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1454183

registered interest
date	24/03/2022
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	Drax Power Station: Timber
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 the average age of trees used to produce wood pellets for the Drax power station is; and what estimate he has made of how long it takes before the replacement trees will sequester carbon at the same rate as those felled.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	146695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>BEIS does not hold this information. The UK only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria. Suppliers must demonstrate to the regulators (Ofgem) that they meet the criteria, and their evidence is independently audited. Ofgem make sustainability information publicly available on their website, with the latest dataset accessible here: <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 01/04/2022 12:38:47 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1454184

registered interest
date	24/03/2022
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	Carbon Emissions: Coal and Timber
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 he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the IPCC data which shows that the carbon emissions from burning wood are 1.18 times higher than those for burning coal; and what the corresponding change in gross stack emissions has been at Drax per MWh as a result of its switch to wood from coal.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	146696
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>The UK reports and accounts for biomass use in accordance with internationally agreed rules, follow the guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This guidance avoids double counting of emissions in both the forest and energy sectors. The loss of carbon stock from harvesting operations in the forestry sector are reported in the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry sector of the country of harvest and may lead to an increase in the carbon stock of other carbon pools such as deadwood, litter, soil and harvested wood products. The portion of forestry products that is used for energy is assumed to be instantaneously oxidised in the country in which harvesting happens.</p><p> </p><p>For transparency, the UK reports internationally the emissions of carbon dioxide from bioenergy use as a memo item, outside of national totals, in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requirements. It also reports the emissions of nitrous oxide and methane from biomass combustion as part of the national total of GHG emissions. OFGEM also publishes data on company-specific supply chain emissions from biomass, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20</a></p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 01/04/2022 12:35:27 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453557

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	Maternity Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 23 February 2022 to Question 125365 and 8 March 2022 to Question 134067 on Maternity Allowance, and with reference to the data on Statutory Maternity Pay starts provided by HMRC in Freedom of Information Act responses dated 5 June 2019 (FOI2019/01113) and 24 September 2021 (FOI2021/20932), what assessment she has made of the reasons for the absence of any decline in the number of Statutory Maternity Pay starts over the period in which the number of grants of Maternity Allowance to employed women has fallen by 45 per cent.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	145959
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>Statutory Maternity Pay is delivered through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold the raw data on Statutory Maternity Payment starts.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 30/03/2022 13:35:33 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453608

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	Mental Health Services: Children
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 Monday 14 March 2022 to Question 119826, if he will specify (a) the source and sum of the funds allocated to the care providers and (b) the criteria for selection of the care providers.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	145960
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The information is not held in the format requested. Specialist care for children and young people from a non-white ethnic background with serious mental health problems is funded by local and national commissioners. Services are provided in the same way for people from all ethnic backgrounds and by a range of providers in England.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 28/03/2022 12:14:47 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453352

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of polices on reducing drug use on university campuses.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144986
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>This government strongly supports activity by universities and other partners to raise awareness of the harms of illicit drugs and to discourage drug misuse by young people. Illicit drugs are harmful and there is no safe way to take them.</p><p>As independent and autonomous institutions, higher education providers are responsible for their own policies in relation to illegal drugs.</p><p>Universities UK has set up a taskforce to help universities understand and address drug-use. The first meeting of the taskforce takes place this month and it will look to set out a common approach to reduce harms from drug use and to better tackle supply.</p><p>Its work will include production of evidence-led sector guidance, developed with students, staff and wider stakeholders, including recommendations based on harm reduction. The taskforce will also look to better understand supply of, demand for, and use of drugs in the UK student population, as well as make student drug use visible as a welfare and health issue.</p><p>The government’s 10-year drugs plan was published in December 2021 and is a formal, substantive response to the independent review of drugs led by Dame Carol Black. The plan includes an aim to drive behaviour change to reduce the demand for drugs, and commits to further research and testing messaging through an evidence-based, targeted behaviour change initiative, initially aimed at students in further and higher education.</p><p>The UK student-led charity Students Organising for Sustainability launched the Drug and Alcohol Impact programme in October 2020. University and students’ union partnerships were invited to sign up to a 2-year commitment to obtain accreditation under the scheme. This required achieving levels of practice in areas including knowledge and understanding of student drug use, collaboration with key stakeholders, policy changes, and harm reduction interventions.</p><p>The programme was successfully piloted with four partnerships, with two more joining in the 2021/22 academic year. It is now being scaled up.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 144987 question first answered 30/03/2022 16:24:15 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453353

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's position is in response to the recommendations of the Higher Education Policy Institute's recent report entitled Illicit drug use in universities: zero tolerance or harm reduction?, published on 3 March 2022, which calls on the education sector to drop the zero tolerance approach to illicit drug use for personal users.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144987
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>This government strongly supports activity by universities and other partners to raise awareness of the harms of illicit drugs and to discourage drug misuse by young people. Illicit drugs are harmful and there is no safe way to take them.</p><p>As independent and autonomous institutions, higher education providers are responsible for their own policies in relation to illegal drugs.</p><p>Universities UK has set up a taskforce to help universities understand and address drug-use. The first meeting of the taskforce takes place this month and it will look to set out a common approach to reduce harms from drug use and to better tackle supply.</p><p>Its work will include production of evidence-led sector guidance, developed with students, staff and wider stakeholders, including recommendations based on harm reduction. The taskforce will also look to better understand supply of, demand for, and use of drugs in the UK student population, as well as make student drug use visible as a welfare and health issue.</p><p>The government’s 10-year drugs plan was published in December 2021 and is a formal, substantive response to the independent review of drugs led by Dame Carol Black. The plan includes an aim to drive behaviour change to reduce the demand for drugs, and commits to further research and testing messaging through an evidence-based, targeted behaviour change initiative, initially aimed at students in further and higher education.</p><p>The UK student-led charity Students Organising for Sustainability launched the Drug and Alcohol Impact programme in October 2020. University and students’ union partnerships were invited to sign up to a 2-year commitment to obtain accreditation under the scheme. This required achieving levels of practice in areas including knowledge and understanding of student drug use, collaboration with key stakeholders, policy changes, and harm reduction interventions.</p><p>The programme was successfully piloted with four partnerships, with two more joining in the 2021/22 academic year. It is now being scaled up.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 144986 question first answered 30/03/2022 16:24:15 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453354

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Cost of Living: Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what fiscal steps he plans to take to support university and college students in the context of the the rise in cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144988
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>We are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.</p><p>Students from the lowest-income households have access to the largest ever amounts of support for their living costs in cash terms. Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year.</p><p>Many providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance should individuals’ finances be affected in academic year 2021/22.</p><p>Grant funding to the Office for Students (OfS) for the 2021/22 financial year included an allocation of £5 million to higher education providers in England in order to provide additional support for student hardship.</p><p>In our guidance to the OfS on funding for the 2021/22 financial year we made clear that the OfS should protect the £256 million allocation for the student premiums to support disadvantaged students and those that need additional help.</p><p>Advice is available from providers and from other sources online to help students manage their money while they are attending their courses.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 30/03/2022 16:02:59 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453355

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
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	Ofgem
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to publish the Strategy and Policy Statement to Ofgem, as outlined in the Energy White Paper.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144989
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government plans to launch a public consultation on the Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 30/03/2022 13:56:57 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453356

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
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	Ofgem
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 the Strategy and Policy Statement to Ofgem, outlined in the Energy White Paper, will encourage proactive grid investment to support renewable energy development.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>The Strategy and Policy Statement is intended to give a strategic steer to the regulator on the Government’s priorities in relation to the statutory objectives of Ofgem, including protecting consumers and achieving net zero. Allowing strategic investment to ensure the grid is prepared to support renewable energy and low carbon technologies, and investment in those technologies, is within scope of these objectives.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands grouped question UIN 144991 question first answered 30/03/2022 13:57:47 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1453357

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
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	Ofgem
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 assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the Strategy and Policy Statement to Ofgem on levels of investment in renewable energy development.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	144991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>The Strategy and Policy Statement is intended to give a strategic steer to the regulator on the Government’s priorities in relation to the statutory objectives of Ofgem, including protecting consumers and achieving net zero. Allowing strategic investment to ensure the grid is prepared to support renewable energy and low carbon technologies, and investment in those technologies, is within scope of these objectives.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands grouped question UIN 144990 question first answered 30/03/2022 13:57:47 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse