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1672597

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Pension Credit: Applications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the application process for Pension Credit; and if he will take steps to help increase the accuracy of decisions made on Pensions Credit applications.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
tabling member printed	Anne McLaughlin
uin	3498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The Department regularly looks at the effectiveness of its Pension Credit claims processes. A Quality Framework is used to assess the accuracy of Pension Credit decisions and this informs operational learning and continuous improvement. Pension Credit is being modernised and user research is integral to our design for modernising the Pension Credit application processes to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of Pension Credit application processes.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 28/11/2023 11:36:51 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4437 label Biography information for Anne McLaughlin

1672598

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	3-nitrooxypropanol: Northern Ireland
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 (a) prevalence and (b) impact on the level of methane emissions of the use of 3-nitroxyproponol by the (i) food and (ii) farming sectors in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	3449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2023 answer text <p>We consider methane-suppressing feed products as an essential tool to decarbonise the agricultural sector, and in England we will work with industry to incentivise the uptake of high efficacy products with proven safety once suitable products enter the market.</p><p> </p><p>3NOP (3-nitroxyproponol) is a promising product that is claimed to reduce methane emissions from ruminants by up to 30%. 3NOP was approved by the European Food Safety Authority for use in Europe (and by extension Northern Ireland) in 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The prevalence and impact of these products on farming sectors in Northern Ireland is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 11/12/2023 11:56:18 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1672599

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Cabinet Office: ICT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on (a) IT infrastructure in total, (b) legacy IT infrastructure and (c) IT infrastructure that was first purchased in 2013 or earlier in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Reading East
tabling member printed	Matt Rodda
uin	3543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2023 answer text <p>(a) As of 21 November 2023, the IT infrastructure spend is £12 million in the last 3 years. The figure includes infrastructure (private/public cloud and data centre) contracts that the Cabinet Office has direct contracts for or with; and excludes Software-as-a-service (SaaS) or Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products and solutions, that the infrastructure is owned by the supplier.</p><p>(b) As of 21 November 2023, £2 million has been spent on what is considered as Legacy IT in the last 3 years.</p><p>(c) The Cabinet office does not have any IT infrastructure first purchased in 2013 or earlier on record.</p><p>The Cabinet Office is actively managing their legacy estates, and is seeking to exit legacy systems via existing or new change plans.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 01/12/2023 15:11:39 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4654 label Biography information for Matt Rodda

1672600

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept id	215
answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
hansard heading	Electric Vehicles: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Northern Ireland's electricity supply capacity to help meet an increased demand for electric vehicles.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	3443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The matter is devolved to the administration in Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine answering member printed Andrew Bowie question first answered 28/11/2023 17:26:13 answering member 4601 label Biography information for Andrew Bowie
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1672601

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Pensioners: Low Incomes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Trial encourages low-income pensioners to apply for extra financial support, published on 17 July 2023, what the priority objectives are of the invitation to claim trial.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	3444
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>In addition to our ongoing Pension Credit communications campaign, in July we launched a more targeted ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial. Approximately 2,500 pensioner households across ten local authority areas in Great Britain were sent letters encouraging them to contact DWP and make a claim. The areas were chosen to be representative of urban, rural and coastal communities and target households were identified as most likely to be missing out because they were claiming Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The objectives of the trial are to learn whether using data in this way can help accurately identify eligible households; and whether directly contacting households in this way is an effective way of boosting Pension Credit applications.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 28/11/2023 11:04:25 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1672602

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	NHS: Software
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 her Department is taking to promote the new Pace Checker feature in the NHS Active 10 app.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	3445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>‘Pace Checker’ is a new feature that launched in the NHS Active 10 mobile application in September 2023. The feature was developed to support individuals to measure their walking pace when using the Active 10 application, providing guidance and motivation to reach a brisk pace of over 100 steps per minute. Brisk walking contributes to reaching the Chief Medical Officer’s adult physical activity guidance of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.</p><p> </p><p>The NHS Active 10 mobile application is primarily promoted through the Better Health programme and partnership initiatives, encouraging the public to take steps to improve their physical and mental health. Most recently, the application was promoted through a World Mental Health Day campaign by Every Mind Matters to encourage individuals to take up a ‘little big thing’ to support their mental health. More information on the Better Health programme is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/</a></p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 30/11/2023 12:45:48 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom previous answer version 3978 answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1672603

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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: Charities
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 take steps to help support farmers to redistribute their surplus food to food charities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Tahir Ali
uin	3547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government supports a thriving, productive and efficient farming sector that prevents waste occurring in the first place. For instance, we are supporting investment in productivity-boosting equipment, technology and infrastructure through the Farming Investment Fund. This provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment. At the recent Farm to Fork Summit we announced new reviews into fairness in the horticulture and egg supply chain building on what we have already got underway to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets. We launched the review into the egg supply chain on 31 October 2023, and will launch a public consultation on horticulture in the coming weeks.</p><p> </p><p>We acknowledge that more can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage. The ‘fair dealings’ powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 can be used to prevent these kinds of unfair trading practices where they occur, as we are aware that unreasonably late cancellations or specification changes can sometimes lead to produce being unharvested.</p><p> </p><p>The Government works closely with businesses through our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to overcome any barriers to redistribution. This includes the development of guidance and best practice through a sector wide working group, and support for the Target Measure Act (TMA) approach to understanding and acting on food waste in supply chains, including the redistribution of any surplus should it arise and is supported by the National Farmers Union (NF8). Where the NFU stands on food waste – <a href="https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/where-the-nfu-stands-on-food-waste/#Measuring" target="_blank">NFUonline</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2018, Defra funding of nearly £13m has supported both large and small redistribution organisations across the country to increase their capability and capacity.</p><p> </p><p>The total amount of food redistributed in the UK in 2022 was over 170,000 tonnes and a value of around £590 million, an increase of 133% since 2019.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 29/11/2023 13:11:42 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4747 label Biography information for Tahir Ali

1672604

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Music Festivals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has issued recent guidance to the organisers of festivals on the use of back-of-house drug testing licences.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Tahir Ali
uin	3548
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government recognises the potential benefits of ‘back-of-house' drug checking services in the night time economy, at festivals and similar events. Back-of-house services are those which test surrendered or confiscated drugs, but do not offer individuals the opportunity to submit drugs for testing, do not return any drugs to individuals or give individuals any information on the content of the drugs following testing.</p><p>Instead, they provide intelligence to law enforcement and healthcare agencies about the kinds of illicit drugs in circulation and they enable localised public alerts if toxic or otherwise dangerous drugs are detected so that anyone at risk can dispose of those drugs in amnesty bins. This type of service does not encourage drug taking, recognising that all illicit drugs are harmful and that there is no safe way to take them.</p><p>No recent guidance has been issued to festival organisers. Organisations wishing to deliver back-of-house services have always been able to apply for a Home Office controlled drug licence and we continue to encourage potential applicants to plan ahead to ensure that they apply for a licence in good time for the festival season next year.</p><p>Guidance on applying for a Home Office controlled drug licence can be found at the following link: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Fcontrolled-drugs-domestic-licences&amp;data=05%7C01%7CLiam.Price2%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ccf4e875feb264765cf7d08dbecd2f612%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638364163034296827%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=fQgwW6ivJDyzKWRsyYDjH3buvwK8RpkBGkiPAXpZ%2BCA%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Controlled drugs: domestic licences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 30/11/2023 16:20:13 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4747 label Biography information for Tahir Ali

1672605

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Local Government
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) inflation and (b) trends in the level of energy costs on services delivered by local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Tahir Ali
uin	3549
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government use a range of forecasts and indices to estimate demographic and unit cost pressures facing local government when determining the additional resource required to fund the expenditure needs of local authorities. We ensure the assumptions underlying our modelling are robust by holding in-depth financial conversations with local authorities and regular conversations with treasurer societies.</p><p>As a demonstration of Governments recognition of the additional pressures facing councils in 2023/24, the final Local Government Finance Settlement made available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23.</p> answering member constituency North Dorset answering member printed Simon Hoare question first answered 30/11/2023 16:46:28 answering member 4494 label Biography information for Simon Hoare
tabling member	4747 label Biography information for Tahir Ali

1672606

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Animals: Exports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Tahir Ali
uin	3550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>We are determined to deliver our manifesto commitment on live exports. We will bring forward the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill in due course.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 29/11/2023 13:03:40 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4747 label Biography information for Tahir Ali