100% rates relief. We strongly encourage those shared spaces to reflect any business rates saving in their rent charges.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme means that for employees who are not working but kept on payroll, the government will contribute 80% of each worker’s wages of up to £2,500, backdated to 1 March 2020. Providers can access this scheme while continuing to be paid the early entitlements funding via local authorities.

The Business Interruption Loan Scheme will now be interest-free for 12 months (rather than 6 months).

VAT payments due with VAT returns between now and end June 2020 will be deferred, UK VAT registered businesses will not need make those payments until the end of the financial year.

Working tax credit has been increased by £1000 a year.

The government has also announced a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element and an increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents.

For the self-employed (including childminders) the minimum income floor will be temporarily relaxed, meaning Universal Credit can be accessed at a rate to match statutory sick pay.

Further information can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#funding and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses.

31st Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the level of (a) financial and (b) other support for (i) Eastwood nursery Roehampton and (ii) other state nurseries.

The Government recognises that Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services to disadvantaged children.

Last October, we announced increases in hourly funding rates paid to local authorities for the early education entitlements for 2020-21.

In 2020-21, all local authorities will see an increase of 8p an hour to the hourly funding rates for the 2-year-old entitlement and an increase of 8p an hour for the vast majority of areas for the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement.

In addition to the hourly funding rates above, we invest approximately £60 million in ‘maintained nursery school supplementary funding’ each financial year, to allow local authorities to preserve MNS funding levels and last October we announced that this additional funding will continue at its current level for the whole of the 2020-21 financial year.

Details of funding paid to local authorities can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-funding-2020-2021.

The Government remains committed to funding for MNS in the longer term. Any reform to the way they are funded in the future will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections. The Government plans to spend more than £3.6 billion on early education in 2020-21.

13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what legal mechanism her Department plans to use to ban wet wipes containing plastic.

Subject to consultation, the UK Government plans to legislate for the proposed ban on wet wipes containing plastic using powers under section 62(3) of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act (2008) and section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990).

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
1st Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2023 to Question 183276 on Grass: Plastics, what steps her Department plans to take to help people and companies make the right choice, in the context of the purchase of artificial grass.

We have taken a number of steps to help people and companies make the right choice in the purchase and use of artificial grass. In the 25 Year Environment Plan, we committed to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure and to support local authorities to assess provision. This new Green Infrastructure Framework was launched by Natural England in February. This shows what good green infrastructure looks like and helps local authorities, developers and communities to improve provision in their area. Included in this framework is a planning and design guide that references guidance on permeable surfaces in front gardens and advice from the RHS on the greening of front gardens, driveways and parking areas.

The Environment Act 2021 contains an ambitious package of reforms to restore and enhance nature and green spaces. This includes a new mandatory requirement for biodiversity net gain in the planning system, to ensure that new developments enhance biodiversity. In future, eligible developments will be required to enhance biodiversity through the biodiversity net gain requirement. This will incentivise more nature positive development.

The strengthened biodiversity duty, which came into force on 1st January 2023, requires all public authorities to consider how they can conserve and enhance biodiversity through the exercise of their functions. Public authorities will also have to have regard to Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Species Conservation Strategies and Protected Site Strategies in complying with the duty.

More widely, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities consulted in December 2022 on updating the National Planning Policy Framework to recognise the threat to wildlife created by developers using artificial grass when building new homes. The response to this consultation will be published in the Autumn.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
1st Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a (a) ban and (b) tax on artificial grass for domestic use.

Defra has no plans to make an assessment of the merits of banning or taxing the use of artificial grass. While there are no plans to make such an assessment, we are clear its use should wherever possible follow published advice and guidance, including advice in the Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in February. Included in this framework is a planning and design guide that references guidance on permeable surfaces in front gardens and advice from the RHS on the greening of front gardens, driveways and parking areas. The framework sets out how the installation of artificial grass can have negative impacts on biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures.

We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic plastic products and materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary plastic products. Our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Given the scale of the plastics problem, we need to take a targeted and evidence-led approach to tackling the issues of plastic waste.

More widely, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities consulted in December 2022 on updating the National Planning Policy Framework to recognise the threat to wildlife created by developers using artificial grass when building new homes. The response to this consultation will be published in the Autumn.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of a ban on wet wipes containing plastic using section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

In the Plan for Water published in April, the government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
5th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the questions her Department plans to ask in its consultation on banning plastic in wet wipes.

In the Plan for Water published in April, the Government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
16th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve wildflower (a) populations and (b) biodiversity in (i) farmland, (ii) woods, (iii) parks, (iv) towns and (v) cities.

In England we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity including to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 then to reverse declines and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, such as wildflower meadows, by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023.

In May 2022, Natural England launched five nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares, which will see the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, corridors and stepping-stones. For example, the Cambridge Nature Network aims to develop a network of resilient wildlife rich habitats, including wildflower meadows, covering 9,200 ha in and around the City of Cambridge.

Countryside Stewardship, and its predecessor Environmental Stewardship, offers a number of grants to help improve wildflower populations including restoring wildlife habitats, creating and managing woodlands. We have approximately 40,000 live agreements under our stewardship schemes. Countryside Stewardship offers different options to create and restore wildflower habitats, including options for the management, restoration and creation of species rich grassland. These schemes are complemented by our new Sustainable Farming Incentive, which encourages farming in a more environmentally sustainable way and Landscape Recovery which funds longer-term, larger-scale, bespoke projects to enhance the natural environment.

The Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in January 2023 will help local planning authorities and developers to create or improve green infrastructure, which can include wildflower planting as well as other natural features.

We are supporting grassland creation and restoration, including through our Green Recovery Challenge Fund. For example, Plantlife’s ‘Meadow Makers’ project, which was awarded over £700,000 in the first round, restored 500 hectares of species-rich grassland at over 100 sites across seven landscapes.

Each year Defra coordinates Bees’ Needs Week, to promote and celebrate action to help pollinators thrive. The Bees’ Needs Champions Awards recognises individuals and groups who have taken positive action, such as restoring wildflower meadows and creating urban pollinator-friendly habitats.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the amount of sludge that water companies removed during drinking water treatment and released into the environment in each of the last 12 months.

Sludge is nutrient rich output derived from the wastewater treatment process and is often used on agricultural land to meet soil and crop need. Sludge use on land is regulated through the Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations (1989) and is supported by the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Code of Practice.

The water clarification sludge generated by water companies during preparation of water intended for human consumption is regulated as a waste by the Environment Agency. Water companies holding an environmental permit must complete a national operator waste return. The returns provide details of the total amount, in tonnes, of all their hazardous and non-hazardous waste for each site. The information requested is held by the Environment Agency but is not collated centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what regulatory controls water companies must comply with when disposing of sludge from drinking water treatment to help protect the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

There are several sets of regulations which regulate sludge output from water companies. The Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations (1989) regulate against industrial contaminants in sludge which is spread to land and is supported by the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Code of Practice, which sets out the parameters you must meet in order to spread sludge to land. These parameters include which treatment type the sludge has undergone, that it has been sufficiently tested, and further requirements to protect the environment and avoid public nuisance. The storage and use of mixed or co-treated materials that contain sludge is regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regime (2016).

Waste regulatory controls apply to water clarification waste. This means there will be a requirement to obtain an environmental permit from the Environment Agency for the disposal of sludge from drinking water treatment. The environmental permit provides the regulatory controls to that the waste is disposed of or recovered without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
14th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her department will (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of a ban on the use of farrowing crates and (b) hold a public consultation on such a ban.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2023 to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn, PQ UIN 173051.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
29th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Report Stage and Third Reading of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will take place.

The remaining stages of the Kept Animals Bill will take place when parliamentary time allows. The dates for the remaining Commons stages will be announced in the usual way.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
28th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to meet Target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on working towards eliminating plastic pollution.

The UK is a leading voice in tackling plastic pollution and, as a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, we are calling for an ambitious target to end plastic pollution under a new legally binding treaty.

We have already banned or restricted a number of problematic plastic items, including single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, as well as microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. We will also ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and ban the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, from October 2023.

Through the Environment Act, the Government is bringing in a wide range of reforms, including a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and consistent recycling collections for every household and business in England.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help restore peat bogs; and what targets she has set for peat bog restoration.

The England Peat Action Plan, published in May 2021, sets out a strategic framework to improve management and protection of both our upland and lowland peatlands. In the Net Zero Strategy, we committed to restore approximately 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050.  Government is currently funding peatland restoration through the Nature for Climate Fund, which aims to restore approximately 35,000 ha of peatland by 2025. This represents a tripling of historic average annual restoration levels.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timeline is for the banning of all sales of horticultural peat.

The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows.

At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026.

Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence.

Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will notbe time limited.

We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her timeline is for the banning of the (a) extraction and (b) commercial trade of peat.

The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows.

At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026.

Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence.

Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will notbe time limited.

We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
9th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adding American XL bully dogs and their various cross breeds to the list of prohibited dogs, (b) bringing forward legislation making it illegal to import a dog with cropped ears from another country and (c) increasing sentences for people found guilty of selling illegal dog breeds.

We currently have no plans to add these breed types to Section 1 of Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or increase sentences for people found guilty of selling illegal dog breeds.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill includes powers to introduce restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used, including proposals to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps to amend legislation on the welfare of farmed fish.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of an animal, including fish, for which that person is responsible.

