Gavin Williamson

Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill we are abolishing the Duty to Cooperate. The Duty has not achieved the level of co-operation that was intended and has become something of a bureaucratic exercise which, as a rigid legal test, has resulted in around 20 local plans failing at examination.

Instead, we will introduce a more flexible policy based requirement for local planning authorities to work together on local plans, through an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The details of the new NPPF will be developed as the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill progresses through Parliament and will be consulted upon.

The Government remains committed to improving protections for park home residents and this includes changing the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). We will introduce the required legislation when the parliamentary timetable allows.

To assist local authorities enforcing the fit and proper persons test the department published non-statutory guidance on the implementation and the setting of fees in June 2021 and gave additional advice to authorities as required. We also provided local authorities with new burdens funding to support them in enforcing the test and continue to engage with and support local authorities to ensure the test is applied fairly and consistently.

The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.

The fit and proper person test was implemented in two stages. The first part came into effect on 1 July 2021 to allow local authorities to set up and prepare to receive applications. By 1 October 2021, all site owners were required to have submitted their applications. There is therefore no data from financial years 2018-2021. The department is aware of site owners and managers who have been deemed not fit and proper since the regulations came into effect, however, as these are the subject of appeals it would not be appropriate to share this information at this time.

The Government recognises the importance to secure a competitive future for our energy intensive industries (EIIs), and in recent years have provided them with extensive support, including more than £2 billion to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs. As part of our Energy Security Strategy, we recently announced that we have extended the EII Compensation Scheme for a further three years and its budget will be more than doubled. That strategy also announced plans to consider increasing support offered by the EII Exemption Scheme. Small businesses will continue to be eligible to apply in each case.

The Department received the letter of 10 January on 17 March, on transfer from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. A response will be issued as a priority.

The price of liquified petroleum gas is affected by a range of factors, including crude oil prices, refinery capacity, stock levels, and distribution costs. Seasonal factors also play a role. The increases to wholesale price of liquified petroleum gas compared to crude tend to occur during the winter months.

Consumers of liquified petroleum gas will be eligible for the £200 energy rebate as long as they are also domestic electricity customers. Financial support also remains available for liquified petroleum gas customers with energy bills, if eligible, through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment schemes.

Arts Council England (ACE) has advised that between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 it provided the following funding: (a) South Staffordshire (Non-Metropolitan District) received a total of £38,500 investment representing £0.34 funding per capita; (b) Birmingham (Metropolitan District) received £33,173,995 investment representing £29.09 funding per capita; (c&d) Kensington and Chelsea (London Borough) received £6,398,309 investment representing £40.79 funding per capita.

These data are accurate at the time of writing, but are subject to change due to factors such as underspends, withdrawals, and other similar grant adjustments. The figures include both Lottery and Exchequer funding, including one-off grant schemes, such as the Culture Recovery Fund.

As part of building back more strongly, in February 2022, the government announced a series of measures to significantly increase and better distribute ACE’s funding, transforming the landscape for arts and culture to ensure that it benefits everyone. Additional funding announced at Spending Review 2021 for Arts Council England (£43.5 million) will be invested outside London in levelling up places. This means that access to arts and culture across the country will be transformed with plans to increase and better distribute funding for the sector in areas outside London by around £75 million by 2025.

We are not going to change the profile of Direct Payments reductions.

Area based subsidy gave half the farming budget to 10% of landowners. The Basic Payment Scheme did not support food production and did nothing to stop the decline in nature. We must seize the opportunity to establish a different system of rewards and incentives in agriculture. I am pleased that we are supporting farmers with the choices that they make for their own holdings.

Defra has been engaging with industry via various forums to understand significant impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on individual industries and supply chains in Defra's sectors. No impacts have been reported that will severely disrupt entire markets.

Last month we announced steps to assist farmers with the availability of fertilisers for the coming growing season, to help address uncertainty amongst growers and help keep costs down for farmers.

The planned changes to the use of urea fertiliser will be delayed by at least a year, helping farmers manage costs and giving them more time to adapt to pressures on the supply of ammonium nitrate fertilisers. We are also encouraging farmers to make use of organic fertilisers. Farmers will be further supported by new slurry storage grants introduced this year.

Alongside this, we have published further details of the early rollout of Sustainable Farming Incentive. The scheme will help farmers move towards more sustainable farming practices over time; supporting farmers to build the health and fertility of their soil, and to reduce soil erosion which are essential for food production, helping to bolster food security and the longer-term resilience of the sector.

Defra will continue to keep the situation under review going forward.

The handling and transport of waste asbestos-containing material is only to be undertaken by specialist asbestos removal contractors, and must be disposed of at a site permitted to accept asbestos-containing materials.

The safest way to dispose of asbestos waste is to an appropriately permitted landfill site, regulated by the Environment Agency in England. Permits for these sites control the site design, quantities of waste and site operation in order to prevent or minimise pollution. Defra has no plans to review the current disposal route.

The handling and transport of waste asbestos-containing material is only to be undertaken by specialist asbestos removal contractors, and must be disposed of at a site permitted to accept asbestos-containing materials.

The safest way to dispose of asbestos waste is to an appropriately permitted landfill site, regulated by the Environment Agency in England. Permits for these sites control the site design, quantities of waste and site operation in order to prevent or minimise pollution. Defra has no plans to review the current disposal route.

Attracting bright new talent into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming. By raising awareness of agriculture as an exciting and attractive career path, people will understand the opportunities available to them.

The Government is contributing towards the establishment of a new professional body, The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH). This initiative is aimed at removing the fragmentation that exists within current learning and skills landscape for farming businesses, enabling the industry to drive forward greater uptake of skills, creating clear career development pathways and promoting the sector as a progressive, professional and attractive career choice.

The Government is reforming post-16 technical education to provide clearer routes into skilled employment in agriculture and other sectors. A key part of this is the introduction of the new Technical Level programmes (T-levels). Alongside apprenticeships, these provide more opportunities and pathways for young people looking for careers in horticulture.

Defra continues to speak regularly with the sector and other Government departments, including the Department for Education, to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the horticultural workforce.

On 24 December 2021, the Government announced that the seasonal worker visa route would be extended through to 2024. As with the Pilot, it allows overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available in 2022. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 visas if there is clear evidence of need.

While acknowledging the sector's reliance on foreign workers, the UK is committed to becoming a high-skilled, high-wage economy and the Government has been clear that more must be done to attract UK workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.

To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among UK workers.

As announced in December 2020, Defra has undertaken a review of automation in horticulture during 2021, covering both the edible and ornamental sectors in England. It is due to be published in early 2022. Our response to the review will work alongside the seasonal worker visa route - and Defra's efforts to attract more UK residents into agricultural work - to support the overall aim of reducing the sector's dependency on seasonal migrant labour

Defra is also engaging with the operators of the seasonal worker visa route to prepare and advance emergency plans in response to the situation in Ukraine. Operators can recruit from any country they choose for the seasonal workers visa route and operators recruited seasonal works from almost 50 countries in 2021.