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1138098

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Aviation: Taxation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a green tax on air travel which would be invested in environmentally-friendly transport infrastructure.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK plays key role in multilateral action on aviation emissions, such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and levies a tax on aviation, Air Passenger Duty (APD), one of very few countries to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst APD is not primarily an environmental tax, it ensures that a sector responsible for approximately 7% of UK greenhouse gas emissions paid tax of £3.6 billion in 2018-19 on its activities. This is particularly important in the absence of any duty on commercial aviation fuel or VAT on airline tickets, in line with international convention.</p><p> </p><p>APD receipts fund our vital public services and other Government priorities, including tackling climate change.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 15/07/2019 16:41:53 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1138174

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	British Nationality: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing child citizenship fees for children born or raised in the UK to avoid any future immigration complications.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275702
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office keeps its fees for immigration and nationality under regular review and changes to individual charges need to be made with a view to maintaining the overall purpose of the fees and charging legislation.</p><p>An assessment of the impact of all border, immigration and citizenship (BIC) fees was published as an associated document to the Immigration and</p><p>Nationality Fees (Regulations) 2018.</p><p>The Home Office constantly strives to achieve the right balance between ensuring that individuals are able to obtain status in the UK and access appropriate services, without adding burden to the taxpayer.</p><p>Applying for British nationality is not mandatory and many individuals who have settlement/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status choose not to apply. This is because, in addition to lawful permanent residence in the UK, a person with indefinite leave to remain has full access to the UK labour market, education and healthcare.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 15/07/2019 14:39:09 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1138197

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Design and Technology: English Baccalaureate
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the correlation between the number of students studying (a) design and technology and (b) the English Baccalaureate.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Following an assessment, the Department has found no evidence to demonstrate that entries to the design and technology (D&amp;T) GCSE have fallen as a direct consequence of an increase in students taking the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The gradual decline in the proportion of pupils entered for D&amp;T GCSE started in 2001, when the subject became non-compulsory at Key Stage 4. The EBacc was first introduced in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>The EBacc encourages young people to take core academic subjects, keeping their options open for further study and future careers. The Department is clear that it should be studied alongside other subjects, such as D&amp;T, and it has been designed to allow pupils to do this.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has reformed D&amp;T GCSE so that it has a greater emphasis on the iterative design process, something that subject experts advise is at the core of contemporary industry practice. It also includes more on the technical knowledge required, including cutting edge technology and processes. These structural changes make it more accessible to pupils and easier for teachers to deliver whilst maintaining the rigour and challenge the Department expects of a GCSE subject. It will take time for the new GCSE to embed given the significant changes. The Department continues to attract more graduates into teaching and have increased the bursary offered for most D&amp;T teacher trainees through the introduction of a £12,000 bursary for trainees with a 2:2 or higher. Previously those with a 2:1 received £9,000 and those with a 2:2 received no bursary.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/07/2019 15:13:05 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137781

registered interest
date	09/07/2019
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	Heart Diseases: Health Services
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 he is taking to ensure that the National Implementation Framework of the NHS Long Term Plan facilitates delivery of (a) improved equity in access to treatment for heart valve disease, (b) additional funding for treatment of heart valve disease to enable healthy ageing and (c) increased NHS capacity for multidisciplinary teams providing care to all heart valve disease patients.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275132
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The NHS Long Term Plan outlines NHS England and NHS Improvement’s commitment to improve the prevention, early detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease. As part of this, local systems will work to better support people with heart failure and heart valve disease through multi-disciplinary teams as part of primary care networks.</p><p>To improve early detection of heart failure, pilot schemes will be established in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to increase access to echocardiography, ahead of a wider rollout. Greater access to echocardiography in primary care will improve the investigation of those with breathlessness, and the early detection of heart failure and valve disease.</p><p>There are published service specifications that promote network working to ensure cardiac pathways are well-defined.</p><p>The Specialised Commissioning Cardiac Improvement Programme is also focusing on improving multi-disciplinary team working, including the use of technology to optimise the available resource within clinical teams.</p> answering member constituency South Ribble answering member printed Seema Kennedy question first answered 15/07/2019 16:42:16 answering member 4455 label Biography information for Seema Kennedy
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137842

