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Written Question
Incontinence: Products
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to ensure that NHS organisations assess the purchase of absorbent continence products and their dispensation to patients based on (1) their impact on patient experience and outcomes, (2) whole-system costs, (3) laundry costs, including energy use, and (4) environmental impact, as well as item price; and what assessment they have made of the savings that would accrue to such organisations in doing so.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The disposable continence tender is due to be issued to the market later this year. To ensure that the National Health Services requirements are considered during the procurement process, the NHS Supply Chain are undertaking significant engagement across the health and social care system. This includes customers in the acute and wider community setting, suppliers, trade associations, professional bodies, and end user reference groups, to understand their requirements from a commercial, value, sustainability, and supply resilience perspective.

The NHS Supply Chain are currently working with suppliers of disposable continence products to understand the value-based procurement and sustainability offerings on the purchase of continence products. The NHS Supply Chain have identified a trust who are committed to supporting us in understanding this value, in the form of a pilot study and potential case study. More information can be provided once these studies have been finalised and confirmed.

To support value-based procurement decisions more broadly across medical technologies, a standard methodology is being developed to assess the value of medical technology beyond upfront cost alone. It is intended that this will support the adoption of products which demonstrate value to the whole system, and ensure the best products are reaching patients.

The Government is working closely with NHS England and wider health partners to develop the methodology and plans for implementation at both a national and local level. The Government is committed to working collaboratively with industry and the procurement community in developing the methodology and will share an initial proposal in due course.


Written Question
Refineries: Grangemouth
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will publish the studies or data available on the estimated increased emissions caused by increased shipping that would result from the closure of the Grangemouth Refinery.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DESNZ officials are in regular contact with Petroineos and the Scottish Government regarding the future options for the site.

The UK has overdelivered on every target to cut emissions so far and has cut emissions far faster than any other major economy since 1990. There has been no assessment of the emissions from shipping for the import of finished fuel products to Grangemouth refinery, or of the difference in emissions between importing finished oil products and crude oil.


Written Question
Energy: Housing
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to case study six of research commissioned by her Department entitled Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes and retrofit solutions Annex C case studies, published on 3 January 2024, what steps her Department plans to take to help consumers with Victorian 'Eco Home' whole house retrofit work.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government published the research report ‘Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes’ alongside the cross-Government review ‘Adapting historic homes for energy efficiency: a review of the barriers’ in January 2024. The review looks at the practical barriers to energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures in historic homes, and sets out the actions the Government is taking to overcome these barriers.

The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel heating. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.


Written Question
Public Finance
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Institute for Fiscal Studies' assessment that (1) the Autumn Statement has extended the squeeze on public service spending to 2028–29, (2) the growth outlook has weakened, and (3) inflation is expected to stay higher for longer.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Total departmental spending in the next Parliament will continue to grow above inflation. Taken together with the significant increase (3.2% a year on average in real terms) in total departmental spending over the current Parliament, this means that total departmental spending will be £85 billion higher in real terms by 2028-29 than at the start of this Parliament (2019-20).

Earlier in the year many were predicting a recession, now the economy is growing in every year of the OBR forecast and the GDP level throughout the forecast is higher than forecast at Spring. The combined impact of Autumn Statement and Spring Budget policies are expected to permanently increase the size of the economy by 0.5% by the end of the forecast.

Inflation has been more persistent than the OBR forecast at Spring Budget 2023. The OBR has judged that high energy costs since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have had a more significant impact on inflation than it previously thought. However, we have met the PM’s priority to halve inflation this year, with inflation falling to 3.9% in November. The OBR says that Autumn Statement policies do not ‘have a material impact on the path of inflation’, and they slightly reduce inflation in 2024-25.


Written Question
Schools: Air Conditioning
Wednesday 20th September 2023

Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of using air purifying equipment in schools on levels of covid-19 infections in schools.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Good ventilation can reduce the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19.

Evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies demonstrates that CO2 monitoring is an effective method of identifying poor ventilation in spaces with multiple occupants. The Department knows that sufficient ventilation can be challenging, particularly in the winter months when staff sometimes feel they need to choose between fresh air to reduce the risk of airborne illnesses, keeping classrooms warm and the impact of increased heating costs. As such, the Department has provided CO2 monitors for approximately 100% of eligible teaching spaces in England. This will help staff balance good ventilation with energy usage whilst maintaining a comfortable temperature in rooms.

These CO2 monitors enable the ventilation in teaching spaces to be monitored. Where these monitors consistently identified poor ventilation that could not be easily remedied, schools were able to apply for Department funded air cleaning units (ACU). The Department has now provided over 9,000 ACUs to eligible settings.

In general, ACUs can help reduce airborne contaminants in poorly ventilated spaces. ACUs remove particulate matter, including virus particles, from the air to improve indoor air quality. The air purifiers provided by the Department work using high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter technology. There is strong evidence from laboratory studies of the efficacy of HEPA filtration technology at removing airborne viruses from the air. However, although they help improve air quality, ACUs do not reduce CO2 levels or improve ventilation, so it is important that they are not used as a substitute for ventilation or a reason to reduce it.

Department officials sit on the working group for a project looking at the implications and potential benefits of fitting schools with air cleaning technology, which is the Bradford classroom air cleaning technology trial. This was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and managed through the UK Health Security Agency. The study is run from the Centre for Applied Education Research which is based at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. The trial has concluded and the academic leads intend to publish the results in a peer reviewed journal in due course.


Written Question
Geothermal Power: Southampton
Monday 18th September 2023

Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the suitability of Southampton as a location for geothermal energy production.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department has funded feasibility studies to examine potential for heat network development in Southampton. Deep Geothermal has been identified as a potential heat source for heat networks which would supply consumers within the city. A more detailed study is required to understand the full potential of heating available from the Wessex Basin Aquifer, building on lessons learnt from the UK's first geothermal power scheme which supplied the Southampton District Energy Scheme. Funding is available to the public sector to explore this opportunity further.


Written Question
Maintained Schools: Energy
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the average spend on energy per year by schools in the maintained sector in England.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Information on Local Authority maintained school expenditure is collected in Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns and relates to expenditure in the financial year. This information is subsequently published on the schools financial benchmarking website, which can be accessed here: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/. This information is also published in the annual Local Authority and school expenditure official statistic, which is accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure. Spending on energy is identified in the line ‘E16: energy’ in the CFR return. National figures for school expenditure on energy for recent years can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a8a474ba-c470-45a3-bb48-08db839e0283.

In considering the affordability of the recent teachers’ pay award, the Department has assumed schools’ energy costs for the 2023/24 financial year to be approximately £750 million higher than in the 2021/22 financial year, which represents a 125% increase.

In July this year, the Department announced an additional £525 million of funding to support schools with the teachers’ pay award in 2023/24, and £900 million in 2024/25. This is on top of the additional £2 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 already announced at the Autumn Statement last year. This additional funding means that school funding will be over £59.6 billion next year, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. This additional funding will enable head teachers to continue to invest in the areas that the Department knows positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most. It will also help schools to manage higher costs, including higher energy bills.


Written Question
Iron and Steel: Environment Protection
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)

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 support the commercialisation of science and technology research in green steel.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Science and technology research in green steel is still at an early stage of development and hence has not reached the point of commercialisation. But development of science and technology in green steel is being supported by a number of programmes including SUSTAIN (Future steel manufacturing research Hub) funded by £10m EPSRC funding and studies undertaken as part of the £55m NZIP Industrial Fuel Switching programme.


Written Question
Ceramics: Carbon Emissions
Tuesday 11th July 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the ceramics industry to achieve net zero emissions.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to working with the ceramics industry to support decarbonisation. Innovative ceramics fuel mixes were supported through the Industrial Fuel Switching competition, with £300,000 for hydrogen trials in Stoke. On 5 June the Government launched the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition, which will provide support to local areas and could further support initiatives for ceramic decarbonisation. Funding for deployment of low carbon technologies, and for feasibility /engineering studies, is also available through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.


Written Question
Teachers: Pay
Friday 7th July 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of energy costs on the ability of schools to fund teacher pay rises.

Answered by Nick Gibb

This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children. The Autumn Statement announced an additional investment of £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, above the totals announced at the Spending Review 2021. Total funding for both mainstream schools and high needs schools will total £58.8 billion in 2024/25. This is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Of the £2 billion of additional funding announced in the Autumn Statement, £400 million will be allocated to local authorities’ high needs budgets, with a new condition placed on local authorities to ensure that a fair share of that will be passed directly to special schools and alternative provision. The remaining funding will be allocated to schools through the new Mainstream Schools Additional Grant (MSAG) and through boosting the pupil premium funding rates, which are increasing by 5% in 2023/24 compared to last year.

For mainstream schools, additional funding through the MSAG is worth an average 3.4%, or £192, per pupil in 2023/24. This is being provided on top of the allocations based on the national funding formula (NFF) announced in July 2022. An average primary school with 200 pupils will receive approximately £35,000 in additional funding through the new MSAG, and an average secondary school with 900 pupils will receive approximately £200,000. This will support schools to manage costs.

In March 2023, the Department made an offer on pay, conditions and workload to the education unions, as set out here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/28/teacher-strikes-latest-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-teacher-pay-offer/.

This offer set out that, taking account of the most up to date assumptions for both energy prices and support staff pay for 2023/24, the Department has calculated that a 4% teacher pay award should be affordable within existing funding. The Government’s judgement of the affordability of teacher pay increases is, as usual, based on national figures which equate to the position for an average school. This assessment considers the impact of national level changes in energy prices, inflation and support staff pay for an average school to assess the affordability of teachers pay increases for schools. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assessed that the most recent teachers’ pay offer, if it had been accepted, would have meant school funding was still growing faster than costs.

Following unions’ rejection of the Government’s offer in March 2023, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations to the Government on teacher pay for 2023/24, as part of the normal process. The Department will be considering the recommendations and will publish its response in the usual way.

The Government has announced that from April 2023, the Energy Bill Discount Scheme will mean eligible schools will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024. This replaces the previous Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ran from October 2022 to 31 March 2023 and provided a price reduction, protecting schools from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.

In addition to the support for schools’ day to day running costs, as set out above, the Department allocated £500 million of additional capital funding in 2022/23 for schools, sixth form colleges, and Further Education (FE) colleges to help improve energy efficiency. This comprised £447 million for schools and sixth form colleges and £53 million for FE colleges to spend on capital improvements to buildings and facilities, prioritising works to improve energy efficiency. The Department has also published guidance for schools and colleges on steps for reducing energy use and small scale works to improve energy efficiency which can be implemented relatively quickly.

The Department recognises that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.