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1719035

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Childcare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the take up of the newly introduced funded childcare.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26899
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.</p><p> </p><p>The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.</p><p> </p><p>This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.</p><p> </p><p>The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26900 question first answered 24/05/2024 12:56:16 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1719036

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Childcare
	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 reviewing the code-based system for accessing government-funded childcare to reduce the administrative burden on early years providers.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26900
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.</p><p> </p><p>The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.</p><p> </p><p>This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.</p><p> </p><p>The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26899 question first answered 24/05/2024 12:56:16 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718468

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children in Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help increase the rate of reunification of children in kinship care with their birth families.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26536
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26537 26538 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718469

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children in Care
	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 impact of local authority specialist family reunification teams on trends in the number of children who have been reunited with their birth parents in the last 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26537
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26536 26538 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718470

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children in Care
	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 requiring local authorities to (a) measure and (b) publish their performance on reuniting children in kinship care with their birth parents.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26538
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26536 26537 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718516

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Electronic Cigarettes: Sales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that local authority trading standards bodies have sufficient (a) funding and (b) other resources to tackle (i) illicit vapes and (ii) underage sales.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26539
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is concerned about the increase in the number of illicit vapes in the United Kingdom’s market, and the easy access and availability of these vapes to children. To strengthen our enforcement activity, we are providing an additional £30 million per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards, to support work in tackling illicit and underage sales. We are working closely with Trading Standards to consider how the new funding can best support their programmes of local-level enforcement.</p><p> </p><p>In April last year, we also provided £3 million of new funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in retail outlets and ports, upskilled Trading Standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will also introduce fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for the underage sale of tobacco and vaping products. This will support Trading Standards in taking quicker and more proportionate enforcement action against the irresponsible retailers who allow underage sales. Enforcement authorities will retain all the proceeds from FPNs, to reinvest in the enforcement of tobacco and vaping product legislation.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 26540 question first answered 21/05/2024 08:31:22 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718517

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Electronic Cigarettes: Sales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the sale of illegal vapes to people under the age of 18.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26540
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is concerned about the increase in the number of illicit vapes in the United Kingdom’s market, and the easy access and availability of these vapes to children. To strengthen our enforcement activity, we are providing an additional £30 million per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards, to support work in tackling illicit and underage sales. We are working closely with Trading Standards to consider how the new funding can best support their programmes of local-level enforcement.</p><p> </p><p>In April last year, we also provided £3 million of new funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in retail outlets and ports, upskilled Trading Standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will also introduce fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for the underage sale of tobacco and vaping products. This will support Trading Standards in taking quicker and more proportionate enforcement action against the irresponsible retailers who allow underage sales. Enforcement authorities will retain all the proceeds from FPNs, to reinvest in the enforcement of tobacco and vaping product legislation.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 26539 question first answered 21/05/2024 08:31:22 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718518

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Biofuels
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential barriers to wider deployment of biomass fuels.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	26541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The government’s Biomass Strategy, published in 2023, analysed biomass availability and recognised that sustainable biomass is a limited resource and there is uncertainty around future availability for use in the UK. It concluded its use should be prioritised where it offers the greatest environmental, economic, and social benefits.</p><p> </p><p>This analysis has been built on in the government’s response to the second Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate consultation, published in April 2024. This set out that while biofuels have a significant role to play, international availability of different types of sustainable biomass may limit their total application for the decarbonisation of aviation.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is preparing a Low Carbon Fuel Strategy for future publication.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Cambridgeshire answering member printed Anthony Browne question first answered 23/05/2024 10:37:19 answering member 4801 label Biography information for Anthony Browne
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718175

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Women: Business
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the number of female-led businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	902874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>In March 2024, the government announced the launch of the Invest in Women Taskforce. Its mission is to make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder. <br> <br>Since its launch, the Taskforce members have been working with the private sector to begin raising its fund for female founders. This seeks to increase the proportion of investment<br>going to all-female founder teams – which has been stuck at 2% for the past decade.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 15/05/2024 16:46:55 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1716452

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	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: Testing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce year-round water quality testing.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	25292
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Bathing Water Regulations require the Environment Agency to sample bathing waters at a fixed location using a pre-determined sampling schedule during the bathing season, which runs from 15 May to 30 September. The Government is committed to reviewing the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 to ensure they reflect changes in how and where people use bathing waters. That is why Defra has recently announced plans to consult on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations for England. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season.</p><p /><p>The EA also conducts wider water quality monitoring for a range of purposes including understanding the state of the environment year-round.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:53:32 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell