Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for (a) introducing and (b) implementing a ban on wet wipes that contain plastic.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is working together with the devolved Governments to understand the issue, with a view to legislate to ban wet wipes containing plastic across the UK.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes now subject to the Loan Charge have been prosecuted.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member for Chelmsford to the answer I gave on 16 October 2024 to Question UIN 7747.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of oversight of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme by her Department; and what steps she is taking to prevent abuse of that scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The British public has shown a true generosity of spirit by opening their homes to Ukrainians seeking sanctuary from Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This generosity should not be abused, and taxpayers’ money must be used to support the intended beneficiaries of the scheme.
Local authorities are responsible for the prevention and detection of sponsor payment related fraud on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The department has engaged local authorities and found they have counter-fraud measures in place and are recovering payments where fraud has been identified. As part of ongoing efforts to identify and reduce instances of fraudulent sponsorship and other abuses of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, existing guidance on GOV.UK has been expanded to improve information for guests, sponsors and local authorities on how to recognise and avoid fraudulent sponsorship or misuse of the scheme. Further mitigations to minimise the impacts of these issues on the Homes for Ukraine scheme are kept under constant review.
Guidance on reporting suspected fraud is available at: Reporting fraud: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK for guests, Reporting fraud: Homes for Ukraine - guidance for sponsors - GOV.UK for sponsors and Handling suspected fraud: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK for councils.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of an NHS-funded salaried training route to becoming a school counsellor.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have no plans to do so, as there is already an existing National Health Service-funded salaried training route for education based mental health practitioners, which enables them to work across education and healthcare to provide mental health support for children and young people in schools and colleges.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) infrastructure levy and (b) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and section 106 system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government want to deliver the much-needed affordable housing local communities need and the wider infrastructure that will mitigate the impacts of new development. We do not believe the Infrastructure Levy as introduced in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 is the best way to achieve this. We therefore made clear in the consultation on proposed reforms to National Planning Policy Framework that we will not be implementing it. Instead, we intend to focus on improving the existing system of developer contributions. Further details on strengthening that system will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing local council planning fees so that they cover the costs of local planning services.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, we sought views on changes to planning application fees to cover the costs of local planning services. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to make an assessment of the impact of daylight saving time on (a) mental health and (b) seasonal affective disorder.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has no current plans to change the approach to Daylight Savings.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring senior people to retake their driving test upon reaching a certain age.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) believes that most people want to be safe, law-abiding drivers and any post-test intervention needs to be focused where it will achieve most benefit and, where appropriate, should be targeted against irresponsible drivers.
The courts already have the powers to require drivers to retake the driving test in certain circumstances, and the police can also offer remedial education courses to those who would otherwise be prosecuted for some driving offences.
There are no plans to introduce mandatory vehicle driving re-tests.
If drivers do not drive for a period of time, DVSA recommends they receive a form of refresher training.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on whether teachers in (a) sixth forms and (b) other further educational institutions will receive the same pay rise as teachers in other settings; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of pay rise received by teachers in those settings on (i) recruitment and (ii) retention.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), including in sixth form colleges and other FE institutions. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.
The department recognises the vital role that teachers in sixth form colleges, as well as other FE colleges, play in developing the skills needed to drive our missions to improve opportunity and economic growth. The department is investing around an additional £600 million to support FE across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas, including in sixth form colleges. The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through the Taking Teaching Further programme.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the potential impact of the introduction of VAT on independent school fees on the international competitiveness of British sport.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of introducing VAT on private school fees will be published at the Budget in the usual way.