Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish new guidance on Community Benefits for Electricity Transmission Network Infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits of this and are currently considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reopening the Ramsgate Port to international (a) trade and (b) passenger transit on job creation in the local economy.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
New commercially viable freight-only or passenger-carrying services from ports have the potential to contribute positively to local, regional and national economies. The scale of impacts upon the economy and employment, upon other ports and upon congestion on the M20 and other roads, would depend on the nature, capacity and frequency of the service. Such a service could also contribute to national trade resilience overall.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reopening Ramsgate Port to international passengers on levels of (a) capacity pressure experienced by (i) the Port of Dover and (ii) other ports in the South East of England and (b) congestion on the M20.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
New commercially viable freight-only or passenger-carrying services from ports have the potential to contribute positively to local, regional and national economies. The scale of impacts upon the economy and employment, upon other ports and upon congestion on the M20 and other roads, would depend on the nature, capacity and frequency of the service. Such a service could also contribute to national trade resilience overall.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reopening Ramsgate Port to international (a) trade and (b) passenger transit on economic growth in (i) South East England, (ii) Kent and (iii) Thanet district.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
New commercially viable freight-only or passenger-carrying services from ports have the potential to contribute positively to local, regional and national economies. The scale of impacts upon the economy and employment, upon other ports and upon congestion on the M20 and other roads, would depend on the nature, capacity and frequency of the service. Such a service could also contribute to national trade resilience overall.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the (a) change in funding to Kent County Council (i) in real terms and (ii) as a percentage since 2010 and (b) forecast funding level for 2024 in the event that 2010 funding levels had been maintained in real terms.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises that council funding has been under pressure since 2010.
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 was worth up to £64.7 billion for local authorities in England. For Kent County Council, the 2024-25 Local Government Finance Settlement made available up to £1.4 billion.
Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reopening Ramsgate Port to international trade on levels of (a) capacity pressure experienced by (i) the Port of Dover and (ii) other ports in the South East of England and (b) congestion on the M20.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
New commercially viable freight-only or passenger-carrying services from ports have the potential to contribute positively to local, regional and national economies. The scale of impacts upon the economy and employment, upon other ports and upon congestion on the M20 and other roads, would depend on the nature, capacity and frequency of the service. Such a service could also contribute to national trade resilience overall.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of how many (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and (c) cinemas have closed in Thanet District since 2010.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS does not hold information on the number of closures of (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and (c) cinemas since 2010. However, DCMS sector economic estimates have business demographics data, which gives insights into the numbers of cultural businesses and the Office for National Statistics has data on business births and deaths.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of how many (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and (c) cinemas have closed in Kent since 2010.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS does not hold information on the number of closures of (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and (c) cinemas since 2010. However, DCMS sector economic estimates have business demographics data, which gives insights into the numbers of cultural businesses and the Office for National Statistics has data on business births and deaths.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of how many (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and c) cinemas have closed since 2010.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS does not hold information on the number of closures of (a) museums and galleries, (b) theatres and opera houses and (c) cinemas since 2010. However, DCMS sector economic estimates have business demographics data, which gives insights into the numbers of cultural businesses and the Office for National Statistics has data on business births and deaths.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of how much funding her Department provided for (a) art, (b) craft and (c) design education in schools in the (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2023-24 financial year; and if she will make an assessment of the difference in (A) real terms and (B) percentage terms between funding in the (1) 2009-10 and (2) 2010-11 financial year and that in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is clear that arts and music should be part of every child’s education.
The Independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will advise on how the department delivers a broader curriculum for every child, including subjects such as art and, music and drama. The department will also support children to study a creative or vocational subject to 16 and ensure accountability measures reflect this.
Schools have autonomy over how they spend their core funding and can decide how to best allocate their resources for the benefit of their students. The department does not provide schools with additional in-year funding for art, craft and design education, or for dance, drama or music education. Schools do not report back on the funding they have allocated to different subjects.
The total funding for mainstream schools in 2023/24 through the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) was £44.3 billion. The department cannot provide comparable funding data back to 2010 due to the changes in the funding system since that time. In particular, funding for schools was only identified separately from funding for high needs or early years in 2013, and funding for central school services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/2019.