Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the increase in the number of people using buy now, pay later services.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of the normal process of policy development.
The Woolard Review into the unsecured credit market found several potential risks of consumer detriment from interest-free Buy-Now Pay-Later products, including the absence of information given to consumers about features of Buy-Now Pay-Later agreements. The Government recognises those risks, but also notes that as an interest-free product, Buy-Now Pay-Later can often be lower-risk than other forms of borrowing and a useful tool to help consumers manage their finances. That is why, on 2 February 2021, the Government announced its intention to regulate Buy-Now Pay-Later products in a proportionate manner.
The Government published a consultation on policy proposals for the regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later on 21 October 2021, which closed on 6 January. The consultation included proposals to apply Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules on pre-contract disclosure and adequate explanations to Buy-Now Pay-Later agreements. These rules require firms to make adequate pre-contractual explanation to ensure the customer is in a position to assess whether the agreement is suitable for their needs and financial situation.
The Government is now reviewing responses to this consultation and considering next steps and intends to publish a consultation response in the spring.
HMT does not hold information regarding the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who have been referred to debt collection agencies by Buy-Now Pay-Later in the last 12 months, or the amount collected in late payment fees by the Buy-Now Pay-Later sector in each of the last three years. Instead, HMT draws on the research of various stakeholders including consumer groups and the wider financial services industry.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 work with the Department for Education to ensure that the nutrition and quality of food provided in schools is actively monitored to help prevent obesity in children.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will build upon work already underway in the Agriculture Act, Fisheries Act, and Environment Act as well as docking into wider Government priorities, such as the obesity strategy.
The Government is fully committed to ensuring children get the best start in life. The Department for Education (DfE) encourages all schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy, tasty, and nutritious food and drink, and as part of the upcoming Food Strategy, DfE is looking at options for driving adherence with the school food standards. The Government is also supporting the health and nutrition of children through initiatives such as the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme which provides a free piece of fruit or vegetable to every child in Key Stage 1 at state-funded primary schools on every school day.
Defra will continue to work closely with DfE and all other relevant Departments across Whitehall to develop a plan to ensure the food system is sustainable and accessible, supporting people, families, and our future generations to live healthy lives. I am looking forward to meeting colleagues across various departments in the run up to publication.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support the Government has put in place for beauty salons affected by Plan B covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December, Government announced a generous £1 billion package of support for business and their employees to help them manage the effects of the rapid surge of Omicron and bounce back quickly.
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme, announced on 21 December, is intended to provide targeted support for the food and beverage, accommodation and leisure sectors which offer in-person services. This action was taken to support businesses impacted by the Omicron variant, which led to the public voluntarily restricting their social mixing and reports that many businesses in these sectors had lost 40-60% of their December trade. Personal Care services are not eligible for this scheme.
However, in recognition that other businesses outside the scope of this grant may have been impacted, local authorities in England also received a top-up worth a total of £102 million to their Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund. Distribution of ARG funds is at the local authority's discretion.
Due to the balanced and proportionate approach taken by the Government in response to the Omicron variant, Cabinet has decided to return to Plan A in England.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers have had with their Israeli counterparts on tackling covid-19.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have had no recent discussions.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of autistic children and young people that have yet to return to full-time education following the periods of school closures as a result of covid-19.
Answered by Will Quince
We do not collect data on the attendance of children and young people broken down by specific conditions. Statistics on attendance can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have published and updated guidance for special schools, special post-16 providers and alternative provision to provide additional information and support for delivering education in these settings, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings. This is clear that regular attendance at school, both special and mainstream, is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development and school attendance has been mandatory since the end of the last national lockdown.
To support this, we recommend that leaders in education work collaboratively with families to reassure them and to help their child engage with their everyday activities. Discussions should have a collaborative approach, focusing on the welfare of the child or young person and responding to the concerns of the parent, carer or young person.
Any families with concerns about their child’s health should speak with their child’s GP or health care team for advice and guidance.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that the estimate 100,000 children who have become severely absent from school following covid-19 lockdowns are returned to the classroom.
Answered by Robin Walker
Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing, and long-term development.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, recently established an Attendance Alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and allied services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence.
The Alliance has pledged to take a range of action to remove barriers preventing children attending school. This includes work by Rob Tarn, CEO of the Northern Education Trust, a multi-academy trust serving areas with high levels of disadvantage, to work with other trust leaders to identify and disseminate best practice for reducing persistent absence across schools through a range of webinars, case studies and videos which we will be publishing over the coming weeks.
We also welcome the Children’s Commissioner’s focus and investigation on children regularly missing school. The Children’s Commissioner pledged to do this work at the inaugural meeting of the Alliance in December 2021. The Commissioner’s Office are updating us on their progress which will be reported back to the Alliance.
The department is also committed to a form of register for children not in school. This will help local authorities undertake their existing duties to ensure children receive a suitable education and help safeguard all children who are in scope. We will set out further details on this in the government response to the ‘children not in school’ consultation, which we will publish in the coming weeks.
We continue to make clear that schools and local authorities should identify children who are persistently absent or at risk of persistent absence and develop plans to support them to return to regular education.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure motorists are charged prices for petrol and diesel which reflect the wholesale oil price.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department’s analysis shows that retail prices of petroleum products such as petrol and diesel are primarily driven by the underlying price in the global market of crude oil and by exchange rates. Departmental analysis shows that changes to the price of crude oil feed through to retail prices over the course of 6-7 weeks. The prices are also influenced by a range of other supply and demand factors, including refining capacity, stock levels, logistics and distribution costs and seasonal demand variations.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a pumpwatch body to monitor petrol and diesel prices to ensure that the prices motorists pay reflect changes in the wholesale oil price.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government believes that it is essential for consumers to get a fair deal when they visit the pumps. The Department actively monitors fuel prices, and its analysis shows that both rises and falls in the price of crude oil reach the pumps within seven weeks. An open and competitive market is the best way to keep prices low; a new regulator is not necessary. If people have evidence of anti-competitive practices in the fuel supply sector, this should be passed onto the Competition Markets Authority.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that falling wholesale oil prices are reflected at filling stations.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
BEIS publishes weekly national average pump prices: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/oil-and-petroleum-products-weekly-statistics. The Department’s analysis shows that both rises and falls in crude oil prices are passed through to consumers over the course of 6-7 weeks. No evidence has been found to suggest that, for given changes in crude oil prices, retail prices rise faster than they fall.
Competitive markets ensure that consumers get a fair deal and that road fuel prices stay as low as possible. This framework delivers pre-tax prices in the UK which are below the European average.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the relationship between petrol and diesel prices at filling stations and wholesale oil prices.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department monitors petrol and diesel prices at retail and wholesale levels and conducts periodic assessments of the relationship between these costs. If there is any evidence of market failure at a national level this will be passed to the Competition and Markets Authority. The Competition Markets Authority is not a price regulator and applicable competition legislation does not provide any general powers to regulate either prices or profits. The price or pricing structure that a company or group adopts for a particular product or service is a matter for its own commercial judgement.