As part of the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering a number of improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. To inform this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of banning the sale and distribution of live crabs and lobsters by online retailers.

We are considering carefully the implications of recognising in law the sentience of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. The Government currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a ban on the sale of live crabs and lobsters online.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the results of the consultation on commonly littered single use plastic items will be published.

The Government response to the consultation was published on the 14 January 2022.


Following overwhelming support from respondents, from October 2023 we will introduce legislation banning the supply to the end user of single use plastic plates, trays, bowls, except when used as packaging, and banning the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers, in England.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential benefits of reinstating the pet passport system for travel to Europe.

We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1' listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status. We see no valid animal health reason for these not to be granted. Achieving these would reduce barriers for pet owners and assistance dog users transporting their pets to the EU and allow them to use pet passports.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce barriers to people transporting their pets to and from Europe.

We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1' listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status. We see no valid animal health reason for these not to be granted. Achieving these would reduce barriers for pet owners and assistance dog users transporting their pets to the EU and allow them to use pet passports.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the paper published in The Veterinary Record in March 2022 entitled analysis of the impact of badger culling on bovine tuberculosis in cattle in the high-risk area of England, 2009–2020, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of that paper's findings; and if she will make it her policy to prevent industry-led badger culling.

The UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Christine Middlemiss, and Defra's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, have made clear their views on the paper referenced in their letter to the Veterinary Record of 18 March and in the correction published on 21 May, which had no impact on their original conclusions.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve public accessibility to Britain’s rivers.

Access on regulated waterways can be granted through licenses from the appropriate navigation authority. Access on unregulated waterways can be arranged through voluntary access agreements. We will continue to be supportive of navigation authorities' work to enhance and develop their waterways to encourage greater levels of access. Local authorities can also apply for bathing water status.

A total of 25 projects funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund across England have included activities to improve access and enjoyment of inland waterways, generally as part of a wider project. These projects total almost £16m of investment. The £80m Fund overall has funded 159 nature-based projects to restore nature, tackle climate change and connect people with the natural environment.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is taking steps to increase regulations on animal welfare within greyhound racing.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 already allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal's welfare needs. This includes where greyhounds are raced at greyhound racing tracks or kept at trainers' kennels. Further to these general provisions, specific welfare standards, including the requirement to have a veterinary surgeon present while dogs are running, for all greyhound racing tracks in England are set out in the Welfare of Racing Greyhound Regulations 2010. We have no plans at this time to introduce more regulation.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will make it their policy to expand the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to give a legal right of public access to rivers, woods and green belt land.

We have no plans to change legislation as it is unnecessary to do so to encourage people to enjoy nature.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve accessibility of Britain’s nature for (a) children and teenagers, (b) low-income households and (c) older people.

We have no plans to change legislation as it is unnecessary to do so to encourage people to enjoy nature. These are just some of the examples of the work being undertaken to increase access for all.

For children and young people the Government has launched the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy a commitment to increase opportunities for all children and young people to spend time in nature, learn more about it, and get involved in improving their environment. This includes the introduction of a new Natural History GCSE, the climate change award which will formally recognise and celebrate the achievements of children and young people and the establishment of the National Education Nature Park an initiative aimed at harnessing the collective potential of the education estate in England to increase and improve biodiversity.

For low-income households the £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund launched in August 2022 will create or significantly refurbish over 100 green spaces, instilling pride in place, and targets the 100 most deprived urban communities across the UK who also lack accessible green space.

For older people the Green Social Prescribing Programme is targeting under-represented groups and those most affected by health inequalities, and as such includes interventions targeted at older people. For example, in the Greater Manchester site, the programme has set up a dementia gardening and nature arts group at a local GP surgery.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect nature.

We have already announced a legally binding target to halt nature’s decline by 2030. We have an extensive policy programme, including environmental land management schemes, biodiversity net gain, woodlands for water, and more.

We have established over 360,000 acres of new habitat, helping to ensure we leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
15th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including mandatory visual checks of imported puppies at the UK border as part of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.

Now that we have left the EU, we are making significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, bringing in legislation to further protect the welfare of pets, farmed and kept wild animals in Great Britain.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill also includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. We have no plans to introduce further visual checks as part of the Bill.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential (a) implications for her policies of differences between local council recycling policies and (b) merits of introducing a uniform UK-wide recycling policy.

Waste is a devolved policy and the devolved administrations have their own arrangements for household recycling and waste collections.

Following support at consultation, the Environment Act 2021 amends the Environmental Protection Act to stipulate that all local authorities in England will be required to collect a core set of materials for recycling. Last year we held a second consultation on implementation timelines, materials in scope and exemptions. We will publish a response and final impact assessment in due course.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 to extend protections to (a) urban and (b) countryside hedgerows that are deemed important to the character of local landscapes.

HM Government recognises the importance and value of hedgerows, which have a key role in conserving and enhancing biodiversity.

Although there is local variation, research has indicated that, nationally, over 70% of hedgerows in England and Wales are 'important' and protected by the Hedgerow Regulations. The Regulations do not cover urban hedges which are covered by the planning system but do play a valuable role in providing statutory protection for a large proportion of hedgerows in the countryside. Although the risk of removal of Hedgerows is now extremely low compared to when the Regulations came into effect, we are currently exploring the best possible ways to further protect and enhance hedgerows as an important habitat.

In addition, through planning decisions, local authorities have the ability to impose enforceable planning conditions on a developer to protect hedges or trees assessed as being worthy of retention, which might otherwise be harmed by construction or the new land-use. Developments which are subject to the Environment’s Act biodiversity gain requirement will also have to measure their impact on hedgerows with the biodiversity metric. Any losses will have to be compensated for with new or enhanced hedgerows, either on the development site or elsewhere

Furthermore, all wild birds, their eggs and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits killing, injuring, or taking of wild birds or taking or damaging their eggs and nests, providing further important protections for most hedgerows and wild birds.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made for the implications of her policies of the outcome of the Client Earth court case on the Government’s net zero strategy.

The Net Zero Strategy, which includes ambitious policies for my department, remains HM Government policy and has not been quashed. The judge made no criticism about the substance of our plans which are well on track and, in fact, the claimants themselves described them as ‘laudable’ during the proceedings. We anticipate publishing a more detailed response to the Court Order on the Net Zero Strategy in due course.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) protect and (b) expand hedgerows in urban environments.

Urban hedgerows are already offered protection through planning decisions. Local authorities have the ability to impose enforceable planning conditions on a developer to protect hedges or trees assessed as being worthy of retention, which might otherwise be harmed by construction or the new land-use.

Developments which are subject to the Environment’s Act biodiversity gain requirement will also have to measure their impact on hedgerows with the biodiversity metric. Any losses will have to be compensated for with new or enhanced hedgerows, either on the development site or elsewhere.

All wild birds, their eggs and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits killing, injuring, or taking of wild birds or taking or damaging their eggs and nests, providing further important protections for most hedgerows and wild birds.

Furthermore, when the delivering the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 biodiversity duty, which is strengthened in the Environment Act 2021, a local authority could consider whether to plant hedgerows in their area as a demonstration of positive, active commitment to enhancing biodiversity.

In addition, our £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund has kick-started a pipeline of 159 nature-based projects to restore nature, tackle climate change and connect people with the natural environment. In round 1 The Tree Council led the ‘Close the Gap’ Hedgerow Project which has planted 51km of new and restored hedgerow in urban and rural areas, working closely with farmers and community groups.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Climate Change Committee report entitled Net Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming, published in May 2019, if he will take steps to implement that report's recommendation to increase the hedgerow network by 40 per cent by 2050.

We are required by the Environment Act 2021 to set at least one long-term biodiversity target, in addition to our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This target, and others set under the Act, will help target the causes of decline and drive actions to deliver nature recovery. To meet our species abundance target we will need to create more, better joined up habitats, which will include hedgerows.

Defra will encourage and support increased hedgerows through our environmental land management schemes. We are working with Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot participants to gather learning from the pilot version of the Standard and are incorporating this feedback into the development of the live version of the Hedgerow Standard and its supporting capital items, which are due to be rolled out into the scheme in 2023.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is encourage investment in (a) hedgerows and (b) other nature-based climate solutions.

HM Government is investing in nature based solutions more than ever before, from a range of sources. This includes our £750m Nature for Climate Fund. We are also introducing three new environmental land management schemes that will invest in a range of nature based solutions: the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI); Local Nature Recovery; and Landscape Recovery. These schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices, such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, such as hedgerows, and making landscape-scale environmental changes, all of which are important steps towards achieving our 25 Year Environment Plan ambitions and our carbon net zero goals.  A Hedgerow Standard has been included within the initial phase of piloting of the SFI scheme. Capital grants to support the planting and reinstatement of hedgerows are currently available via the Countryside Stewardship scheme. The SFI will also focus on grassland management, agro-forestry, cropland management, soil management, and nutrient management.

In addition to the public funding, we are enabling a step change in investment flows from the private sector, and we are developing our environmental land management schemes for farmers and landowners so that they can crowd in private investment. HM Government has set a new target to raise at least £500 million in private finance to support nature's recovery every year by 2027 in England, rising to more than £1 billion per year by 2030. We are putting in place the conditions for the private sector to invest in nature-based solutions, including through our Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund which is supporting the development of 86 projects across England, which have the potential to generate revenue from ecosystem services in order to attract and repay investment. We are also developing a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund which will leverage private capital to invest in such projects.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
20th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of LED streetlights on trends in the level of insect populations.

