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1545045

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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, what proportion of the Apprenticeship Levy has been spent in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	94830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2022 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training</p><p>The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT) and although closely linked, it is distinct from the total levy income collected. The table below shows the Department for Education’s ring-fence apprenticeships budget against the ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (set by HMT) for the last five years.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>FY 17/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 18/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 19/</strong><strong>20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 20/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> FY 21/22</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>DfE Ring-fence Apprenticeships Budget</strong></p></td><td><p>2,010</p></td><td><p>2,231</p></td><td><p>2,469</p></td><td><p>2,467</p></td><td><p>2,466</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Ring-fence Apprenticeships Spend</strong></p></td><td><p>1,586</p></td><td><p>1,738</p></td><td><p>1,919</p></td><td><p>1,863</p></td><td><p>2,455</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The department does not anticipate that all employers who pay the levy will need or want to use all the funds available to them, but they are able to if they wish. As is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 94831 question first answered 28/11/2022 17:17:36 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1545048

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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, what were the total funds raised through the Apprenticeship Levy that was reinvested in apprentice training in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	94831
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2022 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training</p><p>The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT) and although closely linked, it is distinct from the total levy income collected. The table below shows the Department for Education’s ring-fence apprenticeships budget against the ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (set by HMT) for the last five years.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>FY 17/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 18/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 19/</strong><strong>20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 20/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> FY 21/22</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>DfE Ring-fence Apprenticeships Budget</strong></p></td><td><p>2,010</p></td><td><p>2,231</p></td><td><p>2,469</p></td><td><p>2,467</p></td><td><p>2,466</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Ring-fence Apprenticeships Spend</strong></p></td><td><p>1,586</p></td><td><p>1,738</p></td><td><p>1,919</p></td><td><p>1,863</p></td><td><p>2,455</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The department does not anticipate that all employers who pay the levy will need or want to use all the funds available to them, but they are able to if they wish. As is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 94830 question first answered 28/11/2022 17:17:36 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1542786

registered interest
date	16/11/2022
answering body	Leader of the House
answering dept id	34
answering dept short name	Leader of the House
answering dept sort name	Leader of the House
hansard heading	Members: Lone Parents
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the (a) sitting hours and (b) voting procedures of the House of Commons enable the participation of Members who are single parents.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	88982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2022 answer text <p>I am always keen to listen to suggestions from colleagues about the steps we might take to make Parliament a more modern working environment.</p><p>Sitting hours are a matter for the whole House and any changes would require a change to Standing Orders. A series of changes were made in 2012 following work by the Procedure Committee, and members can raise these matters with the Committee.</p><p>Voting procedures are also a matter for the House and any changes should enjoy a wide consensus among members. Slipping and pairing has been, and continues to be, a valuable practice that allows members to be absent from votes and the Whips’ offices on all sides of the House work hard to ensure that the system functions as well as possible for individual members. The House recently agreed an expansion of the proxy voting scheme and a review is to be completed by the Procedure Committee by 17th March 2023. Again, members may wish to approach the Committee with issues as part of this review.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/11/2022 15:08:33 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1542525

registered interest
date	15/11/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Dairy Products and Meat Products
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the current School Food Standards mandatory servings of meat and dairy and its impact on the (a) UK’s health goals, (b) climate science, and (c) modern dietary choices.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	87932
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>The Department wants pupils to be healthy and well nourished. The Department encourages a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices. The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.</p><p>The requirement in the school food standards to serve meat and dairy products applies to all schools. The Department is aware that for some faith schools, vegetarianism is an important part of that faith. There may therefore be cases where there is no demand for meat and dairy products from any of the school’s parents or pupils, and in this scenario it would not be realistic to expect the school to produce meat or dairy based meals that will not be consumed.</p><p>The Department has committed to supporting schools to drive up their sustainable practices on food. Schools can voluntarily follow the Government buying standards if they so wish, which include advice around sustainable sourcing. The Department also recognises the importance of plant-based foods from a cultural and environmental point of view. The school food regulations already allow schools the freedom to provide plant-based meals as needed. Meat must be served on three or more days each week and beyond this, schools may provide a meal with any other type of protein every day if they choose to.</p><p>The Department’s school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Beyond this, the Department believes that head teachers, school governors and caterers are best placed to make decisions regarding their school food policies, taking into account local circumstances and the needs of their pupils. In doing so, the Department expects schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with particular requirements, for example to reflect dietary and cultural needs. School food policies work best when schools discuss them with parents and pupils, so that parents have the opportunity to raise pupils’ particular dietary needs.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 21/11/2022 14:31:03 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541800

registered interest
date	14/11/2022
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	Support for Mortgage Interest
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to reform Support for Mortgage Interest by (a) removing the zero earnings rule, (b) reducing the qualifying period from nine months to three months and (c) offering the support as a grant.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	86554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2022 answer text <p>The Government announced a package of Housing Reforms on 9th June 2022, including changes to extend the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme. The reforms include reducing the qualifying period from nine to three months and removing the zero earnings rule to extend SMI eligibility to all eligible Universal Credit claimants. Further details of the changes are being worked on by officials and will be announced in due course.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to revert SMI to a benefit. The purchase of a home involves the acquisition of a valuable capital asset and so a fair balance has to be struck between the needs of homeowners and the cost to taxpayers. The loan system offers the same degree of protection from repossession at the point of need but strikes a better balance between the needs of claimants and the cost to taxpayers.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 17/11/2022 13:44:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541964

registered interest
date	14/11/2022
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	Help to Buy Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homes were bought using the Help to Buy scheme in (a) Westminster constituency and (b) each local authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	86555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2022 answer text <p>Data on households which have benefitted from the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in each local authority area can be found in published statistics <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fhelp-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-30-june-2022&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C168ea5097c3b4163076608dac8c0498e%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638043025428842436%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=R6cFaQdQLJ3ktk3Yyep%2FszZ1m4aLTM%2FdUWufldSXNws%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/11/2022 17:32:35 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541467

registered interest
date	11/11/2022
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	Parliament: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 389, how much public money was spent on subsidising food and drink in outlets on the parliamentary estate in 2021-22.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	84944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>Parliament provides a range of catering services to Members, House staff, journalists and a large number of visitors. As a workplace this includes staff canteens that are available for people who work in Parliament. The services aren’t directly subsidised, but they unavoidably come at a cost due to the irregular hours that Parliament works. The service has a commitment to continuously seek to reduce costs where possible.</p><p>The net cost of catering for the latest available financial year, April 2021–March 2022, was £7.5m.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 21/11/2022 18:15:48 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541600

registered interest
date	11/11/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help ensure that UK citizens living abroad have access to UK bank accounts.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	84945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2022 answer text <p>The provision of banking services is a commercial decision for firms based on a variety of factors, including the local law, regulation of individual countries, an assessment of profitability, or other commercial drivers. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 16/11/2022 14:40:53 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541601

registered interest
date	11/11/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Overseas Companies: Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises with headquarters in other countries are able to access UK bank accounts.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	84946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2022 answer text <p>The provision of banking services is a commercial decision for firms based on a variety of factors, including the local law, regulation of individual countries, an assessment of profitability, or other commercial drivers. Therefore, while the Government recognises and values the important role of SMEs, I hope you can appreciate that it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these decisions</p><p><br> I would encourage SMEs to explore the Business Current Account (BCA) finder tool developed by UK Finance, designed to help businesses compare the full range of bank accounts available and find products that best suit their needs.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 16/11/2022 14:38:52 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1541097

registered interest
date	09/11/2022
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	Support for Mortgage Interest
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the number of recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	83704
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2022 answer text <p>The table below shows the number of households who had a Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loan in payment for the past four years from April 2018, the point at which SMI became a loan, to March 2022.</p><p><strong>Number of households with an SMI loan in payment by year</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2018/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019/20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021/22</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18,400</p></td><td><p>18,000</p></td><td><p>16,400</p></td><td><p>15,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Note: the year runs from 1<sup>st</sup> April to 31<sup>st</sup> March. These figures include all cases in payment in Great Britain and are rounded to the nearest hundred</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Note that quarterly experimental statistics are published which include the number of households in receipt of a Support for Mortgage Interest loan payment per quarter. The publication can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/support-for-mortgage-interest-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/support-for-mortgage-interest-statistics</a>.</p><p>The number of households receiving SMI, prior to it becoming a loan, has been published and can be viewed in table 3c, row 20 of the ‘Benefit expenditure and caseload tables’ publication. The publication can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2022</a>. Note that this does not include Universal Credit households in receipt of SMI.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/11/2022 16:50:53 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney