Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of conflicts resulting from global food insecurity.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Hunger has many causes, but conflict is a major driver and amplifier behind ten of the largest food crises in the past year. In turn, competition for resources such as land, food and water contribute to instability. Our Development White Paper sets out our vision, combining efforts in development, diplomacy and security, to both reduce food insecurity and tackle conflict.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the level of public awareness of changes to the highway code made in 2022.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The January 2022 changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding have been communicated via a factual awareness raising campaign and broader behaviour change campaigns.

Over £2.4million has been spent on media across the campaign, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.

Results from the most recent campaign activity in August 2023 include:

• Awareness: The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes in September 2023 was at 70% among all road users (82% amongst drivers), with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by September 2023.

• Understanding: In September 2023 86% of drivers correctly identified that you should leave at least 1.5 metres of space when passing cyclists. Pedestrian priority at junctions was correctly identified by 77% of drivers.

• Empathy: Drivers agreeing that it is their responsibility to respect and give space to vulnerable road users remains consistently high and was at 93% in September 2023.

• Action: In September 2023 81% of drivers claim to leave a gap of 1.5M when passing a cyclist all or most of the time.

We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of response times for ministerial correspondence.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence. Ministers and officials are committed to providing the highest level of service. The Cabinet Office publishes correspondence performance data on GOV.UK on a regular basis, detailing departmental performance in handling correspondence.

Found: Q451 Michael Shanks: We will put that to our Minister, perhaps.

Found: Q451 Michael Shanks: We will put that to our Minister, perhaps.

Found: Q451 Michael Shanks: We will put that to our Minister, perhaps.

Found: Q421 Michael Shanks: I asked your successor after Jack, Alex Salmond, this question.

Found: MP •Wendy Chamberlain MP •David Duguid MP •Christine Jardine MP •Mark Menzies MP •Ms Anum Qaisar MP •Michael

Found: Q421 Michael Shanks: I asked your successor after Jack, Alex Salmond, this question.

Found: Q421 Michael Shanks: I asked your successor after Jack, Alex Salmond, this question.