Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of (a) the average length of time for a Skilled Worker visa application from outside the UK to be approved and (b) the number of applications for a Skilled Worker visa that have been delayed because a certificate of sponsorship from the applicant's employer has expired.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not routinely publish data on the average time to process visa applications or on application processing delays caused by expired certificates of sponsorship (COS). Provided the application was submitted before the expiry of the certificate of sponsorship (COS), this should not cause any delay.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to 9 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme to a five-year rolling programme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on support for planning applications by agricultural businesses to (a) install solar panels and (b) expand into the green energy sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Planning policy encourages growth through the conversion of existing buildings and promoting well-designed new buildings, alongside the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. In addition, there are a range of existing permitted development rights which allow for certain agricultural development to take place without a planning application.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is also clear that local authorities should have a positive strategy in place to promote energy from renewables. Permitted development rights currently allow for the installation of rooftop solar up to one megawatt on non-domestic properties, such as farm buildings.
A planning application is not usually required for smaller, on-farm reservoirs, where the waste material excavated to develop a reservoir remains on the farm. An existing permitted development right allows for the creation of smaller, on-farm reservoirs. The right is subject to prior approval, providing a streamlined planning process allowing for local consideration of specific planning matters set out in legislation.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he has taken to (a) invest in and (b) fast-track the planning process for water storage, recycling and treatment on farms.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Planning policy encourages growth through the conversion of existing buildings and promoting well-designed new buildings, alongside the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. In addition, there are a range of existing permitted development rights which allow for certain agricultural development to take place without a planning application.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is also clear that local authorities should have a positive strategy in place to promote energy from renewables. Permitted development rights currently allow for the installation of rooftop solar up to one megawatt on non-domestic properties, such as farm buildings.
A planning application is not usually required for smaller, on-farm reservoirs, where the waste material excavated to develop a reservoir remains on the farm. An existing permitted development right allows for the creation of smaller, on-farm reservoirs. The right is subject to prior approval, providing a streamlined planning process allowing for local consideration of specific planning matters set out in legislation.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with local government to deliver a planning policy that encourages horticultural growers to expand and modernise.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Planning policy encourages growth through the conversion of existing buildings and promoting well-designed new buildings, alongside the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. In addition, there are a range of existing permitted development rights which allow for certain agricultural development to take place without a planning application.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is also clear that local authorities should have a positive strategy in place to promote energy from renewables. Permitted development rights currently allow for the installation of rooftop solar up to one megawatt on non-domestic properties, such as farm buildings.
A planning application is not usually required for smaller, on-farm reservoirs, where the waste material excavated to develop a reservoir remains on the farm. An existing permitted development right allows for the creation of smaller, on-farm reservoirs. The right is subject to prior approval, providing a streamlined planning process allowing for local consideration of specific planning matters set out in legislation.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, If he will make it his policy to increase the national grid capacity and network to encourage horticulture growers to invest in renewables .
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to accelerating the delivery of new electricity network capacity to accommodate new renewable generation, as set out, jointly with Ofgem, in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework. Through Ofgem’s Accelerating Strategic Transmission Investment work, approximately £20bn worth of network projects have been accelerated to support new renewable generation. In addition, Ofgem have removed or reduced the contribution to distribution network reinforcement costs which may be required to accommodate a connection. This has made it cheaper for customers, including horticulture growers, to connect renewables and other low carbon technologies to the electricity distribution network.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will extend the definition of energy-intensive industries to include (a) horticulture and (b) other energy intensive agriculture sectors.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has no plans to extend the sectors included within the energy and trade intensive industries element of the Energy Bill Discount Scheme. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review assessed qualitative and quantitative evidence from stakeholders on sectors that may be most affected by rising energy prices based on energy and trade intensity.
The outcome of the review informed the criteria of the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) and the higher level of support to be provided for the most energy and trade intensive sectors which meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity.
The methodology for determining the eligibility of SIC Codes for the higher Energy and Trade Intensive Industry (ETII) support is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on helping to ensure that the process for abstraction licences is adaptable and flexible.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has recently invested in significant additional resources to help improve the determination timescales associated with abstraction licence applications and to reduce the number of applications in the queue. Improvements are already being seen. The Environment Agency is also prioritising licence applications and Habitats Risk Assessments which are associated with Rural Payments Agency grants for farm storage reservoirs and has appointed a specialist to help support these applications through the process.
The Environment Agency and Defra are working closely with the sector to help farmers refill storage reservoirs and recover from the 2022 drought, and to improve the sector’s resilience to future drought. This includes improvements to water resources planning, investment in infrastructure, greater collaboration across all sectors of use, and more rapid communications to improve access to water when it is available.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she bring forward legislative proposals to help ensure that a food risk assessment is made when changes to abstraction licences or restrictions are implemented to ensure that due regard is given to any potential impact on food security.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has a duty to take into account the costs and benefits of its actions. The Environment Agency applies this duty, for example, when considering the need for irrigation restrictions. There is recognition of the devastating impacts that a total ban may have on the yield and quality of crops, so where restrictions are absolutely necessary the Environment Agency looks to introduce restrictions on a voluntary basis first, followed by partial restrictions (e.g., abstraction every other day, or night time only) and then total bans as a last resort. During the drought of 2022, the Environment Agency avoided the need for total irrigation bans by using this approach.