Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to to her Answer on 6 February 2024 to Question 12559 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, when her Department will (a) complete and (b) publish their assessment of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIFs) arrangements.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As confirmed in the government’s response on 20 September 2023 to the consultation on expanding the early education entitlements, the department is conducting a review of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIF) funding arrangements, so that the department can better support parents, providers and local authorities as the expanded entitlements are rolled out.
At the completion of this review, the department will consider what information is most appropriate and helpful for the sector in their delivery of SENIFs. The department will look to draw examples of best practice together, with a view to sector-wide dissemination.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 8419 on Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023, when he plans to publish the statutory guidance for the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 (sponsored by Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP and Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC), which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. As with any new criminal justice legislation, an implementation period is necessary to ensure all processes, systems and guidance are updated – including drawing up the statutory guidance. We are working to ensure the legislation comes into force as quickly as reasonably possible.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Questions (a) 11101, (b) 11102, (c) 11103 and (d) 11104, tabled by the hon. Member for Walthamstow on 23 January 2024; and for what reason his Department has been unable to answer the Questions within the usual time period.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Responses were published on 8 February 2024. Please accept my apologies for the delay. On this occasion, it was not possible to answer these questions within the usual time frame.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of consignments which will be subjected to the Border Target Operation Model sanitary and phyto-sanitary controls in each of the next three years, broken down by each risk category.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Please see summary tables below for figures by risk category; these tables show the volume of goods that would be assigned to each category based on April 2021 to March 2022 customs declaration data.
To note, whilst the consignments below are in scope for the new TOM risk-based approach, some of the consignments are already in scope for SPS controls and so do not represent the net effect of the TOM bringing consignments into scope for controls. Already in scope items include imports from non-EU countries, live animal imports from the EU, and some plant products.
POAO consignments by risk level
| Low risk | Medium risk | High risk | Total |
EU | 1.4m to 2.4m | 400k to 1.7m | Under 10k | 2.8m to 3.0m |
Non-EU | 90k to 100k |
Source: Defra analysis of April 2021 to March 2022 HMRC customs declaration data.
Figures may not sum due to rounding. *
P&PP consignments by risk level
| Article 72 low risk | Article 73 | Article 72 high risk | Total |
EU | 1.4m | 780k | 190k | 2.4m |
Non-EU | 160k | Under 10k | Under 10k | 160k |
Source: Defra analysis of April 2021 to March 2022 HMRC customs declaration data.
Figures may not sum due to rounding. *
*All figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has issued guidance on reasons that EU citizens with a valid passport may be refused entry to the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The guidance used by Border Force officers is published on the Government website Visiting the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A person with a valid EU passport can still be refused if they don’t satisfy these requirements set out in the guidance.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals from (a) EU 14, (b) EU 8, (c) EU 2, (d) other EU nations and (e) all other European nations presented at the border requesting entry to the UK in 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data requested in an easily accessible format. However, the Home Office published data can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65563413544aea0019fb2eab/passenger-arrivals-admissions-summary-sep-2023-tables.ods.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of EU citizens who were refused entry at the border intended to enter the UK for (a) leisure or tourism, (b) work or employment, (c) self-employment, (d) study, (e) temporarily (i) attending a conference and (ii) engaging in other work, (f) visiting family and (g) any other reason in 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data requested in an easily accessible format. However, the Home Office published data can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65563413544aea0019fb2eab/passenger-arrivals-admissions-summary-sep-2023-tables.ods.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 potential impact of the Border Target Operating Model on levels of food supply in (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The resilience and reliability of food supply chains is a key objective of the Government as set out in last year’s Government Food Strategy. In implementing this new control regime for the first time on EU imports, we will carefully monitor the range of potential risks, including those that may impact food supply-chains.
We will work with importers to try to manage those risks in a structured way. We recognise that this new model for importing Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods will require some businesses and their supply-chains to adapt their business models. We do not expect food shortages.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Border Target Operating Model on food price inflation in (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Initial analysis has indicated that the policies introduced under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)would lead to an approximate increase in consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% over a 3-year period. The cost of BTOM controls is equivalent to 0.4% of the UK’s agri-food Gross Value Added of £127bn in 2021, which serves as a proxy for food prices.
An outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact. The 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8bn in 2022 prices, £4.8bn of which was cost to Government and £8bn cost to the private sector.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 19 January 2024 in the debate on Border Target Operating Model: Health Certificates and SMEs, Official Report, column 1214, what his latest estimate is of the date by which the single trade window will be operational.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Single Trade Window will be delivered through a series of releases, each one adding new features and delivering an improved user experience. As set out in the Border Target Operating Model, the first release of STW functionality will be made available for public use ahead of October 2024. The STW could be fully operational in 2027 but remains subject to future legislative and funding decisions.