Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 is taking steps to help increase the (a) adoption and (b) production of low carbon fertiliser.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is committed to promoting the use of less environmentally damaging fertilisers and better nutrient use efficiency. The existing UK regulatory regime for the manufacture and placing of fertilisers on the market in the UK is fragmented and in need of modernisation. It does not cover organic or recycled nutrients, and newer types of fertilisers.
We aim to improve this by putting in place a conformity assessment framework for fertilisers and aim to consult on this later in 2023. The framework should smooth the route to market for new and innovative products which are less polluting to the environment or are less resource intensive in their creation. This should provide farmers with a wider choice of more sustainable fertilisers and will ease the route to market for low carbon fertilisers, therefore providing farmers with more opportunities to adopt these fertilising products.
The framework should valorise fertilisers made from organic materials, opening the market to products that re-use nutrients. The process of implementing new regulations will be iterative as more research is needed into newer fertiliser types before requirements for these products can be drafted into law.
Defra cannot recommend which fertilisers must be used. However we have responsibility for setting parameters to ensure their safety, to ensure that they maximise the use of nutrients, and also to reduce potential losses through emissions from their production through to their use.
Given the continuing high fertiliser prices, it remains a priority that we must work to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products in future. Where possible we will continue to encourage and support such applications for the development and adoption of these through the Farming Innovation Programme. We are also providing financial support to help farmers make best use of their manures and slurries, to complement inorganic fertilisers through the Farming Investment Fund.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to amend regulations to improve access to waste nutrients for the production of low carbon fertiliser.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of promising technologies to remove nutrients from waste streams however, there are gaps in knowledge on market readiness, environmental impact and fertiliser value. Defra will consider any example brought to its attention where it is believed regulations need to change, and this would apply in this case.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of permitting Tier 2 ICT visa holders, who had switched to a Skilled Worker visa, to be allowed to use their time spent on a Tier 2 ICT visas as a route to settlement in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is Home Office policy that entry and stay under routes designed to accommodate intra-company transfers is temporary and should not lead to settlement. Consequently, leave granted to ICTs does not count towards settlement if the holder switches into another economic migration route. The ICT routes facilitate mobility of key staff in accordance with our trade commitments and are not intended to give access to the UK labour market long term.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current average waiting time is for a driving test.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Car practical driving test waiting times are currently at 15.7 weeks (November average).
As at 12 December, there were over 81,000 available car practical test slots to book within the 24-week booking window.
Since April 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has created an extra 595,000 car practical driving tests appointments to help reduce waiting times. Actions already being taken by the DVSA include asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job to return to conducting tests, conducting out of hours testing, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return.
To help increase practical driving test availability, the DVSA is recruiting more than 300 driving examiners across Great Britain. The DVSA’s examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, the DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, the DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to help ensure that regional media content is made available in the region to which it relates by radio stations in the context of localised opt-outs.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the positive impact that local public service broadcasting – particularly access to local radio and television services – has on local communities. On a local level, our public service broadcasters, local TV providers, news publishers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news and reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve. Our Broadcasting White Paper published in April this year outlined our plans to support this diversity of content through a changing landscape.
The Government is disappointed that the BBC is planning to reduce parts of its local radio output. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government as set out in its Royal Charter, and decisions on service delivery are a matter for the BBC. However, I have been clear with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director General that the BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local services, with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK.
The Government also expects Ofcom, as regulator of the BBC, to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties. The Secretary of State has already asked Ofcom about how they are considering this issue, and Ofcom is continuing to discuss these proposals with the BBC.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will meet with the Professional Footballers' Association to discuss what steps her Department could take to help encourage more ex-professional football players to pursue a career in teaching.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I will be meeting the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) next month to discuss a range of issues. Football players have many options available to them when they retire and the PFA does important work to help them prepare for life after football, which may include a career in teaching.
We are continuing to invest in attracting the best teachers where they are needed the most through our teaching marketing campaign, support services for prospective trainees, and our new in-house teacher recruitment journey and associated digital services which are making it easier for great people to become teachers.
We will deliver 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by 2024, giving all teachers and school leaders access to world-class, evidence-based training and professional development at every stage of their career.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the US National Institutes of Health's decision to acknowledge a causal link between repeated blows to the head and chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and whether the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has plans to look into this issue.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is a scientific advisory body which provides advice and recommendations to DWP Ministers about the Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS), of which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) is a part. IIAC has recently launched an investigation into the potential occupational link between neurodegenerative diseases and professional sportspeople. The DWP will consider any recommendations from IIAC when they are available.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on building affordable homes.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The provision of affordable housing is a key element of the Government's plan to build more homes, tackle homelessness and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. The Government has committed an £11.5 billion taxpayer-funded grant towards the supply of new affordable homes.
Since 2010, we have delivered over 598,900 new affordable homes, including over 419,200 affordable homes for rent, of which, over 157,200 homes are for social rent’.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many people in Swindon have taken part in the Help to Buy scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Help to Buy Equity Loan has helped over 361,000 households buy a new-build home from its launch on 1 April 2013 until the end of March 2022. There have been 2,593 completions using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in Swindon since 1 April 2013.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2022 to Question 45528 on Disability: Playgrounds, what steps (a) her Department and (b) Ministerial Disability Champions are taking to track progress on increasing the accessibility of playgrounds; and how that progress is being measured.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
I refer my right honourable friend to my answer to question 45528. The Secretary of State for DWP, Chloe Smith, and I remain committed to improving disabled people’s lives and continue to meet colleagues across government to push work in this space forward.