Division Voting information
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
(5 debate interactions)
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
(5 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(9 debate contributions)
(6 debate contributions)
(6 debate contributions)
(6 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(797 words contributed)
Mid Bedfordshire Petitions
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
of 50,877 signatures (0.42%)
of 30,738 signatures (0.40%)
of 71,755 signatures (0.29%)
of 65,216 signatures (0.23%)
of 204,551 signatures (0.22%)
of 107,391 signatures (0.21%)
of 50,877 signatures (0.42%)
of 71,755 signatures (0.29%)
Latest EDMs signed by Alistair Strathern
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Alistair Strathern, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Alistair Strathern has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Alistair Strathern has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Alistair Strathern has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Alistair Strathern has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
In March 2023, we appointed Helen Tomlinson as the Government’s first Menopause Employment Champion.
We are working across Government and with employers to increase awareness and develop policies to support women experiencing the impact of menopause at work.
We recently launched new guidance on the Help to Grow portal, empowering businesses to educate their organisation about menopause.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Cash Access UK is responsible for rolling out banking hubs. It usually takes around 12 months for a Banking Hub to be set up by Cash Access UK. Steps include finding a suitable property, negotiating with landlords and signing leases and obtaining any necessary planning approval from the local authority.
Ampthill was recommended to receive a Banking Hub by LINK. Cash Access UK has found a suitable location for the Banking Hub in Ampthill and are now working to get the premises ready. It is currently due to open in Q2 this year. Works are due to start on site this month, subject to lease signing.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Tata Steel are now conducting a formal consultation period with staff regarding the company’s proposed £1.25 billion pound project to transition to greener steelmaking at Port Talbot.
Prior to this, Tata Steel have been discussing Union’s alternative proposals with them for several months. Ultimately, this is a commercial decision for Tata Steel and engagement with trade unions has always been a process that must be led by the employer.
We are working with Tata Steel to provide up to £100 million pounds funding for a dedicated Transition Board, which includes members from the Welsh Government, to support both affected employees and the local economy.
Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
a) Of the £5,711.94, £5.463.14 was spent on air travel to India between 1 July 2023 and 4 July 2023.
b) Of the £6,123.5, £6,123.5 was spent on air travel to Oman between 12 September 2023 and 15 September 2023.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
a) Of the £14,486.53, £14,074.71 was spent on air travel between 13 July and 19 July 2023.
b) Of the £7,223.21, £6,668.21 was spent on air travel between 24 August and 27 August 2023.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government aims to make the UK the best place in the world to start a business.
The Start Up Loans Company, part of the Government-owned British Business Bank, is creating opportunities for businesses to start and grow. As of October 2023, 13 SMEs in Mid Bedfordshire have received start-up loans to the value of £159,200 and 70 SMEs in Bedfordshire to the value of £838,600.
The government also provides extensive support to aspiring businesses, through the Business Support Helpline, a network of Growth Hubs and GOV.UK website, which provides information on starting up and running a business.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
5 Department for Energy Security & Net Zero Questions
(View all Alistair Strathern's DESNZ questions)The Net Zero Innovation Board provides strategic oversight of government funding of net zero innovation programmes and has met four times since February 2023 – in July, October and December 2023 and March 2024.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Net Zero Innovation Board provides strategic oversight of government funding of net zero innovation programmes and has met four times since February 2023 – in July, October and December 2023 and March 2024.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on average household electricity and gas bills are published as part of the Quarterly Energy Prices statistical series here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
The Department collects this information at a regional level (in Tables 2.2.3 and 2.3.3) but does not hold data at the constituency level. Initial estimates for annual bills for 2023 are scheduled for publication on 21 December 2023.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
ECO4 does not award funding to households, it is an obligation set by Government on large energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures.
To the end of June 2023 (the latest available data by parliamentary constituency), ECO4 has supported 10 households in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency and 1,241 households in Bedfordshire (Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Local Authorities combined).
The Government has provided significant additional funding for renewable energy projects this autumn. Provisions include support via the next Contracts for Difference Allocation Round, funding for manufacturing for Windfarms and Networks and investment tax measures.
Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid on.
The Government encourages projects in Mid Bedfordshire to apply for these schemes as relevant to their proposals.
3 Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Questions
(View all Alistair Strathern's DCMS questions)I flew to Sydney to support the England team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
As well as attending the England vs. Denmark match, I promoted the Government’s ongoing commitment to women and girls sport and physical activity. I championed the UK’s leading reputation in equality and human rights by attending a Gender Equality Symposium, and met with LGBT+ organisations, such as Pride in Sport.
I also promoted the UK's expertise in hosting major sporting events ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics by meeting with representatives from Brisbane 2032, alongside members of Brisbane’s City Council.
The cost of my return flight from Manchester to Sydney was £6,777.97. As part of my ministerial duties during my trip, I also travelled to Brisbane from Sydney. The cost of the return internal flight from Sydney to Brisbane was £336.80.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The tickets were gifted from Silverstone, and the event was the British Grand Prix.
This information was provided in the Secretary of State’s transparency return through the normal declaration process. However, due to a technical error it was not published on the GOV.UK website.
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State’s trip to Australia was to represent the UK Government at the FIFA Women's World Cup, supporting the Lionesses in the final, as well as undertaking a number of engagements to support the UK's culture sector.
The cost of her return flight from London to Sydney was £11,845.41.
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed on 22nd December 2003.
The department’s private finance initiative (PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to 2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.
The department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally 25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department, plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.
The department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula (NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own local formulae.
The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs, primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.
Minister of State (Education)
The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed on 22nd December 2003.
The department’s private finance initiative (PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to 2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.
The department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally 25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department, plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.
The department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula (NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own local formulae.
The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs, primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.
Minister of State (Education)
Officials from the East of England Regions Group have a weekly schedule of meetings with Central Bedfordshire officials, where a member of its Schools for the Future Programme responsible for the transition from a three to two tier school system is available to provide updates on the programme. In addition, on 23 February 2024, the department held a specific meeting where Central Bedfordshire officials provided an update on the progress of its three to two tier transition.
No Ministerial meetings were held in 2023 or 2024 with Central Bedfordshire Council to discuss its plans to move from a three to two-tier educational system.
Minister of State (Education)
Officials from the East of England Regions Group have a weekly schedule of meetings with Central Bedfordshire officials, where a member of its Schools for the Future Programme responsible for the transition from a three to two tier school system is available to provide updates on the programme. In addition, on 23 February 2024, the department held a specific meeting where Central Bedfordshire officials provided an update on the progress of its three to two tier transition.
No Ministerial meetings were held in 2023 or 2024 with Central Bedfordshire Council to discuss its plans to move from a three to two-tier educational system.
Minister of State (Education)
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The full guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2/early-education-and-childcare-applies-from-1-april-2024.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England, including Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council, about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing regarding their readiness to deliver the expanded childcare offer in both April and September 2024.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and, where needed, supports the local authority with any specific requirements through the department’s childcare sufficiency support contract.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There were 15,100 childcare places in 2023 than the previous year, with 12,900 paid staff added to the same period according to 2023’s Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey.
To support providers to expand their provision further, the department is investing over £400 million of additional funding to uplift the hourly rate for the entitlements next year. This investment consists of £67 million new funding to reflect the latest National Living Wage increase, an additional £57 million to support providers in respect of teachers’ pay and pensions, and the £288 million for the existing entitlements in 2024/25 announced in the Spring Budget in March 2023. It also builds on the £204 million of additional investment to increase funding rates this year.
The department will also be providing over £4.1 billion by the 2027/28 financial year to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged 9 months and above in England, from the term after they reach the relevant age (£1.7 billion in 2024/25, £3.3 billion in 2025/26, £4.1 billion in 2026/27, and £4.1 billion in 2027/28). Additionally, hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are registered for a 30-hour place, saving eligible working parents up to £6,900 per child per year, helping even more working parents and making a real difference to the lives of those families.
Providers are expanding placements across the country and the department is supporting providers to deliver each stage of the entitlement expansion rollout through increases to the rate of pay, the department’s national recruitment campaign and establishing more qualification routes into the sector.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Mid Bedfordshire constituency has a current Pupil Premium allocation of £3,470,920 for the 2023/24 financial year. This could change in the final allocations in spring if there are any adjustments for new and growing schools. The department has not estimated the impact of free school meals (FSM) uptake in the last 12 months on the level of Pupil Premium funding for schools in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
The department wants to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming FSM. To support this, an Eligibility Checking System is provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. The department has also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM and provided guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM in schools, compared with one in six in 2010.
The department has also increased Pupil Premium funding rates by 5% for the 2023/24 financial year, taking total Pupil Premium funding to almost £2.9 billion.
Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) in England. The most recently published figures are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. In January 2023, 1,056 (11%) state-funded primary school pupils and 1,377 (11%) secondary school pupils were known to be eligible for FSM in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency. Of these eligible pupils, 852 primary school pupils and 919 secondary school pupils took a FSM on census day.
Minister of State (Education)
In the government’s Spring Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By the 2027/28 financial year, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department announced local authority allocations for the childcare expansion capital grant on 30 November 2023. Central Bedfordshire will receive £649,385 in capital funding to support them to expand early years and wraparound provision.
In addition, Central Bedfordshire is due to receive £1,576,036 to enable them to deliver additional wraparound places. Local authorities have also received a share of £12 million of local authority delivery support funding for this financial year to support with meeting programme and delivery costs associated with rolling out the expanded early years entitlements.
The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of Mid Bedfordshire and has regular contact with them and each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the 'Early education and childcare' statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.
Where Mid Bedfordshire reports any sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action local authority is taking to address those issues, and where needed, supports them with any specific requirements through the department’s childcare sufficiency support contract.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places.
Basic Need funding allocations are based on the number of additional mainstream places needed in Reception to Year 11, which the department calculates using local authorities’ own pupil forecasts and data on existing school capacity. The department funds local authorities to provide at least a 2 per cent operating margin of places, to help support parental choice, churn in the pupil population, and the general manageability of the system. The funding rate per place each local authority receives is adjusted to reflect inflation and the different cost of construction in regions across the country.
The department has announced Central Bedfordshire will receive a total of just under £36.1 million to support the provision of new school places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the five financial years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just under £121.3 million.
Developer contributions are also an important way of helping to meet demand for new school places when housing developments are driving pupil numbers. It is for Central Bedfordshire Council, as the Local Planning Authority, to secure developer contributions through section 106 agreements or the Community Infrastructure Levy, and to decide on the local infrastructure needs that this contribution should support.
Minister of State (Education)
Central Bedfordshire Council has decided to transition from a three-tier to a two-tier school system. In these instances, it is a local authority’s responsibility to manage such a transition.
The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. While this funding is not designed to fund transitions from a three-tier to a two-tier system, it is not ringfenced (subject to published conditions), meaning local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities. Central Bedfordshire Council will receive just under £36.1 million for places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the five financial years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just under £121.3 million.
It is ultimately the council’s responsibility to manage the three-tier to two-tier process. The department has a support, a challenge and a decision-making role for changes made to academies.
Minister of State (Education)
As part of the commitments outlined in 'Stable Homes, Built on Love', the department made a commitment to implement or explore each of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care’s recommendations on kinship care.
The department is in the final stages of drafting its kinship strategy, which outlines plans to enhance support for all kinship families in England. This strategy will complement the existing support initiatives offered by the department, such as the peer-to-peer support service.
Following on from the progress and positive impact of the peer-to-peer support contract, the department will deliver a package of training and support that all kinship carers in England can access if they wish to, regardless of whether they have a legal order in place. This will be implemented from Spring 2024.
Statutory guidance issued to local authorities already makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.
The department has committed to work across government to explore possible additional workplace entitlements for kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) or Child Arrangement Order (CAO), as well as exploring the case for mandating a financial allowance for kinship carers with SGOs and CAOs in every local authority. Further details will be shared in due course.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to delivering this strategy this year and to improving outcomes for children in kinship care. This is part of a wider, once in a generation reset to the children’s social care system, as set out in ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which aims to rebalance the children’s social care system away from costly crisis intervention, towards meaningful and effective help for families, to deliver better outcomes for children.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional, Local Authority and individual school level, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
As at November 2022, the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes the highest number of FTE teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
The table below provides the pupil to adult ratio and the pupil to teacher ratio for state funded secondary schools in Mid Bedfordshire constituency and England for academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23.
Pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios for state funded secondary schools in Mid Bedfordshire constituency and England, by year
2019/20 and 2022/231
| Mid Bedfordshire constituency2 | England | ||
| Pupil to adult ratio3, 5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4, 5 | Pupil to adult ratio3, 5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4, 5 |
2019/20 | 12.8 | 18.1 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2020/212 | 12.3 | 19.1 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2021/22 | 12.6 | 18.2 | 11.9 | 16.7 |
2022/23 | 12.3 | 18.0 | 12.0 | 16.8 |
Source: School Workforce Census.
