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1713875

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	British Nationality: Equality
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2024 to Question 16407 on British Nationality, whether his Department has made an assessment of the compatibility of the policy on British citizenship from birth for a person born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 with obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	23781
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>The British Nationality Act 1981 sets out how a person, born in the UK, may be a British citizen at birth, requiring that at least one parent is either settled here or British themselves. We are content that the determination of citizenship for children born to EEA nationals during the period cited is in keeping with that statute and does not breach any equalities obligations.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 30/04/2024 13:28:49 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1713472

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Telephone Services: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to support (a) businesses and (b) other organisations whose numbers are used by (i) nuisance callers and (ii) criminals in number spoofing scams.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	23543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>A central pillar of the Government’s Fraud Strategy is blocking individuals and groups from attempting to impersonate other organisations and institutional bodies. As part of this work, the Government has introduced a new measure to the Criminal Justice Bill to strengthen law enforcement capabilities to tackle scam text messages. The Bill will create a new offence for supplying or possessing “SIM farm” devices (which allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of individuals and businesses at the same time), without good reason or undertaking adequate due diligence.</p><p>In addition, the Government and Industry have signed the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, a voluntary agreement to improve counter-fraud efforts. As a result of the Charter, the sector has introduced firewalls that detect and stop scam texts from reaching customers. Since January 2022, the firewalls have stopped 960 million scam text messages.</p><p>Law enforcement are also working tirelessly to tackle criminal number spoofing operations at source. Last year, Operation Elaborate led by the Metropolitan police took down iSpoof, a website that was used to make 10 million spoof calls impersonating individuals and businesses. The international joint action led to 142 arrests and the main administrator of the website was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months of imprisonment.</p><p>In April this year, in another successful joint operation codenamed Stargrew, the Met took down LabHost; a major criminal website, which fraudsters used to create over 40,000 fake phishing websites impersonating businesses. So far the operation has led to 37 arrests, and over 25,000 victims in the UK have been contacted.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 30/04/2024 13:59:44 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1702544

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Public Expenditure: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional funding the Welsh Government received based on updated calculations to the Barnett Formula at the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	22782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The 2021 Spending Review set the largest annual block grant for the Welsh Government, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. On top of this the Welsh Government received over £1 billion through the Barnett formula in 2023-24, including £200 million at Supplementary Estimates 2023-24.</p><p> </p><p>The Welsh Government is well-funded to deliver all its devolved responsibilities, receiving around 20% more per person compared to equivalent funding in England. This is around £1 billion more each year than the Holtham Commission indicated – and the Welsh Government agreed - was fair for Wales relative to England.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 24/04/2024 15:18:04 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1700475

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to have discussions with the Welsh Government on the BBC Funding Model Review.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	21362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The Terms of Reference for the BBC Funding Model Review set out that the review would undertake close engagement with the devolved administrations, including the Welsh Government, as appropriate. As part of the review’s evidence gathering exercise, evidence requests have already been sent to the Welsh Government, alongside the other Devolved Administrations. The Government intends to continue engaging the Welsh Government, and relevant broadcasting stakeholders in Wales, as the review progresses.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 19/04/2024 11:54:07 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1698543

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Abstraction: Licensing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to reform the abstraction licensing regime in England.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	20368
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>As set out in the Plan for Water, Defra and the Environment Agency are undertaking a programme of changes to modernise abstraction licensing in England. We are working to move the water abstraction licensing system into the Environmental Permitting Regime. This will provide a modern, consistent and flexible legal framework upon which the management of abstraction can be developed to meet the needs of today and the future.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside the legislative changes, the Environment Agency is modernising its digital systems to maximise the opportunities the new legislation provides. This will bring new functionality to improve the way abstraction is managed, including a water abstraction eAlerts system which provides notifications directly to farmers. As the environment and our climate changes, the Environment Agency is adapting its policies in response. The Environment Agency has recently produced a regulatory position statement setting out how flood water can be abstracted for the benefit of abstractors but ensuring that the environment is protected.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency is also undertaking a refresh of the National Framework for water resources, which looks at how best to manage water resources across England. Through this, abstractors from all sectors will come together to identify water needs and the best way of meeting them.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 15/04/2024 13:46:37 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1698544

