Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to support the use of renewable liquid fuels following the removal of renewable liquid fuel import tariffs from the US in February 2023.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government supports the use of renewable fuels in several ways. Regulations generate demand for them in the UK and provide a signal for future investments. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme continues to support renewable fuels, which are primarily deployed in road transport, and delivers a third of transport’s carbon savings under carbon budget 4. The Government will introduce a similar mandate scheme to drive the deployment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in 2025. We also have a track record of supporting UK production of advanced renewable fuels through grant funding programmes. Most recently the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) has allocated over £135 million of capital funding to 13 projects to support the development of a UK SAF industry.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many grants her Department has made to (a) leisure centres and (b) swimming pools in (i) Lincolnshire and (ii) the East Midlands since 2010; and what the total value was of those grants.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a core life skill and a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million to Local Authorities in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund (£60 million Exchequer, £20 million of Sport England National Lottery funding) will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025.
As part of the Swimming Pool Support Fund:
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Between 2009 - 2023, in addition to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, Sport England provided over £2.1 million of funding to Lincolnshire and over £15 million to the East Midlands to support leisure centres and swimming pools. Across the East Midlands, just over £7 million of this is related to the Sport England Covid-19 Leisure Recovery Fund. There is more detail on Sport England’s website at: https://www.sportengland.org/about-us.
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many direct grants her Department has made to support (a) swimming pools and (b) leisure centres since 2010; and what the total value was of those grants.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a core life skill and a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025. Further details can be found on Sport England’s website at:
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Between 2010 - 2023, before the SPSF, Sport England provided over £98 million of support to more than 500 programmes to facilitate participation in grassroots swimming up and down the country. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Please find the information on Sport England’s website at:
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which leisure centres have been recipients of the funding under the Swimming Pool Support Fund.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund (£60 million exchequer, £20 million of Sport England National Lottery funding) will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025.
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloat
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funds his Department has allocated to help improve local traffic movements in the last five years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has a number of funding streams which can help improve local traffic movements. These include the Integrated Transport Block, which can support small-scale local improvements, and the Highway Maintenance Block which helps deliver smoother roads. Details of the funding provided under each are available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/roads-funding-information-pack/roads-funding-information-pack.
In addition, there are a number of wider Government funds such as the Levelling Up Fund, Active Travel Fund and Future High Streets all of which have supported improvements to local roads.
As announced in the Plan for Drivers, the Department has provided £50 million to local authorities to upgrade traffic signals to help improve traffic flow. This includes £30 million to replace outdated equipment, and £20 million to reduce poor traffic light sequencing through innovative technology that responds to live traffic conditions. Details of the funding allocations are available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signal-obsolescence-grant-and-green-light-fund-allocations”
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many grants were made to local newspapers under the Future News Fund pilot; and what the value was of each grant.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Future News Fund sought to invest in new technological prototypes, start-ups and innovative business models to explore new ways of sustaining the industry in this changing landscape. In 2019, Government invested £2 million in the Future News Fund, which received 178 applications. Grants were awarded to 19 projects, ranging from funding to support the trial of a digital wallet model where publishers were able to offer the option to readers to pay for news on a casual basis, to funding to a local news publisher to build a new system to involve members and the local community in the reporting of local news.
It was designed to be open to as wide a range of innovations as possible, including those from existing news publishers. The government was not involved in deciding which organisations should receive funding. Nesta made these decisions independently with advice from industry experts. Nesta’s evaluation of the Fund was completed in 2020, and can be found alongside further information on the grantees here: https://www.nesta.org.uk/project/future-news-fund/
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2023-24 on Resilience to flooding, HC 71, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase in construction costs on investment in flood defence maintenance; and what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on any impact on its target of maintaining 98% of its high consequence flood defence assets at required condition.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the last Spending Review the Government increased funding for maintenance of flood defences by £22 million per year. This funding ensures flood defences are kept in good working order. In 2023/24, the Government has gone even further, including switching £25 million from the capital programme to fund maintenance, so that the total allocation for this year is over £220 million.
Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are assessing the effects of inflation on the EA’s ability to maintain its flood and coastal risk management assets at the required condition. The effects of inflation and the recent winter storms have had an impact on flood defence condition.
As of Q3, 97.2% of EA maintained assets in high consequence systems were at or above the required condition. Where assets are not in required condition, this identifies that work is required. It does not mean that there is a risk of asset failure or that performance in a flood is compromised.
The EA are currently funded to maintain between 94-95% of high consequence EA assets at their target condition. The long-term target is to ensure 98% of all such assets are at required condition. Future flood defence maintenance budgets will be determined as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of programmes funded under (1) the Levelling Up Fund, (2) the Towns Fund, and (3) the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, in addressing regional socio-economic divides across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The UK Government is committed to levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom. As part of a wide range of policies and interventions, we are investing over £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, redevelop local amenities, improve transport, provide skills training, and support local businesses.
The department plans to complete process, impact, and value for money evaluations on these funds. These evaluations will help improve effectiveness and efficiency of local growth funding.
271 bids have been awarded funding from our multi-billion-pound Levelling Up Fund, investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK. The published (attached) Levelling Up Fund Impact Evaluation Scoping Report sets out how the impact of the Fund will be estimated at the programme and project levels and at different geographies.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, worth £2.5 billion, is focused on overcoming deep-seated geographical inequalities, with investment in communities building pride in place, supporting high quality skills training, employment and productivity growth, and increasing life chances. Details of the UKSPF Evaluation Strategy (attached) are set out here: UK Shared Prosperity Fund: evaluation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The department has also committed £2.35 billion worth of Town Deals and £830 million of Future High Streets Funding across 170 high streets, town centres and local communities in England via the Towns Fund. Projects are now in delivery, and the funding has already provided a much-needed boost for town centres and local high streets. Details of the Towns Fund Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy (attached) are set out here: Towns Fund monitoring and evaluation strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to work with (1) Barnado’s, and (2) other charities who have developed recommendations for the future of local crisis support, prior to the ending of the Household Support Fund in September.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget on 6 March, the government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.
The funding will be available to Local Authorities in England from 1 April 2024 and will run until 30 September 2024.
The Household Support Fund is not the only way we are supporting people on lower incomes. April’s benefit uprating of 6.7% will see an average increase in Universal Credit of £470, raising the National Living Wage will deliver an increase of over £1800 to the gross annual earnings of someone working full-time on that wage, and uplifting Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents will benefit 1.6 million private renters by, on average, £800 a year.
The Government has also delivered a balanced package of funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 which makes available up to £64.7 billion. The most relatively deprived areas of England will receive 18% more per dwelling in available resource through the 2024-25 Settlement than the least deprived areas.
As announced by the Chancellor in this year’s Spring Budget, we are also doubling the repayment period for new Universal Credit Budgeting Advances.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to provide funding to Women's Aid in the next three financial years.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls is a government priority. Our strategies aim to transform the whole of society’s response to these crimes with actions to prevent abuse, support victims and ensure more perpetrators are bought to justice.
The Home Office has provided funding to Women’s Aid of up to £1.34m until March 2025 to deliver the Flexible Fund. This fund will help hundreds of domestic abuse victims next year who will receive lifeline payments to help escape tormenting and often life-threatening abuse, providing the chance to rebuild their lives. We are also investing £753k into Women’s Aid next year to improve the awareness of domestic abuse amongst young people.
Funding beyond March 2025 is subject to future budgets which will be set through the next Spending Review process.