Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many projects were funded through the Water Management Grant between its inception and 4th July 2024 inclusive.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Between the Water Management Grant inception and 4 July 2024 inclusive, 52 Grant Funding Agreements had been issued, following this a further 28 Grant Funding Agreements have been issued since 5 July 2024. We have so far paid 84 claims against these agreements, and some projects are still in progress and have not yet received payment. Beneficiaries may also submit more than one claim, so payment figures do not directly equate to the number of projects funded.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many projects have been funded through the Water Management Grant since 5th July 2024.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Between the Water Management Grant inception and 4 July 2024 inclusive, 52 Grant Funding Agreements had been issued, following this a further 28 Grant Funding Agreements have been issued since 5 July 2024. We have so far paid 84 claims against these agreements, and some projects are still in progress and have not yet received payment. Beneficiaries may also submit more than one claim, so payment figures do not directly equate to the number of projects funded.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding was provided to abattoirs through the Smaller Abattoir Fund between its inception and July 4th 2024 inclusive.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Before and including 4 July 2024, 12 Grant Funding Agreements, with a total value of £208,987, had been issued through the Smaller Abattoir Fund. Of this, one payment of £7,875 had been made to a successful applicant by that date.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been provided to abattoirs through the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 5th 2024.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 5 July 2024, 38 Grant Funding Agreements, with a total value of £910,264, have been issued through the Smaller Abattoir Fund. Of this, £687,734 has been paid to successful applicants to date.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps they are taking to support local councils to be able to provide young people with Special Educational Needs with school transport.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or mobility problem

Local authorities must also ensure that transport arrangements do not prevent young people, including those with SEND, from accessing post-16 education and have a duty to set out available support in their annual Transport Policy Statement and Local Offer.

The department knows challenges in the SEND system are creating pressures on home-to-school travel. The department will reform the SEND system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings. This will mean fewer children needing to travel long distances to access education.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps they are taking to tackle plastic pollution.

Answered by Mary Creagh

We have several restrictions on unnecessary single-use plastic products, including a ban on the supply of single-use vapes and a ban on supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in England, marking a major step forward in tackling the plastic and microplastic pollution that harms our waterways.

The UK is working internationally to agree a new international, legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution and is committed to working with a range of other countries to secure an agreement at the next round of negotiations in March 2027.