Every parliamentary written question tabled by Bell Ribeiro-Addy this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 821–840 of 941 · this parliament
Whether the Government plans to subsidise the building of small modular reactors.
Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its SMR Technology Selection Process for UK deployment. This is a live, ongoing procurement based on fairness and transparency, and it is important GBN can deliver value for the British taxpayer.Funding and financing arrangements for SMRs remain under consideration, with no decisions taken yet.
What estimate he has made of the number of small modular reactors needed to power AI data centres across Britain.
The Government continues to assess future energy requirements, including the potential impact of powering datacentres. Consumption from datacentres has been forecast by NESO to increase and require an uninterrupted supply of electricity. The Government is committed to nuclear playing an important role in generating low carbon power and contributing to UK energy security. Alongside large-scale plants, such as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, SMRs have the potential to supply the grid or to be a dedicated energy source for datacentres.
What steps her Department is taking to improve the safety of female cyclists travelling after dark.
Everyone should feel safe cycling and harassment and intimidation of women cycling is totally unacceptable. Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims, who are disproportionately likely to be women, feeling very unsafe. That is why tackling it is very much an important part of our mission on VAWG. Active Travel England is working with local authorities to provide high-quality cycling infrastructure which should help women feel safer when cycling. Design guidance for new infrastructure, such as that funded through the Active Travel Fund, requires that new schemes are accessible to all users, including women. This can include providing lighting for walking and cycling schemes, improving social safety and delivering road safety improvements to existing schemes.
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February to Question 30234, on British Nationality: Applications, how much of the revenue cited covered administrative costs; how much was profit; and if she will provide a breakdown of what the profits were spent on.
The Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing is utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system.Fees transparency data produced by the Department can be accessed at the link below, in case helpful: Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of storage capabilities of small modular reactors to power AI datacentres.
Consumption from datacentres has been forecast by NESO to increase and require an uninterrupted supply of electricity. SMRs have potential as a dedicated energy source for datacentres, given their potential to provide a near-constant supply of low-carbon electricity. SMRs do not have traditional storage capabilities, however some SMRs could be paired with thermal energy storage or grid-scale electricity storage to provide backup power and enhance their flexibility.
What estimate his Department has made of the cost of small-scale nuclear production relative to larger plants.
The Government is clear that nuclear power, including small modular reactors (SMRs), is and will continue to be an important part of the UK energy mix, providing secure, low carbon energy and thousands of skills jobs. Great British Nuclear is pushing forward with its SMR competition for UK deployment with final decisions to be taken this spring. As with all energy projects, the economic case for SMRs would be considered as part of any investment decision into the technology.
What estimate the Government has made of the cost of nuclear energy relative to renewable sources of power.
The latest published cost and technical assumptions for power technologies, including renewables and nuclear, can be found in the published Generation Costs series. [1] Renewables and nuclear play different roles in a decarbonising system and full power sector modelling evaluates costs at the system level. For example, analysis of many power sector scenarios [2] indicates that a cost-effective system requires a mix of technologies. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections#2023[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-2050-electricity-system-analysis
What assessment his Department has made of the emissions reduction potential of nuclear energy for the Clean Power 2030 plan.
As set out in the Clean Power Action Plan, electricity generated by renewables and nuclear power will form the backbone of a clean electricity system by 2030, supported by low carbon flexible sources of power. EDF has announced extensions to four of its existing nuclear plants, with Heysham 2 and Torness now due to generate until 2030. Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear plant under construction in the UK in a generation, is expected to see its first unit come online between 2029-2031.
What steps she is taking to protect women and girls in or around parks and commons in Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency.
We have set out an unprecedented mission to halve the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. That means working across Government departments to tackle threats to women’s safety in all areas of their lives, including in public spaces like parks and commons.We recognise the devastating impact crimes such as harassment and sexual violence can have and we expect every such offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.On 2 February 2025, we announced a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to improve the police response to these crimes, backed by £13.1m of Home Office funding. Centralising policing expertise will drive national coordination and action by the Centre, which will include the development of strengthened specialist training for officers across the country, helping to ensure they offer consistent protection for victims and relentlessly pursue perpetrators of these vile crimes; including those which take place in public spaces.We will set out more detail on our approach to halving VAWG in a new cross-government strategy to be published later this year.
