Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of train stations to disabled people in (a) London and (b) Erith and Thamesmead constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are committed to ensuring disabled passengers, including visually impaired people, can use public transport confidently. The Department for Transport recently completed an accessibility audit of all 2,577 stations including in London and the Erith and Thamesmead constituency.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what account her Department took when authorising the use of the neonicotinoid Cruiser SB in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 of research on the effects of neonicotinoids on (i) bees and (ii) other pollinators.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The EU withdrew approval for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators, in December 2018.
The UK supported this move, and this has not changed. The restrictions on neonicotinoids were justified by the growing weight of scientific evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinators. This restriction remains in place.
In considering the applications for use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet in 2021 and 2022, a range of evidence was considered on the impacts of the proposed use of the product on people, pollinators, and the environment. Information on these decisions can be found here.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) environmental and (b) ecological effects of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The EU withdrew approval for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators, in December 2018.
The UK supported this move, and this has not changed. The restrictions on neonicotinoids were justified by the growing weight of scientific evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinators. This restriction remains in place.
In considering the applications for use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet in 2021 and 2022, a range of evidence was considered on the impacts of the proposed use of the product on people, pollinators, and the environment. Information on these decisions can be found here.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of the implications for her policies of the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The EU withdrew approval for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators, in December 2018.
The UK supported this move, and this has not changed. The restrictions on neonicotinoids were justified by the growing weight of scientific evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinators. This restriction remains in place.
In considering the applications for use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet in 2021 and 2022, a range of evidence was considered on the impacts of the proposed use of the product on people, pollinators, and the environment. Information on these decisions can be found here.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support pubs with increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and the UK economy. And we understand the challenges pubs are facing.
That is why the new alcohol duty system implemented on 1 August 2023 included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in pubs and other on-trade venues. As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket.
Pubs also benefit from a broader package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years, including a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme which increased from 50% to 75% relief in 2023-24. And community assets have benefitted from the Community Ownership Fund, which has allocated £49.3m to 195 projects across the UK, including pubs.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181783 on Child Trust Funds, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its work in making contact with account holders of unclaimed mature Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Although primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their parents lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the government is committed to helping people access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their mature CTFs.
HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.
The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.
If a child lacks the mental capacity to manage their account when they turn 18, a person with responsibility must apply to the Court of Protection (or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for a financial deputyship order. While responsibility for the process and legislation relating to mental capacity rests with the Ministry of Justice and devolved administrations, the CTF guidance on gov.uk provides specific references to mental capacity and links to the relevant bodies in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April to Question 181792 on Child Trust Funds: what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its policies on simplifying the process for families to access Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Although primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their parents lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the government is committed to helping people access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their mature CTFs.
HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.
The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.
If a child lacks the mental capacity to manage their account when they turn 18, a person with responsibility must apply to the Court of Protection (or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for a financial deputyship order. While responsibility for the process and legislation relating to mental capacity rests with the Ministry of Justice and devolved administrations, the CTF guidance on gov.uk provides specific references to mental capacity and links to the relevant bodies in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department provides to the families of children with health conditions that are trying to access their Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Although primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their parents lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the government is committed to helping people access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their mature CTFs.
HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.
The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.
If a child lacks the mental capacity to manage their account when they turn 18, a person with responsibility must apply to the Court of Protection (or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for a financial deputyship order. While responsibility for the process and legislation relating to mental capacity rests with the Ministry of Justice and devolved administrations, the CTF guidance on gov.uk provides specific references to mental capacity and links to the relevant bodies in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the robustness of (a) technical and (b) software systems used by HM Court and Tribunal Service to process probate applications.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Probate Service is supported by robust technology and software, which is maintained and improved by a dedicated team of software developers.
We seek regular feedback from users of the service, which influences the priorities of the software development team. All our technical systems meet Government standards, including alignment with architectural and cyber security principles.
HMCTS is required to complete an annual Data Protection Impact Assessment, which is a process to help identify and minimize the data protection risks of the service.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to identify the number of unclaimed mature Child Trust Funds that have been claimed by account holders in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
HMRC publishes annual statistics on the number of matured CTFs that remain unclaimed together with the number of CTFs that have been claimed. The latest statistics were published in June 2023 and can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023. An update will be published in Summer 2024.
The government is committed to helping people identify and access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their matured CTFs.