Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to reduce over-abstraction by water companies from chalk streams.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's Water Abstraction Plan, that was published in December 2017 sets out clear objectives for achieving sustainable abstraction for England, plus mechanisms for delivery. Our approach to addressing these issues has three main elements:
Progress was last reported to parliament in May 2019 ( Report to Parliament )
The Environment Agency has already made changes to 124 licences to protect chalk streams from over abstraction, returning over 37 billion litres of water per year to chalk streams, and preventing a further 100 billion litres per year being abstracted. In addition, they have revoked 85 unused and underused licences in chalk streams, preventing 7.5 billion litres of water being abstracted every year.
Further sustainability reductions amounting to about 100 million litres per day in chalk streams will be delivered in the next 5 years by water companies through the Water Industry National Environment Programme. In addition, the Environment Agency is working with water companies to prioritise additional voluntary reductions in sensitive chalk catchments.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy that a reduction to the 0.7 per cent UK Aid commitment is time-bound to 2021; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has a timetable for reinstatement of the 0.7 per cent UK aid commitment to be reinstated.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 effect on children’s (a) health and (b) education globally of the planned cut in UK aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The seismic impact of the pandemic has forced us to take tough decisions, including temporarily reducing our aid budget. We will remain a world leading aid donor. We plan to spend more than £10 billion next year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health. As set out by the Foreign Secretary, our priorities will include girls' education and global health, including tackling COVID-19 and strengthening international health security.
We will build on our existing achievements in supporting girls' education and working to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. We have set ambitious global targets of getting 40 million girls into education, and one third more reading by the age of 10, and we will co-host the replenishment for the Global Partnership for Education next year. We have pledged up to £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support immunisation of 300 million children over the next five years.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 effect on safeguarding of women and girls globally of the proposed cut in UK aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The proposed reduction to 0.5 per cent is temporary and we will return to 0.7 per cent as soon as the fiscal situation allows. The new strategic framework for our aid announced last month will ensure we can deliver UK aid better, even if our budget is smaller, by combining aid with diplomacy and focusing our efforts where the UK can make a world-leading difference. Safeguarding against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment will remain a priority. We want to ensure that no harm is done to any person receiving or delivering aid and will continue to pay particular attention to the risks facing women and girls, including examining how these risks change over time.
As set out in our September 2020 Safeguarding Strategy, the UK is committed to driving up safeguarding standards across the aid sector and is leading global efforts to do so regardless of how much aid we spend each year. Our goal remains to ensure that all those engaged in poverty reduction take all reasonable steps to prevent harm, particularly sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment, from occurring and to respond appropriately when harm or allegations of harm occur.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on routine immunisation funded by the UK Government through GAVI.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Routine immunisation is the strongest shield against outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and yellow fever. Mitigating indirect impacts of COVID-19 on essential health services in the poorest countries is a core UK priority. As Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's largest donor, the UK's first and foremost priority is to deliver routine immunisation, maintain coverage levels, and reach underserved zero-dose children. In June, the Prime Minister hosted the Global Vaccine Summit, which raised $8.8 billion for Gavi's core mission of immunising a further 300 million children, and saving up to 8 million lives by 2025.
Since the start of the pandemic in March, 70 Gavi-eligible countries have reported cases of COVID-19. Lockdown measures for COVID-19 have affected routine immunisation in the poorest countries - 44 Gavi vaccine introductions have been impacted so far, 18 Gavi-eligible countries have reported shipment delays, and approximately seven countries have reported stock-outs of vaccines at the central or subnational level. A number of Gavi-eligible countries have resumed campaigns and vaccine introductions, such as a measles campaign in Ethiopia, and diphtheria and oral polio vaccine campaigns in Yemen.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 23 June 2020, Official report, column 1169, when the taskforce on re-opening swimming pools will have its first meeting; what the timetable is to make swimming pools covid-19-secure so that they can reopen; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The issues around the re-opening of swimming pools are being considered in a number of fora. The consideration of different venues and the activities involved are underpinned by understanding the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with particular activities.
We recognise the importance of re-opening our indoor and outdoor pools and we agree that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. There are concerns about transmission around points of contact within such facilities, like changing rooms due to the high volume of contacts. As such, we need to provide reassurance that these facilities will be safe, and are working hard to achieve this in the coming weeks.
The Sport Working Group, led by myself, feeds into the Secretary of State’s Cultural Renewal Taskforce and ensures strong sector and expert support for the co-development of guidelines and will help leisure facilities become Covid-secure and re-open as early as possible in July.
The Government is actively working towards a safe way to re-open these facilities, with supporting guidance.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timeframe is for the restarting of cricket as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Officials are working very closely with the ECB on plans to deliver the safe return of club cricket as soon as possible. We are working at pace to shape guidance that will allow the safe return of competitive cricket and other team sports. Any shared sporting equipment may risk transmission, but these risks can be mitigated with good hygiene practice as being adopted across a wide range of sectors. I hope to make further progress on this in the coming weeks so that teams can enjoy a great cricketing summer.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a national museum for the study of Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture on a similar scale and model to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
There are currently no plans to expand the portfolio of DCMS-Sponsored national museums.
Many of the existing national museums display material relating to Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture as part of their permanent exhibitions. This includes material displayed at the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, V&A, Tate, Horniman, and National Museums Liverpool. These collections include art, ceramics, fashion and photography. Many museums work with diaspora communities to better understand collection items and place them in historical and contemporary context. A number of museums have also held temporary exhibitions that focus on Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on waiting lists for CAMHS.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
There is broad consensus that there is the potential for an increase in demand for children and young people’s mental health services as a result of the effects of the pandemic. We are working with the National Health Service and a wide range of stakeholders to assess potential need over the coming weeks and months and to plan accordingly.
Mental health services are still open and working to support people with mental health issues through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Our community, talking therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital tools to connect with people and provide ongoing support.