Defra has funded or co-funded national and international assessments of drivers of change on insects and wider biodiversity such as the global IPBES Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production. This report notes the effects of artificial light in general on nocturnal insects may be growing.

HM Government has not made any assessment of the impacts of LED streetlights or changes in spectrum on insect population trends. We will continue to work closely with researchers, NGOs and across HM Government to improve our understanding of the impacts of light pollution, from LEDs or otherwise.

HM Government is taking action to ensure that light pollution is managed for wildlife and for people, through controls in the planning system, the statutory nuisance regime and improvements in street lighting. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation.

Protecting insects is a priority, and we are taking action to support them and the wider natural environment of which they are a vital component. Our commitment to setting a legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, underlines our ambition.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
20th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to deter directors of water companies from contravening legislation on sewage dumping.

We have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network from 5% in 2016 to almost 90% now, and we will reach 100% cover by end of next year. Following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring, the regulators (the Environment Agency and Ofwat) have launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works.

We have been clear with the regulators that they should not hesitate to use their existing statutory powers to hold companies to account. For example, this can include criminal prosecution by the Environment Agency for which there can be unlimited fines. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of almost £140 million.

The Environment Secretary also held a call with water company chief executives on his first day in office, to outline that their current performance is not good enough, and that customers and the environment deserve better. We asked all water companies to write to HM Government on how they will significantly improve their environmental performance and are now working with them to establish where they can do more, and opportunities to speed up delivery.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require retailers to display ingredients lists for bakery products that are sold unwrapped.

The UK has high standards on the information provided on food labels. Existing food labelling rules, including ingredient listing, ensure that food is produced safely and labelled effectively to enable consumers to make informed choices on the food they buy and consume. For practical reasons, there are fewer mandatory labelling rules when food is sold loose. For loose food, the name of the food and allergen information must be made available, and for loose meat products, the amount of meat in those products must be provided

The Government is committed to optimising the information that is available to consumers, and the Government Food Strategy sets out work that we will be taking forward on consumer information and transparency.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory minimum percentage of unrefined grain ingredients in products marketed using the word wholegrain.

The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations committed to carry out a review of Bread and Flour Regulations across the UK. The key proposals for change are outlined in a public consultation published on 1 September 2022 which is open for responses until 23 November 2022. The rules on bread flour already place restrictions on the use of the word 'wholemeal' and 'wheat germ'. The use of the term wholegrain covers a much wider range of foods and could be addressed within a planned update of existing guidance on food marketing terms.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy that reusable security tags are used rather than RFID tags; and for what reason there was a change made from reusable tags to RFID tags.

Our approach to using resources efficiently and reducing waste overall is set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy (2018). There is no specific policy relating to RFID tags and the decision by businesses on which tags to use would be a commercial one in which they are expected to apply the principles of the Waste Hierarchy. However, we intend to keep using our Environment Act 2021 powers to target throwaway culture and incentivise consumers and businesses to choose reusable alternatives.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the Real Bread Campaign's proposals to necessitate the display of ingredients lists for products that are sold unwrapped.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 September 2022 to PQ 45032.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent results were of tests for PFAS levels in Thames Water.

In England and Wales, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance to water companies since 2009 which ensured that two key PFAS substances were considered in their risk assessments. The guidance was updated in January 2021 to reflect current knowledge and include consideration of other PFAS:

www.dwi.gov.uk/private-water-supplies/pws-installations/guidance-on-the-water-supply-water-quality-regulations-2016-specific-to-pfos-perfluorooctane-sulphonate-and-pfoa-perfluorooctanoic-acid-concentrations-in-drinking-water/

In October 2021, the DWI wrote to water companies informing them of additional requirements for sampling, testing and monitoring for PFAS in raw water sources from which abstractions are used for drinking water. The Inspectorate is in the process of assessing the information provided by companies, so we are unable to provide specific results for Thames Water. Where appropriate, DWI will share any relevant learning on PFAS through the publicly available Chief Inspector's Report.

8th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that PFAS levels in Thames Water are safe.

In England and Wales, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance to water companies since 2009 which ensured that two key PFAS substances were considered in their risk assessments. The guidance was updated in January 2021 to reflect current knowledge and include consideration of other PFAS:

www.dwi.gov.uk/private-water-supplies/pws-installations/guidance-on-the-water-supply-water-quality-regulations-2016-specific-to-pfos-perfluorooctane-sulphonate-and-pfoa-perfluorooctanoic-acid-concentrations-in-drinking-water/

In October 2021, the DWI wrote to water companies informing them of additional requirements for sampling, testing and monitoring for PFAS in raw water sources from which abstractions are used for drinking water. The Inspectorate is in the process of assessing the information provided by companies, so we are unable to provide specific results for Thames Water. Where appropriate, DWI will share any relevant learning on PFAS through the publicly available Chief Inspector's Report.

28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to give City Hall more power over air quality policy in London.

Responsibility for air quality in the capital is already devolved to the Mayor of London and as such, City Hall has a number of powers including:

- Oversight of London borough air quality action plans, including the power to issue guidance to which London boroughs must have regard when carrying out their air quality duties under the Environment Act 1995.

- The power to issue directions to require London boroughs to take action to address local air pollution as set out in section 85 of the Environment Act 1995.

Under the same legislation, local authorities in London are required to assess local air quality and to take action to reduce pollution if air quality objectives are not met. They must also report on their data and actions to the Mayor of London, to whom they are accountable.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has made an environmental impact assessment of the use of plastic grass in (a) residential and (b) commercial settings.

The Government has not made an ecological assessment of the impact of the use of plastic grass in residential or commercial settings. We do however recognise that, in itself, artificial grass has no value for wildlife. Its installation can have negative impacts on soil health, biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention or alleviation if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures such as planting flowers or trees or providing natural water features.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
27th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the following sustainable farming techniques in the UK: (a) agroecological farming methods, (b) crop rotation and (c) microbial protein meat substitutes.

(a) The objective behind the new Sustainable Farming Incentive is to support healthy soils and successful food production. That is why we are starting with two soil health standards this year. The SFI supports the choices that individual farmers make. Farmers can pick and choose the bits that work for their own holding and get paid for what works. In recent years we have seen an explosion of interest in regenerative farming practices such as mob grazing, the use of herbal leys, companion crops in arable fields to help manage pests and diseases and the use of cover crops and green manures like phacelia and nitrogen fixing legumes to reduce fertiliser input costs. The soil standards are just the first step. We are working on new standards for hedges, management of nutrients and Integrated Pest Management in 2023, and agroforestry in 2024.

(b) It is not Government policy to determine which cereals or other crops farmers should prioritise to include in their rotation. In 2021 we permanently removed Basic Payment Scheme 'greening measures' on crop diversification and ecological focus areas, meaning when farmers are making crop planting decisions, they are free to react to market signals.

Defra is keen to support farmers in their decision-making. We recently commissioned a research project which will look to identify underutilised, underdeveloped and novel crops with potential to be grown successfully in the UK within diversified cropping systems.

(c) Micro-organisms are used in the development of some alternative protein sources and can also be used as tools to develop novel or high protein products and substitutes. As stated in the Government's Food Strategy, Defra supports these innovative techniques by conducting farming and food science research and by creating and contributing to funding programmes open to industry. We will also work with the Food Standards Agency to develop dedicated guidance materials for approval of new alternative protein products while reviewing our novel food regulations.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
27th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that the Kept Animals Bill is passed into law as soon as possible.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was reintroduced to the House of Commons following the Queen’s Speech and will progress to Report stage as soon as parliamentary time allows. There is strong support for the Bill on all sides of the House and we are keen to ensure that its provisions get onto the statute book as soon as possible.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
27th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the effectiveness of provisions the Kept Animals Bill on preventing puppy smuggling.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was reintroduced following the Queen's speech and will progress to Report stage as soon as parliamentary time allows. The Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain. This includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
15th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring manufacturers to show in plain English on all forms of product packaging whether and in what way that packaging can be recycled.

I would direct the hon. Member to the recently published response to consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility, where the Government set out its intention to introduce clear mandatory recyclability labelling on all packaging.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department (a) holds data and (b) has undertaken a impact assessment into air quality in the boroughs of (a) Wandsworth, (b) Richmond, (c) Hammersmith and Fulham and (d) Hounslow following the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to vehicle traffic.

Under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995, the Mayor of London has reserve powers and is responsible for air quality in the capital. Local authorities in London are required to review and assess local air quality and report their data to the Mayor.

In addition, the London Air Quality Network provides data on automatic air quality monitoring in London to the public.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he will publish the findings of the Consultation on Commonly Littered Single Use Plastic Items.

The call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items closed on 12 February 2022. We are currently analysing responses and will provide a further update in due course.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the outcomes of his Department's call for evidence on commonly littered single-use plastic items.

The Government's call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items closed on 12 February 2022. We received over 2100 responses, which we are currently in the process of analysing and an update will be provided in due course.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many educational access payments have been made to farmers in the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the number that will be made in financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

Educational access funding is available to farmers in England through the Environmental Stewardship (ES) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes. Educational access provisions will remain in the scheme until its final application round in 2023 (for agreements starting 1 January 2024). Defra would encourage all farmers and land managers to take up educational access options under CS where possible.

