Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support new entrants into farming.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Attracting new talent into food and farming is vital for a sustainable and productive agriculture sector. As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 – 2024, this Government will provide funding to create lasting opportunities for new entrants to access land, infrastructure and support to establish successful and innovative businesses.
The new entrant scheme is being developed through a co-design process with stakeholders, including representatives of local authorities with council farm estates, new entrants, providers of innovation support, cooperative and community land organisations and private landowners.
In January 2022 the Secretary of State announced plans for pilot incubators to support new entrants to trial some of the solutions emerging from the co-design process. The details of these pilots are being worked up, with the aim to launch the pilot scheme this year.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring all new build domestic properties to be fitted with rainwater harvesting tanks.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following DEFRA’s consultation ‘measures to reduce personal water consumption’, Government made a commitment to develop a roadmap towards greater water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including the exploration of revised building regulations and how the development of new technologies can contribute to meeting these standards. We will ensure that the underlying legislation can, where appropriate, accommodate any potential future expansion of rainwater harvesting, water re-use and storage options. The full written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-01/hcws140
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a housing benefit taper for recipients who have entered into employment but temporarily remain in supported accommodation.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This is already in place. The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures claimants will always be financially better off working than not being in work. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support and maintain British-owned semi-conductor manufacturing in the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technology to the global economy. Semiconductors are a fundamental enabling technology for electronic devices and the UK holds current and historical strengths in certain aspects of the semiconductor supply chain, notably design.
The Government is reviewing its approach to the UKs domestic semiconductor sector, working with industry experts and representative bodies, in order to protect and grow the UKs domestic capabilities. We are also collaborating closely with international partners, recognising that the supply chains for semiconductor products are incredibly complex, and these issues cannot be solved by the UK alone.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department provides funding to assist dentists with relocation.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Health Education England provides assistance to dentists in training for some removal and relocation costs. The guidance for trainees requiring assistance is available at the following link:
National Health Service trusts have individual relocation policies and eligibility criteria which are determined at a local level.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is a time limit on HMRC's pursuit of outstanding monies owed under the loan charge.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Where a taxpayer cannot pay their liability in full, HMRC’s priority is to agree a manageable and sustainable Time to Pay instalment arrangement with any taxpayer who engages with them to seek a resolution. There is no maximum repayment period, and these arrangements are flexible and can be updated if the taxpayer’s circumstances change.
In the small number of cases where the taxpayer has insufficient disposable income to agree a Time to Pay arrangement, HMRC will pause debt collection activity. HMRC will inform the taxpayer and aim to review each case every six to twelve months to see if the taxpayer’s circumstances have materially changed.
Where a taxpayer’s circumstances materially change, HMRC will restart debt collection activity even if a number of years have passed, because there is no statute of limitations on tax debts. This ensures the tax system is fair to all taxpayers who pay what they owe when they have the ability to do so.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Education and (b) Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the Government's plans for the future of School Games funding.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the delivery of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. Arrangements for the School Games Organisers programme, including the position on future funding, will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 evidence each parent must provide in order to permit an accurate assessment of the level of child maintenance required to be paid.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The calculation is initially based on historic income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs. Parents may need to supply additional evidence which is considered on a case by case basis.
Both parents have the right to request a mandatory reconsideration and supply further evidence to challenge a decision.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a breakdown of what the £200 million allocated by his Department to be spent on prisoner rehabilitation each year by 2024-25 will be spent on; and how that spending will be measured.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As set out in our Prisons Strategy White Paper, we are building on the £50 million investment made in 2021 by spending £200 million a year by 2024-25 on reducing reoffending. We will spend this on improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation, by transforming education in prisons and how we get offenders into work, substance misuse treatment and further measures for early intervention to tackle youth offending.
We will set plans out in further detail when our Outcome Delivery Plan 2022-25 is published, in the coming months.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on supporting offenders into employment following their release from prison.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are delivering on our commitments in the recent Prisons Strategy White Paper to improve employment outcomes for prison leavers: