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1243637

registered interest
date	15/10/2020
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	Horses: Animal Welfare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to reduce the practice of horse tethering.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	907600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>People who tether their horses inappropriately risk causing their animals distress and suffering and could be liable to prosecution for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and their Hybrids provides keepers with information on how and when tethering may be used. We remain committed to tackling the issue of inappropriate horse tethering through effective partnership working, enforcement and dissemination of best practice.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 15/10/2020 17:04:34 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1242837

registered interest
date	13/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Young People
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 effect of incentive payments for hiring new apprentices on the employment rate among 16-24 year old's since 1 August 2020.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	102761
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>Apprenticeships will be more important than ever in helping businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need to recover and grow. To help employers offer new apprenticeships, they are now able to claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 before 31 January 2021, in recognition of the particular impacts of COVID-19 on the employment prospects of this group, and £1,500 for new apprentices aged 25 and over. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment we already provide for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan. The new payment means it is a great time for employers to offer new apprenticeship opportunities and take advantage of existing flexibilities to train their apprentices in a way that suits their needs.</p><p>Employers have been able to register to claim the incentive since 1 September. We are monitoring the take-up of the new payments and will assess their impact on apprenticeship starts to ensure it is helping employers to meet their skills needs and working for people of all ages.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 16/10/2020 13:15:51 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1242900

registered interest
date	13/10/2020
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	Coronavirus: Protective Clothing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the decision to require individuals to wear face coverings in places of worship during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	102763
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2020 answer text <p>Members of the public must wear a face covering in a range of indoor public settings in England, which includes places of worship.</p><p>The wearing of face covering does not replace or change existing advice on other measures – such as hand washing, social distancing and self-isolation – which remain more important (because of stronger evidence and larger effects).</p><p>The Government is committed to following the evidence and will keep reviewing evidence from around the world and update our position as and when needed.</p><p>Guidance around using places of worship safely during the pandemic can be found online at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july</a></p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 20/10/2020 11:45:55 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1242464

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the £1,500 incentive for employers hiring a new apprentice aged 25 and over on the number of apprentices hired since 1 August 2020.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	102037
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>Apprenticeships will be more important than ever in helping businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need to recover and grow. To help employers offer new apprenticeships, they are now able to claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 before 31 January 2021, and £1,500 for new apprentices aged 25 and over. The new payment means it is a great time for employers to offer new apprenticeship opportunities and take advantage of existing flexibilities to train their apprentices in a way that suits their needs.</p><p>Employers have been able to register to claim the incentive since 1 September. The first payment is made 90 days from the apprentice’s start date and as such no payments have yet been made. We are monitoring the take-up of the new payments and will assess their impact on apprenticeship starts to ensure it is helping employers to meet their skills needs.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 15/10/2020 16:59:07 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1241762

registered interest
date	08/10/2020
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, what steps he is taking to increase uptake of free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	100941
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>The provision of free school meals, to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to this government. There are currently 1.4 million pupils eligible for and claiming a free, nutritious school meal, saving families more than £400 per year.</p><p>We do not routinely collect information on the proportion of pupils that would be entitled to a free school meal but do not make a claim. Our last estimate is that take-up is around 89% of those who are entitled. Take-up may currently be higher as during the COVID-19 outbreak we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Guidance on the NRPF extension is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups</a>.</p><p>Whilst take-up of free school meals is strong, we want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.</p><p>We are grateful for the hard work that school staff undertake throughout the school year to deliver this provision locally for the families that are eligible for free meals. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are especially appreciative of the actions schools have taken to continue free school meal provision in challenging circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100942 100943 100944 question first answered 13/10/2020 15:21:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1241764

registered interest
date	08/10/2020
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, how many children eligible for free school meals are not registered for the scheme in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	100942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>The provision of free school meals, to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to this government. There are currently 1.4 million pupils eligible for and claiming a free, nutritious school meal, saving families more than £400 per year.</p><p>We do not routinely collect information on the proportion of pupils that would be entitled to a free school meal but do not make a claim. Our last estimate is that take-up is around 89% of those who are entitled. Take-up may currently be higher as during the COVID-19 outbreak we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Guidance on the NRPF extension is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups</a>.</p><p>Whilst take-up of free school meals is strong, we want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.</p><p>We are grateful for the hard work that school staff undertake throughout the school year to deliver this provision locally for the families that are eligible for free meals. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are especially appreciative of the actions schools have taken to continue free school meal provision in challenging circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100941 100943 100944 question first answered 13/10/2020 15:21:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1241765

registered interest
date	08/10/2020
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, how many children registered for free school meals did not take up their entitlement in 2019-20.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	100943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>The provision of free school meals, to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to this government. There are currently 1.4 million pupils eligible for and claiming a free, nutritious school meal, saving families more than £400 per year.</p><p>We do not routinely collect information on the proportion of pupils that would be entitled to a free school meal but do not make a claim. Our last estimate is that take-up is around 89% of those who are entitled. Take-up may currently be higher as during the COVID-19 outbreak we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Guidance on the NRPF extension is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups</a>.</p><p>Whilst take-up of free school meals is strong, we want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.</p><p>We are grateful for the hard work that school staff undertake throughout the school year to deliver this provision locally for the families that are eligible for free meals. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are especially appreciative of the actions schools have taken to continue free school meal provision in challenging circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100941 100942 100944 question first answered 13/10/2020 15:21:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1241766

registered interest
date	08/10/2020
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, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on introducing automatic enrolment with an opt-out for pupils eligible for free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	100944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>The provision of free school meals, to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to this government. There are currently 1.4 million pupils eligible for and claiming a free, nutritious school meal, saving families more than £400 per year.</p><p>We do not routinely collect information on the proportion of pupils that would be entitled to a free school meal but do not make a claim. Our last estimate is that take-up is around 89% of those who are entitled. Take-up may currently be higher as during the COVID-19 outbreak we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Guidance on the NRPF extension is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups</a>.</p><p>Whilst take-up of free school meals is strong, we want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.</p><p>We are grateful for the hard work that school staff undertake throughout the school year to deliver this provision locally for the families that are eligible for free meals. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are especially appreciative of the actions schools have taken to continue free school meal provision in challenging circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100941 100942 100943 question first answered 13/10/2020 15:21:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1240752

registered interest
date	06/10/2020
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	Coronavirus: Funerals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 30 person limit on funerals during the covid-19 outbreak includes funeral directors and staff members.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	99589
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>Funerals should have no more than 30 attendees. Attendance should also be kept within the capacity constraints of the venue, so that social distancing can continue to be adhered to.</p><p>Anyone working, for example officiants, staff employed by the venue or third party staff are not included in the 30 person limit.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 16/10/2020 10:13:45 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries previous answer version 53736 answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1240329

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
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	Patients: Monitoring
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2020 to Question 81811 on Patients: Monitoring, whether he has had discussions with the Israeli company EarlySense on the NHS Long Term Plan and remote monitoring solutions.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	98940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>No discussions have been held with EarlySense to discuss the NHS Long Term Plan or remote monitoring solutions.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 19/10/2020 07:02:09 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries previous answer version 53040 answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon