Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1168266

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides, particularly among (a) men under 50 and (b) young people aged 16-24; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2020 answer text <p>In January 2019, we published the first cross-Government suicide prevention workplan, which sets out an ambitious programme of work across national and local government and the National Health Service to reduce suicide rates across all age groups. This includes work to support children and young people through our Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health. The workplan also outlines action being taken to reduce suicide rates in high-risk groups such as men by, amongst other things, raising awareness and reducing stigma of mental health in this group.</p><p> </p><p>Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are also investing £57 million in suicide prevention to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services. We have worked with NHS England to ensure that local areas use this funding to test approaches to reaching and engaging men in their local communities. We are also increasing investment in children’s and young people’s mental health services, meaning that, by 2023/24, an extra 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will receive mental health support via NHS-funded mental health services and school- or college-based mental health support teams.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 10/01/2020 14:13:22 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1168267

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to improve mental healthcare in Wycombe; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	104
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2020 answer text <p>In response to the NHS Long Term Plan, the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System published a draft strategic delivery plan in September 2019 which outlines how each county will work with stakeholders to deliver the expectations of the Plan, including how to further improve local mental health services. This is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://bobstp.org.uk/media/1752/ics-ltp-1st-draft-submission-v10-2.pdf" target="_blank">https://bobstp.org.uk/media/1752/ics-ltp-1st-draft-submission-v10-2.pdf</a></p><p>Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) reports that a number of developments, which have the potential to impact on mental health care in Wycombe, are being delivered or are planned for delivery over the next financial year. These include:</p><p>- improving mental health crisis services with an increase in the number of days that the ‘safe haven’ service will operate in 2020 with a new location opening in High Wycombe. Home treatment for acutely unwell mental health patients will also start to be offered;</p><p>- two mental health support teams becoming operational in 2019, working in 33 schools across Buckinghamshire to provide interventions to young people with low to moderate mental health needs. The CCG will bid for national funding to expand this offering in 2020;</p><p>- increasing access to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The number of young people accessing these services has increased and waiting times for assessment have decreased. The CCG will continue to develop this further into 2020 using online technology to increase access;</p><p>- recruiting additional CAMHS psychologists as part of the four-week wait pilot scheme;</p><p>- the employment of additional trainees by Buckinghamshire’s ‘Healthy Minds’ service; and</p><p>- continuing to improve the physical health of people that have a serious mental illness by ensuring they are able to access an annual physical health check.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 09/01/2020 10:35:19 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1156082

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Crime Prevention: Young People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to divert young people away from violent crime.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	5013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2019 answer text <p>Tackling violent crime is a priority and this Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities. The Government is investing £220 million in early intervention projects to steer young people away from getting involved in serious violence and make positive life choices.</p><p>The Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is supporting 40 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales. These projects include work with children and young people at risk of criminal involvement, organisations safeguarding those at risk of gang exploitation and county lines, or who have already offended to help divert them into positive life choices.</p><p>The £200 million Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a long-term fund to prevent children and young people at the highest risk of involvement in serious violence, from becoming involved in crime and violence, including reoffending. Operating independently of government, the Youth Endowment Fund will robustly test and evaluate every intervention it funds to develop a strong evidence base showing the interventions that are most effective in making a positive difference to the lives of young people. The first successful 22 bids were announced earlier this month.</p><p>The anti-knife crime Community Fund has supported 115 projects in local communities to tackle knife crime in 2017/18 and 2018/19. The third year of funding (2019-20) of £1.5m is supporting 61 projects in England and Wales this year.</p><p>The Government recognises that local youth services are an important partner in tackling violent crime. On 30 September the Government reiterated a commitment to young people, confirming £500 million investment through the new Youth Investment Fund over five years. This vital investment, the cornerstone of the Government’s offer for young people, will help build 60 new youth centres across the country, refurbish around 360 existing youth facilities, and provide over 100 mobile facilities for harder to reach areas. The fund will also support the provision and coordination of high-quality services for young people, and an investment in the youth workforce.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 01/11/2019 12:05:36 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1175580

