Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding he plans to provide for the (a) Child Nutrition Fund, (b) Child Wasting Innovation Programme, (c) ready-to-use therapeutic foods and (d) other nutrition programmes in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are currently unable to confirm exact levels of funding for the outer years until the spending review for this period has been completed.
The majority of funding for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and other nutrition programmes is administered by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) country offices, and allocated through humanitarian programmes. It is therefore not possible to know in advance how much will be spent on nutrition. The FCDO retrospectively publishes nutrition spend on an annual basis. The most recent available data is from 2022 and can be found online.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables in supermarkets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives.
The Government’s funding of WRAP, who run the UK Plastics Pact (UKPP), has seen significant progression across industry. Members have increased the average recycled content in their packaging from 8.5% in 2018 to 24.1%. UKPP members cover the entire plastics value chain and are responsible for the majority of plastic packaging sold through UK supermarkets, and approximately two thirds of the total plastic packaging placed on the UK market. Since 2018, additional progress from members includes a 55% reduction by weight sold of the items listed as problematic and avoidable in 2018; 71% of their plastic packaging is now recyclable (up from 66% in 2018); and 55% of their plastic packaging is recycled (up from 44% in 2018).
The Government also supports innovation, having funded over 80 projects on innovative solutions to plastic packaging through the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge (SSPP), managed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing (a) sexual health services and (b) public health back into the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to preventing ill health, promoting healthier lives and addressing health disparities, including sexual health.
We have therefore committed to developing a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, which will explore commissioning models to meet the changing needs of our changing population. The plan will be focused on delivering the three shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, and will be published in June 2025.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Bank Group's report entitled Investment Framework for Nutrition 2024, published on 2 October 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) his Department's international development strategy and (b) the allocation of Official Development Assistance prioritise cost-effective nutrition interventions.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.
To deliver the most impact on nutrition, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to integrating nutrition objectives alongside other policy objectives from sectors, such as health, food and agriculture, humanitarian, and climate in our ODA programmes. At the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the FCDO launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration. Over 80 countries and organisations have signalled their commitment to nutrition integration through the Compact.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reduced USAID funding for malnutrition programmes on the UK's funding for such programmes for (a) children and (b) other people.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK notes the US decision to disband USAID and cancel certain USAID programmes. This is a matter for the US. We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across all humanitarian and development sectors, including on joint and coordinated programming.
Decisions on how the UK's Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. To deliver the most impact on nutrition, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to integrating nutrition objectives alongside other policy objectives from sectors, such as health, food and agriculture, humanitarian, and climate in our ODA programmes. At the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the FCDO launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration. Over 80 countries and organisations have signalled their commitment to nutrition integration through the Compact.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish national plans to improve (a) respiratory health and (b) other major conditions following the publication of the NHS England 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will focus on the three shifts needed to deliver a modern National Health Service: hospital to community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention. We want to see more tests and scans in the community, in high street settings, reducing the need for people to take multiple trips to hospitals to get diagnosed.
The 10-Year Health Plan will describe a shared vision for the health and care system in 2035, drawing directly from the extensive engagement underway with the public, patients and staff. The plan will include how care models and pathways will need to change or evolve to better meet their needs, and the cultural and behavioural changes we want to see.
The Department, following the merger with NHS England, will continue the work undertaken by NHS England to improve the services for major conditions in line with the vision of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to publish the 48 new Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) across England. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations when preparing the strategies and use the statutory guidance provided. Once complete, each responsible authority will publish the LNRS for their area. Two strategies have been published so far, in the West of England and North Northamptonshire.
LNRSs will be delivered through a combination of legal duties, funding and incentives. The Government has set out a clear leadership and coordination role for responsible authorities in the English Devolution White Paper.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of open public spaces in new housing developments that are owned by private companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not hold comprehensive information on the number of open public spaces in new housing developments that are owned by private companies.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 3 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of incorporating (a) economic, (b) social and (c) cultural rights into domestic law.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We have made no such assessment. United Nations human rights treaties do not require States to incorporate them into domestic law, and we are confident that we comply fully with our UN treaty obligations.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) Plan 5 student loan repayment threshold and (b) annual pay for someone on the minimum wage in a full-time job from 1 April 2025 on the net income of graduates with student loans.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. More details on the consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.
Comparing the previous threshold of £28,470 under Plan 2 with the new threshold of £25,000 under Plan 5, the monthly repayments under the new repayment plan would result in an individual who was previously earning £28,470 and not repaying their loan, to now repaying approximately £26 per month.
From 1 April 2025, the National Minimum Wage has increased to £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. If working a standard 37.5 hours per week, a minimum wage worker will earn £23,809.50, which is below the annual threshold for both Plans 2 and 5. This calculation is based on the average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers.