Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many international trade advisers operate in (a) South West, (b) South East, (c) London, (d) West Midlands, (e) East Midlands, (f) East Anglia, (g) North West, (h) Yorkshire and Humberside, (i) North East, (j) Scotland, (k) Northern Ireland and (l) Wales as of 12 October 2022.
Answered by James Duddridge
Please see the below breakdown of Department for International Trade (DIT) international trade advisers (ITAs) based on region:
Southern England:
South West - 25
East of England- 21
South East - 26
London - 2 (DIT was asked to take some tough budget decisions in 2021-22 Financial Year and, given the greater density of businesses and other business support available in London compared to the rest of England, Ministers made the decision that the London ITA service would cease.)
Midlands Engine:
East Midlands - 23
West Midlands - 36
Northern Powerhouse:
Yorkshire & Humberside – 24
North West – 25
North East – 10
ITAs are provided in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the devolved governments.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the standard method for calculating local housing need provided by his Department for local authorities.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The standard method for calculating local housing need has been in place since 2018. The Government keeps all elements of its policies under review and, should there be announcements to make, will do so in the usual way and in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is adequate monitoring and oversight of the construction of HS2.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department for Transport monitors the construction of HS2 through formal mechanisms such as the HS2 Development Agreement, and a number of supporting forums which assess whether HS2 is being delivered to budget and schedule, and in accordance with the commitments which accompany both HS2 Acts.
The Department also deploys a team of independent Construction Inspectors to provide independent scrutiny of construction, as well as its impact on communities and residents.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her department is taking to support the welfare of children whose parents are subject to No Recourse to Public Funds.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Temporary migrants are generally required to support themselves and any accompanying family members, including children, in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a well-established principle which protects taxpayer-funded public services from becoming overburdened.
There are, nonetheless, strong and important safeguards in place to ensure migrants receive support where they are destitute, at risk of destitution, or have community care needs, including issues relating to human rights or the wellbeing of children.
People with leave under the Family, Private life and Human Rights routes that engage Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and those who have been granted leave on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application. An individual can apply if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 imposes a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of “children in need” in their area. Support provided to a child by local authorities under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s).
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established there is a genuine care need which does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where they are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.
Status holders who have made the necessary national insurance contributions can also claim contributory benefits such as contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance, statutory sick pay and state pension.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the conclusions of his Department's review of the presumption of parental involvement will be published.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Work on the research underpinning the review of the presumption of parental involvement, which includes a literature review, a qualitative research project and a case file analysis, is underway and is due to be completed by the end of December 2022. The outcome of the review will be published in due course following the completion of the research.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the powers of the Child Maintenance Service to help prevent financial coercion through the non-payment of child maintenance.
Answered by Julie Marson
The Child Maintenance Service seeks to constantly review and improve its processes and services including the approach it takes to supporting customers who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse, including financial coercion. Through mandatory domestic abuse awareness training, the service undertakes to train all its caseworkers to be aware of and if possible identify any instances of abuse and signpost these customers to specialist domestic abuse organisations and to a range of information and advice about staying safe. This is supported through additional guidance related to domestic abuse.
There are no specific powers related to financial coercion. However, where ‘receiving parents’ are not receiving the full maintenance they are entitled to, a case can be moved from the Direct Pay part of the scheme onto the Collect and Pay service, whereby we can then use our administrative and legal powers up to and including enforcement activity to secure payment.
It is important to note new powers under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 extends the offences of controlling coercive behaviour to post separation. We will be reviewing how we change and align our processes to the requirements of the Act.
It may also be useful to mention that CMG has recently been subject to an independent review of its approach to domestic abuse.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to bring forward policy proposals in response to the Government's call for evidence on dispute resolution in England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Ministry of Justice published a Summary of Responses to the Call for Evidence on Dispute Resolution in England & Wales in March this year. Policy proposals informed by these responses are under development and will be the subject of further public consultation in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of product testing in controlling the import and sale of honey mixed with high quantities of sugar syrup.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Work is being undertaken to ensure all honey meets our high standards. However, honey, is a complex natural product, meaning analysis to determine if honey has been adulterated can often be challenging. No single test can definitively determine a honey’s authenticity, and there are a range of different analytical methods available, from the well-established traditional validated methods to more recently developed advanced ‘fingerprinting’ tools such as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance).
Allegations that some honey sold in the UK may be adulterated with added sugars, including the recent Honey Authenticity Project survey, are based on results using NMR. These have been investigated by the relevant local authorities, using a weight of evidence approach, and they concluded there was insufficient evidence to indicate fraud or non-compliance.
Defra, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Government Chemist have been working together to identify areas where the Government can facilitate progress on some of the underpinning scientific issues that have emerged around honey authenticity testing, with the aim of providing further clarity to those carrying out monitoring and enforcement checks of honey, which protect consumers and legitimate businesses. Our programme of work on honey focuses on dissemination and knowledge transfer such as a webinar organised by the Government Chemist with Defra’s support. As part of our honey programme, we are also supporting work on testing methods which will look more in depth at issues such as ensuring method fitness for purpose and on standardising approaches.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of honey fraud on beekeepers and honey producers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We recognise the importance of quality standards for all foods, including honey. All honey on sale, regardless of where it has come from must comply with the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 which set out detailed specifications in terms of its composition, labelling, and quality criteria. Honey fraud by means of addition of sugars, or anything else to honey, is not permitted.
The UK produces a relatively small amount of the honey consumed domestically and relies heavily on imports to meet consumer demand and provide a reliable year-round supply. The UK has a thriving and diverse honey market, giving consumers access to a wide range of products, from mono-floral varieties to single origin and blended honeys, at a wide range of different price points.
Defra, along with other partners, is very active in ensuring honey, meets our high standards regardless of where it has been produced. We have an active food authenticity programme to ensure honey sold in the UK is not subject to fraud, meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to revoke legislation implementing the EU Habitats Directive in the forthcoming Brexit Freedoms Bill announced in the Queen's Speech 2022.
Answered by Steve Double
We set out our initial proposals to reform the Habitat Regulations in the Nature Recovery Green Paper: protected sites and species. The Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation closed on 11 May and we are now in the process of analysing responses. The Government will publish a formal response in due course.