Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) planning and (b) regulatory frameworks adequately (i) tackle and (ii) mitigate carbon emissions from high-density digital infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The way to reduce the carbon intensity of grid-connected digital infrastructure is to reduce the overall carbon intensity of the UK electricity mix. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out how the Government will achieve this over the next five years, through increasing renewable and other low-carbon generation along with flexible and dispatchable power.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help reduce childhood obesity rates in Slough.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and a cornerstone of this is supporting children, including those in Slough, to live healthier lives.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, sets out decisive action on the obesity crisis. In a world first, we will introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for large food businesses and using that reporting, we will set new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.
We will also fulfil our commitments to restrict junk food advertising and ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds. We have given local councils stronger powers to limit school children’s access to fast-food.
Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ South East team work closely with local partners, including local authorities and the National Health Service, to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle obesity.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that people moving from Employment Support Allowance Support Group to Universal Credit do not require a further fit note.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want the migration process to be as simple as possible for claimants when they move their claim to Universal Credit (UC) from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). If they have been receiving ESA, they will not need to provide medical evidence such as fit notes, or have a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) again if all of the following apply:
If they were providing medical evidence on ESA before they moved, they will still need to provide medical evidence on Universal Credit until a WCA decision is received.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to reassess the mileage reimbursement rate.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rate under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
As with all taxes and rates, the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at Budget in the context of public finances.