Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative measures to require power tool manufacturers to include unique product code numbers to help deter rural crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the significant impact the theft of tools can have, especially on people who rely on these to earn a living.
We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
The Act requires secondary legislation before it can come into effect. We will be carefully considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to assess the impact on the health outcomes of people with dementia of the (a) average length of time people with dementia stay in hospital relative to people over 65 without dementia and (b) availability of specialist dementia nurses to meet the needs of people with dementia during hospital stays.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold this information centrally. However, the provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.
Employers determine the number of specialist nurses needed to provide care for the population. However, there is no specific regulatory requirement for post registration education, and people can choose to upskill to meet their own educational requirements.
Student nurses do receive broad preparation, so they are able to support adults needing care, including those with dementia. The Advanced Clinical Practice programme supports the progression of clinicians, enabling them to take on more specialist roles.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to support the development of the broadcasting industry outside of London.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Our world-leading TV sector is too centralised in London and the South East. We need to spread the benefits of the sector into our towns and cities, so that more people can see themselves and their experiences reflected on screen as part of our national story. This is why my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State and I have already called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission more content from across the whole of the UK.
My Department is taking forward work in this area to understand the barriers to further development of the industry outside of London and we are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure habitat (a) creation and (b) enhancement through biodiversity net gain.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is evident that the previous Government failed to protect and restore nature. The previous Environment Improvement Plan did not focus enough on delivery of our Environment Act targets and as a result nature is in crisis.
Biodiversity net gain requires most planning applications to deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity compared to what was there before. The biodiversity to be delivered is calculated using the biodiversity metric, developed by Natural England together with stakeholders over a period of many years, drawing on the best science available.
By applying the biodiversity metric to all eligible development sites, we will make sure that the right habitat creation and enhancement takes place to both compensate for what has been lost and deliver a gain.
The metric also rewards biodiversity actions taken in line with Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs), incentivising the right actions to be taken in the right places as LNRSs are brought forward across England.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an equality impact assessment for the means-testing of Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In making its decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to an equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements. The equality analysis was published on Friday 13th September, and can be found here: GOV.UK.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to invest in tennis facilities to support more people to play tennis year-round.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I am delighted to take this opportunity to wish Sir Andy Murray well in his retirement. He has contributed a huge amount to British sport throughout his long career, both on and off the court.
The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for all people, in all places so they can lead richer, more dignified lives. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.
Sport and physical activity in England is funded through our Arm’s Length Bodies, UK Sport (for elite sport) and Sport England (for grassroots) who provide onward funding to relevant organisations such as Active Partnerships and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sport sectors together at community level and to champion physical activity with local leaders to develop interventions tailored to communities.
Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives.
Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking step to use the career of Sir Andy Murray to encourage more people to play tennis.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I am delighted to take this opportunity to wish Sir Andy Murray well in his retirement. He has contributed a huge amount to British sport throughout his long career, both on and off the court.
The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for all people, in all places so they can lead richer, more dignified lives. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.
Sport and physical activity in England is funded through our Arm’s Length Bodies, UK Sport (for elite sport) and Sport England (for grassroots) who provide onward funding to relevant organisations such as Active Partnerships and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sport sectors together at community level and to champion physical activity with local leaders to develop interventions tailored to communities.
Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives.
Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to recognise the retirement of Sir Andy Murray.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I am delighted to take this opportunity to wish Sir Andy Murray well in his retirement. He has contributed a huge amount to British sport throughout his long career, both on and off the court.
The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for all people, in all places so they can lead richer, more dignified lives. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.
Sport and physical activity in England is funded through our Arm’s Length Bodies, UK Sport (for elite sport) and Sport England (for grassroots) who provide onward funding to relevant organisations such as Active Partnerships and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sport sectors together at community level and to champion physical activity with local leaders to develop interventions tailored to communities.
Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives.
Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to support people who will become ineligible for Winter Fuel Payment as a result of the planned introduction of means-testing in Maidstone and Malling constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.
The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so protecting 12 million pensioners through the triple lock. Based on current forecasts, the full rate of the new state pension is set to increase by £1,700 over the course of this Parliament.
We are also providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.
The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.
The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
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 the Park Tennis Court Programme.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I am delighted to take this opportunity to wish Sir Andy Murray well in his retirement. He has contributed a huge amount to British sport throughout his long career, both on and off the court.
The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for all people, in all places so they can lead richer, more dignified lives. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.
Sport and physical activity in England is funded through our Arm’s Length Bodies, UK Sport (for elite sport) and Sport England (for grassroots) who provide onward funding to relevant organisations such as Active Partnerships and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sport sectors together at community level and to champion physical activity with local leaders to develop interventions tailored to communities.
Sport England provides long term investment to The Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives.
Decisions with regards to future departmental budgets will be made as part of the spending review process.