1. Workforce data as at November and pupil data as at the following January. For instance, 2019/20 relates to November 2019 workforce and January 2020 pupils.
2. There are 14 secondary schools in Mid Bedfordshire constituency. One school is removed from the ratio calculations each year due to the low reliability of reported figures, and a second school is not included for 2020/21 as they did not return data that year.
3. Pupil to adult ratio includes teachers and support staff (excluding administrative and auxiliary staff).
4. Pupil to teacher ratio includes all teachers.
5. The ratios are calculated using pupil numbers taken from the publication, ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
The median debt of full-time undergraduate borrowers funded by student finance England, whose postcode is within the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, and who entered repayment within the last 5 years, is £43,772.37. The median debt includes tuition fees and maintenance loans.
The borrower’s postcode refers to the current contact or home address supplied by the borrower to the Student Loans Company.
Full-time undergraduate higher education students starting in the academic year 2022/23 are expected to borrow on average £42,100 over the course of their studies. More information and a link to the publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.
The department has appointed a specialist Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) adviser to work alongside an NHS England SEND adviser to advise, support and challenge the Central Bedfordshire local partnership to rapidly improve its SEND provision.
Central Bedfordshire is also part of the Delivering Better Value in SEND programme, which aims to support local authorities to improve SEND services for children and young people while ensuring services are sustainable. This programme provides dedicated support and funding by the department, in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
On 2 March 2023, the department published the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan which set out what the department will do to make sure more children and young people with SEND or in AP get the support they need.
The department is testing key reforms through the nine Change Programme Partnerships (CPPs) announced as part of the £70 million Change Programme. Central Bedfordshire is one of those CPPs, working with Bedford and Luton. Each CPP is being supported with funding of approximately £6.3 million between now and March 2025.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local Authorities can decide to transition from a three-tier to a two-tier school system. It is a Local Authority’s responsibility to manage such a transition. The Secretary of State is aware of some of the challenges faced, and recently met with parents, staff as well as representatives from the local community to discuss their concerns around delivering Central Bedfordshire Council’s transitional arrangements. The department’s role is to approve or decline changes to age ranges for schools that are academies. To date, the department has approved seven applications to support academies to become either primary or secondary schools.
The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support Local Authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. While this funding is not designed to fund transitions from a three-tier to a two-tier system, the funding is not ringfenced, subject to published conditions, and Local Authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities. Central Bedfordshire Council will receive just under £36.1 million for places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the five financial years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just under £121.3 million.
Minister of State (Education)
By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The government is providing over £4.1 billion by the 2027/28 financial year to fund 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months. Investing £204 million next year, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25 for local authorities to increase the hourly funding rate to providers. This will include an average of 30% increase in the national average 2-year-old hourly rate from September 2023, which means that in 2024, the average hourly 2-year-old rate will be more than £8.
As part of this, Central Bedfordshire is due to receive £1,597,036.11 to enable them to deliver additional wraparound places. This financial year, local authorities have also received £12 million of delivery support funding to support them with meeting programme and delivery costs associated with rolling out the expanded early year entitlements. Central Bedfordshire will be allocated funds from this also.
The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. The department is raising awareness of government funded childcare support available to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families. This support could make a significant financial difference to families, as well as incentivising more eligible providers to register with Ofsted, in order to give parents more choices about where they can use their government funding.
The department also continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. The department’s Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the number of places available has remained broadly stable since 2019. A £100 million allocation for local areas to use to make sure childcare settings in their areas have enough physical space, anticipated to add thousands of new places across the country. More detail on the £100 million capital funding, including allocation amounts to local authorities and accompanying guidance, will be published shortly. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the 'Early education and childcare' statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
14 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
(View all Alistair Strathern's Defra questions)The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 07 March the RPA has received 44 applications of which 33 agreements have been offered and 26 accepted for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to part a) of the reply given to the hon. Member for Putney, Fleur Anderson, on 23 January 2024, UIN 9673.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no farm businesses waiting for more than three or six months in England for field boundary changes. The average time to complete processing is 13 days recognising that some changes are straightforward, and some take more time depending on the extent of the changes requested.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that honey bees and wild pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production. All pollinators contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production, by improving crop quality and quantity. Pollinators are also beneficial to our wider, natural ecosystems.
Recognising the potential impact that Asian hornet would have on honey bees and wild pollinators, Defra, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, has developed the Asian hornet contingency plan which details the response to Asian hornet. The plan is regularly reviewed and was last updated in January 2023. The operational response is carried out by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
In 2023 the NBU has located and destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations. The NBU has now fine-tuned its response and enhanced its preparedness, and it can frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported.
The Defra funding for the NBU is to deliver the Bee Health Programme and other agreed actions including responding to Asian hornet. This includes ensuring that NBU inspectors’ expertise is maintained through training, and that they have the necessary equipment and support to work effectively.
NBU has the necessary skills and experience and is therefore best placed to deliver the operational response.
We appreciate the vital role that beekeepers take in the response through helping raise awareness of the threat of Asian hornet, educating people in identifying these insects, encouraging them to report any suspected sightings and monitoring traps. Accurate and timely reporting is critical to the response and helps the NBU to continue to respond quickly and effectively to any potential nests.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 13 December the RPA had received 14 applications of which 8 agreements have been offered and 6 accepted for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 12 December 2023, there are 854 single business identifiers (individual farm business number) in England with customer notified land changes in our workstack. We do not break these figures down by constituency.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Affordability of water bills is an important area of focus for Ofwat as customers are at the heart of its regulatory activity. Water companies are tasked with providing support to customers that are financially struggling and Ofwat is continuing to push companies to provide prompt, accessible support to the customers that need it most.
Ofwat also monitors the experiences of bill payers through its cost-of-living survey, including how customers respond to changes in water bills. This includes information on older people without private pensions, and those struggling to pay bills.
Ofwat expect water companies to do everything they can to support all customers who are vulnerable, in debt or struggling to pay. In so doing, it will continue to work closely with the Consumer Council for Water who also have an important role in the provision of affordability support for consumers, including having regard to the interests of individuals of pensionable age.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 05 December there are currently 20 farm businesses who have started an application but not submitted yet for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat assesses affordability for each water company through a 5 yearly process called the Price Review. As part of this process, water companies must set out in their business plans how they will address affordability and outline their support measures for households that are struggling to pay, or who are at risk of struggling to pay.
As set out in our Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat, we expect water companies to improve the availability, quality, and uptake of support to low income and other vulnerable household customers. All water companies offer reduced bills for eligible customers via the WaterSure scheme and social tariffs, as well as a range of other financial support measures such as payment holidays, bill matching and advice on debt management and water efficiency.
The Government expects water companies to continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures available.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year the Government launched the original Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP). Following consultation, the government published an expanded SODRP to cover 100% of overflows in England, which will drive £60 billion capital investment by 2050 – the largest infrastructure investment in water company history.
In Mid Bedfordshire, the Environment Agency is working with Anglian Water Services (AWS) to reduce sewage pollution through AWS’s Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP). There are currently 23 schemes related to reducing or improving sewage discharges in Mid Bedfordshire which are due to be completed by 31 March 2025. Future schemes are currently being discussed for the next Price Review period, from 2025 to 2030.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 14 November there are currently 12 farm businesses with a SFI agreement for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
The SFI23 application window opened in mid-September and there is a rolling window to apply which allows farm businesses to apply when they are ready to do so.
We have a number of farm businesses that have started an application but not submitted one.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 14 November, there are 90 farm businesses with a current Countryside Stewardship Agreement or a Countryside Stewardship Agreement starting on 1 January 2024 for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In our response to the Landscapes Review we launched a public consultation on the future of green lanes, using it as an opportunity to listen to the views of all those affected. We recognise that these unsealed routes often provide essential vehicular access for local residents and businesses without causing damage or disturbance. We have convened a multi-user stakeholder working group to consider further the vulnerability to damage of all green lanes.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to issue Traffic Regulations Orders to protect sensitive areas where necessary.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My officials have ongoing discussions with the British Parking Association on a variety of issues. The Department has no current plans for increasing the minimum size for on-street car parking bays to accommodate larger vehicles.
The minimum size of on-street parking bays is regulated through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Local authorities may already provide larger bays if they wish.
The design of off-street car park facilities is governed by Building Regulations which specify requirements in relation to accessibility, structural design and fire safety.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials have ongoing discussions with the British Parking Association on a variety of issues. The Department has no current plans for increasing the minimum size for on-street car parking bays to accommodate larger vehicles.
The minimum size of on-street parking bays is regulated through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Local authorities may already provide larger bays if they wish.
The design of off-street car park facilities is governed by Building Regulations which specify requirements in relation to accessibility, structural design and fire safety.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)