The total number of claims including educational access that have been paid over the past five years (England only) can be found in the table below:

Financial Year

Total number of claims

2016/2017

594

2017/2018

500

2018/2019

492

2019/2020

389

2020/2021

212

Claims are still being processed for 2021/2022 financial year, but to date 187 educational access payments have been made.

Due to the effect COVID-19 restrictions may have had on the number of visits that can be undertaken, and a large increase in the number of new CS agreements that include the option of educational access funding, it is very hard to predict with accuracy the number of educational access payments that will be made for the remainder of the 2021/2022 and the 2022/2023 financial years.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
1st Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce paper junk mail in the context of tackling climate change.

The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy, published in 2018, sets out how we will better manage our material resources by minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a circular economy. We are keen to ensure that goods and materials are kept in circulation for as long as possible and last year we consulted on a new ‘Waste Prevention Programme for England: Towards a Resource Efficient Economy'. We expect to publish a new Programme shortly.

We do not have any specific policy initiatives focusing on junk mail. To reduce unsolicited mail, individuals can register with services such as the Mailing Preference Service, or that run by the Royal Mail. A “no junk mail” notice may also be effective in deterring hand delivery of unwanted advertising material.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.

We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.

In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.

Defra employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
21st Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in his Department are managing ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.

We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.

In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.

Defra employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
18th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to end trail hunting on government-owned land.

Our manifesto was clear that no changes will be made to the Hunting Act. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.

Issuing a license or giving permission for trail hunting is an operational matter for the landowner and those organisations with a land lease or agreement in place for government land.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to (a) review the 25 year Environment Plan and (b) include public consultation in that review process.

We have begun work on the first review of the 25 Year Environment Plan. We will complete the review by the end of January 2023 and any revised plan will be subject to the relevant parliamentary laying procedures as set out in the Environment Act 2021.

The Government is issuing a series of public consultations relating to environment policy this year. These include consultations on new long-term, legally binding targets and on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery and balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drink containers. We will also publish a public consultation on Nature Recovery in due course. We do not plan to overlay these with a further public consultation, adopting the same approach as we did for the original 25 Year Environment Plan. The development of the revised plan will be open and collaborative so we can draw on expertise available outside Government. It will also be subject to the relevant accountability and scrutiny procedures as set out in the Environment Act.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many responses there have been to the call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items to date.

Whilst we are still counting the last few responses, we have received over 2,100 responses so far.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
25th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many submissions her Department has received from (a) members of the public and (b) stakeholders in response to its Consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England.

23,000 so far, of which 88% of those responding via our online consultation site were responding as members of the public. The consultation does not close until 12 February, so I would encourage as many as possible to have their say.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason he has granted permission for the use of Cruiser SB.

A detailed statement of reasons for the decision on the application for emergency authorisation for the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet crops in 2022 has been published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neonicotinoid-product-as-seed-treatment-for-sugar-beet-emergency-authorisation-application.

The Secretary of State found that requirements for emergency authorisation were met and that there are clear and substantial benefits to crop production from the use of Cruiser SB in a year with high pest pressures. Potential risks to bees can be mitigated to a low level and, with strict conditions being placed upon use, are outweighed by the benefits of use in these circumstances.

A threshold has been applied to the decision such that the seed treatment may only go ahead should the threshold be met.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
18th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Environment Agency's policy is on responding to reports of minor hazardous waste dumping in fresh water systems.

The Environment Agency receives over 100,000 incident reports a year, every one of which is recorded and assessed. The Environment Agency focuses its efforts on where they will have the most impact – so those which pose the greatest risk to the environment.

Any report received by the Environment Agency within its remit which is assessed as having the potential to cause serious or significant harm to the environment or human health will be responded to immediately. Reports which are assessed to have a minor impact on the environment or human health will be logged and used to inform future regulatory interventions where resources allow.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enshrine in law sustainable development goal 12.3, on halving per capita food waste by 2030.

The UK is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target, which seeks to halve global food waste at consumer and retail levels by 2030. There is a programme in place to achieve this domestically including support for the Courtauld Commitment 2030 voluntary agreement with industry and consumer campaigns. Robust estimates of national food waste volumes are made periodically and used to monitor and report progress against the SDG 12.3 target. The Government has no plans to make this target legally binding.

Since 2007, action to reduce food waste in the UK has contributed to a reduction in post-farm gate total food waste between 2007 and 2018 of around 15% (1.7Mt). Excluding inedible parts, the reduction was 21%.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
25th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what records his Department holds on (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with the hon. Member for Rugby since March 2020.

No record of meetings with the hon. Member for Rugby is held.

Defra has received 18 items of correspondence from the hon. Member for Rugby since March 2020.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Press release of 28 August 2021 entitled Next steps to tackle plastic waste, whether the Government's consultation on single-use plastics will include a specific section on plastics in wet wipes.

The Government intends to publish this consultation before the end of the year and our intention is that it will be open for responses for up to 12 weeks. Further information about the details of the consultation and the items included will be shared in due course.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Press release of 28 August 2021 entitled Next steps to tackle plastic waste, on what dates he plans to (a) open and (b) close his Department's consultation on single-use plastics.

The Government intends to publish this consultation before the end of the year and our intention is that it will be open for responses for up to 12 weeks. Further information about the details of the consultation and the items included will be shared in due course.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban the manufacture and sale of wet wipes containing plastic.

We are considering a range of options to tackle the drain blockages and fatbergs caused by wet wipes and are working to assess the effects of wet wipes containing plastic on sewers to identify possible solutions. In general, we prefer to help people and companies make the right choice, rather than banning items outright. Alongside our upcoming consultation on single-use plastic items, we will be asking some questions about wet wipes to help us build our evidence base, inform our policy approach and take appropriate action.

The Defra guidance on making an environmental claim has been updated recently to include the Competition Markets Authority’s published guidance available here: Make an environmental claim for your product, service or organisation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This guidance aims to help businesses understand and comply with their existing obligations under consumer protection law when making any environmental claims.

We will continue to encourage the water industry and wet wipe manufacturers to work together to raise consumer awareness about the appropriate disposal of wet wipes and other non-flushable products, and to ensure that the labelling is clear. This will be crucial for generating meaningful behavioural change with consumers.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
25th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has had recent discussions with stakeholders on the long term effects of pesticides on wild bees and other pollinators.

Linking pesticide usage directly to changes in wild bees and other pollinators remains challenging because of the range of pressures which affect pollinators, in addition to the complexities of assessing and attributing pesticide usage and risk to impacts. In 2019, alongside leading academics, we published evidence statements on what is known, and not known, about the status and responses to pressures and management of pollinators, including in relation to pesticide use.

We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides through analysing pesticide residues in honey samples from across the country and using metabarcoding to understand how honeybees are exposed to these pesticides. We expect the results of this work to be published soon. We are also currently funding research looking at how we could develop our monitoring to better understand the effects of pesticides on pollinators, as well as routes of exposure.

Furthermore, Defra is developing a Pesticide Load Indicator which takes account of both the chemical properties of pesticides used and the weight applied. This uses pesticide usage data, ecotoxicity and environmental data to better understand how the pressure from pesticides on the environment, including bees, has changed over time. Much of this research will be published in 2022.

We also publish an indicator of the status of pollinating insects, which measures how widespread each of almost 400 species is in each year since 1980. It shows long-term decline, but minor change over the short term. Although not yet definitive, there are encouraging signs of improvement, for example the average distribution of wild bees has shown some stability over recent years. We are keeping these trends under review and continue to discuss all these issues with stakeholders, including with our advisory group under the National Pollinator Strategy.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
25th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve assessments on the long term effects of pesticides on wild bees and other pollinators.

Linking pesticide usage directly to changes in wild bees and other pollinators remains challenging because of the range of pressures which affect pollinators, in addition to the complexities of assessing and attributing pesticide usage and risk to impacts. In 2019, alongside leading academics, we published evidence statements on what is known, and not known, about the status and responses to pressures and management of pollinators, including in relation to pesticide use.

We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides through analysing pesticide residues in honey samples from across the country and using metabarcoding to understand how honeybees are exposed to these pesticides. We expect the results of this work to be published soon. We are also currently funding research looking at how we could develop our monitoring to better understand the effects of pesticides on pollinators, as well as routes of exposure.

Furthermore, Defra is developing a Pesticide Load Indicator which takes account of both the chemical properties of pesticides used and the weight applied. This uses pesticide usage data, ecotoxicity and environmental data to better understand how the pressure from pesticides on the environment, including bees, has changed over time. Much of this research will be published in 2022.

We also publish an indicator of the status of pollinating insects, which measures how widespread each of almost 400 species is in each year since 1980. It shows long-term decline, but minor change over the short term. Although not yet definitive, there are encouraging signs of improvement, for example the average distribution of wild bees has shown some stability over recent years. We are keeping these trends under review and continue to discuss all these issues with stakeholders, including with our advisory group under the National Pollinator Strategy.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
25th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to assess the long term effects of pesticides on wild bees and other pollinators.

Linking pesticide usage directly to changes in wild bees and other pollinators remains challenging because of the range of pressures which affect pollinators, in addition to the complexities of assessing and attributing pesticide usage and risk to impacts. In 2019, alongside leading academics, we published evidence statements on what is known, and not known, about the status and responses to pressures and management of pollinators, including in relation to pesticide use.

We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides through analysing pesticide residues in