Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to bring forward a revised energy strategy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
From the Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper in 2020 through the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 and in last year’s British Energy Security Strategy, the Government has outlined its energy objectives. As my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Autumn Statement, the Government will soon publish more detail about its approach to delivering energy security, consistent with achieving Net Zero by 2050.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 110878 on Speed Limits: Fines, if she will make it her policy to allow people receiving speeding penalty charges related (a) dashboard camera, (b) CCTV and (c) helmet camera footage to review that footage before making the choice about whether to plead guilty or go to court.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions as to whether an offence may be being committed and the provision of any dashboard, CCTV and helmet camera footage in respect of a potential speeding offence is an operational matter for the police.
Before a possible prosecution the police will issue a conditional fixed penalty offer with evidence that can be relied upon at court. It is then a decision for the recipient to decide to accept this offer or to challenge this at court.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the age restriction of 60 for Student Finance England funding for Undergraduate and Masters Degrees in (a) all and (b) STEM subjects.
Answered by Robert Halfon
All eligible undergraduate students qualify for non-means tested tuition fee loans regardless of their age. In addition, eligible undergraduate students under the age of 60 on the first day of the first academic year of their course qualify for partially means-tested loans for living costs. This applies to all subjects.
The government has a duty to consider the value for money for the public purse of offering a loan product where there is a low expectation of repayment. The department recognises that some older students on lower incomes may need help with their living costs. That is why full-time undergraduate students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course can apply for a fully means-tested loan for living costs, known as a ‘special support loan’, of up to £4,106 in the 2022/23 academic year, increasing to £4,221 in 2023/24.
The upper age limit of 60 years old for postgraduate master’s loans was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is applicable to all subjects and is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan.
In settling on the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of UK electricity use in 2050 that will be derived from (a) UK-generated renewable energy, (b) UK-generated fossil fuels, (c) UK-generated nuclear and (d) net imports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Annex O (sub-Annex L) of the Energy and Emission Projections[1]shows annual generation by technology (including imports) for four power sector scenarios (two with higher levels of electricity demand and two with lower levels of electricity demand).
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the contribution of heritage and arts sites to wellbeing and mental health.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Heritage and the arts have an important role to play in boosting people’s health and wellbeing – a point which has been underlined by our experience during, and since, the COVID-19 pandemic. DCMS and our arm’s-length bodies, including Arts Council England and Historic England, play an important role in the Government’s work to improve health and wellbeing.
Arts Council England’s ‘Creative Health and Wellbeing Plan’ sets out its ongoing commitment to help people live happier, healthier lives, while Historic England’s ‘Wellbeing and Heritage Strategy’ aims to ensure that everyone can experience the wellbeing benefits of heritage. Both organisations work with the NHS and partner with the National Academy of Social Prescribing.
The Government’s schools White Paper, published in March 2022, said that all children should be entitled to take part in sport, music and cultural opportunities, noting that “These opportunities are an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum, and support children’s health, wellbeing and wider development, particularly as we recover from the pandemic.” The Government published updated plans to support sport and music education in 2022, and will publish a cultural education plan in 2023, which DCMS is working with the Department for Education and our arm’s-length bodies in developing.
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 assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s steps to increase Pension Credit claims in December 2022.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We undertook a further burst of communications activity in December which included press, radio and social media. This highlighted that successful Pension Credit applications made by 18 December would mean qualification for a £324 Cost of Living Payment – thanks to Pension Credit backdating rules. To promote this activity, I held an event at Portcullis House on 7 December. Around 40 MPs attended to show their support and help promote the message in their constituencies.
Internal management information shows that during the week commencing 12 December, DWP received over 7,200 claims. This is 177% higher compared to the same week the year before.
Since the beginning of the Pension Credit awareness campaign in April 2022, weekly Pension Credit claims volumes increased by an average of 73% compared to the year average before the campaign began (April 2021 to March 2022).
A range of other factors are also likely to have impacted claim volumes and it is not therefore possible to attribute the increase to the campaign alone.
This data is based on internal management information which has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics. They are provided here in the interests of transparency.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on new nuclear power sites in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
Wales is home to two of the best sites for new nuclear developments which will provide high-quality jobs, contribute to net zero and secure our energy supply. There is clear cross-party support for new nuclear and I will continue to work with Cabinet colleagues who want to develop these opportunities in Wales as much as I do.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects to announce the outcome of the Government's review of electricity market arrangements (REMA).
Answered by Graham Stuart
The first Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation, which closed in October 2022, sought views gathered from across the energy sector on the UK's objectives and options for reform. A summary of the responses will be published early this year, with further consultation expected in 2023.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on the use of (a) dashboard camera, (b) CCTV and (c) helmet camera footage for speeding penalties; and whether a driver subject to a potential speeding penalty should be permitted to review the footage before making the choice about whether to plead guilty or go to court.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Unless it is unlawful for some other reason, the police can use any equipment they wish to help detect offences. How the police enforce road traffic law, including speeding offences, and the type of equipment they may use is an operational matter for the police.
However, equipment used by the police to capture evidence of speeding that can be prosecuted in court is type approved by government. This “Type Approval” process involves equipment being subject to rigorous field and laboratory testing to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their speed measurements and to prevent the possibility of spurious speed measurements being produced. This includes a requirement for primary and secondary speed measurement verification. Secondary legislation also prescribes how the camera will perform the speed measurement.
Type approval guarantees that a device is accurate, precise, reliable and consistent so that its evidence can be relied on. Evidence from a type approved device can therefore also reasonably be used to support the offer of a fixed penalty and will be available for use in a prosecution should the fixed penalty offer not be accepted. At this stage no devices described by the member have been submitted for Type Approval.
The provision of any dashboard, CCTV and helmet camera footage in respect of a potential speeding offence is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for music lessons in state schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government remains committed to continued support for music education. The Government published the National Plan for Music Education in June 2022 which sets out the vision for ‘all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally’. At the heart of the new plan is the Model Music Curriculum published in March 2021, which sets out how schools can deliver an excellent music education.
The Government recognises the vital importance of every child accessing instruments and equipment they need to make progress with music, including technology and adaptive instruments where needed for pupils with SEND. We therefore also announced £25 million of new funding for musical instruments alongside the Plan. This funding will increase the existing stock available to all children and young people. We will work with schools, hubs, Arts Council England and the wider sector to focus on best practice in managing access to instruments and equipment. We will publish further details in due course.
The Department committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years up to and including 2024-25, which was confirmed with the publication of the Plan. Music Hubs are groups of organisations, such as local authorities, schools, art organisations, community, or voluntary organisations, that work together to create joined-up music education provision and provide specialist music education services to around 90% of state-funded schools. This includes whole class and group ensemble teaching, and individual instrument tuition.
Hubs also ensure that progression routes are clear and affordable, and some hubs provide instrument loans to children and young people to achieve this.