Graham Brady

The Department has no plans to make a comparative assessment of the ventilation standards in buildings in the UK and other countries.

In 2012, DECC published an ‘Assessment of advanced reactor systems against UK performance metrics’, which it had commissioned from the National Nuclear Laboratory. This analysis covered molten salt reactors.

These can be found online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65502/6299-assessment-reactor-systems-uk-metrics.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65503/6302-addendum-assessment-reactor-metrics.pdf.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

The Secretary of State provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors. This support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August, and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, organisations can now put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing.

We are committed to continuing to work with the events sector to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery. We recognise that the events industry and its supply chain has been severely impacted by Covid-19.

We are continuing to meet with stakeholders, including through the Events & Entertainment and Visitor Economy working groups and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to discuss the specific issues facing the sector.

Al Jazeera English is regulated by Ofcom and must comply with robust rules in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code on harmful or offensive content. Since its launch in 2006 Ofcom has recorded two breaches of the Broadcasting Code with no statutory sanctions. The Arabic version of Al Jazeera is licensed by the Italian media regulator, Agcom, and broadcasts into the UK under the country of origin principle.

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Altrincham and Sale West, to the answer I gave in response to question 129057.

We have introduced a broad range of flexibilities to ensure that apprentices can continue with their learning, as far as possible, and to encourage the take up of apprenticeships. These include encouraging the remote delivery of training, allowing changes to be made to end-point assessment, and removal of the requirement that level 2 apprentices should work towards or sit their level 2 English and maths GCSE or functional skills exams this academic year.

Apprenticeships will have an important role to play in creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people, and supporting employers in all sectors to access the skilled workforce they need to recover and grow post-COVID-19. We are looking to support employers of all sizes, and particularly smaller businesses such as childcare providers, to take on new apprentices this year. We will set out further details in due course. We will also ensure that there is sufficient funding to support small businesses wanting to take on an apprentice this year.

The number of SEND pupils in each local authority area in England at January 2017, is available in the local authority tables published on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2017.

Local authority expenditure data is published on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/section-251-materials.

This includes expenditure on SEN support services provided directly by local authorities, and their expenditure on special schools. We do not hold information on the costs of educating pupils with SEND that are met by mainstream schools from their budgets.

We are providing an additional £1.3 billion for schools across 2018-19 and 2019-20 to support the introduction of the national funding formula from April next year. Along with the funding we had already committed for schools at the 2015 Spending Review, this will mean the core schools budget rises from just under £41 billion in 2017-18 to £43.5 billion by 2020. Full details of the arrangements are set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/justine-greening-statement-to-parliament-on-school-funding.

The national funding formula will provide local authorities with per pupil funding of at least £4,800 for all secondary schools by 2019-20. We will set out further details on the £4,800 per pupil amount and the associated funding on each factor when we publish the consultation response in September.

Please see the table below showing the per-pupil amounts we allocated to local authorities in 2015-16, with the level of academic selection in their area, and the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics, for the academic year 2015/2016.

We have been clear that the current funding system is unfair and that the variation in the amounts local authorities receive for their schools does not reflect real levels of need. We have committed to address this unfairness by introducing a national funding formula from April 2018. We will set out our detailed proposals for consultation later this year, including our proposals for targeting funding to pupils with additional needs.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (IMG EFRA) on 6 March, UK Government ministers received a formal request setting out the scope and rationale for a UKIM exemption for the Scottish Government's deposit return scheme. It will now be considered by Ministers at the relevant Whitehall departments.

Defra officials have met Girlguiding to discuss their research on deposit return schemes. We will continue to engage with a large range of stakeholders, including young people, to ensure everyone has their say.

Development affecting peat is controlled through the Town and Country Planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework contains strong protections for habitats of environmental importance which planning authorities are expected to regard in their decision making.

Recently published Government research identified that the emissions from UK peatlands range from 18.5 to 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Peatland restoration is therefore a key way to mitigate emissions and will play an important role in achieving net carbon neutrality in the UK. We will publish an England Peat Strategy later this year which will set out our approach to protecting and restoring peat.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Around 75% of the area which still supports blanket bog vegetation is already protected from development via a range of statutory conservation designations. Of the remaining area of lowland raised bog which still supports semi-natural vegetation, around 85% is protected.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) protects irreplaceable habitat from development within its remit, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons to allow it. Whether individual peat moss sites are irreplaceable is a matter of judgement for local authorities to determine when considering applications. Sites are irreplaceable when it is technically very difficult (or would take a very significant time) to restore, recreate or replace once destroyed, taking into account the age, uniqueness, species diversity or rarity.

The NPPF also protected peatlands from development for minerals extraction by ending the granting of new licences for peat extraction.

The government is preparing a peatland strategy which will outline our approach.

DFID does not provide any bilateral assistance to developing countries for abated coal-fired projects. The UK encourages multilateral organisations to help developing countries make the investment decisions that will best deliver reliable, sustainable and affordable energy which is essential for economic growth and development. The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy is supporting research and demonstration, including through the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, into Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage technology.

DFID does not provide any bilateral assistance to developing countries for abated coal-fired projects. The UK encourages multilateral organisations to help developing countries make the investment decisions that will best deliver reliable, sustainable and affordable energy which is essential for economic growth and development. The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy is supporting research and demonstration, including through the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, into Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage technology.

The Department for International Trade and the Department for International Development are working together to ensure development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy, supporting countries to leave aid dependency behind and become our trading partners of the future.

Assessments of trade openness are available from sources such as the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Policy Reviews. In countries where DFID has a bilateral aid programme, DFID is helping to address the barriers to inclusive growth.

In line with international standards on ODA reporting DFID publishes a range of statistics on the benefiting country of our aid programmes, these are available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about/statistics

DFID has always delivered some programmes which are located in one country and benefit another developing country or countries. These include programmes delivered by multilateral organisations, programmes that benefit an entire region and research into the problems of developing countries. It would be costly and complex to gather and aggregate the precise type of information requested, but a range of project level information is available from the Development Tracker: www.devtracker.co.uk .

The Integrated Rail Plan noted that there is a strong case for a connection to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) north of Crewe and that the Union Connectivity Review (UCR) was considering this further. The UCR, undertaken by Sir Peter Hendy, has considered whether any alternatives to the Golborne Link could further improve connectivity to Scotland. Evidence from the Review suggests that alternative connections to the WCML could slightly reduce journey times further compared to the ‘Golborne Link’. However, Sir Peter states that it is clear that further work is required to better understand the case for and against any such options; and has recommended the Government review options for alternative connections north of Crewe between HS2 and the WCML. The government will respond to Sir Peter’s recommendations in due course.

The Integrated Rail Plan noted that there is a strong case for a connection to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) north of Crewe and that the Union Connectivity Review (UCR) was considering this further. The UCR, undertaken by Sir Peter Hendy, has considered whether any alternatives to the Golborne Link could further improve connectivity to Scotland. Evidence from the Review suggests that alternative connections to the WCML could slightly reduce journey times further compared to the ‘Golborne Link’. However, Sir Peter states that it is clear that further work is required to better understand the case for and against any such options; and has recommended the Government review options for alternative connections north of Crewe between HS2 and the WCML. The government will respond to Sir Peter’s recommendations in due course.

Sir Peter has published his Union Connectivity Review as of Friday the 26^th of November, the Government thanks Sir Peter for his work and will respond to his recommendations in due course.

Holders of a full Hong Kong car or motorcycle driving licence can exchange this for a GB equivalent without the need to apply for a provisional licence or take a driving test. Information on the average time taken to issue a driving licence to applicants from Hong Kong is not available.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the potential number of applicants who may arrive from Hong Kong with British national overseas status over the next five years. The DVLA is confident that these applications can be absorbed within its existing processes and there are no plans to introduce a dedicated channel.

Holders of a full Hong Kong car or motorcycle driving licence can exchange this for a GB equivalent without the need to apply for a provisional licence or take a driving test. Information on the average time taken to issue a driving licence to applicants from Hong Kong is not available.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the potential number of applicants who may arrive from Hong Kong with British national overseas status over the next five years. The DVLA is confident that these applications can be absorbed within its existing processes and there are no plans to introduce a dedicated channel.

Demand for the National Insurance Number (NINo) service is currently high with the average time taken to process applications around 13 weeks. This is for all employment inspired applications including people arriving from Hong Kong with British National Overseas status.

The Department is currently recruiting and training additional staff to reduce these waiting times.

The Department expedites NINo applications for those who require one in order to receive Social Security Benefits.