Richard Graham

The Government is investing across the justice system.The additional £85 million to the CPS will enable the CPS to respond effectively to any increase in caseload resulting from the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers; to better meet their disclosure obligations; to work with investigators to pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry; and to deliver much needed changes to external counsel fees. Investing in the CPS to meet these pressures demonstrates that this Government is commitment to ensuring that justice is served.

The South West regional area of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) covers three police force areas: Avon & Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and Gloucestershire. The Area is based in Bristol, Exeter and Truro following the closure of the Gloucester office in April 2014. In 2013-14, prior to the closure of the Gloucester office, CPS South West prosecuted 11,826 cases where the CPS had authorised charge. In 2018-19 they prosecuted 9,279. This reduction is consistent with the falling caseload for the CPS nationally.

The CPS does not hold any records relating to the average waiting time at court. However, data is available showing the average time (in calendar days) from the date the decision to charge a suspect was made to the date the prosecution case was finalised. In 2013-14 this was 140.3 days for CPS South West and 139.2 days in 2018-19. For cases referred by Gloucestershire Police the average time taken between decision to charge and finalised prosecution has dropped from 176.5 days in 2013-14 to 142.5 days in 2018-19.

The average timeliness of a prosecution case is measured from the date charges are authorised by the CPS to finalisation. The average time includes the period between the date the CPS authorise the charge, to the date the suspect was charged by the police, to date of the first listed hearing and subsequent finalisation of the defendant’s case. It is not possible to disaggregate the average timeliness between these stages. The data includes cases which are completed in magistrates’ courts and, more serious and complex, cases which proceed to the Crown Court. The precise time to charge a defendant is a matter for the police and similarly the time to list a case in court is a matter for HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The length of time cases take in court depends on the nature and complexity of the matters in question and whether matters are admitted or contested by the defendant.

On Monday 13 September we confirmed that wave and tidal stream projects will be eligible to compete in this year’s Contracts for Difference allocation round. We continue to assess a range of marine technologies following our Call for Evidence on marine energy.

Ministers regularly discuss issues including renewable energy, including as part of the Government’s commitment to meeting net zero by 2050.

In 2019, the Government set a legally binding-target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050. We agree with the Committee on Climate Change’s view on the importance of a diverse mix of power generation sources to achieve that with renewables providing the majority of our electricity by 2050 alongside firm low carbon power from sources such as nuclear, and gas or biomass generation with carbon capture and storage. The Government has introduced many initiatives to increase the supply of renewable energy production in the UK.

We have committed up to £557m of annual support for future Contracts for Difference, providing developers with the confidence they need to invest in bringing forward new projects and we are supporting our world-leading offshore wind industry through the 2019 sector deal.

In order to support smaller scale renewable electricity generation, the Government introduced the Smart Export Guarantee on 1 January, which gives?small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as?homes with?solar?panels,?the right to?be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) supports the transition to low-carbon heating in the UK, helping generate renewable heat for schools, hospitals and more than 12,000 social housing properties. The scheme is designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat sources and renewable heat alternatives through financial support for owners of participating installations. The RHI helps to sustain and build the supply-chains needed to deliver our aspirations for renewable heat in 2020 and beyond

Meeting our net zero target will require virtually all heat in buildings to be decarbonised, and heat in industry to be reduced to close to zero carbon emissions. This will involve large-scale transformation, including disruption to consumers and wide-ranging change to energy systems and markets: the way heating is supplied to over 28 million homes, businesses and industrial users will need to change.

We are working to develop a new policy framework for the long-term decarbonisation of heat. This will set out the programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve mass transition to low carbon heating.

Gloucestershire County Council has provisionally been allocated £97 million through the high needs national funding formula (NFF) in 2024-25, as published this July. This is a cumulative increase of 28% per head over the three years from 2021/22. The department will be publishing in December this year each local authority’s confirmed allocations for 2024/25, updated with the latest pupil number data, in their Dedicated Schools Grant allocations. The high needs NFF includes a factor based on local authorities’ historic spending, as of 2017/18. Gloucestershire is attracting £27 million in respect of that factor within its overall high needs NFF allocation for 2024/25.

Gloucestershire County Council’s Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit for 2021/22 was £17 million (3.26% of DSG funding). For 2022/23 the DSG deficit is £28.6 million (5.19% of 2022/23 DSG funding).

Based on the 2021/22 figures, Gloucestershire County Council is the local authority with the 59^th largest deficit.

The department is taking steps to support Gloucestershire County Council through the Delivering Better Value in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme. The programme aims to help local authorities improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND and place their local systems on a more sustainable financial footing.

Gloucestershire County Council is engaging positively with the programme and has completed the first phase which involves a root-cause diagnostic of its local system, engaging with its stakeholders; and the development of an implementation plan to address issues identified.

The below table includes data for Gloucestershire local authority for Summer 2022. The department does not hold data below local authority level.

2022

2023 data is not yet available.

The Central School Services Block (CSSB) funds local authorities to carry out central functions on behalf of all pupils in maintained schools and academies. The CSSB funding comprises two distinct parts: funding for ongoing responsibilities, and for historic commitments. In 2023/24, Gloucestershire received a total of £3,077,365 in CSSB funding, and its provisional CSSB allocation for 2024/25 through the National Funding Formula is £3,197,919. Final allocations for 2024/25 will be published in December within the Dedicated Schools Grant.

Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of subject teachers in state funded secondary schools, is collected each November as part of the annual School Workforce Census. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

The number of hours spent teaching music and other subjects nationally in a typical week for the 2011/12 to 2022/23 academic years (full time period available), is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8a899462-7a12-4c60-4df6-08dbdfa6a426.

As of 2022/23, there were 75 music teachers (any teacher timetabled to teach music) at Key Stages 3, 4, and 5 in the 36 state funded secondary schools in Gloucestershire that reported data on subjects taught. There were a further five schools that did not report such data. An equivalent figure for 2010/11 is not available.

Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the department.

Subject taught is only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals.

Our England Trees Action Plan sets out how we will deliver our ambitious commitments to treble tree-planting rates across the country and bring trees and woodlands closer to people, backed by the £750 million Nature for Climate Fund. We are funding three new Community Forests in Cumbria, Devon and the North East, have established the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, and have created opportunities for large-scale tree planting through the Landscape Recovery Scheme with details soon to be launched. On 24 January I had the pleasure of visiting Blenheim estate, a 104-hectare woodland created under the England Woodland Creation Offer. Landowners, land managers and public bodies can apply to the England Woodland Creation Offer, which provides both greater financial incentives to plant and maintain trees and offers greater recognition of the benefits provided by woodland to people and nature.

The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-using-it-in-the-eu/using-a-blue-badge-in-the-european-union

Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.

The 16-64 UK economic inactivity level was 9.5 million between February and April 2010. The 16-24 employment level was 3.7 million between February and April 2010 and the 16-24 unemployment level was 0.9 million.

Employment and unemployment data is published and available at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics

The Department for Work and Pensions published an impact assessment analysing the impact of the Social Security (Additional Payments) (No. 2) Bill which made provisions to deliver means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payment worth up to £900 and the disability Cost of Living Payment worth £150 to support people in the financial year 2023/24.

In the impact assessment, the department estimated that the number of benefit units eligible for the means-tested payment in 2023-24 in Gloucester constituency is 15,000. The number of individuals eligible for the disability payment was estimated to be 11,900.

The impact assessment did not formally assess the cost to the public purse of administering these payments on a constituency basis. Assuming the caseloads outlined above are correct and all families receive the stated amount, the cost to the public purse of (i) cost of living payments would be £4.5 million and (ii) the cost of the disability cost of living payments would be £1.8 million.

The full impact assessment can be found here.

The number of Winter Fuel Payments received in Gloucester constituency in winter 2021 to 2022 was 18,468. Statistics for the Winter of 2022 to 2023 will be published in September 2023. A full breakdown of Winter Fuel Payment statistics can be found here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2020 to 2021 and winter 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of Pensioner Cost of Living Payments made. The information can be found here: Pensioner Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The department has also published management information on the number of means-tested benefits and disability Cost of Living payments made. The information can be found here Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, the number of Cost of Living Payments made in specific constituencies is the subject of an upcoming statistical release, and cannot be released before that publication is ready, subject to usual quality assurance.

The information requested for part a) to d) is not held by this department. Therefore, the department cannot make an assessment of how many pensioners received the combination of support listed in the question or the impact of receiving such allowances.

The number of Winter Fuel Payments received in Gloucester constituency in winter 2021 to 2022 was 18,468. Statistics for the Winter of 2022 to 2023 will be published in September 2023. A full breakdown of Winter Fuel Payment statistics can be found here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter2020 to 2021 and winter 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of Pensioner Cost of Living Payments made. The information can be found here: Pensioner Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The department has also published management information on the number of means-tested benefits and disability Cost of Living payments made. The information can be found here Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, the number of Cost of Living Payments made in specific constituencies is the subject of an upcoming statistical release, and cannot be released before that publication is ready, subject to usual quality assurance.

As reported in the DWP benefits statistics, there were 18,817 people in receipt of State Pension in Gloucester constituency in the quarter ending August 2022, a very slight increase from 18,597 in the quarter ending August 2021. This information can be found here DWP benefits statistics: February 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The ONS has released constituency level data on the age of the UK population using an interactive dashboard which can be found here Constituency data: population, by age (parliament.uk)

Official Statistics are published annually on the economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over: Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

The table below sets out the number of appeals to SEND against decisions made by the Local Authority in Gloucestershire for the period 2018 to 2023; and the percentage of appeals which were found in favour of the appellant (which includes parents and young people), for the years 2020 – 2022.

Outcome data on appeals before 2020 are not available due to the Records Retention and Disposal Schedule (RRDS) of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) (of which SEND is part) requiring that data are deleted three years after the conclusion of the appeal. The full RRDS can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62b47cfcd3bf7f0af821efef/health-education-social-care-chamber-rrds.pdf.

Decisions made by Local Authorities about the special educational needs of young people can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including evidence in the form of oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HMCTS cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary.

Access to justice is a fundamental right and this government is committed to ensuring that everyone can get the timely support they need to access the justice system.

We announced our vision for resolving legal problems earlier and increasing access to justice through the Legal Support Action Plan, including the role technology can play in identifying legal problems.

Despite various real demands of Covid-19 on the MoJ, we have continued to prioritise a new £3.1m grant that will further enhance legal support for litigants in person over the next two years.