Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the World Health Organization report A focus on adolescent substance use in Europe, central Asia and Canada, published on 25 April, what plans they have to address the high levels of child alcohol consumption in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Guidance from England’s Chief Medical Officer for healthcare professionals is clear that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option. The Department promotes this through online platforms such as the NHS.UK website, the Talk to FRANK online resource, and the GOV.UK website. Local authorities promote these guidelines as part of their public health duties. As part of the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, the Department has an ambition to support 5,000 more children and young people in receiving treatment than at the start of the strategy in March 2022.
The Department for Education’s statutory guidance, Relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, became mandatory in September 2020. Through this, education on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco became compulsory at state-funded primary and secondary schools, teaching children and young people how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. To deter individuals selling alcohol to a person aged under 18 years old, the maximum fine for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children was increased from £10,000 to £20,000, under section 147A(8) of the 2003 Licensing Act.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research by Fortify Rights, published on 26 April, that found Border Guard Bangladesh responsible for the assault and forced returns of Rohingya Refugees.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and working to address protection risks. We regularly discuss our concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the camps with the Government of Bangladesh and often engage with the UN and NGOs. UK humanitarian funding of over £391 million since 2017 includes ongoing support to protection services. We are aware of the Fortify Rights report published on 26 April. We have raised our concerns with the Government of Bangladesh about the reported refoulement incidents on 25 April of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh regarding reports of officials involved in beatings and forced returns of Rohingya refugees.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and working to address protection risks. We regularly discuss our concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the camps with the Government of Bangladesh and often engage with the UN and NGOs. UK humanitarian funding of over £391 million since 2017 includes ongoing support to protection services. We are aware of the Fortify Rights report published on 26 April. We have raised our concerns with the Government of Bangladesh about the reported refoulement incidents on 25 April of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low rates of breastfeeding on incidences of breast cancer.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the National Health Service. The public health benefits of breastfeeding for child and maternal health are significant and well established. Evidence suggests a range of potential benefits, for example, research published in the British Medical Journal found breastfeeding gave protection against breast cancer.
We want to ensure that every parent and carer understands the benefits of breastfeeding and has access to the high-quality infant feeding services they need, in their local area, to achieve their breastfeeding goals. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, we are investing £50 million to increase the range of specialist support, which is enabling parents to access face-to-face and virtual support whenever they need it.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of core funding for delivering rural services; and what plans they have to create equitable funding between rural and urban councils.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country. Furthermore, we recognise the importance and difficulties of councils serving dispersed populations. That is why we have increased the value of the Rural Services Delivery Grant by over 15%, from £95 million to £110 million in 2024-25. This is the highest increase since 2018-19, and the second successive year of above-inflation increases.
We last calculated the Settlement Funding Assessment in 2013/14. The Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament to deliver simpler, fairer and longer settlements.
The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated to local authorities ranking in the top-quartile of sparsely populated areas in England, using the Government’s ‘Super Sparsity’ measure. The methodology is unchanged from 2023-24 and any funding decisions beyond the 2024-25 financial year are a matter for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending the Rural Services Delivery Grant to all rural councils in future years.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country. Furthermore, we recognise the importance and difficulties of councils serving dispersed populations. That is why we have increased the value of the Rural Services Delivery Grant by over 15%, from £95 million to £110 million in 2024-25. This is the highest increase since 2018-19, and the second successive year of above-inflation increases.
We last calculated the Settlement Funding Assessment in 2013/14. The Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament to deliver simpler, fairer and longer settlements.
The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated to local authorities ranking in the top-quartile of sparsely populated areas in England, using the Government’s ‘Super Sparsity’ measure. The methodology is unchanged from 2023-24 and any funding decisions beyond the 2024-25 financial year are a matter for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to fully implement the changes to the Needs Assessment component of the funding formula made in 2013; and subsequently whether they will increase funding to rural councils to reflect inflation in the years since these changes were made.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country. Furthermore, we recognise the importance and difficulties of councils serving dispersed populations. That is why we have increased the value of the Rural Services Delivery Grant by over 15%, from £95 million to £110 million in 2024-25. This is the highest increase since 2018-19, and the second successive year of above-inflation increases.
We last calculated the Settlement Funding Assessment in 2013/14. The Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament to deliver simpler, fairer and longer settlements.
The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated to local authorities ranking in the top-quartile of sparsely populated areas in England, using the Government’s ‘Super Sparsity’ measure. The methodology is unchanged from 2023-24 and any funding decisions beyond the 2024-25 financial year are a matter for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make an assessment of the impact of the Tesco-Booker merger on rural small businesses, such as post offices and village stores.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.
I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Tesco-Booker merger on independent shopkeepers.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.
I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the changes recently introduced by Booker on independent retailers.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.
I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.