Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the total flood and coastal risk management budget has been spent in each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2020, the Government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.
Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.
Below is a table which shows the actual spend between 2021 and 2023, the allocation between 2023 and 2025, and an indicative allocation from 2025 to 2027 by ONS region. An indicative range is given for 2025 to 2027 because the programme is reviewed and refreshed annually as projects progress. This allows for flexibility to manage change and introduce new schemes or urgent works if necessary.
Grant in Aid (Millions) | Actual spend | Allocation | Indicative allocation range | ||
ONS Region | April 2021 to March 2022 | April 2022 to March 2023 | April 2023 to March 2024 | April 2024 to March 2025 | April 2025 to March 2027 |
East Midlands | £71.3 | £76.5 | £64.1 | £600.3 | £146 to £206 |
East of England | £73.7 | £79.2 | £107.0 | £111.9 | £168 to £254 |
London | £32.7 | £34.3 | £47.3 | £15.5 | £18 to £36 |
North East | £13.6 | £15.5 | £17.4 | £32.0 | £68 to £94 |
North West | £107.6 | £95.4 | £95.4 | £98.8 | £256 to £356 |
South East | £115.3 | £130.8 | £134.7 | £108.1 | £226 to £330 |
South West | £95.2 | £95.6 | £109.0 | £155.9 | £293 to £417 |
West Midlands | £37.2 | £35.2 | £36.1 | £40.9 | £67 to £99 |
Yorkshire | £128.7 | £114.9 | £104.5 | £117.4 | £246 to £350 |
Projects in more than one ONS region | £66.9 | £76.8 |
|
| £342 to £418* |
* Projects in more than one ONS region indicative allocation range is inclusive of April 2023 to March 2027
Investment is allocated where the flood risk is highest and the benefits of flood resilience are the greatest. A consistent methodology is used, applying a national funding formula under the partnership funding policy, to allocate funding to schemes proposed by all risk management authorities. This ensures a fair distribution of funding based on agreed priorities, principles and needs. The availability of feasible projects also influences the distribution of investment. There are therefore no specific regional investment targets.
The table attached (with data caveats) also shows the allocation and spend by local authority and constituency between 2021 and 2025.
See table attached.
Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the total flood and coastal risk management budget has been allocated to each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2020, the Government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.
Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.
Below is a table which shows the actual spend between 2021 and 2023, the allocation between 2023 and 2025, and an indicative allocation from 2025 to 2027 by ONS region. An indicative range is given for 2025 to 2027 because the programme is reviewed and refreshed annually as projects progress. This allows for flexibility to manage change and introduce new schemes or urgent works if necessary.
Grant in Aid (Millions) | Actual spend | Allocation | Indicative allocation range | ||
ONS Region | April 2021 to March 2022 | April 2022 to March 2023 | April 2023 to March 2024 | April 2024 to March 2025 | April 2025 to March 2027 |
East Midlands | £71.3 | £76.5 | £64.1 | £600.3 | £146 to £206 |
East of England | £73.7 | £79.2 | £107.0 | £111.9 | £168 to £254 |
London | £32.7 | £34.3 | £47.3 | £15.5 | £18 to £36 |
North East | £13.6 | £15.5 | £17.4 | £32.0 | £68 to £94 |
North West | £107.6 | £95.4 | £95.4 | £98.8 | £256 to £356 |
South East | £115.3 | £130.8 | £134.7 | £108.1 | £226 to £330 |
South West | £95.2 | £95.6 | £109.0 | £155.9 | £293 to £417 |
West Midlands | £37.2 | £35.2 | £36.1 | £40.9 | £67 to £99 |
Yorkshire | £128.7 | £114.9 | £104.5 | £117.4 | £246 to £350 |
Projects in more than one ONS region | £66.9 | £76.8 |
|
| £342 to £418* |
* Projects in more than one ONS region indicative allocation range is inclusive of April 2023 to March 2027
Investment is allocated where the flood risk is highest and the benefits of flood resilience are the greatest. A consistent methodology is used, applying a national funding formula under the partnership funding policy, to allocate funding to schemes proposed by all risk management authorities. This ensures a fair distribution of funding based on agreed priorities, principles and needs. The availability of feasible projects also influences the distribution of investment. There are therefore no specific regional investment targets.
The table attached (with data caveats) also shows the allocation and spend by local authority and constituency between 2021 and 2025.
See table attached.
Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon 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 make an estimate of the amount and proportion of the total flood and coastal risk management budget that has been allocated but not spent in each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2020, the Government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.
Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.
Below is a table which shows the actual spend between 2021 and 2023, the allocation between 2023 and 2025, and an indicative allocation from 2025 to 2027 by ONS region. An indicative range is given for 2025 to 2027 because the programme is reviewed and refreshed annually as projects progress. This allows for flexibility to manage change and introduce new schemes or urgent works if necessary.
Grant in Aid (Millions) | Actual spend | Allocation | Indicative allocation range | ||
ONS Region | April 2021 to March 2022 | April 2022 to March 2023 | April 2023 to March 2024 | April 2024 to March 2025 | April 2025 to March 2027 |
East Midlands | £71.3 | £76.5 | £64.1 | £600.3 | £146 to £206 |
East of England | £73.7 | £79.2 | £107.0 | £111.9 | £168 to £254 |
London | £32.7 | £34.3 | £47.3 | £15.5 | £18 to £36 |
North East | £13.6 | £15.5 | £17.4 | £32.0 | £68 to £94 |
North West | £107.6 | £95.4 | £95.4 | £98.8 | £256 to £356 |
South East | £115.3 | £130.8 | £134.7 | £108.1 | £226 to £330 |
South West | £95.2 | £95.6 | £109.0 | £155.9 | £293 to £417 |
West Midlands | £37.2 | £35.2 | £36.1 | £40.9 | £67 to £99 |
Yorkshire | £128.7 | £114.9 | £104.5 | £117.4 | £246 to £350 |
Projects in more than one ONS region | £66.9 | £76.8 |
|
| £342 to £418* |
* Projects in more than one ONS region indicative allocation range is inclusive of April 2023 to March 2027
Investment is allocated where the flood risk is highest and the benefits of flood resilience are the greatest. A consistent methodology is used, applying a national funding formula under the partnership funding policy, to allocate funding to schemes proposed by all risk management authorities. This ensures a fair distribution of funding based on agreed priorities, principles and needs. The availability of feasible projects also influences the distribution of investment. There are therefore no specific regional investment targets.
The table attached (with data caveats) also shows the allocation and spend by local authority and constituency between 2021 and 2025.
See table attached.
Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that families living in poverty in the UK have sufficient (a) food (b) energy and (c) basic household goods.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. 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.
Working age benefits will increase by 6.7% from April 2024. We are also raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.
With over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that, in 2021/22, children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.
Our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to help people into work, including face-to-face time with Work Coaches and targeted employment support. We will also increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 for workers aged 21 years and over from this April - an annual increase in gross earnings of over £1800 for someone working full-time on the National Living Wage.
To further help parents on Universal Credit who are moving into work or increasing their hours, the Government is providing additional support with upfront childcare costs. We have also increased the childcare costs that parents on Universal Credit can claim back by nearly 50%, up to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 for two or more children.
As announced in Spring Budget, £500m of additional funding also enables the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure support schemes keep pace with inflation.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of State Pension and benefit rates. Most of these will increase by 6.7% from April 2024, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2023. The basic State Pension, full rate of the new State Pension and Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit will increase by 8.5%, in line with the growth in average weekly earning in the year to May-July 2023. The increase to all these State Pensions and benefits in April 2023 was 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022 and the Government’s manifesto commitment to the triple lock for the new and basic State Pensions.
The Government will also be investing £1.2 billion restoring Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment will ensure 1.6 million low-income private renters will gain on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
From April 2024, the National Living Wage is set to increase by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour. This represents an increase of over £1,800 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage and is expected to benefit over 2.7 million low-paid workers. The equivalent increase in April 2023 was 9.7%.
The Government understand the pressures people have been facing with the cost of living and is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. This commitment is demonstrated by the package of additional support for the most vulnerable provided by one of the largest support packages in Europe. This includes the current Household Support Fund, which is worth £842 million and runs until 31 March 2024 in England. The Devolved Administrations receive Barnett Formula funding as a result of this, bringing the total investment to £1 billion.
Taken together, including the measures outlined above, support to households to help with the high cost of living in total amounts to £104 billion over the period 2022/23 to 2024/25.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past 12 months for which data are available, how much money was (1) credited to NHS Healthy Start cards, (2) used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items, and (3) not used.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Healthy Start scheme, pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one years old, each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one years old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. The money is loaded onto a pre-paid payment card. Beneficiaries are not required to spend the money each week and it can be accumulated and put towards more expensive Healthy Start items, such as infant formula. The legislation states that only after 16 consecutive weeks of the pre-paid payment card not being used can the card be cancelled.
This flexibility in how and when the money can be used means that the total amount spent in any one month can exceed the amount added in that month, if beneficiaries have accumulated funds in previous months. The following table shows the latest data for how much was added onto Healthy Start cards and spent, per month, during 2023:
Month | Total added | Total spent |
January | £7,859,474.75 | £8,353,475.29 |
February | £7,435,669.76 | £7,320,424.91 |
March | £10,626,362.86 | £8,971,140.57 |
April | £11,665,242.36 | £10,012,024.12 |
May | £8,137,362.11 | £8,218,389.00 |
June | £7,805,625.26 | £7,873,571.30 |
July | £9,171,390.95 | £8,021,060.44 |
August | £8,535,237.75 | £7,985,449.52 |
September | £7,549,456.50 | £7,887,565.69 |
October | £8,289,498.25 | £7,715,832.34 |
November | £7,954,638.13 | £7,131,207.48 |
December | £7,750,004.57 | £7,013,663.46 |
This flexibility also means that from month to month some of the money may remain on the payment cards without being used. During 2023 the average outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards was £12.6 million. This equates to around £37 per household. If a card was unused for 16 weeks as permitted in the legislation, it would accumulate £68 for a pregnant woman or a family with a child over one and under four, or £136 for a family with twins under one years old. The average balance of £37 per household is less than 16 weeks’ entitlement, although these are aggregate figures and there will be variation across households. The following table shows the total outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards, per month, during 2023:
Month | Total outstanding balance |
January | £11,876,537.16 |
February | £11,456,639.28 |
March | £11,444,727.51 |
April | £12,465,403.05 |
May | £12,238,144.26 |
June | £12,123,823.55 |
July | £12,777,017.89 |
August | £13,193,581.26 |
September | £13,677,365.89 |
October | £13,066,802.63 |
November | £13,418,231.23 |
December | £13,850,960.26 |
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what happens to any money credited to NHS Healthy Start cards that is not used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Healthy Start scheme, pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one years old, each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one years old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. The money is loaded onto a pre-paid payment card. Beneficiaries are not required to spend the money each week and it can be accumulated and put towards more expensive Healthy Start items, such as infant formula. The legislation states that only after 16 consecutive weeks of the pre-paid payment card not being used can the card be cancelled.
This flexibility in how and when the money can be used means that the total amount spent in any one month can exceed the amount added in that month, if beneficiaries have accumulated funds in previous months. The following table shows the latest data for how much was added onto Healthy Start cards and spent, per month, during 2023:
Month | Total added | Total spent |
January | £7,859,474.75 | £8,353,475.29 |
February | £7,435,669.76 | £7,320,424.91 |
March | £10,626,362.86 | £8,971,140.57 |
April | £11,665,242.36 | £10,012,024.12 |
May | £8,137,362.11 | £8,218,389.00 |
June | £7,805,625.26 | £7,873,571.30 |
July | £9,171,390.95 | £8,021,060.44 |
August | £8,535,237.75 | £7,985,449.52 |
September | £7,549,456.50 | £7,887,565.69 |
October | £8,289,498.25 | £7,715,832.34 |
November | £7,954,638.13 | £7,131,207.48 |
December | £7,750,004.57 | £7,013,663.46 |
This flexibility also means that from month to month some of the money may remain on the payment cards without being used. During 2023 the average outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards was £12.6 million. This equates to around £37 per household. If a card was unused for 16 weeks as permitted in the legislation, it would accumulate £68 for a pregnant woman or a family with a child over one and under four, or £136 for a family with twins under one years old. The average balance of £37 per household is less than 16 weeks’ entitlement, although these are aggregate figures and there will be variation across households. The following table shows the total outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards, per month, during 2023:
Month | Total outstanding balance |
January | £11,876,537.16 |
February | £11,456,639.28 |
March | £11,444,727.51 |
April | £12,465,403.05 |
May | £12,238,144.26 |
June | £12,123,823.55 |
July | £12,777,017.89 |
August | £13,193,581.26 |
September | £13,677,365.89 |
October | £13,066,802.63 |
November | £13,418,231.23 |
December | £13,850,960.26 |
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2023 to Question 189943 on Free School Meals: Finance, whether her Department issues guidance on recouping unspent funds allocated to free school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department spends over £1 billion each year on free meals, which now support over one third of pupils in England. In 2023/24, the Free School Meal (FSM) factor of the National Funding Formula designates £480 per eligible pupil. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. Schools are allocated un-ringfenced funding through their core budgets to provide these free meals for disadvantaged pupils. This system recognises that schools are best placed to make decisions about how they use their funding and gives them considerable freedom in how they best deliver educational provision to their pupils.
The department is aware of concerns highlighted in the Hungry for Change report. It is for schools to deliver FSM provision and, in line with their duties, to ensure eligible pupils receive free and nutritious meals every day. Schools have freedom over the way in which they achieve this.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 22 June 2023 to Question 189943 on Free School Meals: Finance, what assessment her Department has made of the report Hungry for Change, published on 27 June 2019 by Northumbria University.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department spends over £1 billion each year on free meals, which now support over one third of pupils in England. In 2023/24, the Free School Meal (FSM) factor of the National Funding Formula designates £480 per eligible pupil. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. Schools are allocated un-ringfenced funding through their core budgets to provide these free meals for disadvantaged pupils. This system recognises that schools are best placed to make decisions about how they use their funding and gives them considerable freedom in how they best deliver educational provision to their pupils.
The department is aware of concerns highlighted in the Hungry for Change report. It is for schools to deliver FSM provision and, in line with their duties, to ensure eligible pupils receive free and nutritious meals every day. Schools have freedom over the way in which they achieve this.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether free school meal providers are entitled to keep money allocated to but not spent on free school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department spends over £1 billion each year on free meals, which now support over one third of pupils in England. In 2023/24, the Free School Meal (FSM) factor of the National Funding Formula designates £480 per eligible pupil. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. Schools are allocated un-ringfenced funding through their core budgets to provide these free meals for disadvantaged pupils. This system recognises that schools are best placed to make decisions about how they use their funding and gives them considerable freedom in how they best deliver educational provision to their pupils.
The department is aware of concerns highlighted in the Hungry for Change report. It is for schools to deliver FSM provision and, in line with their duties, to ensure eligible pupils receive free and nutritious meals every day. Schools have freedom over the way in which they achieve this.