Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the construction of the River Parrett tidal barrier.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has made significant progress with the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier scheme. The detailed design for the barrier and downstream banks is nearly complete. Environment Agency contractors are on site carrying out enabling works (constructing site compounds and access tracks and undertaking vegetation clearance). This will allow the construction of the bypass channel, barrier structure, control building and downstream banks over the next four years.
The Bridgwater Tidal Barrier is a flagship scheme delivering protection to 12,800 properties, along with £2 billion benefits for the local area. The scheme is expected to achieve £7.50 of benefits for every £1 spent.
Like many other major capital schemes, the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier project has seen cost increases due to inflationary pressures in construction, not least on concrete, steel, energy and labour costs, all of which are major elements of the scheme’s cost. The project is exploring options for funding as well as for efficiencies and savings to ensure that an operational barrier can be delivered as planned by early 2027. Identifying the optimum construction sequence will also enable us to achieve best value.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the rise in demand for food banks, what steps they are taking to support families experiencing food poverty.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government recognises that understanding food security is important and this is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20 and added further questions on foodbank use in 2021/22. These statistics help our understanding of the characteristics of people most in need and, alongside the broad suite of poverty data, help to shape future policy considerations.
We are committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.
From April 2023, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1% and, subject to Parliamentary approval, working-age benefits will rise by 6.7% from April 2024, in line with inflation.
With almost one million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people, including parents, to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty, after housing costs, than those where all adults work.
To help people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers with disabilities or health issues.
To help people progress in work, our voluntary in-work progression offer, rolled-out from April 2022, is now available in all Jobcentres across Great Britain. We estimate that around 1.2m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.
To support parents into work, on 28 June 2023, the maximum monthly amounts that a parent can be reimbursed for their childcare increased by 47%, from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. Importantly, we can now also provide even more help with upfront childcare costs when parents move into work or increase their hours.
We are also committed to ending low hourly pay for those on the National Living Wage (NLW) in the UK. From 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over. Further to this, on 1 April 2024, we will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
This Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of £104bn over 2022-2025 to help households and individuals. Included within this, to support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024. This will benefit 1.6 million low-income households, who will be around £800 a year better off on average in 2024-25.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing direct grants to food banks.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Government does not have any role in their operation.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Warwick and Leamington constituency used a foodbank in October (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023. The latest available National statistics on both food security and food bank use covering 2021/22 are available here. Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in the Warwick and Leamington constituency is not available.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people in work in Warwick and Leamington constituency who use a foodbank once a month or more.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023. The latest available National statistics on both food security and food bank use covering 2021/22 are available here. Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in the Warwick and Leamington constituency is not available.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the volume of food donated to food banks arising from "Natasha’s Law" regarding food labelling, which requires allergen labelling on pre-packaged direct sale food.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.
This was strengthened, for food that is sold prepacked for direct sale, with the introduction of Natasha’s Law in 2021.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently conducted an evaluation of the impact of the law. During the evaluation, the FSA spoke to stakeholders including food businesses.
While the evaluation did not focus specifically on food redistribution, it did offer stakeholders the opportunity to discuss their experiences implementing the new law broadly. There was no significant evidence provided in respect of impact on food donations. However, we are clear that, irrespective of how food is distributed, whether for sale or provided free, consumer safety must remain the priority.
Defra and the FSA have worked with WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) to produce comprehensive guidance on surplus food redistribution to help businesses and charities safely and efficiently redistribute surplus and prevent good food going to waste.
The FSA continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the impact of Natasha's Law, to ensure any issues are identified and resolved.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to encourage unsold food in the retail space to be redirected to (a) food banks and (b) food security organisations.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The safe and speedy redistribution of surplus food is a Government priority. The Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy includes the expectation that all businesses prioritise surplus redistribution before disposal. Government works closely with businesses through our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to overcome any barriers to this requirement. This includes the development of guidance and best practice through a sector wide working group, and support for the Target Measure Act (TMA) approach to understanding and acting on food waste in supply chains, including the redistribution of any surplus should it arise.
Since 2018, Defra funding of nearly £13m has supported both large and small redistribution organisations across the country to make sure more surplus food gets to charities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Markham on 14 December 2022 (HL Deb col 653), what assessment they have made of the provision of freezers and fridges to increase food banks’ storage capacity.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.
Whilst Government recognises that food charities are a great example of the generosity of spirit of communities across the country, it is important to recognise the important distinction between government welfare support and discretionary charitable support. Therefore, the Department for Work and Pensions is unable to make an assessment as Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations who design their own delivery models and criteria to access their services.
Government understands the pressures people, including parents, are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. Overall, the government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills.
The Government also announced over £100 million of support for charities and community organisations in England at the Spring Budget. This will support frontline organisations experiencing increased demand and higher delivery costs and will provide some investment in energy efficiency measures. It will be targeted towards those organisations most at risk from cost of living pressures, due to increased demand and higher delivery costs, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency measures. Further detail will be published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport shortly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 191943, whether she has plans to hold discussions with chief constables on police officers (a) facing in-work poverty and (b) using food banks.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, like all employers, have a duty to manage and support their officers. It is therefore the responsibility of individual forces to provide financial wellbeing services where they consider it is appropriate to do so.
On 13 July 2023, the Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body to award a consolidated increase of 7% to all ranks up to and including assistant chief constable and commander with effect from 1 September 2023. The Government also awarded the same increase to chief constables, deputy chief constables and ranks above commander in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police.
The Government also accepted the PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest pay point for constables, bringing starting salaries up to £28,551.
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support the wellbeing of our police, through continuing to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service and introducing a Police Covenant. We will continue to work closely with policing partners and help Chief Constables in their duty to support their workforce effectively.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the use of food banks by former service personnel who were medically-discharged in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold information on the use of food banks by either current military or civilian personnel, or by Armed Forces veterans. Any decision to use a food bank is a private and personal matter for the individual concerned.
To support those leaving Service, including those medically discharged, the MOD provides points of contact for veterans who are facing challenges when transitioning back into civilian life. The Defence Holistic Transition Policy was introduced to support a whole range of life-changing issues, which affect both the Service Person and their immediate family upon leaving the Services. This could include help with life's basic needs such as registering with a doctor or a dentist, or it could be much more intensive for those with complex needs (including housing, budgeting, debt, wellbeing, and children's education).
Defence Transition Services (DTS), which is part of the MOD's Veterans UK, was established at the same time as the transition policy to provide information and support for those service leavers and their families who are most likely to face challenges as they leave the Armed Forces and adjust to civilian life: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-and-support-for-service-leavers-and-their-families. DTS will be there as a safety net for up to two years after leaving Service, and self-referrals can be made through the gov.uk website or by contacting Veterans UK direct.
In addition, the Veterans Welfare Service, part of Veterans UK, provides telephone and face to face assistance from four UK welfare centres to veterans in need of support: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/veterans-welfare-service