Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to include core standards for animal welfare within his planned trade strategy.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are currently developing the trade strategy, closely engaging with stakeholders as we refine its content. The trade strategy will set out how we can achieve long-term sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth through trade. The development of the trade strategy will consider the Government’s commitment to uphold our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards, areas in which the UK is a world leader.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to provide ring-fenced revenue funding for universal and open-access youth services for all young people all year round.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.
Next financial year, in 2025/26, we are increasing the total funding for other DCMS youth programmes. We will also be funding new work in partnership with local authorities to start the journey of building back lost capacity in local areas and of ensuring young people’s voices are heard in their local services.
We are also allocating over £85m of funding in 2025/26 to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, including launching the new Better Youth Spaces fund, which will allocate at least £26m for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations. This will also include completing the Youth Investment Fund projects.
In addition, this government has committed to the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny and provide them with meaningful choices and chances. As part of the Strategy, we will be engaging closely with young people and the youth sector from across the country over the coming months to fully understand their needs and the issues they consider to be most crucial in addressing. This will allow us to better target funding and services where they are most needed.
The Strategy will be published next year.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to continue funding for research into shared impact measurements for youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.
We are also committed to improving the evidence base for the youth sector and making impactful improvements. Confirmation of decisions regarding any funding for improvements on shared measures will be shared in due course.
In November this government launched the ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be co-produced together with young people and the youth sector. This Strategy will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny and provide them with meaningful choices and chances.
We are commissioning research that will inform the development and direction of the National Youth Strategy by exploring young people's challenges and experiences, and their proposed solutions. The research will consist of an evidence review as well as youth engagement.
The Strategy will be published next year.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether planned funding arrangements for Young Futures Hubs will include provision for long-term funding.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to success and opportunity. Too many children and young people today do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health, and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than achieving their full potential.
While services already exist to provide support for this group, many still go unsupported, because they are unable to access the services they need, when and where they need them. Young Futures Hubs will bring together the support services that tackle these underlying needs and make them more accessible to those that need them. In doing so, the hubs will promote children and young people’s development, improve their mental health and wellbeing, and prevent them from being drawn into crime. They will be staffed with professionals including youth workers, mental health support workers and career advisors. The new Young Futures Hubs will support the delivery of the government’s safer streets, health and opportunity missions.
The number of hubs, their specific locations, and their reach are still being determined, and long term funding for these will be determined through the Phase 2 of the Spending Review.
The department will engage with national and local partners, local communities, and children and young people to work together on design and delivery, including considering relevant reports.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Teachers Pension Scheme on delays in providing Remediable Service Statements to retired teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Delays have been encountered with the approach to calculating the remediable service statement (RSS) values for retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme whilst cross-scheme issues were resolved.
130,000 retired teachers require a rectification RSS. The scheme administrator estimates that approximately 100,000 will be issued by 31 March 2025.
Whilst the delays have been out of the scheme administrator’s control, the department continues to have daily discussions about reducing the timescales for the RSSs that will not have been issued by then, focusing on operations, resources, processes and IT. Progress is also discussed with the administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, at dedicated weekly and monthly meetings.
Whilst the department is working to ensure that all RSSs are issued as soon as practically possible, the department would like to reassure that any adjustment to pension that is in payment as a result of the member’s choice will be inclusive of interest.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sports, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Design and Artists Copyright Society’s report entitled, UK Visual Artists a survey of earnings and contracts, published on 25 November 2024; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of digital copying on artists' and performers' remuneration.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
My department has made no recent assessment of the potential impact of digital copying on artists' and performers' remuneration. However, the Government wants to see remuneration arrangements that create the right conditions for sparking and driving innovation and investment, whilst rewarding creators for their work and is proud that it was a Labour Government that introduced the Artists Resale Right which is administered by DACS.
We recognise the importance of copyright protection in ensuring creators are protected and rewarded. The Government welcomes the publication of this informative report from the Design and Artists Copyright Society.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to announce the (a) fees and (b) invoicing periods for the extended producer responsibility scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Final fees for the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme can only be calculated and issued after the deadline for large organisations to report their packaging data, which is 1 April 2025. Invoicing periods for the scheme each year will cover the period 1 April to 31 March.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of secondary schools have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.
School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food brought in from home.
The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, which includes snacks and confectionary high in fat, sugar and salt. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of primary schools have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.
School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food brought in from home.
The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, which includes snacks and confectionary high in fat, sugar and salt. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include provisions to help schools provide up to date allergy awareness education for pupils and staff.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England.
The precise content of the Bill will be confirmed upon the Bill’s introduction, which will be as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.
The accompanying statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
From September 2020, relationships education became compulsory for all primary school-aged pupils, relationships and sex education compulsory for all secondary school-aged pupils, and health education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools in England. The statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
This guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should be taught the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination.
The department is currently reviewing the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools. As such the department will look carefully at the consultation responses, discuss with stakeholders and consider the relevant evidence before setting out next steps.