Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason she has made changes to the levels of payments made out of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund; if she will publish a risk assessment for this funding change; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the funding change on future numbers and proportions of looked-after children being diverted into (a) adoptive families and (b) other types of care.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were made so that funding can be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will still allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support.
The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children and reviews the risks of any policy changes.
The ASGSF is an important package of support, which is why we have continued to fund it. However, it is not the only support available to adoptive and kinship families. The department is funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to improve adopter recruitment and support, including innovative approaches to matching and the establishment of Centres of Excellence. We are also continuing to improve the support available to kinship families, including a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance to support family members and friends who take in children.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to update Personal Independence Payment application forms to ask whether applicants are veterans; and if she will meet the hon. Member for Swindon North to discuss the potential merits of (a) data collection and (b) tailored support for veterans.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim forms do not ask for an individual’s occupation, past or present as it is legally immaterial to the decision to award benefit or not. PIP is based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability.
We do not currently have plans to update the PIP forms.
The honourable member is welcome to write to me to set out the potential merits of the changes he envisages, including the case for a meeting to discuss them.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will undertake an impact assessment on the XL Bully ban.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the conditions.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce a mandatory regulated size requirement for gerbil and hamster cages.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the LAIA Regulations) set strict animal welfare standards that commercial sellers of pets, such as gerbils and hamsters, must adhere to.
The accompanying statutory guidance sets out specific minimum enclosure size standards for animals such as gerbils and hamsters in pet shops. Under these regulations, sellers must also ensure that any equipment being sold with an animal, including enclosures, are suitable for its’ needs.
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 also requires owners to meet the welfare needs of their pets, including the need for a suitable environment. Anyone failing to ensure that their animal’s welfare needs are met may face an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to six months, or both.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will consider Panettoni Park in Swindon North constituency for Government funding for jobs in science and technology.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is supporting local leaders to unlock their regions’ innovation potential. This includes Innovation Accelerator pilots, with innovation clusters sharing £100 million; the Launchpad programme, with 11 sites each receiving up to £7.5 million for innovation projects; and the Strength in Places Fund, which is investing £316 million in 12 projects to develop research and development capacity.
I understand Panettoni Park may host data centre space. The Government is reviewing and improving grid connections and exploring other ways to enable data centre capacity, with over £40 billion in private investment in new UK data centres announced since July 2024.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training in Swindon North constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Great Britain Working plan, we are launching a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or help to find work. The Youth Guarantee will build upon and enhance existing entitlements and provisions with the aim of tackling the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training. This spring, we will be launching trailblazers in eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities and will use the learning from the Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England.
DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside our partners. For example, in Swindon DWP’s Employment Advisors are working with employers to deliver the Ready to Launch Your Career open day event on 8th April in Swindon town centre, where the focus will be to help young people into estate-agent roles with many employers from this sector involved.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to protect brown hares in England and Wales from being shot for sport during their breeding season.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only, with the potential for relevant policy to extend and apply to Wales.
While the Government has no immediate plan to introduce a close season for hares in England, the policy remains under consideration as part of the Government’s plans to introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the potential merits of Minimum Unit Pricing in England; and whether she plans to introduce the policy in England this Parliament.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under our Health Mission, this government is committed to prioritising public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives.
We are continuing to work closely across government to better understand what can be done to address the drivers of alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to review the Department’s approach to tackling alcohol harm; and whether he will consider introducing an alcohol strategy in this Parliament.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a new national post of Chief Environmental Health Officer to provide leadership on enforcement.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to create a new post of National Chief Environmental Health Officer.