Whether her Department holds data on the (a) number of cases of child sexual assault brought forward at family court in the last five years and (b) proportion of those cases (i) upheld and (ii) dismissed.
Sexual offences, including child sexual assault, are heard in the criminal courts. In some cases, the family courts will hear allegations of sexual abuse in public and private law cases but while this information would be recorded in case files it is not centrally recorded.In order to provide this information, the Ministry of Justice would need to examine multiple individual case files. In 2023 for example (the last full year for which data is available) over 66,000 public and private law cases started in the family courts which involved over 104,000 children.(1)The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data concerning defendants dealt with at criminal courts by detailed offence codes as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly series. The “outcome by offences” tool allows users to select offence descriptions as set out in legislation and the latest data is available to June 2024 - Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2024 - GOV.UK.(1) Family_Court_Tables__Jul-Sep_2024_.ods
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on the number of child sexual assault cases brought forward.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced in Parliament on 17 December, will protect children at risk of abuse, stopping vulnerable children falling through cracks in services.To keep children safe, the department plans to improve the sharing of information across and within agencies by enabling the use of a Single Unique Identifier. To better protect children from harm, we also plan to strengthen the delivery of a local decisive multi-agency child protection model through integrated multi-agency child protection teams, put a new duty on safeguarding partners to ensure education is sufficiently involved in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, and ensure parents have consent from local authorities to home educate children where there are safeguarding concerns.Beyond the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, it is paramount the department acts to protect children from all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. To that end, on 16 January, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary made clear that, before Easter, the government will lay out a clear timetable for taking forward the 20 recommendations from the final Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse report.
Whether she plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the Overseas Scale Rates.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review. Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
Whether she plans to introduce mechanisms for regular updates to the Overseas Scale Rates to keep in line with inflation.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review. Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
How many people were given a custodial sentence for not paying a fine further to a School Attendance Order by (a) race and (b) gender during the 2023-24 school year.
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data concerning sentence outcomes by offence as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly ‘Outcomes by offence’ tool which is available at this link: Criminal justice statistics quarterly.However, information is not held and separately identifiable concerning outcomes relating to non-payment of fines imposed following a conviction for the offence of failure to comply with a School Attendance Order (section 443 of the Education Act 1996). To provide this information would require a review of individual case files and would be disproportionate to costs incurred.
If she will take steps to require local authorities to identify the reasons for which parents opt for elective home education who fall under the category of (a) other, (b) unknown and (c) no reason given.
This government’s mission is to break down barriers to opportunity by driving high and rising standards across the whole education and care system to give every family certainty that they will be able to send their child to a good local school. The department is working across government to deliver commitments related to this, such as on expanding Mental Health Support Teams and improving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.The department recognises that some parents are currently reporting that they are moving their children into home education due to dissatisfaction with their school, SEND provision, concerns about the child’s mental health, and other concerns. To ensure that local authorities can identify all children not in school in their areas, which includes those who are not receiving a suitable education or otherwise need support, we have introduced a package of Children Not in School measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. These measures include a requirement for all local authorities in England to keep compulsory registers of Children Not in School, improvements to the School Attendance Order process, and a requirement for parents of children on child protection plans, who are the subject of child protection enquiries, or who are at special schools to seek permission from the local authority before they can be removed from the school roll to be home educated. We will publish statutory guidance to help local authorities carry out these new duties. The department’s ‘Elective home education’ guidance for local authorities and parents includes advice for local authorities on the reasons why families may home educate. It emphasises that local authorities should consider individual circumstances when engaging with families and considering what support they may require. Since 2022, the department has collected aggregate data from local authorities on home educating children in their area, which is now published annually. Whilst local authorities are now required to provide this information to the department, parents are under no obligation to provide information to the local authority, including the reason for home education.The proposed compulsory Children Not in School registers will support local authorities to fulfil their existing education and safeguarding duties towards children. As part of these measures, parents and certain providers of out-of-school education will be required to provide specific information to local authority registers. These registers will be required to include such information as the reasons for home education, to the extent that this information is reasonably obtainable. However, only certain information will be required to be provided by the parent (such as name, address, date of birth, etc.), which does not include reasons for home education.
What information her Department holds on the number of people fined following the issuance of a School Attendance Order in the 2023-24 academic year, broken down by (a) race and (b) gender.
The department collects aggregate data on penalty notices from local authorities in England through the annual parental responsibility measures attendance census. Information is not collected on measures previously used before issue of a penalty notice, nor the characteristics of the children concerned.The available data is published in the following statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.The department also collects aggregate data on school attendance orders issued from local authorities in England through the collection on elective home education and children missing education. No information is collected on characteristics of the children concerned.The available data is published in the following statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.
What guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on actions they can take in cases where parents have opted educate their children at home due to (a) dissatisfaction with their school, (b) bullying, (c) school suggestion, (d) difficulties in accessing suitable school places, (e) risk of school exclusion, (f) concerns about the child's mental health and (g) inadequate SEND provision.
This government’s mission is to break down barriers to opportunity by driving high and rising standards across the whole education and care system to give every family certainty that they will be able to send their child to a good local school. The department is working across government to deliver commitments related to this, such as on expanding Mental Health Support Teams and improving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.The department recognises that some parents are currently reporting that they are moving their children into home education due to dissatisfaction with their school, SEND provision, concerns about the child’s mental health, and other concerns. To ensure that local authorities can identify all children not in school in their areas, which includes those who are not receiving a suitable education or otherwise need support, we have introduced a package of Children Not in School measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. These measures include a requirement for all local authorities in England to keep compulsory registers of Children Not in School, improvements to the School Attendance Order process, and a requirement for parents of children on child protection plans, who are the subject of child protection enquiries, or who are at special schools to seek permission from the local authority before they can be removed from the school roll to be home educated. We will publish statutory guidance to help local authorities carry out these new duties. The department’s ‘Elective home education’ guidance for local authorities and parents includes advice for local authorities on the reasons why families may home educate. It emphasises that local authorities should consider individual circumstances when engaging with families and considering what support they may require. Since 2022, the department has collected aggregate data from local authorities on home educating children in their area, which is now published annually. Whilst local authorities are now required to provide this information to the department, parents are under no obligation to provide information to the local authority, including the reason for home education.The proposed compulsory Children Not in School registers will support local authorities to fulfil their existing education and safeguarding duties towards children. As part of these measures, parents and certain providers of out-of-school education will be required to provide specific information to local authority registers. These registers will be required to include such information as the reasons for home education, to the extent that this information is reasonably obtainable. However, only certain information will be required to be provided by the parent (such as name, address, date of birth, etc.), which does not include reasons for home education.
What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the environmental impact of running artificial intelligence technologies and the UK's Net Zero ambitions.
The Department regularly engages across Government to promote the sustainable development of AI technologies in line with the UK’s Net Zero goals. This includes inter-departmental collaboration through initiatives such as the recently announced AI Energy Council and AI Growth Zones, aimed at addressing the growing energy demands of AI through sustainable, efficient, and scalable solutions.
What disability rights organisations and campaigners her Department is consulting with on planned reforms the disability welfare system; and whether any user-led organisations have been consulted.
This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We have already started discussing the case for reform, including with representatives from the Disability Charities Consortium and the Disabled People’s Organisations Forum England. We intend to publish a Health and Disability Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. After publication, the proposals will be subject to a consultation involving disabled people and representative organisations, with the conclusions to be set out in a white paper later in the year.
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February, to Question 28684 on British Nationality: Fees and Charges, for what reason her Department does not hold specific data on the amount of revenue received from child citizenship applications?.
The Department does not hold specific data on the amount of revenue received from child citizenship applications.We are looking to develop more granular management information during the new financial year 2025-26.