Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question 179538 on Seals, what (a) funding and (b) other Government resources have been allocated to the Give Seals Space campaign.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Seal Alliance received a grant of £75,700 from Defra’s £40m Green Recovery Challenge Fund which has been used to support the ‘Give Seals Space’ campaign.
Government officials have also been working with the Seal Alliance to help increase the reach of this government-backed campaign to ensure the impact of human disturbance on these vulnerable marine mammals is minimised.
Further information on the campaign can be found on the Seal Alliance website.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question
To ask the President of COP26, what engagements he has had with former coal mining communities in the run up to COP26.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Through the UK Mayors and Regions Advisory Council, which met most recently on 15 March, I have met with mayors and local leaders from across the UK, including those from former coal mining communities such as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
As Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy I set up the Green Jobs Taskforce, which is working in partnership with business, skills providers, and unions, to help us develop plans for long-term, good quality green jobs, and support transitioning industries, such as coal.
Internationally, the UK is bringing together the leading global actors in the power sector through the COP26 Energy Transition Council and the Powering Past Coal Alliance, to support countries to more equitably transition away from coal.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect oceans as part of work to tackle the climate emergency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The work carried out by Surfers Against Sewage on their Ocean & Climate Report provides a timely reminder of the urgent need to reduce emissions and the importance of nature-based solutions in our response to climate change and biodiversity loss.
The most effective thing we can do to reduce the impacts of climate change on the ocean is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UK government has therefore set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Internationally, 2021 is a critical year for the ocean, climate and nature. We are committed to working closely with our partners to drive a recognition of the linkages between the ocean, climate and biodiversity. We will use our COP26 Presidency to secure ambitious emission reductions and drive action on the Leaders' Pledge for Nature commitments, recognising the role of nature-based solutions in building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change, as well as supporting mitigation.
At the recent One Planet Summit, the UK accepted the position as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and between this and the UK-led Global Ocean Alliance we now have over 60 countries supporting a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 as part of our aim for an ambitious and transformational post-2020 global biodiversity framework for adoption at the 15th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15).
Together with Vanuatu, the UK Government is driving forward ambitious action to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean through the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance (CCOA), a growing group of 34 Commonwealth member states. To support the ambitions of CCOA, the UK Government has committed up to £70 million to boost global research and support developing countries to stop plastic waste from entering the ocean in the first place. Through one of our UK Aid programmes, the Global Plastic Action Partnership, the UK is working in partnership with Indonesia, Ghana, Vietnam and Nigeria to stem the tide of plastics entering in the ocean.
The UK has also committed to launch a £500m Blue Planet Fund, financed from official development assistance (ODA), to protect the ocean and reduce poverty in developing countries.
In November 2020 the UK announced its support to start negotiations on a new global agreement at the United Nations Environment Assembly that will create the system change required to tackle increasing levels of marine plastic litter and microplastics.
The UK is also taking action domestically to avoid further irreversible impacts to the ocean from climate change and biodiversity loss.
The protection, restoration and management of the marine environment are central to objectives in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the UK Marine Strategy on clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse seas that are managed sustainably. We already have 38% of UK waters in Marine Protected Areas and our focus is ensuring these are effectively protected.
We have stated our intention to pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas in Secretary of State waters and we look forward to publishing the Government's response to Richard Benyon's review in due course.
The Fisheries Act 2020 protects our marine environment and develops plans to restore our fish stocks back to more sustainable levels.
As part of our commitment to ocean recovery we are supporting coastal and estuarine restoration projects, including blue carbon habitats. The £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund will help environmental organisations start work now on restoration projects across England, including the inshore marine environment.
Our new Storm Overflows Taskforce is bringing together government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs to work urgently on options to tackle sewage pollution issues.
As announced on 22 January, and welcomed by Surfers Against Sewage, this Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows.
Water companies have also agreed to make real-time data on sewage discharges available at bathing sites all year round. This data will be made available to help surfers, swimmers and other recreational water users to check the latest information and make informed choices on where to swim.
We recognise there is more that needs to be done beyond providing more and better information, and so we will continue to work with the industry to reduce frequency and harm of discharges from storm overflows.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the January 2021 Surfers Against Sewage, Ocean & Climate Report; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The work carried out by Surfers Against Sewage on their Ocean & Climate Report provides a timely reminder of the urgent need to reduce emissions and the importance of nature-based solutions in our response to climate change and biodiversity loss.
The most effective thing we can do to reduce the impacts of climate change on the ocean is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UK government has therefore set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Internationally, 2021 is a critical year for the ocean, climate and nature. We are committed to working closely with our partners to drive a recognition of the linkages between the ocean, climate and biodiversity. We will use our COP26 Presidency to secure ambitious emission reductions and drive action on the Leaders' Pledge for Nature commitments, recognising the role of nature-based solutions in building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change, as well as supporting mitigation.
At the recent One Planet Summit, the UK accepted the position as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and between this and the UK-led Global Ocean Alliance we now have over 60 countries supporting a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 as part of our aim for an ambitious and transformational post-2020 global biodiversity framework for adoption at the 15th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15).
Together with Vanuatu, the UK Government is driving forward ambitious action to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean through the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance (CCOA), a growing group of 34 Commonwealth member states. To support the ambitions of CCOA, the UK Government has committed up to £70 million to boost global research and support developing countries to stop plastic waste from entering the ocean in the first place. Through one of our UK Aid programmes, the Global Plastic Action Partnership, the UK is working in partnership with Indonesia, Ghana, Vietnam and Nigeria to stem the tide of plastics entering in the ocean.
The UK has also committed to launch a £500m Blue Planet Fund, financed from official development assistance (ODA), to protect the ocean and reduce poverty in developing countries.
In November 2020 the UK announced its support to start negotiations on a new global agreement at the United Nations Environment Assembly that will create the system change required to tackle increasing levels of marine plastic litter and microplastics.
The UK is also taking action domestically to avoid further irreversible impacts to the ocean from climate change and biodiversity loss.
The protection, restoration and management of the marine environment are central to objectives in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the UK Marine Strategy on clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse seas that are managed sustainably. We already have 38% of UK waters in Marine Protected Areas and our focus is ensuring these are effectively protected.
We have stated our intention to pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas in Secretary of State waters and we look forward to publishing the Government's response to Richard Benyon's review in due course.
The Fisheries Act 2020 protects our marine environment and develops plans to restore our fish stocks back to more sustainable levels.
As part of our commitment to ocean recovery we are supporting coastal and estuarine restoration projects, including blue carbon habitats. The £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund will help environmental organisations start work now on restoration projects across England, including the inshore marine environment.
Our new Storm Overflows Taskforce is bringing together government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs to work urgently on options to tackle sewage pollution issues.
As announced on 22 January, and welcomed by Surfers Against Sewage, this Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows.
Water companies have also agreed to make real-time data on sewage discharges available at bathing sites all year round. This data will be made available to help surfers, swimmers and other recreational water users to check the latest information and make informed choices on where to swim.
We recognise there is more that needs to be done beyond providing more and better information, and so we will continue to work with the industry to reduce frequency and harm of discharges from storm overflows.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Reform UK - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish (a) a list of all organisations that have been awarded funding under the Kickstart scheme and (b) details of the number of placements each organisation has created since the start of that scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
As of 20/11/2020, the DWP’s Kickstart scheme has received 4’783 total applications. So far, applications covering 23’934 vacancies have been approved. Once approved, employers and organisations are sent a grant agreement of terms and conditions for Kickstart funding.
Below is a list of organisations who have been approved for funding from the DWP’s Kickstart scheme and that have returned their grant funding agreements as of 23/11/2020.
