Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take at the meeting of international justice ministers on 20 March to help ensure (a) practical and (b) financial support to bring to trial perpetrators of alleged war crimes against children in Ukraine.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 20 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, co-hosted a Justice Ministers’ Conference with the Netherlands bringing together 42 countries and institutions from across the globe. Support for victims and witnesses of war crimes in Ukraine, including children, was a core theme of the Conference. Additional practical support for the International Criminal Court was collectively agreed, alongside financial contributions totaling over £4 million. The UK announced £395,000 for the Office of the Prosecutor Trust Fund which will be earmarked for support for victims and witnesses. The Ministry of Justice is exploring further the provision of expertise, advice and training including specialist support for children.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to International Women's Day on 8 March 2023, what progress the Government has made on encouraging more girls into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers, including conservation.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In 2022, 72,683 state funded students took A level maths, of which 45% were female (32,542). Over 7,000 girls obtained an A* grade in A level Maths in 2022 and over 8,500 obtained an A grade.
Through the Careers & Enterprise Company’s (CEC) networks of Careers Hubs and Enterprise Advisers, business volunteers are working with schools and colleges to build on this progress and provide increased opportunities for girls, to meet a wide range of employers and to experience a variety of workplaces, including in the Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector.
In 2021/22 the CEC funded Careers Hub Incubation Projects, targeted projects that tested approaches for delivering careers provision and measurable outcomes for young people. For example, Digital Futures in Lancashire aimed to increase the take-up of Computer Science GCSE amongst girls through the delivery of high quality, locally tailored Digital/STEM related careers activities delivered at varying intensities, which will in turn increase the number of young females entering the digital workforce.
Employers and professional bodies in the STEM sector can sign up to ‘Inspiring the Future’, run by the Education and Employers charity. This free programme allows volunteers to visit state schools to talk to pupils about their job. This will raise the profile of various careers within the STEM sector.
The National Careers Service website gives customers access to a range of useful digital tools and resources to support them in making informed choices. ‘Explore Careers’ includes over 800 job profiles, including roles relating to science, maths, engineering and conservation. The role profile information describes what the roles entail, qualifications and entry routes. The content team regularly researches and updates content and welcomes updates from industry to ensure content is accurate and up to date.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to halve child obesity by 2030; and what assessment he has made of the impact the postponing the introduction of the watershed of 9.00pm for television advertisements for food high in fat, salt and sugar will have on meeting that goal.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
New Regulations on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes and takeaways, came into force in April 2022. Regulations restricting the placement of products high in fat, salt or sugar came into force in October 2022. We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices and make further progress on reformulation.
In addition, we are supporting more than three million children through the Healthy Foods Schemes and helping schools boost physical activity to help children maintain a healthy weight and good overall health through the Primary School Physical Education (PE) and Sport Premium and the School Games Organiser Network.
A full impact assessment for advertising restrictions was published in June 2021 providing detail on the expected impact of the restrictions. We do not expect a short-term delay to the implementation to have a significant impact on the substantial benefits in the longer term.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the clearance of (a) landmines and (b) other explosive remnants of war in conflict-affected countries across the world.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
This Financial Year, the Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP) has been working with the HALO Trust and the Mines Advisory Group to support the clearance of landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Angola, Cambodia, Laos, Somalia, South Sudan, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. GMAP also has a live tender out for Afghanistan. Between April and December 2022, GMAP cleared and confirmed safe over 4.9 million square metres of land. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) has also been funding mine action projects as part of wider stabilisation and conflict programming in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Libya, Sri Lanka and Yemen.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the speed of the implementation of restrictions on advertising of unhealthy foods.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have announced a delay to the implementation of the introduction of further restrictions on advertising of high fat, salt or sugar products on TV and paid for advertising online. This is due to the delay in the Health and Care Act 2022 receiving Royal Assent and the recognition that the industry needs more time to prepare for the restrictions.
However, the advertising restrictions have now been introduced with a delay in implementation. This will ensure we can address the long-term challenge of obesity, while recognising the unprecedented global economic situation and ensuring the effective implementation of these restrictions.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the public's health from air pollution ahead of Clean Air Day 2022.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government is currently consulting on two long-term targets for fine particulate matter under the Environment Act 2021. In addition, the Chief Medical Officer for England’s 2022 annual report will focus on air pollution, evidence for potential solutions to reduce the public health impacts and will offer recommendations based on this evidence. The report is due to be published in the summer.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of local climate bonds in funding local environment projects.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government considers current funding options for local authorities to pursue environmental projects to be appropriate. Local authorities have full, independent control over their borrowing choices and are free to issue local climate bonds if they wish. It is for local authorities to determine the most appropriate financing mechanism for their projects.
The Government provides accessible, low-cost lending via the Public Works Loan Board which can be used to finance environmental projects, and environmental projects could also be funded via the UK Infrastructure Bank where they meet the bank’s mandate.
In addition, the UK Green Financing Programme has raised £16bn to date, which will be used to finance projects that help tackle climate change and other environmental challenges – some of which local authorities may benefit from.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timeline is for the public consultation on the Government's new PM2.5 targets.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are preparing to launch a public consultation on proposed targets for reduction of PM2.5 early this year. Following the consultation, we will publish a Government response and then set the air quality targets in secondary legislation by 31 October 2022.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people (a) living with asthma and lung disease and (b) who are most vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution are prioritised in the forthcoming pollution exposure reduction target.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the need to take action to reduce the impacts of air pollution on health and to particularly focus action on PM2.5 - the pollutant of most significant harm to health.
Alongside setting a new concentration target, a new population exposure reduction will help prioritise action that is most beneficial for public health and drive continuous improvement, even where concentration targets have already been met. We will be launching a consultation on the new targets early this year.
Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he will publish the Government's response to recommendations of the National Food Strategy.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government will publish a Food Strategy in early 2022. This will consider the evidence of Henry Dimbleby’s review of the food system and build on existing work across Government to identify new opportunities to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK.