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

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

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

1672607

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	Community Energy Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to (a) publish further details of and (b) announce the launch date for the Community Energy Fund; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of public sector investment in community energy projects.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3455
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>There is a range of funding available to the community energy sector. This includes the new £10m Community Energy Fund, as well as UK growth funding such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, worth up to £2.6bn for investment in places. Community energy groups can access these through working with local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The Government aims to open applications to the Community Energy Fund as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 30/11/2023 17:06:21 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672608

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	Energy: Private Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of introducing incentives for landlords in the private rented sector who (a) are and (b) are not eligible for the (i) Home Upgrade Grant and (ii) ECO scheme to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, including how Government can support landlords to improve the energy efficiency of homes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is spending £6.6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer. Plus, an estimated £5bn is to be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has launched a brand-new eligibility tool on our ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 30/11/2023 17:05:18 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672609

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	Nature 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, with reference to the speech entitled Environment Secretary speech on 25 Year Environment Plan progress, published on 19 July 2023, what the geographical location is of the over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitats that have been created and restored since 2010; what is the type of those habitats; and what proportion of those habitats are in a favourable condition.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2023 answer text <p>The figure that over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitat have been created or restored since 2010 is reflective of action taken towards target 1B (an increase in the overall extent of priority habitats by at least 200,000 ha by 2020) in Biodiversity 2020 (the Government’s biodiversity strategy for England up to 2020, published in 2011). This activity was not recorded in a spatial way, but this is something we are looking to change with reporting towards the Environment Act target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042.</p><p> </p><p>In the <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/consultation-on-environmental-targets/supporting_documents/Biodiversity%20terrestrial%20and%20freshwater%20targets%20%20Detailed%20evidence%20report.pdf#:~:text=The%20Environment%20Act%202021%20mandates%20that%20at%20least,Species%20Extinction%20Risk%2C%20Wider%20Habitats%20and%20Protected%20Sites." target="_blank">evidence report</a> for the Environment Act biodiversity targets, on page 26, we published a breakdown of habitat created and restored between 2011 and 2019. Although this does not cover the whole time period referenced, it is indicative of the general split between habitat types created and restored.</p><p> </p><p>Our best data on the location of priority habitat is the <a href="https://naturalengland-defra.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/Defra::priority-habitat-inventory-central-england/about" target="_blank">Priority Habitat Inventory</a>. This is a spatial data set that shows where priority habitat has been recorded. Habitat must be of a sufficient quality to be considered priority habitat. Habitat is added or removed from the inventory as evidence on gains and losses become available.</p><p> </p><p>Indicator 2a in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/england-biodiversity-indicators" target="_blank">England Biodiversity Indicators</a> provides more information about the condition of priority habitats in England. The indicator outlines the percentage area of priority habitats under several condition categories. Detail on how condition is assessed is given in the background section. The D1 outcome indicator of the 25 Year Environment Plan is undergoing further development and in time will describe the quantity, quality and connectivity of all major habitats across England; priority habitats would be included within this wider picture, although not at a disaggregated level.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/12/2023 16:53:16 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672610

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	Environment Protection: EU Law
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 recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on levels of environmental protection.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>It has not been necessary to carry out such an assessment. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 will only remove from the UK statute book pieces of Retained EU Law (REUL) specifically cited in the revocation schedule. These are being removed because they are obsolete, expired, duplicated, no longer relevant to the UK, or have been superseded by new legislation. The Government remains fully committed to upholding environmental standards. Ministers made commitments at all stages of the Bill’s passage not to reduce environmental standards and protections. Since the start of November Ministers have had a legal duty to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement under the Environment Act 2021 when making policies using the REUL Act’s powers. This Government uses expert advice, including that of many independent experts, when making provisions that relate to the environment.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:44:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672611

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	Demonstrations: Palestinians
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 made an assessment of the potential role of members of Hamas in pro-Palestinian protests in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	Simon Fell
uin	3546
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government takes proscription offences seriously. Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations or individuals who may be members of or who demonstrate support for proscribed organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies.</p><p>Following the terrorist attacks on Israel, the (then) Home Secretary wrote to police chiefs in England and Wales urging them to step up patrols and use the full force of the law to tackle those inciting hatred towards our Jewish communities.</p><p>Public order policing has disseminated briefing materials to police forces covering hate crime and the proscription offences, including advice on the flags associated with proscribed organisations Hamas and Hizballah.</p> answering member constituency Tonbridge and Malling answering member printed Tom Tugendhat question first answered 29/11/2023 17:56:55 answering member 4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat
tabling member	4744 label Biography information for Simon Fell