Company Name | Number of Vacancies |
Hales Group Limited | 39 |
MOLINARE TV & FILM LIMITED | 37 |
Park Homes (UK) Ltd | 30 |
Black Sheep Utilities Ltd | 30 |
iSmash UK Trading Ltd | 56 |
Airfi Networks Services Limited | 30 |
Blueline Learning Ltd | 30 |
Intelligent Transformation Limited | 30 |
Lionheart Security Services LTD | 30 |
Modo Creations Limited | 30 |
RGE Engineering Ltd. | 32 |
Purpol Marketing Ltd | 50 |
Specialist Care Team Ltd | 33 |
The Boxing House Ltd. | 30 |
MYBE Awards | 30 |
Aspen Health | 30 |
Boundary Mill Stores Limited | 71 |
Compass Group PLC | 50 |
Cordant Recruitment | 65 |
David Lloyd Leisure | 130 |
DealBerry Limited | 40 |
Enginsoft | 40 |
Event Support Team ltd | 100 |
EXPD8 LIMITED | 305 |
Macc Care | 90 |
O'Neill and Brennan Construction Ltd | 500 |
Rising Stars Property Solutions | 100 |
Robinson Manufacturing Limited | 35 |
Tenstar Personnel Limited | 150 |
The HALO Kilmarnock Ltd | 200 |
TRG LOGISTICS LTD | 75 |
Yorkshire College of Beauty Ltd | 32 |
AA Zentivus Ltd | 30 |
AIR RESOURCES LIMITED | 30 |
Angel Guard Limited | 30 |
Bauer Radio Limited | 30 |
Crouch Logistics Ltd | 30 |
F M CONWAY LIMITED | 30 |
Link Academy Trust | 30 |
Hollowood Chemists Limited | 30 |
MARCUS EVANS LIMITED | 30 |
MPS Care Ltd | 30 |
Nightingale Group Limited | 100 |
Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd | 50 |
The Claxson Group Limited | 30 |
Hometrust Care Ltd | 30 |
Maritime Academy Trust | 30 |
The Trade Centre Group PLC | 30 |
Whistl UK Ltd. | 30 |
Yorkshire Repak Limited | 30 |
CAPITA PLC | 60 |
LADbible Group | 30 |
Q Care Ltd | 40 |
University of Wolverhampton Multi Academy Trust | 40 |
Berneslai Homes Ltd | 30 |
Corona corporate Solutions Ltd | 30 |
NDH CARE LTD | 34 |
Peninsula Care Homes ltd | 30 |
Reynold 123 Limited | 34 |
Search Consultancy Limited | 30 |
The Calico Group | 30 |
Williams & Co | 40 |
Bolloré Logistics UK Ltd | 30 |
Internet Fusion Ltd | 45 |
Learning Curve Group Limited | 30 |
Pilgrim's Pride UK Ltd | 60 |
The Northam Care Trust | 30 |
Heritage Taverns Ltd | 30 |
Oliver Marketing Limited | 30 |
Wincanton Holdings Ltd | 120 |
Places For People Group Limited | 41 |
The Gym Limited | 30 |
Portakabin Limited | 30 |
Unity Schools Partnership | 65 |
Astute Ltd | 31 |
Made To Order Limited | 30 |
E-ACT | 66 |
M&D Green Dispensing Chemist Limited | 30 |
Aspire Defence Services Ltd | 69 |
Suffolk's Libraries IPS Limited | 30 |
Treloar Trust | 30 |
Ronnies Limited | 35 |
Vantec Europe Ltd | 30 |
Tops Day Nursery Limited | 37 |
Coppergreen Developments Ltd | 41 |
Coffee1 Ltd | 30 |
Moorhouse Group | 30 |
Action Centres UK Ltd | 30 |
SPECTRUM HEALTHCARE DOMICILIARY CARE LIMITED | 30 |
Optima Care | 30 |
Clipper Logistics PLC | 105 |
Pre-school Learning Alliance | 50 |
Peter Vardy Ltd | 58 |
Rosebourne Limited | 30 |
West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust | 30 |
Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust | 44 |
The Royal Mint | 32 |
Osbourne Co-operative Academy Trust | 30 |
Coate WATER Cre Company Ltd | 80 |
J Murphy & Sons Ltd | 52 |
Persona Care and Support Limited | 30 |
Doncaster Culture & Leisure Trust | 30 |
London North Eastern Railway Limited | 38 |
Harris Federation | 60 |
Aggregate Industries | 39 |
Impact Education Multi Academy Trust | 35 |
The Growth Company | 31 |
Go Train Ltd | 30 |
Furniture Resource Centre Limited | 30 |
Key Care & Support | 30 |
Saint John of God Hospitaller Services | 30 |
MLL Telecom Limited | 36 |
Brunelcare | 42 |
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust | 30 |
The Football League (Community) Ltd T/A EFL Trust | 475 |
Muslim Council of Britain Charitable Foundation | 90 |
HIT Training Ltd | 48 |
One for the people limited | 30 |
Casual Speakers Ltd | 38 |
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK is a global leader in policy advocacy for the conservation of nature.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are committed to ensuring that the UK leads the world to promote a green, fair and resilient global recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 and central to that is the importance of resetting the global relationship with nature.
We will support the adoption of ambitious and practical targets on nature at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Summit (COP15) in China next May, strengthened by coherent implementation mechanisms that will deliver a new global biodiversity framework that is commensurate with the scale of the challenge. Nature is also a top priority for our upcoming Presidency of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (COP26) next year and we are pushing for tangible and ambitious commitments from partner governments to champion nature and nature-based solutions. Given this, and the multi-faceted benefits of nature-based solutions, we are working with the Chinese Government, who are hosting COP15, to press for mutually reinforcing outcomes at the two Conferences. In addition, we will continue leading global ambition on conserving endangered species, following our hosting of the international Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in 2018.
On marine biodiversity, we are driving forward efforts to protect and enhance the ocean and eliminate harmful fisheries practice as we have done domestically and in 2018 we launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance with Vanuatu, which now convenes 34 Commonwealth countries to tackle plastic pollution. We have also committed to a new, £500 million Blue Planet Fund, and are building on the ‘30by30’ campaign which the UK launched at the UN General Assembly in 2018, leading the Global Ocean Alliance calling to protect 30% of the world’s global ocean by 2030. This ambitious target is underpinned by domestic commitments through the Blue Belt Programme, which is on course to deliver over 4 million square kilometres of protected ocean around the British Overseas Territories by the end of 2020.
Our international leadership on nature must be underpinned by credible action at home. In England, our 25 Year Environment Plan marked a step change in ambition for nature and the natural environment. We are taking action to fulfil this ambition by introducing bold new legislation and new funding to support nature’s recovery.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Advancing our health:prevention in the 2020s, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) Lambeth, (b) Southwark, (c) London and (d) England are smoke-free by 2030.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Local authorities are responsible for providing stop smoking services and are working towards the commitments in the current Tobacco Control Plan for England 2017-2022. Public Health England (PHE) provides tools such as the online Local Tobacco Control Profiles that allows users to compare local authorities in the region and benchmark local authorities against the England or regional average. The tool is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/tobacco-control
Current smoking rates for 18 year olds and older in 2018 indicate Lambeth at 12.4%, Southwark 14.5%, London region 13.9% and England 14.4%.
PHE and other organisations, including the Greater London Authority and NHS England, are supporting a London-wide tobacco alliance to meet the smoking reduction aspirations in ‘A Health and Care Vision for London’. The aim is for London to become the first smoke free capital city before 2030. More information is available on the Healthy London Partnership website at the following link:
https://www.healthylondon.org/vision/
The Government remains committed to its vision of smokefree 2030. We intend to publish the Government response to the Prevention Green Paper, ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ in due course and key steps and ambitions to deliver Smokefree 2030 after this.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Indian government on the (a) launch of One Sun One World One Grid and (b) formation of a Global Green Grid Alliance.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
India is an important partner for the UK and we have a long history of engaging with the Government of India on climate change and clean energy.
To date, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not discussed Prime Minister Modi's new One Sun One World One Grid initiative or the formation of the Global Green Grids Alliance with the Government of India. However, we welcome the ambition on the initiatives and will continue to look for opportunities to work with India to increase global action on climate change and clean energy in the run-up to COP26. The British High Commission in India and the Department for International Development have had exploratory discussions with the Government of India and want to learn more about both initiatives.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the business activities are of (a) Shan Orchard, (b) Frontiir Co. Ltd, (c) Solar Home Pte Ltd, (d) MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, (e) Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, (f) Advans Myanmar and (g) Irrawaddy Green Tower Project as invested in by CDC Group; and whether (i) the Government of Myanmar and (ii) local state authorities have shareholdings in each business.
Answered by James Duddridge
The business activities of these investments are:
Business name | Business activities |
Shan Orchard | An agri-business focussed on the production of avocados |
Frontiir Co. Ltd | An internet service provider |
Solar Home Pte Ltd | A provider of pay-as-you-go solar home systems. |
MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd | A microfinance institution |
Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd | A microfinance institution |
Advans Myanmar | A microfinance institution |
Irrawaddy Green Tower | An infrastructure provider of telecommunications towers |
Neither the Government of Myanmar or local state authorities are on the shareholder lists of any of the above businesses.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total invested by the Commonwealth Development Corporation in (a) Shan Orchard, (b) Frontiir Co. Ltd, (c) Solar Home Pte Ltd, (d) MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, (e) Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, (f) Advans Myanmar and (g) Irrawaddy Green Tower Project in Myanmar was in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Duddridge
As stated in Written Question 46671, CDC has invested a total of $78,795,576 into the above companies over the last five years (2015-19). A $50,000,000 direct debt investment was made in Irrawaddy Green Tower Project in 2016. A $20,000,000 direct equity investment was made in Frontiir Co. Ltd in 2019. The remainder has been invested through 4 investment funds. These are Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund, Insitor Impact Asia Fund Private Ltd, Myanmar Opportunities Fund II and Advans S.A. These funds have made six investments over the last five years in Shan Orchard, Solar Home Pte Ltd, MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, Advans Myanmar and Frontiir Co Ltd.
CDC discloses on its website the amount it invests into companies, projects and investment funds. The amount invested by those funds into underlying investments is not disclosed as this information is commercially sensitive