Every parliamentary written question tabled by Allison Gardner this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 123 · this parliament
What discussions his Department has had with businesses on investment in technology in Northern Ireland.
I am a passionate advocate for Northern Irish tech companies and for investment by international tech companies in Northern Ireland.I recently attended the Big Data New York Conference – a spin off of Big Data Belfast – to highlight the international investment opportunities in Northern Ireland's well established and fast growing Cyber and Digital sectors.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how extended producer responsibility fees will be allocated, in the context of transparency in funding for local authority waste management services.
PackUK will publish annual reports and financial statements, which will provide transparency on the allocation of funds received through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees. These reports will clarify how the collected fees are distributed and used to support the scheme’s objectives.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a phased introduction of extended producer responsibility fees.
We have taken a phased approach to implementing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). Reporting obligations for this scheme were introduced in 2024, and fee obligations for large producers introduced on 1 April 2025. From April 2026 PackUK will modulate fees to incentivise use of easily recyclable packaging material. The pEPR policy has been under development since 2019, with extensive engagement and consultation providing businesses with a clear indication of the scheme’s design and implementation. This policy underwent consultations in 2019, 2021, and a final consultation on reforms to the Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system in 2022. Additionally, in 2023, the four nations of the UK consulted on the operability of the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, and further amendments were made to address stakeholder concerns prior to final regulations being introduced.
How many families are receiving support from Healthy Start in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Stafford.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The number of people receiving support from the Healthy Start scheme in March 2025 in Stoke-on-Trent was 2,592, and in Stafford was 566.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the opinions of people on (a) low and (b) middle incomes are adequately heard in the development of the food strategy.
A key priority for the food strategy is to improve access to healthy food for everyone, including children and those on low and middle incomes, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives. We are forming a coalition with the food sector, academics and charities and key thinkers to pool our collective ideas, influence and effort, and ensure that a range of voices are heard as we develop the strategy. We are developing a programme of stakeholder engagement that will include civil society and consumer group representatives. The Food Strategy Advisory Board, announced on 21 March, includes representatives from civil society organisations such as Anna Taylor from the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA. This collaboration will ensure a systems-wide approach and a comprehensive food strategy.
How many children are covered by the transitional protections for eligibility for free school meals; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending those protections in March 2025 on the children currently protected.
As with all government programmes, including free school meals, we keep our approach under continued review. Support for children to access free school meals, has additionally been considered as part of the Child Poverty Taskforce’s consideration of how to:1. Support households to increase their income including considering social security reforms that support people into work and alleviate poverty.2. Help to bring down essential household costs, build savings and tackle problem debt.3. Alleviate the negative experience of living in poverty, including through supporting families and the role of public services.No pupil will see any change because of changes to traditional protections until after the summer and the department will communicate further with schools before that time.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of consulting on regulating the property management sector.
The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. Property agents must belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislation is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents. The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise them on how best to do it. However, they failed to respond to the recommendations set out in the working group’s 2019 Regulation of Property Agents: working group report which can be found on gov.uk here. Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future. As a result, we are looking again at the 2019 report. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government has made clear it intends to strengthen regulation of managing agents to drive up the standard of their service. As a minimum, this should include mandatory professional qualifications which set a new basic standard that managing agents will be required to meet. We will consult on this matter this year. We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
What progress his Department has made on tackling the shortage of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy drugs.
The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest updates on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.
What steps his Department is taking to end the difference between the treatment of military and civil compensation payments in means tests for disabled facilities grants.
We are giving older and disabled people more independence in their own homes through an immediate in-year uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) of £86 million in 2024/25. This increase will provide approximately 7,800 additional home adaptations. This is on top of the £625 million paid to local authorities in May 2024. The Government also announced an £86 million additional investment in the DFG for the 2025/26 financial year at the Budget, bringing total funding for 2025/26 to £711 million. To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we will continue to keep different aspects of the grant, including the means test, under consideration.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Water Restoration Fund on river quality in Staffordshire.
For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities. For Price Review 2024, which runs from 2025 – 2030, Water companies will be delivering record levels of investment: £104 billion over the next five years. This gives the sector the opportunity for transformation, delivering better outcomes for customers and the environment In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. Defra is evaluating how water company fines and penalties can be reinvested in improvements to the water environment. A final decision on this will be made later this year.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing VAT from veterinary care.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government took a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability. This stability is critical to boosting investment and growth, and to making people across the UK better off. One of the key considerations for any potential new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates, meaning that cutting VAT may not be an effective way to reduce prices for consumers.
What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for patients with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in Stoke-on-Trent.
The Department is working with NHS England to deliver interventions to improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer across England, including Stoke-on-Trent.As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.Early diagnosis is imperative to improving outcomes for all types of cancer, especially pancreatic cancer due to the non-specific nature of its symptoms. NHS England is providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. NHS England is additionally creating pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms and is increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer, aiming to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.
What steps her Department is taking to improve support for people being released from prison.
We are committed to ensuring pre-release plans are created for those leaving custody, to ensure their needs are identified early and individual robust plans are in place to address these.We are working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and other Departments on the development of a new cross-government strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness, as well as delivering our temporary accommodation service (CAS3), so all offenders leaving prison at risk of homelessness who are supervised by probation are offered up to 12 weeks of accommodation to provide a stable base on release.We are also working with prisons to improve offenders’ access to purposeful activity, including learning, to improve prisoners’ reading, numeracy and vocational training so that more prisoners are prepared for work on release. In addition, we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time will bring businesses together with probation and the Department of Work and Pensions to support offenders in the community.To support prison leavers with a drug or alcohol need, over 50 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide are improving links between prison, probation and treatment providers, and we have secure laptops to enable prisoners to meet with community treatment providers virtually, prior to release.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of further restricting the (a) use and (b) sale of fireworks on animal welfare and wildlife.
Most people use fireworks in a responsible, safe, and appropriate manner and there are laws in place to address situations where fireworks are misused. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of further restricting a) use and b) sale of fireworks on animal welfare and wildlife. To inform any future decisions the Government intends to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks.
What steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.
The Government recognises the pressures on the National Health Service during the winter period and the impact this is having on ambulance response times, including in Stoke-on-Trent.We are committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution but must be clear that there are no quick fixes.However, we are determined to turn things around through investment and reform. The Chancellor announced £25.6 billion of additional healthcare funding over the next two years, and we will set out a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
What steps his Department is taking to (a) provide support for and (b) increase capacity of drug and alcohol recovery services in Stoke-on-Trent.
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidenced-based, high-quality treatment. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department provides additional funding to support drug and alcohol services. In 2024/25, a total of £4,670,913 was allocated to Stoke-on-Trent. This included £2,906,020 for the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant, £939,906 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant, £589,429 for the Housing Support Grant, £165,719 for the Individual Placement and Support Grant (employment support), and £69,839 for the Inpatient Detoxification Grant. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) provides monitoring, data, guidance, and targeted support to help local authorities, such as Stoke-on-Trent, to support improvement of drug and alcohol treatment. For Stoke-on-Trent, this support includes regular meetings with the Director of Public Health, commissioners, and providers to discuss treatment and recovery delivery, site visits by OHID, and engagement in improvement support programmes, for example introducing innovation into treatment services to improve access and retention for people who use opiates.Additionally, OHID has published guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas, with more information available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug misuse deaths and to drive improvements in continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess gaps in referral pathways. The toolkit also contains guidance on good practice to reduce the level of unmet need and target priority or underserved groups.
What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with (a) autism and (b) SEND in mainstream settings in Stoke-on-Trent South.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with Local Area Partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. To support this, the department has brought together a group of leading neurodiversity experts in a new Neurodiversity Task and Finish Group, led independently by Professor Karen Guldberg from the University of Birmingham, to work closely with the department to help improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people. Additionally, the department’s Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme brings together Integrated Care Boards (ICB), local authorities, and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children and their families and enable an inclusive school environment. PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces into 10% of mainstream primary school settings, which is approximately 1680 schools. PINS is building teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children, including those with speech and language needs, through whole-school interventions. The programme is being evaluated, and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children. The department’s Universal SEND Services contract brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism. As part of the contract, the Autism Education Trust (AET) provides a range of training and support for staff on autism. Since the contract began in May 2022, over 200,000 professionals have received training from AET training partners. Following the last Ofsted SEND inspection in January 2024, officials have been working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors.The areas were:Improve the timeliness of the identification, assessment, and implementation of support to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.Improve the visibility and engagement of children and young people with SEND within their communities while in education and their broader life experiences.Develop the timeliness and quality of education, health and care plans so they always accurately identify needs and clearly articulate the provision needed for the child and young person.Develop systems and processes to ensure that the voice of children and young people with SEND is heard and acted upon at an individual and strategic level.Improve the oversight of children and young people attending and quality assurance of alternative provisions and out-of-county placements, including residential settings.
What steps his Department is taking to improve provision of post-natal mental health care in Stoke-on-Trent.
Stoke-on-Trent is one of 75 local authorities that is receiving funding to provide bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.However, more is needed. Access to these services varies across the country and too many people with mental health issues, including mothers in the 24 months postpartum, are not getting the support or care they need. NHS England is working to ensure that services are accessible to all women who need them.
What steps her Department is taking to improve support for care leavers in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.
The government recognises that care leavers have some of the worst outcomes in society and is committed to ensuring that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships and are engaged in education, employment and training (EET).To address the challenges care leavers face, the department has established a care leaver Ministerial Board, chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Deputy Prime Minister, which brings together Ministers from key departments to improve support for care leavers across government. We have also introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to drive forward our commitments on children’s social care, including placing new duties on local authorities to provide ‘Staying Close’ support to care leavers up to the age of 25, where their welfare requires it, and requiring each local authority to publish information about the arrangements it has in place to support care leavers in their transition to adulthood and independent living.To support care leavers to engage in EET, those who start an apprenticeship are entitled to a £3,000 bursary. Further, local authorities must provide a £2,000 bursary for care leavers who go to university, and care leavers are a priority group for the 16 to 19 bursary if they are studying in further education.To help care leavers secure and maintain safe and affordable housing, the department is funding local authorities to support care leavers who wish to stay living with their foster families up to the age of 21, and have increased support for young people leaving residential care, with move-on accommodation and ongoing support from a keyworker provided through the ‘Staying Close’ programme.The department knows that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting care leavers to thrive. We are funding family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes across 45 local authority areas, including Stoke-on-Trent, to help care leavers to identify and reconnect with important people in their lives and create safe, stable, loving relationships.To enable better access to mental health services, the department committed to recruit 8,500 new mental health staff and we are also updating the statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of children in care and care leavers.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to ban the (a) sale and (b) use of shock collars for dogs.
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. Ministers will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.