Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sector-based work academies have taken place in total and in each (a) country and (b) region of the UK since the programme began.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Sector-based work academies were launched in August 2011 in England and January 2012 in Scotland. Regular statistical releases on sector-based work academies, covering participation by those on legacy unemployment benefits, began in 2011 and ended in 2017. These statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/employment-schemes-work-experience-sector-based-work-academy-and-skills-conditionality-starts-to-november-2017
The scheme was relaunched as Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in July 2020 as part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs. Due to data limitations, we are unable to provide a geographical breakdown for SWAPs that took place before the start of the 2021/22 financial year.
Data for the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to date shows that, as of 28 January 2024, there were a total of 266,330 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme. The breakdowns of these starts are provided in the attached tables. Final start figures for 2023/24 will be available early next financial year.
Notes on the data:
Attached are tables listing the number of SWAP starts to date by Country, Region, Local Authority, Sector and Age band. The figures used are correct as of 28 January 2024 and these figures have been rounded according to departmental standards.
These figures reflect the number of starts by claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support (IS).
It is important to note that the information provided shows the current home location of the person who has started a SWAP. For starts by those in receipt of JSA, ESA or IS, due to data limitations a location cannot be assigned to these starts and as such they are categorised as unknown within the figures. SWAPs are run in England and Scotland, where a person’s current home location is outside of this they have also been categorised as unknown.
Although care is taken when processing and recording SWAP starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any clerical recording system, but is provided in the interests of transparency.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve recycling for households.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are introducing Simpler Recycling in England to drive up recycling rates and reverse a trend of stagnation. From March 2025 for businesses and March 2026 for households, Simpler Recycling will ensure that the same materials can be recycled at home and at work, replacing the current wild west system where neighbouring local authorities can have completely different recycling systems.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with car insurance regulators on helping ensure that rises in car insurance premiums do not disproportionately impact elderly drivers.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.
Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry and discuss issues as they arise. However, it is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged (a) 16 and over and (b) 16 to 64 were (i) in employment and (ii) unemployed between February and April 2010.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged 16 to 64 were economically inactive in the period between February and April 2010; and how many people aged 16 to 24 were (a) in employment and (b) unemployed in that period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total rate of employment was for people aged 16 and over in the period between February and April 2010; and what the total rate of unemployment was for people aged 16 to 64 in that period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce funding levels for local planning authorities to help tackle planning backlogs.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local councils are responsible for ensuring that they build skills pipelines in their area to discharge their responsibilities. We recognise, however, that there have been challenges in recent years in plan and so, on a temporary basis, the Government is providing additional funds.
The £24 million Planning Skills Delivery Fund will help local authorities to recruit, retain and upskill planners to build a more sustainable planning system for the benefit of communities by helping local planning authorities clear planning backlogs and get the skills in place that they need to respond to changes in the planning system. This has been supplemented at Autumn Statement by an additional £5 million to clear the planning applications backlog.
We will announce the successful local authorities who applied for funding as part of the year one application process shortly.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with (a) autism, (b) ADHD and (c) dyslexia in the East of England in the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested is not held centrally but may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the mandatory offer of support to people in the light touch conditionality regime will begin.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to ensuring that people in work look for more and better work. That’s not only good for the country and the economy, it is good for someone to move off benefits– improving life prospects, mental and physical health, and providing new skills.
At Spring Budget we announced the AET rise to the equivalent of 18 hours at the National Living Wage. This will bring the lower earners who would have been impacted by the mandatory offer into a higher level of conditionality.
Claimants earning above the Administrative Earnings Threshold in the Light Touch Group currently have access to a voluntary In Work Progression offer. This will now become mandatory in 2024.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy for the agriculture sector which helps to support farmers and their supply chain partners to (a) restore nature, (b) cut greenhouse gas emissions and (c) (i) maintain and (ii) enhance food production.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Net Zero is a priority for the Government. The Net Zero Strategy, Net Zero Growth Plan, and Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 set out our commitments to reduce emissions from agriculture. Our farming policy aims to support farmers to protect nature and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, alongside their core role as food producers. Food production is the primary purpose of farming and always will be, and we know that changes to farming practice will be required to limit emissions while maintaining profitability and increasing productivity.
To achieve our greenhouse gas emissions targets, we are taking a range of measures to support farmers. This includes Environmental Land Management (ELM). Good land management can help increase carbon storage and reduce emissions in agriculture, including integrating cover crops and nitrogen-fixing break crops in rotations. We are paying for a range of actions through farming schemes such as Sustainable Farming Incentive to support farm decarbonisation and Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery to store more carbon in the landscape. At the same time, these schemes invest in the foundations of food security: healthy soil, abundant pollinators and clean water. The schemes will help farmers deliver environmental outcomes on the land they manage while helping their businesses become more productive and sustainable.
We will also pay farmers for improvements to animal health and welfare, as improvements in animal health in turn can support lower emissions and improve productivity. We will also support market-led approaches such as improved productivity and use of precision techniques.
That is not all: the Government recognises wide-spread application of innovation, science and technology can be transformational. That is why we are implementing these through innovation and productivity schemes such as the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme and the Farming Investment Fund. We are also exploring innovations at different stages of development including methane inhibiting feed additives for livestock and improving fuel and energy efficiency on farms.