registered interest
date	09/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to (a) update curriculums and (b) develop new courses to take account the evolution of artificial intelligence.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275133
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Ensuring that our children have the digital and computing skills needed for the future is a key priority of this government. Demand for high-level skills in computing will continue to grow in the years ahead and will be crucial to supporting a successful economy.</p><p>To meet the demand for high-level skills in computing, the government has introduced computing as a statutory national curriculum subject at all four key stages and reformed the computer science GCSE and A Level. The reformed GCSE, introduced for first teaching from September 2016, aims to ensure that all pupils understand the fundamental principles of computer science, including knowledge on artificial intelligence, programming, coding and data representation. The reformed A level places emphasis on programming, algorithms and problem solving.</p><p>In March 2018, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, committed to making no further changes to the national curriculum beyond those that had already been announced in response to teacher feedback. Currently there are no plans to make further changes to the national curriculum during this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>In November 2018 DfE launched the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), backed by £84 million in new funding. The NCCE is run by a coalition of STEM Learning, the British Computing Society and Raspberry Pi and supported by industry.</p><p> </p><p>The department is introducing T Levels as a high quality, technical alternative to A levels. The first T levels will start in September 2020, with all routes available from September 2022. Digital is one of the first subjects that will be rolled out in 2020. The department is also designing new apprenticeship standards that are more responsive to the needs of business both now and in the future, ensuring that employers can secure the skills they need to succeed.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the government recently announced further investment to drive up skills in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science and support more adults to upskill and retrain to progress in their careers or find new employment.</p><p>Up to 2,500 people from underrepresented groups will have the opportunity to retrain and become experts in data science and AI, thanks to a £13.5 million investment to fund new degree and Masters conversion courses and scholarships at UK academic institutions over the next three years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 15/07/2019 15:02:01 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137844

registered interest
date	09/07/2019
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	Artificial Intelligence: Skilled Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to support industry-led initiatives to close the artificial intelligence skills gap.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275134
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for AI and data innovation, which includes developing the skills that will contribute to building the best environment for AI development and deployment. We have created the Office for AI (a joint unit between the departments: Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and Digital Culture Media and Sport) to oversee that vision.</p><p>The AI Sector Deal brings together commitments from Government, Industry and Academia in a near £0.95bn package of support to promote the adoption and use of AI.</p><p>To date, some of the key Government investment in AI skills and talent has included:</p><ul><li>£100m for 16 New Centres for Doctoral Training at universities across the country, delivering 1,000 new PhDs over the next 5 years;</li><li>£50m of funding agreed at Autumn Budget for new prestigious AI fellowships to attract and retain the top AI talent; and</li><li>£13.5m government funding to build new conversion courses to expand pathways into AI and Data specialisms as well as scholarships to improve diversity</li></ul><p>Further, through the Government’s Office for AI, we are working with Industry and Academia to develop a new industry-funded AI Masters programme, in collaboration with the British Computer Society and the Institute of Coding. Partnerships between industry stakeholders and universities are being established that will produce the postgraduates industry partners need.</p><p>The Office for AI is in regular discussion with industry and continues to welcome other initiatives aimed at increasing artificial intelligence skills in the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 15:43:28 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137847

registered interest
date	09/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the findings of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2018-19, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) increased violence, (b) mental health problems and (c) drugs problems in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	275135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We are taking urgent action to tackle violence in prisons, alongside reforms to overhaul the system to focus on the rehabilitation of offenders. Investment in additional prison officers and the introduction of Keyworkers enables prison officers to mentor, challenge and support a small caseload of prisoners away from violence and reoffending. The Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) has, since November 2018, been mandated for use in all establishments. CSIP provides a case management model to help staff to manage violent prisoners and those identified as posing a raised risk of being violent. Violence against our staff is unacceptable. The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act came into force on 13 November which has increased the penalty – from 6 to 12 months - for those who assault emergency workers including prison officers.</p><p> </p><p>In order to improve support for prisoners with mental health needs, we have rolled out improved suicide and self-harm prevention training and over 25,000 new and existing prison staff have completed some of this training. We have also awarded the Samaritans a grant of £500,000 each year for the next three years, to continue to support the Listeners’ scheme. For those prisoners requiring transfer to secure hospitals for mental health treatment, we are working collaboratively with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE) to improve the transfer process. On 20<sup>th</sup> June we also announced the development of a Health and Justice Plan which will bring together a coherent, holistic picture of the full offender health journey, from the point of arrest through to release.</p><p> </p><p>Our Drugs Taskforce is working with law enforcement and health partners across government to restrict the supply of drugs, reduce demand and build recovery from substance misuse through the national Prison Drugs Strategy. We have invested £70 million to improve safety, security and decency, allowing us to fund new security scanners, improve searching techniques, and introduce phone-blocking technology. We have made it a criminal offence to possess psychoactive substances in prison and trained more than 300 sniffer dogs to detect these drugs. Additionally, our £9 million joint-funded Ministry of Justice, HMPPS, DHSC and NHSE Drug Recovery Prison pilot at HMP Holme House is testing and evaluating innovative approaches to tackle drugs in prison and help prisoners improve their chances of recovery.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 15/07/2019 16:46:22 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137466

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
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	Biofuels
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 his Department is taking to support the UK biomass energy industry to be completely sustainable.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	274460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK Government has introduced mandatory sustainability criteria for biomass for heat and power generation. These are some of the most stringent criteria in Europe.</p><p>The sustainability criteria ensure biomass reduces carbon emissions and is sourced sustainably. The criteria include a minimum 60% lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions saving, compared to emissions from an EU fossil fuel comparator for electricity. The calculation requires transport, growing and processing emissions to be included. Generators only receive subsidies for the electricity output which complies with our sustainability criteria.</p><p>We keep the sustainability criteria under review.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 11/07/2019 13:18:33 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137530

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
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	Recycling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to advise local authorities against opting for commingled recycling to avoid the hgh risk of contamination.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	274461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>Regulation 13 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 states that every waste collection authority (local authority) must, when making arrangements for the collection of waste paper, metal, plastic or glass, ensure those arrangements are by way of separate collection.</p><p> </p><p>This duty applies unless separate collection is not technically, environmentally or economically practicable (TEEP) or where the separate collection is not necessary to ensure waste is recovered in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 of the Waste Framework Directive. In other words, separate collection is the default unless it is not TEEP.</p><p> </p><p>Our consultation ‘Consistency in household and business recycling collections in England’ sought views on separate collection of recycling materials. We intend to prepare statutory guidance which will set out advice and good practice and help local authorities to meet their duties in relation to the separate collection of recycling materials.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s response to the consultation will be published shortly.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 11/07/2019 10:28:09 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137531

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
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	Batteries: Factories
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 discussions he has had with car manufacturers in the UK on creating a battery gigafactory to make the UK less dependent on essential materials which are currently sourced abroad.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	274462
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is in regular dialogue with car manufacturers in the UK on a range of opportunities to support the transition to zero emission vehicles and to new supply chains, including batteries.</p><p>The UK is a highly attractive location for battery manufacturing. It is home to Europe’s first volume automotive battery production facility at Sunderland, owned by Envision AESC. In April 2019, the Advanced Propulsion Centre published a report showing the strength of the UK chemicals and materials supply chain for batteries, representing a £4.8bn a year supply chain opportunity by 2030.</p><p>Through our Industrial Strategy and landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we are placing the UK at the forefront of new automotive technology development. The Sector Deal which was developed in partnership with the industry, working through the Automotive Council, includes a joint ambition to establish battery manufacturing a scale, a “gigafactory”, in the UK. Central to this, government has committed £274m to the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) to help businesses in the UK lead the world in the design, development and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.</p><p>Under the FBC government has invested £108m in the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) which will open in 2020 and provide a state-of-the-art pilot facility to test new cell technology. UKBIC will play a key role in laying the groundwork to secure a battery gigafactory. It will do this by allowing collaborative R&amp;D by UK cell manufacturers, battery pack assemblers and car makers to take place, proving out cell chemistries, formats and manufacturing processes at industrial rates.</p><p>This is an essential step to allow UK companies to quickly develop their capabilities to manufacture batteries, scale up and get them to market.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 11/07/2019 16:50:00 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly