Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 13 of the UK Science and Technology Framework, published by her Department on 6 March 2023, what steps the Government is taking to increase expenditure on innovative products.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 9 February 2024, my department published an update on progress implementing the Science and Technology framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-science-and-technology-framework/the-uk-science-and-technology-framework-update-on-progress-9-february-2024
It outlines a series of steps the government is taking over the next 12 months on the procurement strand of the Framework.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced guidance for operators of sewage processing plants on the use of Nereda reactors in areas of high population density.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The operation of sewage processing plants is a matter for water companies who must comply with any permit conditions that have been set. The use of Nereda reactors, a particular type of wastewater treatment process, must be in accordance with any relevant permit conditions.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced guidance for operators of sewage processing plants on the use of covers in areas of high population density.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The operation of sewage processing plants is a matter for water companies who must comply with any permit conditions that have been set.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 15 April 2024 on Iran-Israel Update, Official Report, column 23, how many RAF (a) Typhoons and (b) planes were deployed to intercept Iranian drones fired into Israel on 13 April 2024; and what steps he is taking to protect service personnel in the region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As stated by the Prime Minister on 15 April 2024, the RAF sent additional aircraft to the region and RAF aircraft shot down a number of Iranian attack drones. However, for operational security reasons I cannot comment on the specifics of this activity. The Ministry of Defence constantly reviews its force protection measures to ensure they are appropriate.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21848 on Iran: Israel, what the basis was for UK military action in defence of Israel.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As stated by the Prime Minister in the Iran-Israel Update to Parliament on 15 April 2024 (Volume 748), the UK was acting in the collective self-defence of Israel and for regional security.
There are no plans to publish the legal advice, in line with long-standing precedent.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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 support people in Oxfordshire who have been affected by Storm Henk.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Storm Henk impacted large parts of Oxfordshire, including homes, businesses and infrastructure. My thoughts are with those affected.
The Environment Agency worked tirelessly to minimise the impacts of flooding by operating flood assets, issuing flood warnings, making sure rivers were free of blockages and, where appropriate, putting out temporary barriers. Following the storm the Environment Agency continues to engage with impacted communities to gather information that will help them, and partners, better understand how they can support the communities to increase their resilience flooding.
The Environment Agency is working with partners to provide a joined-up approach so that communities get the most appropriate and swift support, including the ongoing work to develop and deliver projects such as the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.
In January 2024, the Government announced the launch of the Flood Recovery Framework for areas most affected by Storm Henk. These schemes closed on 12 April and included:
Defra also activated the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Repair Grant scheme where eligible properties can receive up to £5,000 to install PFR measures. Households and business who suffered from internal flooding should contact Oxfordshire County Council to apply. The PFR scheme opened on 8 January and will close in July 2025.
We are also actively reviewing the areas eligible for support through the Farming Recovery Fund to ensure it supports areas where farmland is most impacted due to Storm Henk. Oxfordshire is among these areas being considered for inclusion in the Fund. We are working through the impacts and will set out the position on the additional areas to be included in the Fund shortly. We will write to all those eligible farmers informing them of the funding they are able to claim.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Financial Conduct Authority survey indicating an increase in adults across the UK struggling to pay bills due to the high cost of living, and what steps they are taking to help individuals and families facing financial difficulties.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The FCA’s 2024 Cost of Living survey found a reduction in the number of people finding it hard to manage higher costs of living since January 2023.
The government has already provided support to help with the cost of living totalling £96 billion from 2022-23 to 2023-2024 – an average of £3400 per UK household.
Further actions taken by the government in 2024-25 include: a rise in the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.8% - ending low hourly pay for workers on the NLW, raising Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of market rents, uprating working-age benefits by 6.7%, freezing fuel duty, removing Debt Relief Order fees, and doubling the Budgeting Advance Loan repayment period.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of closing schools so they can be used as polling stations on children's educational attainment.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of closing schools so they can be used as polling stations.
Local returning officers have the power to require a school to act as a polling venue and may choose to do so where no suitable alternative accommodation is available. Whether or not the school then has to close is a decision for the headteacher. Before making a decision, headteachers should always consider the impact of a school closure on their pupils and parents and work to minimise this impact so that it will not detrimentally affect pupils' educational attainment.
Decisions about closure will usually depend on what arrangements can be made for voting to take place separately from the rest of the school premises. If the school decides to close on the day of the poll, it should try and make up the lost day of education.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the protection afforded to households who are affected by poor standard of workmanship provided by the companies under the Energy Company Obligation Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of the ongoing evaluation of the current iteration of the Energy Company Obligation, ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with installations. Installation companies must be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government endorsed Quality Scheme for home improvements. TrustMark registered businesses are required to adhere to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standards, providing a warranty to the householder when a measure is installed in case something goes wrong. Ofgem, the scheme administrator, has a route to redress for consumers should they be dissatisfied with the measures delivered.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in allocating the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund 2023 to 2024 for adult social care; and what are their plans for allocation in the financial year 2024–25.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) gives an overall profile of almost £2 billion over two years. Local authorities can choose to use the funding to increase fee rates paid to adult social care providers, increase adult social care workforce capacity and retention, and reduce adult social care waiting times.
In 2023/34, a total of £927 million was made available to local authorities via MSIF, with a further £1.05 billion being made available in 2024/25. The funding has been distributed using the adult social care relative needs formula. Full local authority allocations for 2024/25 are available in the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund Grant Determination 2024 to 2025 on GOV.UK in an online-only format.