Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what financial returns Ploughshare has delivered in each of the last five years; and what financial performance targets have been set for Ploughshare in each of the next three years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Ploughshare Innovations Ltd (04401901) is a Private Limited Company, therefore Ploughshare's accounts are published annually on the Companies House website;
[https://findandupdate.companyinformation.service.gov.uk/company/04401901/filing-history].
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the written statement of 13 November 2023 entitled Service Family Accommodation and Winter Planning, HCWS28, what steps his Department is taking to fund damp and mould mitigation packages in all service family properties who have a damp and mould report raised.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department is aware that what happened last winter was not good enough. Too many homes were affected by damp and mould. That is why we have prioritised a year-long £29 million programme as part of the additional £400 million funding over the next two years announced in the Defence Command Paper Refresh 2023. This will address the underlying causes of damp and mould for around 4,000 homes, representing around 60% of all properties requiring such work.
Most homes will receive a standardised package of relatively simple works including increasing insulation, replacing guttering, upgrading extractor fans, replacing radiators, and resealing windows and doors. The most severely affected homes are being tackled first, with remediation work to over 1,000 already completed.
In properties where more substantial works are required, £94 million of investment this financial year has been dedicated to replacing doors and windows, upgrading heating for around 1,500 homes, improving groundwater drainage and damp-proof courses, roof repairs and/or replacement and installation of external wall insulation to make homes more energy efficient.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what sanctions apply to the export of agricultural equipment to Russia by UK manufacturers.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has always been clear that our sanctions do not target food. They contain carve-outs to avoid unintended consequences for food security, including a General Licence published in November 2022 which permits payments in connection with food, fertiliser, seed and to be made to persons designated under our Russia sanctions regime. We have prohibited the export of certain items, which can be used in agricultural production, including tractors and cutting blades, because of their potential military application.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with EU counterparts on exports of agricultural equipment by EU companies to Russia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK and EU continue to cooperate on all elements of sanctions policy, from design and implementation to anti-circumvention activity. The former Foreign Secretary emphasised the importance of continued alignment to EU ambassadors in October, as did the PM with President von der Leyen in early November. The UK has prohibited the export of certain items which can be used in agricultural production, including tractors and cutting blades, because of their potential military application. The Government has always been clear that our sanctions do not target food, with carve-outs included in UK sanctions to avoid unintended consequences for food security.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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) British Sugar and (b) the National Farmers Union on the 2024/25 sugar beet price negotiations.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has had discussion with all parties. The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain, with risk and reward being properly shared. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market.
There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties, with Government only acting as final arbitrator at the end of the process should no agreement be reached. It is very important that all parties involved now continue to follow that process and reach a mutually acceptable outcome.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to respond to the Climate Change Committee’s 2023 Progress Report to Parliament.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government will respond to the Committee’s report by 31st October 2023.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent guidance his Department has provided to hospitals affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service conducts regular surveys of its estate to assess the state of the building fabric. These surveys cover a wide range of structural assessments. With particular reference to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the National Health Service has been surveying sites and undertaking RAAC mitigation work since 2019 and has had an active national remediation programme since 2021 to mitigate and monitor the risks posed by RAAC across the NHS estate.
NHS England has also issued guidance for trusts nationally on how to establish the presence of RAAC in their estate. There is ongoing engagement with trusts on a national and regional level to ensure RAAC is identified across the NHS estate. Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value was of asset disposals made by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of financial support available to kinship carers.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 2 February 2023, the department published the children’s social care implementation strategy and consultation ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which set out how we will achieve broad, system-wide transformation.
Through this strategy we have made a commitment to implement or explore each of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care recommendations on kinship care.
The department will publish our kinship strategy later this year which will set out a range of policies designed to support kinship families in England.
Financial support is a vital element of enabling children to remain within their family and friends’ network and we are considering how we can further support carers beyond the existing support local authorities provide for kinship carers.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will discuss with Ofgem the potential merits of reviewing variations in energy providers' (a) gas and (b) electricity standing charges.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The setting of standing charge is a commercial matter for suppliers. Standing charges are capped under the energy price cap which is set by Ofgem to protect customers on default tariffs.