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Water Abstraction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to improve the collection of data in agricultural water use.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	20369
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>The Environment Agency regulates water abstraction in England. The information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency’s ‘Managing Water Abstraction Service’ enables abstraction licence holders to submit records of how much water they had taken electronically rather than on paper. The Environment Agency estimates quicker, and easier submission of returns data digitally saves abstractors £247k each year. Some 95% of returns now come into the Environment Agency digitally.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is working on rolling out a Water Farm Practices Water Survey involving crop types and volumes of water used. This will be an extension of the annual farming practices survey, which provides a snapshot of the farming landscape across England. It will give an opportunity to update data last collected in 2010 on agricultural water management.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is this week due to report on its latest phase of Catchment Sensitive Farming water advisory visits in the Southwest of England.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the Prime Minister’s commitment at last year’s Farm to Fork Summit Defra has funded an agriculture project on supply demand balances which have been piloted in Cambridgeshire and will be rolled out to wider parts of England. The water data from this work will be used to update the next round of Regional Water Resource Plans on agriculture water requirements (together with the Environment Agency’s Water Resources National Framework which will be published next spring). A sister project funded by Defra will also include agriculture water use data to assess and screen local resource options (such as reservoirs and rainwater harvesting) to help groups of farmers improve their water resilience.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 15/04/2024 12:02:38 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1698545

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Water Abstraction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making provision of data on water use rates a requirement for agricultural water licences.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	20370
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>The Environment Agency regulates water abstraction in England. The information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency assesses water use for agriculture as part of the abstraction licence application process both when it first grants an abstraction licence and at renewal. The Environment Agency uses the following guidance to assess water need and use rates: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Foptimum-use-of-water-for-industry-and-agricultural-dependent-on-direct-abstraction&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Ca30c8fab4829427b970308dc4e4ebfd3%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638471347325942629%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=r%2Bnp3JhkjH2OOlmpk6JLxmlAO%2BZAbBV3lIkuhDvxTTM%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Optimum use of water for industry and agricultural dependent on direct abstraction - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency already receives information about how much water is used under abstraction licences in England. All ‘full’ abstraction licences must include requirements to measure or assess the amount of water abstracted. Licence holders must keep a record of how much water they abstract available for inspection. Licences that authorise the abstraction of 100 cubic metres per day or more must also send a return to the Environment Agency of how much water they have abstracted. The Environment Agency uses this information to assess compliance with licences and the environmental effects of abstraction. It also uses information about past usage to determine whether a time limited abstraction licence should be renewed on the same terms or for example have its quantities reduced.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency collates information about abstraction from all sectors and makes it available to Defra in a report called ‘ABSTAT’. The Environment Agency is currently producing an update to the ABSTAT report and will provide it to Defra in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Defra and the Environment Agency are working to move the water resources licensing regime into the Environmental Permitting Regime (EPR). Under EPR, abstraction data will become public register information.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 15/04/2024 09:53:05 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1697883

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the use of AI in benefit fraud investigations does not discriminate against vulnerable people.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	19927
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department does not use AI in its benefit fraud investigations.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 11:55:00 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1695150

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals: Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for means-tested free school meals for Universal Credit recipients in line with (a) inflation and (b) national living wage increases.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	18017
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>Over 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits based free school meals (FSM). Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy.</p><p>A threshold must be set somewhere, and the department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables pupils in low-income households to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>The department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM. However, the department continues to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 19/03/2024 12:24:45 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1692702

	registered interest
	date	29/02/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	British Nationality
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason it is his policy that a person born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 is only considered to have British citizenship at birth if their British citizen father was married at the time of their birth to their EU citizen mother.
	tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
	tabling member printed	Ben Lake
	uin	16407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2024 answer text <p>Between 1 January 1983 and 30 June 2006, a child could only obtain British citizenship through their father if the parents were married. The law changed on 1 July 2006 to allow a person to acquire citizenship through their father, irrespective of whether the parents were married, subject to proof of paternity.</p><p>The 2006 change only affects children born after 1 July 2006: the earlier law continues to apply in relation to people born before that date. The change was not made retrospective, to avoid altering a person’s status after their birth without allowing them to make an informed choice about acquiring British citizenship.</p><p>A person born before 1 July 2006 can register as a British citizen if they would have become a British citizen automatically had their parents been married. Those applying under this route do not have to pay a registration fee.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 08/03/2024 10:25:50 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake