Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 12 August 2022 that Government will not be procuring any doses of Evusheld at this time, what the evidential basis was for that decision.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The decision not to procure Evusheld for prevention through emergency routes at this time, is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. These groups considered a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and agrees that this should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Department intends to publish further details of the clinical advice received shortly.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to ensure that electricity suppliers have the appropriate information about which homes are not on the gas grid to enable them to make the necessary payments to deliver equivalent support to the Energy Price Guarantee.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government continues to work at speed to determine the most practical and tested routes to deliver this support and will provide more details in due course.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to allow installation of solar panels as a permitted development right in (a) domestic property, and (b) business premise where physically practical.
Answered by Lee Rowley
To support the generation of renewable energy there are a range of permitted development rights that allow for the installation of microgeneration equipment, including rooftop solar panels on domestic and non-domestic properties, without having to make a planning application.
We will keep the existing permitted development rights for solar equipment under regular review.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care when her Department plans to publish the allocation of the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund to each NHS Trust.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
On 22 September 2022, the Government launched the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund which provides an additional £500 million to accelerate the safe discharge of patients from hospital into social care and recruit and retain care workers to support people who no longer need to be in hospital. The details of the fund, including local allocations, are being finalised, and will be published shortly.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to publish detailed information on how support for off gas-grid homes is equivalent to those on the gas grid benefiting from the Energy Price Guarantee.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The support provided to off-grid households is intended to deliver comparable outcomes to those on gas supported by the Energy Price Guarantee.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the support provided to off gas-grid households intended to be equivalent to that provided through the Energy Price Guarantee will equal the price per kWh between natural gas and heating oil or LPG.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The support provided to off-grid households is intended to ensure comparable outcomes to those on gas. It does not seek to create uniform costs per kWh across differing fuel sources which have always had variable price rates.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the article entitled Farming Investment Fund – new slurry infrastructure grants coming in autumn 2022, published by his Department on 9 June 2022, when his Department plans to publish (a) further details and (b) guidance on how to apply for the slurry storage grant.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government has committed to launch a slurry infrastructure grant in autumn 2022. We will publish full guidance shortly.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish a (a) management plan on protecting farmland in the context of his Department's decision to provide Eurasian beavers with legal protections in England and (b) long-term strategy for beavers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
On 2 September 2022, Defra and Natural England published joint guidance on GOV.UK on managing beavers and their impacts, where this is necessary. The guidance sets out a step-wise approach to management and provides information on actions that can be undertaken to protect farmland without a licence such as removing new dams and excluding beavers from certain areas. Natural England has also published information on how landowners can apply for licences to undertake other action, including removal of more established dams. This management regime provides effective options to managing potential issues with beavers, and is intended to minimise the burdens on land managers and farmers, ensuring the process is streamlined and easy to access.
We continue to develop our approach to the release of beaver, including ensuring that any applications to release the species consider and mitigate risks to farmland as appropriate, and that these projects have a local officer to provide advice and support to landowners.
A public consultation was held last year on the national approach to beaver reintroduction and management in England and the summary of responses has been published on GOV.UK. Recognising the range of responses and feedback received, we will continue to undertake further work with Natural England to develop our approach to the reintroduction of beaver in England. Further information, including on criteria for wild releases, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the additional financial support announced by the Chancellor in the Economy Update of 26 May 2022 and set out in the Cost of living support factsheet: 26 May 2022 will be taken into account when individual contributions to social care costs are calculated.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department is currently determining the impact of the new cost of living payments on financial assessments for care costs.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral statement of 26 May 2022 on Economy Update, Official report, column 451, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of state for (a) Work and Pensions and (b) Health and Social Care on the impact of the cost of living payment on benefit entitlement and social care.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government understands the challenge of global inflationary pressures on the cost of living.
That is why we are providing over £15bn of additional support targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package builds on the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.
The Government is supporting over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means tested benefits with a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments. In addition to this, the government is supporting disabled people with the particular extra costs they will face, with 6 million people who receive non-means tested disability benefits receiving a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Over eight million pensioner households will receive an extra one-off £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.
These payments will be disregarded for tax and benefit purposes, so will not affect claimants’ benefit entitlements.
The Department of Health and Social Care is currently undertaking work to determine the interaction between the new cost of living payments and financial assessments for care costs.