Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ellie Chowns this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 241–260 of 392 · this parliament
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with producer country stakeholders as it designs the Forest Risk Commodities implementing regulation.
We are carefully considering the views of producer country stakeholders in developing our approach to prevent UK consumption of forest risk commodities driving deforestation. We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.
With reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, if she will take steps to prevent people with (a) lifelong and severely disabling illnesses and (b) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis from having to undergo repeated reassessments.
Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, so we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions.We aim to guarantee that for both new and existing Universal Credit claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. Our plans to improve experiences of Personal Independence Payment also include reducing assessments for this group. We are exploring ways we could use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe health conditions and disabilities to undergo a full PIP functional assessment.
With reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the four-point minimum eligibility threshold on the ability of people with (a) fluctuating illnesses and (b) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis to claim PIP.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of integrating health services with social welfare advice.
We recognise the importance of integrated health and care services, including social welfare advice. We are committed to moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will reinforce integrated working between the National Health Service, social care, local government, other statutory services, the voluntary sector, and communities themselves, as the norm, not the exception.A Neighbourhood Health Service will mean more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthy and maintain their independence for longer.The full vision for the health system will be set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to disability benefits set out in the (a) Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025 and (b) report entitled Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts, published on 26 March 2025 on demand for (i) NHS and (ii) adult social-care services.
No assessment has been made.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables in supermarkets.
This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives. The Government’s funding of WRAP, who run the UK Plastics Pact (UKPP), has seen significant progression across industry. Members have increased the average recycled content in their packaging from 8.5% in 2018 to 24.1%. UKPP members cover the entire plastics value chain and are responsible for the majority of plastic packaging sold through UK supermarkets, and approximately two thirds of the total plastic packaging placed on the UK market. Since 2018, additional progress from members includes a 55% reduction by weight sold of the items listed as problematic and avoidable in 2018; 71% of their plastic packaging is now recyclable (up from 66% in 2018); and 55% of their plastic packaging is recycled (up from 44% in 2018). The Government also supports innovation, having funded over 80 projects on innovative solutions to plastic packaging through the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge (SSPP), managed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions.
If his Department will publish national plans to improve (a) respiratory health and (b) other major conditions following the publication of the NHS England 10 Year Health Plan.
The 10-Year Health Plan will focus on the three shifts needed to deliver a modern National Health Service: hospital to community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention. We want to see more tests and scans in the community, in high street settings, reducing the need for people to take multiple trips to hospitals to get diagnosed.The 10-Year Health Plan will describe a shared vision for the health and care system in 2035, drawing directly from the extensive engagement underway with the public, patients and staff. The plan will include how care models and pathways will need to change or evolve to better meet their needs, and the cultural and behavioural changes we want to see.The Department, following the merger with NHS England, will continue the work undertaken by NHS England to improve the services for major conditions in line with the vision of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Bank Group's report entitled Investment Framework for Nutrition 2024, published on 2 October 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) his Department's international development strategy and (b) the allocation of Official Development Assistance prioritise cost-effective nutrition interventions.
Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.To deliver the most impact on nutrition, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to integrating nutrition objectives alongside other policy objectives from sectors, such as health, food and agriculture, humanitarian, and climate in our ODA programmes. At the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the FCDO launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration. Over 80 countries and organisations have signalled their commitment to nutrition integration through the Compact.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing (a) sexual health services and (b) public health back into the NHS.
The Government is committed to preventing ill health, promoting healthier lives and addressing health disparities, including sexual health.We have therefore committed to developing a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, which will explore commissioning models to meet the changing needs of our changing population. The plan will be focused on delivering the three shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, and will be published in June 2025.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reduced USAID funding for malnutrition programmes on the UK's funding for such programmes for (a) children and (b) other people.
The UK notes the US decision to disband USAID and cancel certain USAID programmes. This is a matter for the US. We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across all humanitarian and development sectors, including on joint and coordinated programming.Decisions on how the UK's Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. To deliver the most impact on nutrition, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to integrating nutrition objectives alongside other policy objectives from sectors, such as health, food and agriculture, humanitarian, and climate in our ODA programmes. At the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the FCDO launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration. Over 80 countries and organisations have signalled their commitment to nutrition integration through the Compact.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding he plans to provide for the (a) Child Nutrition Fund, (b) Child Wasting Innovation Programme, (c) ready-to-use therapeutic foods and (d) other nutrition programmes in each of the next three financial years.
Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are currently unable to confirm exact levels of funding for the outer years until the spending review for this period has been completed.The majority of funding for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and other nutrition programmes is administered by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) country offices, and allocated through humanitarian programmes. It is therefore not possible to know in advance how much will be spent on nutrition. The FCDO retrospectively publishes nutrition spend on an annual basis. The most recent available data is from 2022 and can be found online.
With reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 3 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of incorporating (a) economic, (b) social and (c) cultural rights into domestic law.
We have made no such assessment. United Nations human rights treaties do not require States to incorporate them into domestic law, and we are confident that we comply fully with our UN treaty obligations.
Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of open public spaces in new housing developments that are owned by private companies.
The government does not hold comprehensive information on the number of open public spaces in new housing developments that are owned by private companies.
Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to publish the 48 new Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) across England. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations when preparing the strategies and use the statutory guidance provided. Once complete, each responsible authority will publish the LNRS for their area. Two strategies have been published so far, in the West of England and North Northamptonshire. LNRSs will be delivered through a combination of legal duties, funding and incentives. The Government has set out a clear leadership and coordination role for responsible authorities in the English Devolution White Paper.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) Plan 5 student loan repayment threshold and (b) annual pay for someone on the minimum wage in a full-time job from 1 April 2025 on the net income of graduates with student loans.
In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. More details on the consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.Comparing the previous threshold of £28,470 under Plan 2 with the new threshold of £25,000 under Plan 5, the monthly repayments under the new repayment plan would result in an individual who was previously earning £28,470 and not repaying their loan, to now repaying approximately £26 per month.From 1 April 2025, the National Minimum Wage has increased to £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. If working a standard 37.5 hours per week, a minimum wage worker will earn £23,809.50, which is below the annual threshold for both Plans 2 and 5. This calculation is based on the average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers.
What assessment she has made of the technical differences between co-operatives and credit unions which justify excluding credit unions from the exemption from audit requirements available to smaller co-operatives under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014; and whether the Government plans to review this distinction in light of forthcoming recommendations from the Law Commission’s review of the Act.
The Government recognises the important contribution of co-operatives and mutuals to the economy, serving local communities around the country and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector with their model of shared ownership. The Government is committed to unlocking the full potential of the mutual and co-operative sector to support inclusive growth. Co-operatives are diverse organisations that span a variety of different sectors. Credit unions are financial co-operatives which offer savings and loans to their members. As deposit-takers, credit unions are subject to specific regulatory requirements. The Government is funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 to help ensure that co-operatives legislation is meeting the needs of this sector. This review will consider ways to update and modernise the Act. The Government will carefully consider the findings of this review to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of facilitating the recycling of blister packs.
Through making producers responsible for the costs of managing the packaging they use; packaging extended producer responsibility incentivises producers to use less packaging and transition to re-usable or easy-to-recycle packaging. Defra has previously considered the merits of facilitating the recycling of harder to recycle packaging such as blister packs. This resulted in some currently difficult to recycle packaging, such as plastic films, being subject to kerbside collection and recycling requirements. For others, such as blister packs, we concluded that where they are separately collected by producers, via takeback schemes, and are then recycled at the producer’s cost, then producers would not need to pay pEPR fees on the tonnage which is recycled. In addition, for future years, a producer’s modulated fees may be reduced if the packaging they are using, such as blister packs, is part of an easy to access, UK wide takeback scheme, as it will improve their recyclability assessment outcome.
What progress she is making on implementing the findings of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published by her Department in February 2021.
The Government agrees with the central conclusion of the Dasgupta Review that nature, and the biodiversity that underpins it, sustains our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing. It is therefore committed to integrating nature into economic and financial decision-making, and the institutions and systems that underpin it. The Treasury continues to make progress and explore ways to strengthen processes for assessing the climate and environmental impacts of fiscal decisions and improve the Green Book in line with emerging evidence and best practice. For example, building on the extensive guidance already provided for evaluating and monetising natural capital impacts, the Government has published updated supplementary guidance to the Green Book on Enabling a Natural Capital Approach, including additional guidance on valuing biodiversity. As set out in the Budget last October, the Government is continuing to invest in the natural environment, confirming £5 billion over two years to support the transition to a more productive and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector in England, and at least £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration to protect soils, rivers and biodiversity.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of district heating schemes.
The Government believes that heat networks are an essential part of a decarbonised future energy system. In high density urban areas, they are often the lowest cost, low carbon heating option, and can use a range of low carbon energy sources such as waste heat from industry. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and strengthens the Uk’s energy resilience. The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050. We are implementing heat network zoning and funding low carbon heat networks to get to this scale.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a scheme equivalent to Fuel Finder for the cost of charging electric vehicles.
The Government is committed to improving the transparency of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure costs. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, chargepoint operators are required to clearly provide the price of charging at public chargepoints in pence per kilowatt hour (or pound per kilowatt hour). These regulations also require operators to share open data on charging costs free of charge, among other data fields. Both these measures allow drivers to compare public chargepoint costs and choose the best rate.