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1519116

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the increased rate of inflation and rising food prices, (a) on what basis the rate paid to schools for providing free school meals is calculated, (b) when she next plans to review that rate, (c) what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the increased price of food on (i) the ability of schools to provide free school meals and (ii) overall school budgets, (d) if she will make it her policy to increase the rate in line with inflation and (d) if she will make it her policy to extend free school meal provision to all pupils in order to help prevent a rise in food poverty.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	59221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2022 answer text <p>Schools pay for the provision of free school meals (FSM) from their core funding allocations. Overall, core schools funding, including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, is increasing by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year, representing a 7% increase in cash terms per pupil.</p><p>The core allocations schools attract through the national funding formula (NFF) include funding in respect of the FSM factor. The FSM factor is intended to broadly reflect the costs schools face in providing school meals. Following extensive consultation when the NFF was first introduced, schools attracted £440 per pupil through the FSM factor in 2018/19 and 2019/20.</p><p>Each year, the department has set the NFF factor values to be used in the forthcoming funding year. Since the introduction of the NFF, the per pupil FSM rate has increased in line with forecast inflation in every year, as measured by the latest GDP deflator at the time.</p><p>The FSM factor is worth £470 per eligible pupil in 2022/23. This will increase to £480 in 2023/24. The factor values for each year are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs. In reviewing future FSM rates, many factors will be taken into consideration, including cost of living pressures and inflation.</p><p>The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.</p><p>The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. The department thinks it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review FSM eligibility to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/10/2022 11:44:01 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1243568

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Temporary Accommodation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of emergency accommodation for people with nowhere safe to stay in the next 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	103635
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>Government has taken significant steps, backed by substantial funding to bring forward support and accommodation for rough sleepers. During the pandemic, we have worked closely with local authorities and the sector to offer vulnerable people safe accommodation and support. That work is ongoing and in September we had successfully supported over 29,000 people, with over 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 provided with settled accommodation or move on support. This work was supported by the £4.8 billion that Government has given to local authorities to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, which includes their work on rough sleeping.</p><p>Additionally, we launched the £266 million Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP). This makes available the financial resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to prevent these people from returning to the streets. The NSAP is made up of two parts, the first part which funds immediate support to ensure people and the rest to bring forward long-term accommodation and move-on support.</p><p>On 17 September we announced local authority allocations for the short-term funding aspect of the Next Steps Accommodation Programme. £91.5 million was allocated to 274 councils in England to help vulnerable people housed during the pandemic.</p><p>Applications are now being considered for the rest of the fund which is intended to provide over 3,300 additional supported homes this year for those sleeping rough or currently housed in emergency accommodation. The bidding has now closed and details on successful bids will be announced in due course. This is part of broader support to provide 6,000 such homes over four years.</p><p>Finally, on 13 October, the Government announced additional support for rough sleepers this winter, giving local areas the tools they need to protect people from life-threatening cold weather and the risks posed by COVID-19.</p><p>This additional support builds on the existing package of support and funding, and includes: a new £10 million Cold Weather Fund for local areas to bring forward self-contained and COVID-secure accommodation; a new £2 million Transformation Fund for the faith, communities and voluntary sector to move away from their traditional communal models; and comprehensive guidance to the sector, produced with Public Health England and Homeless Link, to help them open shelters more safely, as a last resort and where not doing so would endanger lives.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/10/2020 13:19:56 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1156127

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Retail Trade: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent job losses in the retail industry.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	4919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>Retail remains a high employment sector – approximately 3 million jobs in the UK. More people are involved in retailing than in any other single industry in the country.</p><p> </p><p>There were 84,000 vacancies in the retail sector as of August 2019.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018, Government established the industry led Retail Sector Council to bring Government and industry together to boost the sector’s productivity and economic health. The Council has agreed its six priority work areas with four already underway. These are: Costs to Business, Skills and Lifelong Learning, Industrial Strategy and Employment workstreams.</p><p> </p><p>As part of wider Government efforts to support adult training, we are also investing £100m to develop The National Retraining Scheme, which will help prepare adults for future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs. This funding has allowed us to start delivering the first part of the service, Get Help to Retrain, whilst developing and evaluating as we build-up the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>We have introduced Get Help to Retrain to 6 areas of England and we will be rolling it out across England in 2020. The digital service helps adults understand their existing skills and explore alternative occupations, and training opportunities to develop new skills.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 30/10/2019 16:34:08 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 2597 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1156135

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Retail Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to support discussions between local governments and the retail industry to help ensure a joint approach to draw consumers to the high street.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	4920
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to helping communities adapt to market processes and we are taking action to help the high street evolve. In July 2019, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a £3.6 billion Towns Fund to re-energise local economies so that everyone can share in a new era of prosperity. This included £1 billion for the Future High Streets Fund, which will support local areas in England to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability.</p><p>We are also supporting local leadership with a High Streets Task Force, giving high streets and town centres expert advice to adapt and thrive. This will provide hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and connect local areas to relevant experts. The Task Force will also provide training and help to improve coordination between different groups working to improve their high streets which includes retailers.</p><p>The Government has also established the industry led Retail Sector Council​ to bring Government and industry together to boost the sector's productivity and economic health. The Council has established its six priority workstreams which includes the Industrial Strategy with a focus on place. The Council has identified high streets as an important area to be considered on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 30/10/2019 16:33:04 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 2598 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1147013

registered interest
date	30/09/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Retail Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she is taking to increase consumer confidence in high street retail.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	292087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Government wants high street retail to thrive. We are committed to supporting the sector whilst it responds to changing consumer expectations and recognise that 82% of sales by value are still in physical stores.</p><p> </p><p>The industry led Retail Sector Council has brought Government and industry together. Its aim is to accelerate positive change, increase the productivity of the sector, and ensure the sector remains robust and sustainable to continue providing a valuable service to consumers and the community.</p><p> </p><p>Government is also taking steps to help high streets and communities adapt. On 26th August, my rt. hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced the expansion of the Future High Streets Fund from £675m to £1bn which will enable more local areas in England to invest in town centre infrastructure, increase access to high streets and support redevelopment and densification around high streets.</p><p> </p><p>We have also launched ​a new forward-thinking High Streets Task Force supporting local leaders to revitalise high streets and town centres. ​The High Streets Task Force will be comprised of experts who will provide tailored guidance and advice to local authorities and other local partners seeking to breathe new life into their local high streets and town centres.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, Government has helped create over 360 town teams, and given over £18million to towns - funding successful initiatives such as &quot;Love Your Local Market&quot;, the &quot;Great British High Street&quot; and also supporting Small Business Saturday UK, where an estimated £812 million was spent with small businesses across the UK for Small Business Saturday in 2018, up from £748 million in 2017.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/10/2019 15:08:56 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 137143 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham