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1304381

registered interest
date	19/03/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) pensioner and (b) other people who apply for credit without a comprehensive credit rating have fair access to finance.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	172108
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government believes that a consumer without a comprehensive credit rating should have fair access to credit.</p><p> </p><p>To support those struggling to access credit, in 2018, the Government announced the winners of its £2 million Rent Recognition Challenge. The winners offer apps for renters to record and share their rent payment data, helping boost their credit score. Further, since 2019, the Government has provided £96 million to Fair4All Finance to increase the financial resilience and wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances through improving availability of fair and accessible financial products and services.</p><p> </p><p>For consumers struggling to access credit, Credit Reference Agencies can advise consumers to add a Notice of Correction (of up to 200 words) to their credit report explaining any special circumstances, and to explain how their situation has now changed or improved. The content of the Notice should be taken into account alongside the information on the consumer’s report.</p><p> </p><p>To support pensioners, those in receipt of Pension Credit may be able to apply for Budgeting Loans available through DWP’s Social Fund. These are interest-free loans, which are repayable from benefit awards and are designed to help with intermittent expenses that are considered difficult to budget. Those in receipt of Universal Credit can access new claim advances at the beginning of their claim should they have upfront costs. There are also budgeting or change of circumstances advances, available throughout a Universal Credit claim, should someone encounter unexpected one-off expenses.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 29/03/2021 12:29:57 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1303022

registered interest
date	16/03/2021
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	Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
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 progress has been made on bringing forward legislative proposals to ban new licences for badger culling in England.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	169943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>In January 2021 we launched a consultation on the next phase of bovine TB eradication strategy as part of our objective for TB-free status in England by 2038. The consultation includes proposals to stop issuing intensive cull licences for new areas after 2022 and could see new four-year licences, after two-years of culling, be revoked after a progress evaluation by the Chief Veterinary Officer.</p><p> </p><p>The consultation also includes proposals to restrict supplementary badger control licences to two years and to prohibit the issuing of new licences for areas licensed after 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The consultation closes on 24 March 2021 and a government response and next steps will be published thereafter. Changes to the intensive and supplementary cull licences will be implemented by Natural England through revised guidance from Defra, which we are also consulting on. Details can be found at <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb-2020/eradication-of-btb-england/" target="_blank">https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb-2020/eradication-of-btb-england/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 169944 question first answered 24/03/2021 16:33:13 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1303024

registered interest
date	16/03/2021
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	Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
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 Written Statement of 27 January 2021, HCWS738 on Bovine TB, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of cutting short extant badger culling licences at the same time as he plans to ban new licences from being issued in 2022.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	169944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>In January 2021 we launched a consultation on the next phase of bovine TB eradication strategy as part of our objective for TB-free status in England by 2038. The consultation includes proposals to stop issuing intensive cull licences for new areas after 2022 and could see new four-year licences, after two-years of culling, be revoked after a progress evaluation by the Chief Veterinary Officer.</p><p> </p><p>The consultation also includes proposals to restrict supplementary badger control licences to two years and to prohibit the issuing of new licences for areas licensed after 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The consultation closes on 24 March 2021 and a government response and next steps will be published thereafter. Changes to the intensive and supplementary cull licences will be implemented by Natural England through revised guidance from Defra, which we are also consulting on. Details can be found at <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb-2020/eradication-of-btb-england/" target="_blank">https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb-2020/eradication-of-btb-england/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 169943 question first answered 24/03/2021 16:33:13 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1302485

registered interest
date	15/03/2021
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	First Homes Scheme
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 progress he has made on the First Homes scheme and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	169001
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>First Homes, the Government’s new home ownership initiative, will provide a sustained and ongoing supply of homes sold to first-time buyers and key workers with a discount of at least 30% below market value. In some areas, the discount could be as high as 50%. Crucially, the discount will be passed on each time the property is sold, ensuring local areas continue to benefit for generation to come.</p><p>The Government has published two consultations regarding the implementation of First Homes. The first of these was published on 7 February 2020 and closed on 1 May that year, we responded to that consultation on 6 August 2020.</p><p>On that same day we published the second consultation, as part of the wider document ‘Changes to the current planning system’. This consultation was technical in nature, exploring specific planning system changes required to implement First Homes. This consultation closed on 1 October and we have been analysing responses. We hope to be able to publish our response and outline next steps very soon.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 23/03/2021 15:28:49 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1302486

registered interest
date	15/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Secondary Education: Admissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans for summer-born children to be given automatic admission to secondary school for children who currently have a delayed start.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	169002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>The Department remains committed to legislating to change the School Admissions Code to allow summer born children to be automatically admitted to Reception at the age of five, where that is what their parents' wish, and to remain with that cohort throughout their compulsory education.</p><p>In September 2020, we published updated guidance for admission authorities and advice for parents on the current arrangements for requesting admission outside a child’s normal age group. The guidance states that where children have delayed their start in Reception and are applying for transition to junior, middle or secondary school, unless there are sound educational reasons to do otherwise, the assumption should be that they remain outside their normal year group and in the year in which they have been educated so far. The guidance will help ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of the child concerned.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 23/03/2021 17:08:57 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1301886

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Media
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	167275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2021 answer text <p>The Digital Communications Team has included approximately 14 members of staff responsible for producing and promoting social media content between 2018 and 2021. We cannot quantify how many other staff in the wider Communications Directorate or wider department as it’s something that many people do as a smaller part of their role.</p><p>The Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective.</p><p>The Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on <a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank">gov.uk</a> as part of routine government transparency arrangements.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 18/03/2021 17:56:35 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1301887

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Social Media
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	167276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>Britain is fast becoming a digital-first nation. Roughly 96% of the UK households now have internet access with 66% of the population in the UK using social media.</p><p>With this monumental shift in media consumption habits, it is essential for a responsible government to pivot its communications strategy to be more digital-first, to inform and engage the general public on important policies.</p><p>Government communication runs across all channels including TV and radio advertising, out of home, digital and social media, print, direct channels such as letters, SMS and webinars, virtual and in-person activity, where needed and in full compliance with social distancing restrictions.</p><p>The DCMS News and Communications team leads on managing the department’s social media content as part of its day to day work, which includes a digital team of six that leads on creative content production across all of our corporate channels including online (for social media) and also offline, out of home and internal comms channels. This grew from a team of five people during 2018 to 2019. There are also two members of staff within Private Office who support on digital comms, as part of their wider roles.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 23/03/2021 15:05:44 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1301888

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Social Media
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	167277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2021 answer text <p>There has been no-one in my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s private office allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on Department for Education social media.</p><p> </p><p>The number of officials in the central social media team based in the communications division are outlined by year in the following table:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year:</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Officials:</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This reflects the increasing importance of communicating directly on social media to parents, students and school, college and university staff with clear, practical information and support during the COVID-19 outbreak.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 19/03/2021 12:45:23 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1301889

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Social Media
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	167278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2021 answer text <p>At Defra, in 2020-21 we had 17 people allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media. Sixteen of those people worked across three organisations: Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency. In 2018-19 we allocated 16 people and in 2019-20 we allocated 17 people.</p><p> </p><p>We have no private office officials allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media.</p><p> </p><p>Britain is fast becoming a digital-first nation. Roughly 96% of the UK households now have internet access with 66% of the population in the UK using social media. With this monumental shift in media consumption habits, it is essential for a responsible government to pivot its communications strategy to be more digital-first in order to inform and engage with the general public on important policies.</p><p> </p><p>Government communication runs across all channels - TV and radio advertising, out of home, digital and social media, print, and direct channels such as letters, SMS and webinars, virtual and in-person activity, where needed and in full compliance with social distancing restrictions.</p><p> </p><p>Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective. Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on <a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank">gov.uk</a> as part of routine government transparency arrangements.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 19/03/2021 13:52:08 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1301890

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Department for International Trade: Social Media
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	167279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>There are no officials in my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade’s Private Office whose dedicated role is the production and promotion of online content for use on social media.</p><p> </p><p>In the UK, the number of officials in the Department whose roles are dedicated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media is 6 full-time employees. Other officials in the UK and overseas may contribute content as required.</p><p> </p><p>This has been at a consistent level across the years indicated at (a), (b) and (c).</p><p> </p><p>In UK Export Finance, the number of full-time equivalent members of staff working on production and promotion of content for social media in those three years was (a) 2018-19 1.5 FTE; (b) 2019-20 1.5 FTE; and (c) 2020-21, 1.0 FTE. Other officials contribute to the production and promotion as required.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 23/03/2021 16:52:06 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones