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1457413

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Afghanistan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in progressing Afghanistan related cases, in the context of the UK co-hosting the United Nation’s pledging summit on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	154000
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2022 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/04/2022 11:01:27 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 66201 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1457414

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department held discussions with the Scottish Refugee Council in advance of the United Nations pledging summit on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	154001
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2022 answer text <p>UK officials regularly engage with NGOs, donor partners and financial institutions, including through round table discussions. Several NGOs were engaged in the run up to the UN Afghan Pledging Conference, particularly those working in humanitarian assistance and essential basic services in Afghanistan, however, this did not include the Scottish Refugee Council.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 26/04/2022 16:10:19 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1457415

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Afghanistan: Refugees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she had with her Cabinet colleagues in advance of the United Nations pledging summit on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, about the UK’s ongoing response to the refugee crisis.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	154002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2022 answer text <p>Ahead of the UN Afghanistan Pledging Conference, UK officials held broad-ranging discussions, including on the impact of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan on refugees, with UN donor partners, NGOs, financial institutions and other government departments.</p><p>The UK has supported over 3,700 individuals to leave Afghanistan since the end of Op PITTING. We'll continue to work to ensure those still in Afghanistan are able to depart the country safely. This includes holding the Taliban to their commitment to ensure safe passage.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 26/04/2022 15:26:28 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1455121

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make an assessment of the implications for its policies of Action for Children’s report entitled Brighter Future Ahead? Comparing three generations of childhood.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	148228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2022 answer text <p>The department welcomes Action for Children’s report.</p><p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>With almost 1.32 million vacancies across the UK, the department's focus is on supporting parents into, and to progress in, work wherever possible. The department's approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The expanded Plan for Jobs continues to help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.</p><p>In the 2021 Budget, the government announced a £500 million package for families. This includes a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families programme taking total planned investment across the next 3 years to £695 million. This funding will help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple, interconnected issues to access effective support and improve their life outcomes.</p><p>£300 million of funding will be used to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of council areas in England. This includes funding for a network of Family Hubs (£82 million) and parenting programs (£50 million). The government is committed to family hubs and will robustly evaluate the impact of the investment to gather best practice and inform future funding decisions.</p><p>The report also recommends a legal duty for early help. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care is due to set out its final recommendations this spring, and the government will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/04/2022 16:25:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1455122

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Family Hubs: Digital Technology
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what digital support her Department will provide as part of her family hubs offer.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	148229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2022 answer text <p>Through the ‘Family Hubs – Growing Up Well’ digital project, we are partnering with five local authorities in England to develop digital and data solutions that solve problems faced by local authorities in delivering accessible, inter-connected education, health, and social care services for families.</p><p> </p><p>The solutions will focus on improving how information is shared between professionals across a range of services in a Family Hub Network, and how families access and navigate services. These are key to strengthening the practical implementation of Family Hub Networks and levelling up outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged families.</p><p> </p><p>Subject to standard agile digital delivery methodology, the solutions will enter beta testing in the 2022/23 financial year.</p><p> </p><p>We anticipate that they will be available for participating local authorities in England in 2023.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/04/2022 15:04:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1455124

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
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	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has plans to reinstate the cross-departmental Child Poverty Unit.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	148230
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2022 answer text <p>A key function of the previous Child Poverty Unit was to support the delivery of the child poverty targets that we abolished in 2016, which we have no plans to reintroduce. We believe that an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on meeting income-based targets can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s future prospects.</p><p> </p><p>Ministers and officials engage extensively across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and we will we continue to do so in the future.</p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics show that in 2020/21 there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 05/04/2022 14:29:57 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1455125

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
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	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of increasing benefits in line with living costs on levels of child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	148231
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2022 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions, and the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in the year to September this approach has been in place since 1987 is the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year.</p><p> </p><p>CPI has been the default inflation measure for the government’s statutory annual review of benefits since 2011.</p><p> </p><p>CPI has a basket of goods and services that is relevant to pensioners and benefit recipients, is the target level of inflation used by the Bank of England and is an internationally recognised measure.</p><p> </p><p>National Statistics on the number of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Latest statistics, covering up until 2020/21, on the number of children in low income in the UK can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1064433/hbai-summary-results.ods" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1064433/hbai-summary-results.ods</a></p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics show that in the UK in 2020/21 there were 200 thousand fewer children in absolute poverty, before housing costs, than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting all low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. With around 1.32 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, and Way to Work is a concerted drive across the UK to help half a million currently out of work people into jobs by the end of June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, and making permanent changes to Universal Credit, worth £1000 a year on average, to two million in-work claimants.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people require additional support and from April, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 06/04/2022 15:38:00 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1441306

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
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	Pets: Import Controls
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a visual check at the border to ensure that the pet animal is the (a) same as the animal listed on the pet passport and (b) age stated.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	140464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers.</p><p> </p><p>To enter Great Britain pets must have been implanted with a microchip or have a legible tattoo imprinted prior to 3 July 2011. A pet’s identity is checked by ensuring that the microchip or tattoo details correspond to the details in the pet’s documentation, which includes the date of birth of the pet animal. Carriers can refer suspected non-compliances to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), including cases where any dog appears underage. APHA staff are highly trained to deal with intercepted shipments.</p><p> </p><p>APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.</p><p>The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 23/03/2022 16:58:42 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1440805

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
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	Dogs: Smuggling
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 has carried out an assessment of the economic costs of the illegal puppy smuggling industry in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the potential economic merits of the proposals made in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in relation to tackling the puppy smuggling industry.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	139376
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2022 answer text <p>In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain.</p><p>We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.</p><p>We will develop an economic impact assessment for these proposals once finalised.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 22/03/2022 11:56:12 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1440947

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
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	Food: Packaging
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 his Department is taking to help make food and drink packaging more accessible to people with sight loss.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	139377
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2022 answer text <p>The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible and clearly legible. Information shall not in any way be obscured and depending on the package size, there is a minimum font size.</p><p>That said, we welcome work by industry, especially companies developing new digital technologies with the potential to provide the means for people with visual impairment to access food information. As part of the upcoming Food Strategy White Paper, we will look at optimising food information, including labelling, so all consumers, are better able to make informed choices.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 139378 question first answered 22/03/2022 12:41:31 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier