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 make two weeks the maximum time between bin collections.

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

Simpler Recycling will mean that people across England will be able to recycle the same materials at home, work or school, ending the confusion over what can or cannot be recycled in different parts of the country.

Ministers are currently reviewing final Simpler Recycling policy decisions, including guidance on the approach to collections, and we hope to provide further certainty and clarity to stakeholders as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any arms export licences to Israel are under review other than those already suspended.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

All extant licences to Israel are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of dental practices that accept new NHS patients.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government will tackle the immediate crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists.

NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS.UK website profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Macclesfield constituency, this is the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her policy is on (a) access to cash, (b) businesses being required to use cash and (c) helping vulnerable people reliant on cash infrastructure adapt to a cashless society.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups.

The Financial Conduct Authority has recently assumed regulatory responsibility for protecting access to cash, and its new rules went live on 18 September. The rules require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of a closure of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility and put in place a new service if necessary.

It is for each business to decide on the forms of payment it chooses to accept, based on a variety of factors, including cost and customer preferences. Research published by the Financial Conduct Authority found that 98 per cent of small businesses surveyed would never turn customers away if they needed to pay in cash. The new rules by the Financial Conduct Authority will also support businesses to accept cash by ensuring they have reasonable access to deposit facilities.

The Government also recognises that promoting digital inclusion is essential to building the skills and confidence people need to participate in a modern digital economy and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as the lead department, is considering barriers to this.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the UK Foundation Programme allocation process and (b) potential impact of changes to the UK Foundation Programme allocation process on levels of satisfaction among applicants in 2023.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The allocation process for the UK Foundation Programme this year was changed to a Preference Informed Allocation method. This new process saw applicants being given a computer-generated rank and the removal of the requirement to sit the Situational Judgement Test. The move to the new system aimed to address concerns about the previous system, including that was it was perceived as unfair and stressful for applicants, and that there was lack of standardisation within and across schools. This change was based on extensive stakeholder engagement by the four statutory education bodies in the United Kingdom.

When confirming the move to the new system last year, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, set out that once implemented it would be kept under constant review to make sure it is working well for applicants.

All 9,702 eligible applicants for the 2024 Foundation Programme were allocated to a Foundation School, with 75% of those applicants getting their first preference. This is an improvement on last year when 8,655 applicants were placed and 71% got their first preference.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the financial situation of the British Council.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In 2024/25, the FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid funding. The British Council is projected to generate £885 million from other sources over the same period, according to its Corporate Plan 2024-25. This self-generated income is largely derived from the British Council's teaching and exams businesses.

The Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. Our funding to the British Council underlines our support.

Paradise Beach Resort in Morocco

Found: Chair); Sarah Bool; Charlie Dewhirst; Sarah Dyke; Jayne Kirkham; Josh Newbury; Andrew Pakes; Tim Roca

The agricultural sector is experiencing a period of significant change as it transitions away from a legacy direct payments regime towards nation-specific farming schemes.  

UK water bodies are affected by a number of high-profile threats including agricultural and sewage pollution. The water sector faces other important concerns such as weak resilience of water supply systems and future water security. Water companies providing services have been criticised for their environmental, financial and customer satisfaction performance.  

Submit Evidence (by 24 Jan 2025)

In recent years, external shocks have affected the UK’s food supply chain, raising questions about its resilience and vulnerabilities. Extreme weather events, such as floods, have put further pressure on domestic food production, as well as affecting countries that the UK sources food from. The impact of extreme weather on supply chains is likely to increase due to climate change.