Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 (a) farmers and (b) food producers in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency use sustainable farming methods.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming in England is now going through the biggest change in a generation. As government, our approach to working with the farming sector is changing too. Food is still the primary purpose of farming, and always will be. But if we want farming and food production to be resilient and sustainable over the long term, then farming and nature can and must go hand in hand.
In 2022 we started to roll out some core elements of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). We will gradually expand the scheme until all elements are available from 2024/25 onwards. In its early years, the scheme will focus on supporting and maintaining environmentally sustainable farming improvements that most farmers can make, such as soil and livestock management, pesticide use and fertiliser use. The core elements of the SFI that are available as of June 2022 are: arable and horticultural soils standard; improved grassland soils standard; and moorland standard which will be followed by the Annual Health and Welfare Review.
Local Nature Recovery is the improved and more ambitious successor to the Countryside Stewardship scheme in England. It will pay for locally-targeted actions to make space for nature in the farmed landscape and the wider countryside, alongside food production. We plan to make an early version of the scheme available to a limited number of people in 2023 as part of our plans for testing and rolling out the scheme. We will then roll out the scheme across the whole country by the end of 2024.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact on farming communities of being located within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The power to consider areas for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) designation lies with Natural England (NE), which then makes an order to be confirmed by the Secretary of State.
NE's designation assessment process includes the consideration of the statutory criterion for AONB designation (outstanding natural beauty), including relevant factors of landscape and scenic quality, relative wildness, relative tranquillity, and the contributions made to natural beauty by natural and cultural heritage features and associations. NE's assessment process also includes working collaboratively with local partners to ensure there are good engagement and consultation opportunities during the process, which will take into consideration the impact of views presented by farmers, local communities, statutory bodies, stakeholder organisations, landowners, and the wider public.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits for a community of being included in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The power to consider areas for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) designation lies with Natural England (NE), which then makes an order to be confirmed by the Secretary of State.
NE's designation assessment process includes the consideration of the statutory criterion for AONB designation (outstanding natural beauty), including relevant factors of landscape and scenic quality, relative wildness, relative tranquillity, and the contributions made to natural beauty by natural and cultural heritage features and associations. NE's assessment process also includes working collaboratively with local partners to ensure there are good engagement and consultation opportunities during the process, which will take into consideration the impact of views presented by farmers, local communities, statutory bodies, stakeholder organisations, landowners, and the wider public.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of Ukrainian refugees who are in work in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency as on 2 September 2022.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd September is attached.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Way to Work scheme in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.
Answered by Julie Marson
We are unable to provide the number of movements into work during the Way to Work campaign for the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency as to produce this would incur disproportionate cost.
Whilst we cannot provide data at a constituency level, we can provide this data at a Jobcentre Plus (JCP) district geographical area. Hitchin and Harpenden constituency falls within Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire JCP District, we have therefore provided the movements into work that took place within that area during the campaign period. These will include movements that took place in other constituencies that fall within the same JCP district.
We estimate that 12,030 unemployed Universal Credit claimants in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire JCP District, moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and 30 June 2022.
This does not include movements into work from JSA claimants as they cannot be broken down to Jobcentre Plus District level. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to improve rural bus services in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Whilst it is for Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to determine and prioritise investment in local transport, the Government’s National Bus Strategy asked all LTAs to publish a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) covering the full area, including parts with differing needs, such as rural elements. Hertfordshire County Council submitted a high-quality BSIP. On 8 August 2022, the Department wrote to the Council’s Transport Director, confirming their funding allocation of up to £29,732,100 (of which £13,190,400 is capital and £16,541,700 is revenue) to support delivery of the BSIP.
We have also announced a further six-month extension to the Bus Recovery Grant to provide up to £130m to continue supporting bus services in England outside London from October until March 2023.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to bring in measures to help alleviate problems with HGVs using unsuitable residential roads in Hitchin.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government believes local authorities are best able to manage traffic on local roads and consider the needs of local residents. Powers given to local authorities under Sections 1 & 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 allow for the restriction or prohibition of the use of HGVs on any road, for a wide range of safety and environmental reasons. These measures can be implemented by making Traffic Regulation Orders without reference to the Department for Transport.
The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 provide various signs for authorities to consider if they choose to do this, including signs informing motorists that certain roads are unsuitable for HGVs or if a weight limit is in place. The restrictions are then enforceable by the police.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the initial performance of the Demand Response Travel project funded in 2021 in the rural North East of Hertfordshire.
Answered by Karl McCartney
Our £20m Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 17 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas including in North East Hertfordshire. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Travel can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone. While it is too early to assess the full impact of the pilots, early indications show Hertfordshire County Council have exceeded the journey target they had set for the first year after launch.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on providing support to Ukrainian refugees to help find employment.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
DWP Ministers meet regularly with their counterparts in the Home Office to discuss the ongoing support being provided to those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian evacuees on either Homes for Ukraine or the Family Scheme have immediate access to the full range of DWP employment support and services at the point of a successful claim to benefit.
DWP Work Coaches are supporting individuals to identify suitable roles and access appropriate training through our Sector based work academies and other provision, including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) training, and support through the range of Plan for Jobs provision.
A large number of employers have come forward in response to the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine with job vacancies which are open to any potential applicant. These vacancies are shared across the Job Centre network and with Refugee Employment Network (REN) a charity who support organizations who help refugees find work.
Support from Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders and Visiting Officers is also available where complex needs are identified.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of job vacancies in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency as on 2 September 2022.
Answered by Julie Marson
Vacancies data produced by the ONS in partnership with Adzuna are indexed to February 2020. As of 26th August 2022, the index value for the East of England is 105.1, i.e. there are 5.1% more vacancies on the 26th of August 2022 than there were in February 2020. Please note there is no vacancies data for parliamentary constituencies nor published figures for the number of vacancies by region.