Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The Government Property Agency (GPA) acts as a landlord to government department clients, including Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Education and others.
The majority of GPA’s properties have heating systems served by gas fired boilers. This includes the Whitehall District Heating System, which is a system owned and operated by GPA that distributes heating to premises in the Whitehall Campus from conventional fossil fuel boilers.
GPA’s newly developed assets have utilised more carbon efficient forms of heating, such as the new hub in Birmingham at 23 Stephenson Street, which has a mechanical heat recovery system with electricity as its fuel source.
GPA has started a Net Zero Offices Programme, which seeks to remove fossil fuel boilers (where they have reached end of economic life) and replace them with more environmental forms of heating such as use of air source heat pumps and, in the case of the Whitehall District Heating System, the utilisation of ground source heat pumps. The Net Zero Offices Programmes is seeking funding for its heat decarbonisation projects through applications to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government Property Agency (GPA) manages approximately 30% of the government’s central estate offices and acts as a landlord to government department clients (including Cabinet Office) located within those offices. GPA is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office.
The majority of GPA’s properties have heating systems served by boilers. This includes the Whitehall District Heating System; a system owned and operated by GPA that distributes heating to premises in the Whitehall estate.
GPA’s newly developed assets have utilised more carbon efficient forms of heating. One such example is the new hub in Birmingham at 23 Stephenson Street which has a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system with electricity as its fuel source.
As was set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy on 19th October, we are clear that decarbonising public sector buildings will demonstrate leadership, encouraging action in other sectors as well as making a direct contribution to Net Zero. We aim to reduce direct emissions from public sector buildings by 75% against a 2017 baseline by the end of carbon budget 6.
Over £1 billion has been committed in the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme over 2020/21 and 2021/22 to support heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency in the public sector, and a further £1.425 billion will be invested over 2022/23 to 2024/25.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Government Property Agency (GPA) acts as a landlord to government department clients, including HM Treasury for its three offices.
The Treasury does not hold information on the heating systems used by its agencies. This information will be sought by the Department and deposited in the Libraries of the he House.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by her Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Government Property Agency (GPA) acts as a landlord to government department clients, including Cabinet Office, the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Education and others.
The majority of GPA’s properties have heating systems served by gas fired boilers. This includes the Whitehall District Heating System, which is a system owned and operated by GPA that distributes heating to premises in the Whitehall Campus from conventional fossil fuel boilers.
GPA’s newly developed assets have utilised more carbon efficient forms of heating, such as the new hub in Birmingham at 23 Stephenson Street, which has a mechanical heat recovery system with electricity as its fuel source.
GPA has started a Net Zero Offices Programme, which seeks to remove fossil fuel boilers (where they have reached end of economic life) and replace them with more environmental forms of heating such as use of air source heat pumps and, in the case of the Whitehall District Heating System, the utilisation of ground source heat pumps. The Net Zero Offices Programmes is seeking funding for its heat decarbonisation projects through applications to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
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 plans to take to tackle dog attacks on livestock.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
New measures to crack down on livestock worrying are to be introduced in England and Wales through the Kept Animals Bill introduced to Parliament on 8 June.
We will enhance enforcement mechanisms available to the police and expand the scope of livestock species and locations covered by the law. Improved powers will enable the police to respond to livestock worrying incidents more effectively – making it easier for them to collect evidence and, in the most serious cases, seize and detain dogs to reduce the risk of further incidents.
The scope of livestock species covered by the legislation will be extended to include animals such as llamas, emus, enclosed deer and donkeys. New locations will include roads and paths, as long as the livestock have not strayed into a road.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 vaccinations have been administered in each region of England up to 6 January 2020.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
NHS England publishes daily data for vaccinations in England, showing the total first and second doses given to date, by region. This data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support apprentices to catch up on the training and learning that they have missed during the covid-19 to ensure that they can finish their apprenticeship fully qualified.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The department is committed to supporting apprentices and employers to safely continue with, and complete, their apprenticeship programmes. We have introduced flexibilities to ensure that apprenticeship training and assessments can continue during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Where it is not possible and practicable for the apprentice to continue training, a break in learning can be used to allow the apprentice to return to learning at a future date. It is our goal that apprentices are able to promptly resume their apprenticeship and continue to successful completion of end-point assessment. For apprentices who have taken a formal break in learning, this will result in the planned end-date for their apprenticeship being replanned upon returning to learning to take into consideration the duration in line with the length of their break.
We continue to review the flexibilities in place to ensure high-quality training can continue allowing apprentices to undertake their learning and assessments despite current operating constraints. Our guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to increase to life imprisonment the maximum penalty for people who cause death by dangerous driving and death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As set out in the government’s white paper, A Smarter Approach to Sentencing, published on 16 September 2020, we will be increasing the maximum penalties for causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs to life imprisonment. We will also create a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving.
We will introduce legislation on these changes in the near future.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the legal basis is for the detention of students within halls of residence at Manchester Metropolitan University who are not displaying symptoms of covid-19 and have not tested positive for the disease.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE providers in this unprecedented situation, while mitigating the impact on education.
Students should follow the latest health advice, meaning that they should stay in their accommodation in the event that they, or anyone in their household, develops symptoms or are otherwise required to self-isolate.
Decisions on which measures to apply should be made by the local public health team, based on the information received through NHS Test and Trace. HE providers should work with Public Health England to agree on which instructions they provide to students and should ensure that students understand what is required of them if they need to self-isolate.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 137 of the National Planning Policy Framework, if he will provide guidance to Rossendale Borough Council on ensuring that all other sources of Housing and Employment Land supply have been exhausted before resorting to the release of land from the Green Belt in that organisation's Local Plan.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It is for the local authority to consider, and consult locally on, development plan policies that establish where the boundary of its Green Belt, or any development boundary of a settlement, should run. The Secretary of State appoints independent planning inspectors to assess the soundness of any revised plan submitted.
The Government revised the National Planning Policy Framework in 2018, clarifying the exceptional circumstances test for local authorities who are proposing altering the Green Belt boundary through the local plan process. Local authorities need to demonstrate that all other reasonable options for meeting identified development needs have been examined, including those criteria given in paragraph 137, and will need to consider all available evidence and local circumstances in making this assessment.