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1140635

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Autonomous Weapons
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	279386
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2019 answer text <p>The United Kingdom does not support a ban on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems .The UK considers its extant legal and regulatory framework for the development, assurance and deployment of military systems to be sufficient to ensure that the capabilities we field will always meet our obligations under international law.</p> answering member constituency Milton Keynes North answering member printed Mark Lancaster question first answered 24/07/2019 09:52:38 answering member 1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1140231

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	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	Plastics: 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 he plans to increase support for catalytic chemical recycling and upcycling to realise the ambition of zero plastic waste.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278919
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>£4.7 million of grant funding was announced on 12 June and made available through the Waste &amp; Resources Action Programme, to support new capital infrastructure projects that will help to recycle difficult plastic packaging and textile materials.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also incentivises business-led technology innovation through Innovate UK and its role to fund business-led innovation through the allocation of competitively awarded grants. This fund has previously supported chemicals recycling projects. Further details on Innovate UK are available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/innovate-uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/innovate-uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 23/07/2019 15:51:05 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1140245

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	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	Food: Allowances
	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 giving people a monthly allowance to spend on fresh, healthy and locally sourced food in a bid to (a) tackle obesity and (b) support the farming industry.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278920
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>There are existing schemes that support the consumption of healthy food. For example, the Healthy Start scheme provides vouchers for lower income families which can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Defra has commissioned its lead non-executive director, Henry Dimbleby, to lead an independent review to develop a series of recommendations that will help shape a national food strategy. It will cover the entire food chain from field to fork, building on work already underway in the Agriculture Bill, the Environment Bill, the Fisheries Bill and the Childhood Obesity Plan. This will help ensure that our food system delivers healthy and affordable food and is built upon a resilient and sustainable agriculture sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 23/07/2019 14:52:41 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1140357

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	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 potential merits of requiring universities in England to use contextual admissions tools to widen participation in higher education.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278922
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Widening access and participation in higher education is a priority for this government. This means that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of their background or where they grew up.</p><p>We have made real progress in ensuring universities are open to all, with record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in higher education. However, we are aware that more needs to be done to ensure that background isn’t a barrier to realising potential in higher education.</p><p>Many higher education providers are already using contextual admissions, to support widening access, and the government supports this.</p><p>It’s important that higher education providers use good quality and meaningful data to identify disadvantage and under-representation. We encourage institutions to use a range of measures to identify disadvantage and under-representation, including individual-level indicators, area data (such as POLAR, Index of Multiple Deprivation or ACORN), school data, intersectional data such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's (UCAS) Multiple Equality Measure and participation in outreach activities. The department is continuing to work with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector representatives to further explore how we can support universities to improve and enhance access to data.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 23/07/2019 07:33:37 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1140360

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to widen access to the highest performing schools in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278923
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>86% of schools in England are good or outstanding.</p><p>The Department has committed £7 billion to create new school places between 2015 and 2021, the vast majority of which are being created in the best existing schools or through good new schools. The Department is on track to create 1 million places this decade, the largest increase in school capacity in at least two generations.</p><p>Of the mainstream free schools approved between 2014 and 2017, 86% have been in areas where there was a need for more school places. 84% of free schools with inspection reports published by the end of May are rated good or outstanding.</p><p> </p><p>98% of grammar schools are also good or outstanding and the Department wants more disadvantaged pupils to be able to access a place at them. That is why it has made £100 million available through the Selective Schools Expansion Fund to create additional places, where needed, in selective schools that commit to a plan to improve access for disadvantaged children. In 2018 the Department announced 16 selective schools to be funded to expand, and it launched a second bidding round in 2019.</p><p>Education is a devolved matter and it is for the Welsh national assembly to decide on education in Wales.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 23/07/2019 15:45:06 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139806

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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	Wildlife: Conservation
	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 the creation of national recovery network maps to identify (a) the location of wildlife and (b) where wildlife should be in the future.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278400
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This is already part of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 22/07/2019 16:44:08 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139812

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Private Rented Housing: Energy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a registration scheme for private-rented accommodation to ensure that it meets minimum energy efficiency standards.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278401
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities have enforcement powers to ensure properties meet minimum energy efficiency standards, and the Government is funding a series of studies to understand how they can best use these powers. The Government does not support a registration scheme for private rented sector accommodation as this has the potential to introduce an unnecessary and costly layer of bureaucracy.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 23/07/2019 15:22:56 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse previous answer version 130430 answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139817

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to (a) increase transparency of the amount of apprenticeship levy spent on different types of apprenticeship and (b) help ensure the availability of data on the socioeconomic background of apprentices by apprenticeship level.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278402
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Our quarterly ‘Apprenticeships and Traineeships’ and monthly ‘Apprenticeships and Levy Statistics’ data releases provide extensive information on the breakdown of apprenticeship starts by level, sector subject area and framework/standard. This is in addition to whether starts are supported by the apprenticeship levy. The most recent quarterly release was published on 11 July 2019 and can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-july-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-july-2019</a>. This data, in addition to our extensive engagement with employers and sector bodies, informs our picture of emerging demand across the employer-led apprenticeships programme.</p><p> </p><p>We use the ‘Further education: indices of multiple deprivation’ data release to understand the background of apprentices and inform our widening participation policies. This data is broken down by apprenticeship level and benchmarked against data for participation in all further education and skills training. We know that apprentices disproportionately come from more disadvantaged areas: in 2017/18, 24% of participating apprentices came from the most disadvantaged fifth of areas, compared to 15.6% from the least disadvantaged fifth. This data is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765589/Index_of_Multiple_Deprivation_201516_to_201718.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765589/Index_of_Multiple_Deprivation_201516_to_201718.xlsx</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 22/07/2019 16:02:43 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139855

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of uprating the financial thresholds for legal aid eligibility.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	278403
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>On 7 February 2019, the Government published its Legal Support Action Plan in which it announced a comprehensive review of the wider legal aid eligibility regime. The review will study the income and capital thresholds for legal aid entitlement and assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly with respect to those who are vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>The review is expected to conclude by Summer 2020 after which we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area. We will seek to implement any final recommendations as soon as practicable following public consultation.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 22/07/2019 16:47:25 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139204

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Sleeping Rough
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government remains on track to meet its target of ending rough sleeping in England by 2027.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	277668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.</p><p>In its first year, our Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff. This year we have expanded the RSI with investment of £46 million for 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 2,600 bed spaces and 750 staff.</p><p>The most recent figures, from the Official 2018 Rough Sleeping Snapshot, show that the number of people sleeping on our streets on a particular night has fallen for the first time in several years. The number of those sleeping rough on one night in 2018 is 2 per cent lower compared to the previous year. This follows year-on-year increases, with an average annual increase of nearly 16 per cent.</p><p>In areas where the Government has targeted funding and interventions through its RSI, the number of those reported as sleeping rough on a single night in 2018 fell by 19 per cent, compared to the national decrease of 2 per cent . This is in contrast to the overall 41 per cent increase in areas that were not part of the initiative, an encouraging sign of progress.</p><p>The RSI funds local authorities to provide specialist services to help the most vulnerable people in society off the streets. We will publish an evaluation later this year which will help to understand the impact of the initiative.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 22/07/2019 14:00:49 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly