Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made progress on the Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published the Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note and an accompanying statement on 30 December 2024. This statement set out that government will only back new Energy from Waste projects that meet strict conditions. Proposals for new facilities will have to demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. Additionally, new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy.
We are considering how best to reflect the approach in this statement in the new set of national policies for development management which we have committed to producing, and in updates to National Policy Statements.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to support the clean energy transition through the adoption of new nuclear power.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan makes clear that nuclear will play an important role in our future energy system, providing low-carbon, baseload power to the grid.
We are delivering the biggest new nuclear building programme in a generation having committed almost £17 billion at the recent Spending Review.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to amend the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 to allow widows to continue to receive pension income following remarriage.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The 1987 Police Pension Scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.
With the introduction of the 2006 and 2015 police pension schemes, all eligible police officers were able to join a pension scheme that provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse.
From 1 April 2015, the 1987 Police Pension Scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.
There are no plans at this time to make any further changes to benefits accrued in the 1987 police scheme.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has set a minimum quality threshold under the apprenticeship accountability framework for training providers to continue offering new starts on a standard in the apprenticeship programme in England for the academic year 2025-26; and when she plans to communicate information about the required threshold to providers.
Answered by Janet Daby
The Apprenticeship Accountability Framework (AAF) is the department’s main tool for improving apprenticeship quality. The AAF evaluates Qualification Achievement Rates alongside nine other quality indicators, such as Ofsted outcomes, withdrawal rates and feedback from apprentices and employers, using updated data throughout the year.
The AAF sets minimum thresholds for each quality indicator, reflecting the department's baseline expectations for apprenticeship quality. If a provider's performance falls below these thresholds, it triggers a management conversation between the department and the provider, rather than an automatic cessation of starts on a standard.
The quality indicators and their minimum thresholds are detailed in the Apprenticeship Accountability Framework and Specification, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework-and-specification--2#accountability-policy-for-apprenticeship-training-providers. The department will continually review these indicators and thresholds, using the latest available data from the current and previous academic years, while considering sector consultation and feedback to ensure they are appropriately set.
Any changes to the AAF, including updates to quality indicators and their minimum thresholds, will be communicated to the sector.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme recipients there are in each constituency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of scheme members in each constituency is listed in the attached table. This information is from the scheme trustees and correct as at 30 October 2024. Some of these scheme members will not yet be in receipt of their pension, but we do not have a breakdown of that information at constituency level.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will outline the timeline for the review of the Green Book.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The review of the Green Book will report back at the conclusion of the Spending Review in June.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any (a) devolved and (b) delegated responsibility agreements with devolved authorities prohibit them from setting up individual learning accounts within the Adults Skills Fund.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has devolved approximately 60% of the Adult Skills Fund to the nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England, and West Yorkshire, and delegated to the Greater London Authority.
Devolved authorities are responsible for ensuring learners have access to the training they require to progress in life. It is therefore at the discretion of devolved authorities on what training or funding their learners have access to.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1926.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the importance of allotments and the immense contribution they make to the health, wellbeing and spirit of communities. We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the Small Holdings and Allotments Act.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the timescales Parish Councils have to increase allotment spaces.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 requires local authorities including parish councils to provide enough allotments if they deem there is sufficient demand from the local population. They must also consider local representations submitted under this Act requesting the provision of allotments. There are currently no plans to prescribe a timeframe for local authorities to respond to these requests.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas have been issued in each of the last ten years, broken down by country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas granted, by year, visa route, and nationality are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data cover the period up to the end of September 2024.