The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to apply for assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood-affected areas.
James Wharton
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave in the House on 25 February 2016 to the Urgent Question on the EU Solidarity Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote seafood as a healthy British food.
George Eustice
Such matters fall primarily to the Non-Departmental Public Body Seafish, which is funded by an industry levy. Seafish has developed ‘Fish is the Dish’, an online campaign which encourages UK consumers to eat more seafood for a healthier diet. The campaign’s digital channels target consumers with health messaging about the nutritional benefits of seafood, including zinc, selenium, iron, omega-3 and vitamin D. The campaign highlights how more seafood can easily be incorporated into the diet.
Seafish’s ‘#superfishoil’ campaign champions seafood as the best source of omega-3, using innovative and creative communications to raise awareness of seafood’s unique nutritional benefits. This work is supported by Heart Research UK, as well as the wider seafood industry, which has access to a marketing toolkit to help promote the health benefits of eating seafood.
Health also plays an important part in the annual ‘Seafood Week’ campaign, which generates extensive cross-supply chain support. A new Seafish project looking at the nutritional make-up of fish and chips will help further inform healthy eating choices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage young people to take up a career in the fishing industry.
George Eustice
Such matters fall primarily to the Non-Departmental Public Body Seafish, which is funded by an industry levy. Seafish launched a three-week ‘Introduction to Commercial Fishing’ course in September 2011 to help recruit and train new entrants to the fishing industry. Drawing on funding from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), Seafish has delivered 84 courses throughout the UK and trained 741 new entrants.
Seafish has also developed a one-year (minimum) ‘Apprenticeship in Sea Fishing’ programme to attract new entrants looking for a career in commercial fishing. It has been delivered in England by the Whitby & District Fishing Industry School, and is now being offered as a Modern Apprenticeship in Scotland by the NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland and the North East Scotland College in Peterhead. Between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2015 51 apprentices registered for, and 44 completed, the programme. Moreover, Seafish has developed ‘Fish and Shellfish Apprenticeships’ to help the onshore sectors of the seafood industry recruit new high-calibre entrants.
In addition, Seafish created ‘The World is Your Oyster’, a recruitment campaign designed to showcase the diverse employment opportunities and career prospects in the seafood and fishing industries. The campaign launched in November last year, and is targeted at school leavers, youngsters and those considering a career change. Further information can be found on the Seafish website.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has provided financial support via the EFF to Fisheries Local Action Groups for schemes which include apprenticeships and training for the fishing industry. Funds paid for such schemes under EFF with MMO matched funding are in the region of £208,829. Support for training programmes and apprenticeships will continue to be available under the European Maritime Fisheries Fund, replacing the EFF, which opened on 18 January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government is doing to encourage supermarkets to act responsibly when sourcing and purchasing fish products.
George Eustice
Such matters fall primarily to the Non-Departmental Public Body Seafish, which is funded by an industry levy. Seafish has developed a ‘Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood’ (RASS), an online seafood sourcing tool, to help retailers assess the potential reputational risks of sourcing particular types of seafood. The primary objective is to support commercial seafood buyers by presenting up-to-date information on a comprehensive range of fisheries whose products are in the UK supply-chain, covering four components: stock, management, bycatch, and habitat. This year, RASS will be expanded through the addition of seafood social responsibility factors including crew welfare, human rights and slavery.
Seafish has also developed, and recently launched at the Houses of Parliament, the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS). The RFS is a voluntary vessel-based programme certifying high standards of crew welfare and responsible catching practices on fishing vessels. It is the only programme certifying crew welfare and responsible catching practices on vessels, and complements other fishery-based sustainability certifications. Such assurances are being increasingly sought by the UK market.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty in the UK.
Andrea Leadsom
A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017, which will run for 5 years, will upgrade the energy efficiency of over 200,000 homes per year tackling the root cause of fuel poverty. Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per annum will also help vulnerable households with their energy bills.
We intend to focus our efforts through ECO and the Warm Home Discount more effectively on the fuel poor, and will be consulting on our future approach in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24408, if she will discuss with the Sustainable Energy Association and other relevant bodies how to achieve the potential for buildings to contribute to the Government’s goals on reducing carbon and tackling fuel poverty.
Andrea Leadsom
DECC officials and ministers will continue to discuss, with a range of stakeholders, the options for buildings to contribute to reducing carbon and tackling fuel poverty. Our approach is to consider the overall use of energy in buildings, and not energy efficiency or heat in isolation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers of her Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.
Andrea Leadsom
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26th February 2016 to Question 27634:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, who was involved in designing the Sellafield Workforce Reform initiative.
Andrea Leadsom
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a responsibility to UK tax payers to ensure that Sellafield Ltd has maximum opportunity for improved performance: accelerating hazard reduction and delivering value for money. A new model, part of a suite of changes designed to increase efficiency in the business, is being put in place to help achieve that. The Sellafield Change Programme is driven by Sellafield Ltd and is managed by its CEO and Executive. From April this year, Sellafield Ltd will report to the NDA Board on progress.
Full details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her Department’s policy to publish details of repayments to the public purse made by cancelled or withdrawn free schools.
Edward Timpson
Total pre-opening revenue costs for Luton Girls’ Academy will be published by end March 2016. This will take into account a repayment of grant which was made by the Trust in July 2015.
In line with the Government’s transparency agenda the Department’s policy is to publish expenditure data in a manner helpful to the public. With that in mind we publish the full pre-opening revenue cost of cancelled or withdrawn free school projects once the amount of expenditure, taking into account any repayments, has been finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s 2015 Annual Report, published in December 2015, what assessment she has made of the effect of the level of the religious oversubscription criteria used by some schools on parents applying to such schools.
Nick Gibb
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code. These changes will respond to concerns from parents and to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports. These changes will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the Code. This includes a requirement that ‘the practices and the criteria used to decide the allocation of school places are fair, clear and objective’.
The Code is clear that parents have a right to object to a school’s admission policy. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the admission arrangements are unclear, or unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority is required by law to change them. The deadline for objections is set many months in advance of the closing date for school applications. This ensures that any admission arrangements which breach the Code can be amended to comply before parents apply for a place.