Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to establish a Tenant Farming Commissioner for England.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government will introduce a new deal for farmers, including tenant farmers, to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. Defra recognises the importance of agricultural tenancies as a key route into farming for new entrants bringing new skills to the sector. Farm tenancies also provide a flexible way for progressive farmers to expand and adapt their businesses. The Government is carefully considering the role of a Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector and will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expectsthe Natural History GCSE to be made widely available in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering key stages 1 to 5, which will be chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review will consider the current qualification pathways available at key stage 4 and key stage 5. A call for evidence will be published in the autumn, which will set out the areas where the review group would particularly welcome input. Further information about the Review is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-curriculum-and-assessment-review.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data his Department holds on the number of smart meters installed that are reported as faulty, by constituency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold data on smart meters operating in traditional mode at constituency level. Data held by the Department is reported at Great Britain-wide level and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics. Smart meters operating in traditional mode continue to record energy usage accurately but do not send automatic readings to energy suppliers.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support farmers with reduced subsidy income to transition into diversification schemes.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For this Government, food security is national security, requiring a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports British Farmers. The Government is supporting farmers in this through a range of measures. This includes capital grants, designed to help farmers and land managers cover the cost of items that deliver specific environmental benefits.
The Government is also supporting farmers through Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELM) schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). As part of the rollout of the SFI offer in 2024, we have been accepting expressions of interest and the first SFI agreements for 2024 are now live.
The Government will not be redesigning ELM schemes from scratch. Record numbers of farmers are now in an ELM scheme, and the Government wants to maintain the momentum that built over recent months. Therefore, the Government will optimise them in an orderly way, over time. The Government will work with the sector to make sure schemes produce the right outcomes for all farmers, including small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms, supporting food security and nature’s recovery in a just and equitable way.
More broadly, the Government will support farmers with a new deal to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. This new deal will include the Government’s plans to tackle rising energy costs, the biggest challenge to food production, cutting farmers’ bills by introducing a public sector sustainable energy company - GB Energy. The Government will also use its own purchasing power to back British produce. The Government has an ambition to be able to supply half of all food into the public sector from local British producers or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with WTO and domestic procurement obligations. This Government will also protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals. It will cut red tape to get farm exports moving more effectively, and reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign imports, ensuring that seasonal, sustainable, healthy British food is on tables across the country.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England spent on (a) fees and (b) other costs for work by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting in relation to urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in (a) 2019/20, (b) 2020/21 and (c) 2021/22.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows how much NHS England spent on fees and other costs for work by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, in relation to urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB), in 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22:
Activity commissioned | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Fees | VAT | Fees | VAT | Fees | VAT |
Independent investigation into urology services at UHMB | £58,870.15 | £11,774.04 | £541,812.75 | £108,362.58 | £335,690.66 | £67,138.13 |