Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew George this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 173 · this parliament
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with a) port and harbour authorities, b) fishers, and c) producers on free disposal facilities for end-of-life fishing gear waste in ports and h
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been assessed, including through a study commissioned by Defra and the devolved governments, available here, which indicated EPR could be a complex and costly intervention. Defra officials have previously engaged...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate funding is made available for local initiatives which support the responsible disposal and recycling of discarded fishing gear.
The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) is a grant scheme in England that supports more sustainable fishing and seafood businesses, including potential support for recycling end of life fishing gear. Through FaSS, Defra funded KIMO UK’s Fishing for Litter...
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for fishing gear.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been assessed, including through a study commissioned by Defra and the devolved governments, available here, which indicated EPR could be a complex and costly intervention. Defra officials have previously engaged...
How many and what proportion of higher education providers in England are expected to record an operating deficit in each of the next three financial years.
The Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. Its most recent report on the sector’s financial health, published in May 2026, can be found here:...
Whether mechanisms are in place to provide compensation to higher education providers in cases where regulatory penalties imposed by the Office for Students are overturned by the courts.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for higher education in England and operates within the legal framework set out in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Where the OfS takes regulatory action against a registered higher edu...
What estimate she has made of the number of staff redundancies (a) announced and (b) implemented by higher education providers in England since 1 January 2025.
The Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. Its most recent report on the sector’s financial health, published in May 2026, can be found here:...
Which sub-processors (a) have been and (b) are expected to be approved for the processing of HSA4 data under the relevant contract; whether that list will be made publicly available; and whether th
There are no sub-processors on the relevant contract to deliver a new Abortion Notification Service. We are not currently expecting to approve any sub-processors under this contract.
Whether identifiable data from HSA4 abortion notification forms will be stored in structured, searchable form within any Abortion Notification Service data-lake.
The Department requires that the new service being built to collect and process abortion data includes a secure location to store frozen data extracts, namely datasets that have been locked to prevent further modifications, that can be accessed by the Abo...
What public communications (a) have been issued and (b) are planned to inform women undergoing abortion care that identifiable data will be processed within a new system, including through new anal
The Department is currently working on an engagement plan to support abortion care providers transition to the new abortion data collection service. In line with the Department’s required standard operating procedures (RSOPs) for the approval of independe...
What assessment he has made of the risks associated with making identifiable abortion notification data available within a data-lake environment.
The solution is being designed following UK Government guidance for building and managing digital services, including but not limited to Government Digital Service standards, the National Cyber Security Centre Cyber Assessment Framework, and Departmental ...
Whether the procurement specification for the Abortion Notification Service was reviewed between First Reading of the relevant legislative clause and the contract signature on 10 March 2026.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women acting in relation to their own pregnancies. However, it does not change the Abortion Act 1967 or the provision of lawful abortion services. Therefore, there w...
Whether privacy notices issued to women undergoing abortion care have been updated to reflect the introduction of new analytical infrastructure and changes to the legal context following the Crime
All privacy notices will be reviewed and updated, if required, to reflect any changes to the technical infrastructure that supports the collection and processing of abortion data.In line with the Department’s required standard operating procedures (RSOPs)...
Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government will publish the findings of its consultation on a proposed ban on keeping laying hens, pullets and breeder layers in cages.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 31 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West, PQ UIN 122785.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps will be taken to ensure that imports of eggs, liquid eggs and powdered eggs meet UK animal welfare standards, in the context of any phase-out of caged systems domestically.
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 18 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend for PQ UIN 120331.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that any ban on caged systems for laying hens is accompanied by equivalent trade measures which prevent the import of eggs and egg product
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 18 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend for PQ UIN 120331.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking across procurement policy, food service, and manufacturing supply chains to ensure that improved domestic welfare standards are not undermined by th
The National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February, underscores the Government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the risk of increased imports of lower-welfare eggs following domestic reforms to housing systems for laying hens.
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 18 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend for PQ UIN 120331.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to introduce measures to prevent the import of eggs, liquid eggs and powdered eggs produced in systems which are banned in the UK.
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 18 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend for PQ UIN 120331.
Food and Rural Affairs, what support will be made available from Government to support a transition away from enriched cages.
Under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, eligible poultry keepers have had access to capital grants to support transitioning from enriched cages. The Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant, which closed to applications on 28 April, provides f...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether further supported welfare improvements for laying hens will be incorporated into the UK Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
Under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, eligible poultry keepers have had access to capital grants to improve welfare in laying hens. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, which closed its final round on 12 May, offered grants up to £25,000 for ...