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2020
	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	Affordable Housing: Wycombe
	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 (a) effectiveness and (b) efficiency of affordable housing schemes in Wycombe; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	11489
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including Social Rent. <br> <br> Wycombe has a total housing stock of over 73,000 homes (2018) and almost 10,000 of these are affordable homes. Over 100 new affordable homes were built in the area in 2018-19</p><p><br> To enable councils and housing associations to build more we have increased the size of the Affordable Homes Programme, re-introduced social rent, removed the HRA borrowing cap for local authorities, and have set out a long-term rent deal for councils and housing associations in England from 2020. <br> <br> Breakdowns of delivery by borough are available in live table 1011 can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply</a>.</p> answering member constituency Tatton answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 12/02/2020 12:28:09 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1366807

	registered interest
	date	08/11/2021
	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	Africa: Climate Change
	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 assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK's international climate change strategy on poverty in African countries.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	71325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2021 answer text <p>Tackling climate change and biodiversity is the UK Government's number one international priority as set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021. Evidence shows that poorer people are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change and unless addressed now, these impacts will represent an obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty. Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. From cyclones in Southern Africa to locusts in East Africa, changing weather patterns are already having catastrophic impacts for communities living across the continent, impacting lives and livelihoods.</p><p>As COP26 President, the UK is committed to driving action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and support countries that are most vulnerable to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This will be crucially important for communities in Africa, where the impacts of climate change are already being felt. The UK is a long-standing supporter of African adaptation, with around half of our £2.7 billion adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent in Africa. We have strengthened these commitments at COP26, contributing £20 million to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme to support African countries in designing and implementing transformational adaptation of their economies and post-COVID recovery. We have provided a guarantee to the African Development Bank, releasing up to $2 billion of climate finance - half of which will be for adaptation. We also recognise the importance of Africa's forested areas to mitigating climate change impacts and limiting global temperature rise. At the World Leaders Summit Forests and Land Use Event, the UK contributed £200 million to a landmark £1.1 billion donor pledge to protect the Congo Basin - the world's second largest rainforest - and support the region's long-term green economic development. These commitments demonstrate that Africa is at the heart of our approach to climate and nature.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 19/11/2021 10:03:46 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1156079

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2019
	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	Agriculture
	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 will she take to ensure farmers are supported in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	5010
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>As a responsible Government, we have been working to minimise any disruption to farmers in the event of a no deal.</p><p> </p><p>We have made it clear that we will support vulnerable sectors through Government intervention in a no deal, should this be necessary, and we have contingency plans in place. We will be monitoring the sectors which may be exposed to short-term difficulties as a result of EU withdrawal closely to identify early signs of market disturbance, allowing us to intervene swiftly if necessary.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 05/11/2019 11:22:40 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1401786

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2022
	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	Agriculture Act 2020
	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 progress he has made on delivering public payments for public goods since the passing of the Agriculture Act 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	101705
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2022 answer text <p>We are working in partnership with farmers to design our three future schemes that reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods: The Sustainable Farming Incentive; Local Nature Recovery; and Landscape Recovery.</p><p> </p><p>The Sustainable Farming Incentive will pay farmers for actions they take, going beyond regulatory requirements, to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way. In 2021 we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot and received over 900 applications. The first agreements have started and will run until 2024. In 2022 we will start to roll-out the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme and intend to expand the scheme over the next 3 years. In December 2021 we published information on the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme - including indicative standards and payment rates. We are also continuing to develop the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway in partnership with farmers and experts, including surveying 300 farms to understand where animal welfare can be improved on farm. In 2022 we will start to roll-out core elements of the pathway and will launch the Annual Health and Welfare Review.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Nature Recovery scheme will pay for actions that support local nature recovery and deliver local environmental priorities; making sure the right things are delivered in the right places. We are currently developing the scheme and plan to make an early version of the scheme available to a limited number of people in 2023 as part of our plans for testing and rolling out the scheme. We will then roll out the scheme across the whole country by the end of 2024.</p><p> </p><p>Landscape Recovery will support the delivery of landscape and ecosystem recovery through long-term, large-scale projects, including projects to restore wilder landscapes in places where that's appropriate, large-scale tree planting and peatland restoration projects. We will pilot Landscape Recovery between 2022-24 through initiating at least 10 large-scale projects.</p><p> </p><p>We recently published a summary of what we’re learning from our programme of test and trials, where more than 3,000 people are leading projects to test ideas and are being used to develop the schemes.</p><p> </p><p>We have also launched the Farming Innovation Pathways competition for research and development within UK Research and Innovation’s Transforming Food Production programme to develop farm-focused innovations. We increased funding for the programme to £14.5 million due to high demand and quality research projects across farming sectors; projects started from October 2021.</p><p> </p><p>We have in addition:</p><ul><li>Launched the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme of grants.</li><li>Launched the Farming Investment Fund helping farmers invest in technology.</li><li>Begun offering free business planning advice to potentially 10,000 farmers through 19 bodies.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Throughout this time, we have been at the agricultural shows, taking part in Q&amp;A sessions with farmers, and engaging through our regular engagement groups as part of our ongoing dialogue with farmers and other interested parties.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 24/01/2022 15:53:17 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1127392

