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1693221

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	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	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had recent discussions with the Trussell Trust on the trends in the level of donations required to meet demand for food banks.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	16699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>DWP officials regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders including the Trussell Trust. Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not have any role in their operation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next release of the Households Below Average Income statistics, covering the year 2022/23, is due in March 2024. This will include updated national statistics on both food security and food bank use.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 11/03/2024 15:43:41 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1693222

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	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	Poverty: Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland on trends in the number of children living in households in relative poverty in that region.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	16700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>DWP officials regularly meet with colleagues at the Department for Communities and the meetings cover a broad range of topics, including poverty.</p><p> </p><p>Absolute poverty is the government’s preferred measure as the poverty line is fixed in real terms so is not affected by overall median income. In the three years up to 2021/22 (excluding 2020/21), 17% of children in Northern Ireland were in absolute poverty after housing costs compared to 26% in the three years up to 2009/10.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 12/03/2024 11:26:17 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1672147

	registered interest
	date	22/11/2023
	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	Employment: Pensioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people who wish to continue working over state pension age.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	3227
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>Since the abolishment of the Default Retirement Age, most people can work for as long as they want and are able to. We know that age diversity within a workforce is the right thing and can bring benefits to business. Therefore, we are working across government, with employers, and with the Business Champion for Older Workers, Andy Briggs, to advocate for more diverse, inclusive and multigenerational workforces.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the DWP has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better to promote age inclusive working practices. The Help to Grow site on gov.uk also provides advice and guidance to businesses on employing older workers.</p><p> </p><p>The government wants to encourage people to plan more actively for later life and provide support to help them make important decisions about extending their working lives and reducing the risk of pensioner poverty. An enhanced digital Mid-life MOT offer went live on 5th July 2023 to ensure more people can access targeted online guidance regarding their finances, health and career.</p><p> </p><p>At Spring Budget 2023, the Government also announced that it would make changes to the limits on tax-relieved pension savings, abolishing the lifetime allowance and increasing the annual allowance from £40,000 to £60,000. These changes will help incentivise highly skilled and highly experienced individuals at the top of their professions to remain in the labour market which will help grow the economy while increasing the knowledge and experience of the UK’s labour force.</p><p> </p><p>The New State Pension was introduced in April 2016 with the aim of providing a clearer, sustainable foundation for private saving. The full rate of £203.85 per week (2023/24) was set above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level of Pension Credit, removing disincentives to working beyond State Pension Age. In addition, once over State Pension Age, people are exempt from paying National Insurance contributions if they carry on working as an employee.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 30/11/2023 12:26:30 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1468029

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2022
	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	Metals: 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, what estimate he made of the number of waste exemptions that were renewed in England in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	13723
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2022 answer text <p>There were 18,337 registration renewal transactions in the last 12 months. A number of exemptions may be registered or renewed under each registration or renewal transaction. Customers can add or remove exemptions during the &quot;renewal&quot; process and amend their details if required.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 15/06/2022 07:08:27 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1465211

	registered interest
	date	24/05/2022
	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	Gun Sports: Lead
	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 he is taking steps to encourage game hunters the change from lead-shot to steel-shot ammunition for shotguns.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	7989
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2022 answer text <p>Defra welcomed the 2020 joint statement by shooting organisations calling for the phasing out of lead shot in ammunition for live quarry by 2025. Earlier this month the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a dossier setting out options for restrictions on lead ammunition. This is now subject to consultation until 6 November and we will carefully consider HSE’s recommendations following the outcome of that consultation.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 01/06/2022 15:53:32 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1462951

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2022
	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	Dog Licences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to introduce dog licences in the UK on a similar basis to those available in Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	2310
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2022 answer text <p>Defra’s &quot;Action Plan for Animal Welfare&quot; demonstrates our commitment to a brighter future for animals both at home and abroad. We are aware that some people are supportive of an annual registration scheme or dog licence. The old dog licence scheme was repealed by the Local Government Act 1988 and was in effect an ownership registration scheme. Now that dog microchipping and registration on an associated database is mandatory, this is no longer necessary and we have no plans at this time to reintroduce such a scheme.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 24/05/2022 16:47:20 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1459096

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2022
	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	Fly-tipping
	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 make it his policy to provide additional funding to the devolved administrations for tackling illegal waste dumping using digital means.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	157362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2022 answer text <p>Waste regulation is a devolved matter.</p><p> </p><p>However, working jointly with the devolved administrations, we are developing a digital waste tracking service and in 2019 we committed £7 million to fund this work.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Act 2021 gives devolved administrations the powers to make regulations to introduce digital waste tracking requirements and recover the costs incurred performing regulatory functions with regard to waste tracking.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 27/04/2022 17:32:09 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1452722

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2022
	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	Climate Change
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the UK is not highly vulnerable in relation to climate change.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	143672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2022 answer text <p>We have already taken significant steps to safeguard communities from the impact of climate change, particularly from increasingly frequent episodes of flooding, and know that we must do more to prepare for the potential impacts of a warmer world.</p><p> </p><p>The Climate Change Committee’s <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukclimaterisk.org%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Cf3492ffa9a364db3fb2e08da11a6fd34%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637841706153894128%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=GcCjQM0nUmn%2BXtDNdw1EtjWO07CMVCh4fAVL6e6FYCs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk</a> offers a detailed insight into the growing risks and opportunities the UK faces from climate change. This evidence has informed our third Climate Change Risk Assessment, which we laid in Parliament on 17 January 2022, and will inform the development of the third National Adaptation Programme, expected to run between 2023 to 2028. Our ambition for NAP3 is to have a clear set of objectives for adaptation, and a systematic and robust set of policies, programmes and investments to meet those objectives.</p><p>In terms of recent steps, we are taking a holistic approach to flood risk management including encouraging more natural flood management where appropriate, alongside engineered defences. We are engaging with infrastructure providers, regulators and public bodies by inviting them to submit reports on their climate preparedness under the Adaptation Reporting Power. In our third adaptation reporting round, we received reports covering over 100 individual organisations, setting out how they are preparing for climate change. This includes those responsible for water, energy, transport, environment, heritage, health and finance.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 30/03/2022 15:22:38 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1452723

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2022
	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	Electric Vehicles
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strategic priority of electric vehicles in meeting the UK's clean air goals.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	143673
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>Phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035 will reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions faster. Cars and vans represent one fifth of UK domestic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and accounted for 71% of domestic UK transport emissions in 2019. Ending the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans will also help improve air quality through the phased elimination of tailpipe emissions. A Government research project to assess the impact of the shift to electric vehicles on non-exhaust emissions from tyre and brake wear is underway and will report in 2023.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 29/03/2022 15:43:31 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1436474

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2022
	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	Dogs: Animal Breeding
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle illegal puppy farms.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	131184
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the licence requirements for animal related activities such as pet selling or dog breeding. They therefore hold details of the enforcement activity being undertaken in their area, including information relating to low-welfare and illegal breeding activity.</p><p> </p><p>Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising dogs for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the dog for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.</p><p> </p><p>We banned the commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England from 6 April 2020. This ban aims to disrupt the low-welfare trade that supports puppy farming by preventing pet shops, pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy must buy direct from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile my department maintains Petfished, a national communications campaign, to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting to where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online. More information can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 08/03/2022 17:07:07 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon