Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the 2030 phaseout of new internal combustion engine cars.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government is investing £2.5 billion to incentivise the transition to zero emission vehicles with £1.6 billion of this funding to support charging infrastructure.
In addition, the up to £1 billion Automotive Transformation Fund supports R&D and capital investments across the electric vehicle supply chain to develop next generation of zero emission vehicle technologies in the UK.
The Government will introduce a zero-emission vehicle mandate requiring a percentage of manufacturers' new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024 and continue to regulate tailpipe CO2 emissions of new non-zero emission cars and vans to limit their emissions until 100% of new sales are zero emission.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the level of government support for the building of social rent housing.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The provision of affordable housing is part of the Government's plan to build more homes and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. Our Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes.
Since 2010, we have delivered over 598,900 new affordable homes, including over 419,200 affordable homes for rent, of which over 157,200 homes are for social rent.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
a) I have not had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling.
b) Defra will be consulting on improvements to the batteries regulations in 2023. This has and will continue to include routine engagement with stakeholders on all the options for treatment of waste batteries, including recycling.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including The Countryside Code in the National Curriculum.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department does not plan to make an assessment of including the Countryside Code in the national curriculum.
All state-funded schools have the flexibility within their school curriculum to teach about the Countryside Code, through for example:
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support for veterans who served in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The UK Government has developed a comprehensive package of measures, ensuring that those who bravely served during the Troubles can access financial, pastoral and health support, no matter where they live in the UK.
Veterans can also apply to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Scheme - delivered by the NI Executive - which makes acknowledgement payments to permanently injured victims of the Troubles.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the rising cost of fish; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of relaxing the rules on fishing quarters to help increase supply and tackle the rising cost of fish.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices. The UK has a highly resilient and diverse food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges – including sourcing a large amount of the fish we consume from countries such as Iceland and Norway. The majority of UK seafood consumption is imported, meaning prices on UK supermarket shelves are largely determined by international supply and demand.
It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by the companies. Food prices fluctuate in any given year and are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.
We will continue to speak with industry to understand and support them in coping with any potential pressures. We do not intend to amend fishing quotas because they are an important tool, based on scientific evidence, for managing sustainable fisheries.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reform and strengthen the fire and rescue service.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The government’s priority is keeping the public safe. Our fire reform white paper was published last month and is open for consultation until the 26th of July.
The proposals set out will ensure that fire and rescue services are highly skilled, professionally led and governed, and able to fully support the communities they serve.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to inform young people about opportunities to study abroad.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The department values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of our vision for a global Britain. That is why we support a number of outward mobility and exchange programmes which broaden access to international opportunities, including Fulbright scholarships and the Turing Scheme.
The department provides grant funding to the US-UK Fulbright Commission, which promotes and provides opportunities for young people to undertake education exchanges between the UK and the US.
The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. The Turing Scheme is provider-led with communications and promotion targeted at education providers who are responsible for applying for funding and promoting opportunities to their students, learners, and pupils. Education providers successfully applied for funding for over 41,000 individual placements to over 150 destinations across the 2021/2022 academic year.
The department also works with the British Council, which is funded to deliver programmes such as English Language Assistants and Generation UK, to promote opportunities for UK students the opportunity to study and work abroad in countries such as Spain, Italy, and China.
The British Council's ‘Study and Work Abroad’ website contains information about opportunities to study, work, or volunteer in another country through the British Council and other organisations. The site includes a section targeted at UK-based students and graduates, providing information about current and upcoming opportunities to study, work or volunteer outside the UK through British Council programmes and the Turing Scheme.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps he is taking with Ofqual to ensure that students due to sit exams in summer 2020 will receive fair grades.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Ofqual is working with awarding organisations to develop a robust process for awarding grades. Wherever possible, schools, colleges and other institutions will produce fair and objective centre assessment grades, which will be externally standardised to ensure consistency. Our aim is that the arrangements deliver the fairest possible outcomes for students.