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Air Commodore Charles Clarke
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	If she will pay tribute to Air Commodore Charles Clarke OBE.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	910989
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>Air Commodore Clarke was a great friend and ambassador of the Royal Air Force and a truly remarkable man.</p><p> </p><p>Air Commodore Clarke was a member of a World War Two Lancaster aircrew, and one of the last surviving prisoners of the Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp in Poland at the time of the great escape.</p><p> </p><p>Following a distinguished career in the RAF, he worked tirelessly as Chairman of the Bomber Command Association, not to mention his support for the RAF Association, RAF Benevolent Fund and the Air Cadets. His courage in the face of adversity is an inspiration to us all, and I know he will be sadly missed by all those who knew him.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 20/05/2019 16:38:02 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1331840

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2021
	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	Air Conditioning and Heating: Trifluoroacetic Acid
	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 tackle the risk to groundwater and drinking water from trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and trifluoroacetate resulting from refrigerants used in air-conditioning and in heat pumps.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	13936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2021 answer text <p>Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is one of a group of thousands of substances collectively called poly- and per-fluorinated substances (PFAS), which are highly persistent in the environment. As a group they are being considered under a risk management options analysis under UK chemical regulation (UK REACH). The Environment Agency (EA) also considers TFA as part of its priority and early warning system for chemicals.</p><p>We are aware of some concerns raised about TFA and trifluoroacetate in relation to the breakdown of certain refrigerants, in particular hydrofluoro-olefins (HFOs). HFOs are used increasingly as replacements for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) due to their much lower Global Warming Potential.</p><p>HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases and their use is being phased down. Defra is reviewing the legislation covering HFCs to ascertain whether we can go further in support of the UK's net zero target. This will include assessing the adequacy of existing leak prevention, detection and repair measures, as well as the possibility of reducing further the use of HFCs.</p><p>The 2018 UN Montreal Protocol Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) report concluded there was minimal risk to human health or the environment from TFA from HFOs used as refrigerants. However, we continue to monitor the latest scientific assessments and will take on board their conclusions, including as part of our review.</p><p>Activities with the potential to impact upon the quality of groundwater are regulated through the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR). The EPR provide for ongoing supervision and control by the EA to ensure that groundwater activities are only permitted to operate where the risks to groundwater are well understood and mitigated. The EA does not currently monitor TFA in groundwater.</p><p> </p><p>Refrigerants used in ground source heat pumps are designed and installed to be contained within closed loop systems having no connection to the surrounding environment. Should any evidence show that systems have leaked, the EA has powers to serve notices requiring remediation of any impacted groundwater, surface water or soils.</p><p> </p><p>Drinking water quality is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>The Drinking Water Regulations require that, in order to be considered “wholesome”, drinking water must not contain any substance at a level which would constitute a potential danger to human health.</p><p> </p><p>The topic of PFAS substances is not new. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has provided guidance to water companies since 2009 and this has recently been updated to reflect current knowledge. The guidance requires water companies to ensure these chemicals are adequately considered in their risk assessments. Should the EA find evidence to suggest that the closed loop systems have leaked, it will inform relevant water companies of any potential risk, and the water companies will consider initiating monitoring for the chemicals at any of their works where appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/06/2021 12:31:44 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1354535

	registered interest
	date	10/09/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Air Force: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the condition of Royal Air Force (a) single living accommodation, (b) mess accommodation and (c) service families accommodation; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	46981
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2021 answer text <p>There has been no recent assessment of the totality of single living accommodation, which includes mess accommodation, provided by the Royal Air Force (RAF), but data collected between 2005 and 2020 does provide an overview of their condition. All single living accommodation the RAF provides to its personnel is required to be of a suitable standard and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently working to define a Defence Minimum Standard (DMS) against which all single living accommodation will be assessed.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation manages, on a Tri-Service basis, around 50,000 properties in the UK including targeted improvement programmes and planning future requirements. Therefore, it is not possible to separately identify RAF Service Families Accommodation (SFA). However, as at 1 September 2021, of the 99% of SFA that were assessed, 87.8% of the properties were above the Government’s Decent Homes Standard and 8.9% were at the standard. The remaining 2.3% were considered below the standard and not allocated to Service Families.</p> answering member constituency Horsham answering member printed Jeremy Quin question first answered 20/09/2021 10:35:57 answering member 4507 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker