Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) financial and (b) environmental merits of an incineration tax for household waste.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
A number of respondents to last year’s call for evidence on single use plastic waste suggested that an incineration tax could discourage incineration and promote more environmentally beneficial forms of waste management.
At Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced that he would not at this point be taking forward a tax on the incineration of waste. However, should wider policies not deliver the government’s waste ambitions, government will consider the introduction of such a tax, in conjunction with landfill tax, taking account of the possible impacts on local authorities.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on revenue of a tax on virgin materials including on plastics.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
At Budget 2018, the government announced its intention to tackle the scourge of single-use plastic waste through the introduction of a new tax on plastic packaging which does not contain a sufficient amount of recycled content, taking effect from April 2022. This world-leading new tax will provide a clear economic incentive for businesses to use more recycled material in the production of packaging, instead of using virgin plastic. It will achieve similar objectives to a tax on virgin plastics, but in a more targeted and effective way.
Earlier this year, the government launched a consultation seeking views on the initial proposed design for the tax. This closed in May and the government intends to publish a summary of responses in due course.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants over the age of 60 in receipt of universal credit have been sanctioned in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Statistics on Universal Credit sanctions by age are published and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance for users is available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the provision of free school meals to all infant school aged children does not adversely affect (a) the allocation of and (b) level of registration for pupil premium funding.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We are determined to give every child, regardless of their background, the very best start in life. Free school meals are key to this and we want all parents whose children are entitled to them to apply for them. The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.
We understand there are some concerns that schools could be missing out on valuable pupil premium funding due to under registration for free school meals. However, school census data shows that the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals has not adversely affected infant registration rates.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps have been taken to ensure customers of Ariste Holding Ltd trading as Cash Genie are able to receive the compensation awarded by the Financial Conduct Authority following the company's voluntary liquidation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the member for Ipswich by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that compensation awarded by the FCA from a financial company to their customers cannot be avoided by the company entering voluntary insolvency.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the member for Ipswich by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to implement the EU Single-Use Plastics directive in full which includes measures on oxo-degradable plastics; and what plans he has to extend that legislation to include oxo-biodegradable plastics.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
In our Resources and Waste Strategy we have committed to match or where economically practicable exceed the ambition of the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
The term oxo-degradable plastics is used in the Directive. The Directive mandates that oxo-degradable plastics shall be restricted from being placed on the market from 3 July 2021. Oxo-degradable plastics are conventional plastics. They include additives which are designed to promote the oxidation of the material to the point where it embrittles and fragments, potentially resulting in risks from micro-plastic particles. The Government remains committed to reducing the health and environmental impacts of certain plastic products, including those made from oxo-degradable plastics, in the marine environment.
The Government is concerned that, in the absence of standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal.
As part of the Bioeconomy Strategy published on 5 December last year, the Government committed to work with UK Research and Innovation and industry to seek evidence on the demand, benefits and implications (for example the impact on recycling streams) of a standard for bio-based and biodegradable plastics that would include carrier bags. The call for evidence will seek evidence in relation to labelling and information provision.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for the provision of legal aid for expatriates that have returned to the UK with their children after fleeing domestic abuse from their partners while abroad.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic abuse must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.
Legal aid remains available for some private family proceedings where there is evidence of domestic abuse. To qualify for legal aid in a private family matter, applicants must provide evidence that they are a victim of, or at risk of being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse as well as meet the means and merits criteria.
The availability of legal aid is dependent on the type of legal proceedings and expatriates are not excluded.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of a reduction in the number of children’s centre places in local authorities on the number of children being taken into care in that area.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally because no such assessment has been made. However, the National Audit Office’s recent report on children’s social care found no support for the hypothesis that a reduction in the number of children’s centre buildings would increase the use of child protection plans. The report can be accessed at: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/pressures-on-childrens-social-care/.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussion he has had with representatives of local authorities on the educational value to children of children’s centres.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education meets regularly with representatives of local authorities to discuss various matters related to the Department for Education agenda.