Every parliamentary written question tabled by Perran Moon this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 181–200 of 252 · this parliament
What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of granting electric vehicle charging infrastructure statutory rights.
In December 2024, the Government published the outcome of a consultation on a proposal to include chargepoint operators into the street works permitting regime, removing the requirement for a Section 50 licence. A clause to make this change has been included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he would make it his policy to create exemptions for Extender Producer Responsibility depending on (a) a producer’s sustainability and (b) B-Corp status.
There are no exemptions planned for producers with B-Corp status. While private ESG schemes like B-Corp certification can play an important role in driving sustainability, they are complementary to, rather than a replacement for regulatory measures like pEPR.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure local authorities are adequately staffed to (a) build and (b) organise electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The Government’s £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund includes £37.8m capability funding to ensure local authorities can hire staff to plan, procure and tender the delivery of local chargepoints. The LEVI Fund also supports local authorities through one-to-one guidance, workshops and an online knowledge repository with expert advice on chargepoint planning, procurement and delivery. This is in addition to a dedicated electric vehicle training course, completed by over 150 local authority officers to date. In December 2024 the Department announced a £22m extension to the LEVI Capability Fund in financial year 2025/26, building on the successful work to date.
What assessment her Department has made of the merits of increasing penalties for electric cable theft.
Theft, including the theft of cables, is a serious crime and this Government recognises the distress and disruption it can cause, not only to businesses, but also to local communities and critical infrastructure. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reduce metal theft by strengthening regulation of the scrap metal industry. The Act requires scrap metal dealers to obtain a licence from their local authority and to verify the identity of those selling the scrap metal; it also bans dealers from paying cash. Following introduction of the Act, there was an overall downward trend in metal-related theft offences. The latest figures for the year ending March 2024 are 64% lower than in the previous year. Furthermore, the sentencing guidelines on theft have been amended to highlight that where theft causes disruption to infrastructure, this should be taken into account when assessing the harm. We work closely with the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership who bring together industry and policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft, including cable theft, by sharing intelligence to target offenders and implementing crime prevention measures. We are also delivering on our commitment to put 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating parking bays for electric vehicles through traffic regulation orders.
Traffic regulation orders (TRO) can already be used to designate and enforce electric vehicle only, on-street parking bays. Their use is at the discretion of the local traffic authority.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing 90 day termination convenience clauses from charge point operator contracts.
The Department has worked extensively with stakeholders including industry to develop procurement guidance for local authorities which encourages private investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes recommendations around the appropriate termination clauses, where termination at convenience is explicitly excluded.Local authorities are the contracting authorities responsible for their procurements, who need to make the assessment and determination on termination clauses in their contracts.
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle theft of electric vehicle infrastructure.
I have raised this issue with the Home Office and my Department will continue to work with them on this.
What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of ensuring District Network Operators provide (a) free and (b) national access to data on (i) power cable routes, (ii) substation locations and (iii) spare capacity.
The Government recognises the value of electricity network data to energy stakeholders, for example in helping to identify where best to connect projects. The energy regulator, Ofgem, has placed licence obligations on energy networks, including distribution network operators (DNOs), to make network data open by default, subject to certain considerations such as national security [1]. As part of this, DNOs publish free data on their networks, including network capacity ‘heat maps’ [2]. Under its review of the regulation of connections, Ofgem is also considering how best to ensure that network companies continuously improve data visualisation tools [3]. [1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/decision/decision-updates-data-best-practice-guidance-and-digitalisation-strategy-and-action-plan-guidance[2] https://www.energynetworks.org/industry/connecting-to-the-networks/connections-data[3] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-11/Connections_End_to_End_Review_consultation.pdf
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle cable theft from electric vehicle infrastructure.
Theft, including the theft of cables, is a serious crime and this Government recognises the distress and disruption it can cause, not only to businesses, but also to local communities and critical infrastructure. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reduce metal theft by strengthening regulation of the scrap metal industry. The Act requires scrap metal dealers to obtain a licence from their local authority and to verify the identity of those selling the scrap metal; it also bans dealers from paying cash. Following introduction of the Act, there was an overall downward trend in metal-related theft offences. The latest figures for the year ending March 2024 are 64% lower than in the previous year. Furthermore, the sentencing guidelines on theft have been amended to highlight that where theft causes disruption to infrastructure, this should be taken into account when assessing the harm. We work closely with the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership who bring together industry and policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft, including cable theft, by sharing intelligence to target offenders and implementing crime prevention measures. We are also delivering on our commitment to put 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities.
What recent steps her Department has taken to improve signage for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
A reliable, accessible public charging network to support electric vehicle (EV) drivers on long journeys is essential. Ensuring this is visible and functional will build consumer confidence, which is vital for mass EV adoption. An EV charging symbol is in use on traffic signs to direct drivers to the growing number of chargepoints. There are now over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra rapid chargers within one mile of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), having doubled over 18 months. Government is working with industry, including chargepoint operators, and with National Highways, which manages the SRN in England, to improve signage deployment. This includes looking for opportunities to make it easier to provide signage for EV-only charging hubs.
What plans her Department has to increase funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant to areas with (a) below average allocations and (b) deficits.
The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes core funding for 5-16 year old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. The NFF allocates funding based on schools’ and pupils’ characteristics. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is allocated based on pupil numbers and characteristics.It is not the purpose of the NFF to give every school the same level of per-pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs – such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language – receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.The department does not fund schools based on their reserves or deficits. Schools who do find themselves in financial difficulty should contact their local authority if they are a maintained school and the department if they are an academy to see what additional support might be available.
What plans her Department has to increase guidance available to parents on SEND (a) provision and (b) support.
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to publish a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) local offer, setting out in one place information about provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area who have special educational needs (SEN) or are disabled, including those who do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans.The local offer has two key purposes:To provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up-to-date information about the available provision and how to access it.To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving disabled children and those with SEN and their parents, and disabled young people and those with SEN, and service providers in its development and review.In developing and reviewing the SEND local offer, the local authority must work in collaboration with a wide range of partners. The SEND local offer must be co-produced with parents and young people, and information on their feedback and how it has been taken into account must be published. The local authority must also work with its statutory EHC partners, including schools, colleges and early years settings and the Integrated Care Service.Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) offer information, advice and support for parents, carers children and young people with SEND. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a SENDIASS.The department additionally supports participation by parents in local and national decision making, this has included £2.66 million in grant payments direct to local parent carer forums, and funding to maintain a national helpline providing advice and support for parents and carers.
If her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of PAS1899 guidance for electric vehicle charge points.
PAS 1899 was developed jointly by OZEV and Motability Foundation and launched in October 2022. My Department has recently undertaken a review of this standard alongside the British Standards Institution, charging industry, disabled users, accessibility experts, consumer groups and the devolved administrations. The Department will consider the outcome of this review and potential next steps.
What plans her Department has to reduce SEND funding differentials between local authorities.
The government has indicated that it will take the time needed to consider changes to the high needs national funding formula (NFF) used by the department to allocate funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities.It is important that there is a fair education funding system that reflects differences in the level of underlying need across the country and directs funding accordingly to support improved outcomes for children and young people.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to take into account super-ageing demographics such as in Cornwall when determining funding settlements for deprived areas.
Building on the measures in the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025. This consultation and engagement will inform the development of our detailed proposals, on which we will further consult following the multi-year Spending Review concluding later this year. We are keen to develop these reforms in partnership with the sector and to understand views from across local government on factors affecting the demand and need for services, including in rural areas like Cornwall.
If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of hypothecating revenues from the zero emission vehicle mandate for decarbonising transport.
HM Treasury expects to receive no income from the ZEV mandate, due to the mandate design framework. The Chancellor provided over £300m for EV uptake and £2bn to support domestic manufacturing at the Autumn Budget.
Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to help tackle shortages of professional services in design and planning stages of (a) infrastructure and (b) housing.
Professional services across the built environment are vital to delivering both infrastructure and housing.A significant amount of beneficial and innovative work is being undertaken by the sector to identify and deliver the professional skills that will be needed in the future, ensuring that it can continue to offer services to further development. My answer to Question UIN 28327 on 13 February 2025 also sets out the programme in place to enable planning local authorities to access relevant skills. This will be further underpinned by the fee increases for planning services that is being implemented from April 2025 which will help improve the resourcing of planning application services, so that local planning authorities can access the skills they need.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to take into account low wages in rural areas when determining funding settlements for deprived areas.
Building on the measures in the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025. This consultation and engagement will inform the development of our detailed proposals, on which we will further consult following the multi-year Spending Review concluding later this year. We are keen to develop these reforms in partnership with the sector and to understand views from across local government on factors affecting the demand and need for services, including in rural areas like Cornwall.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to take into account (a) remoteness and (b) peripherality of areas such as Cornwall when determining funding settlements for deprived areas.
Building on the measures in the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025. This consultation and engagement will inform the development of our detailed proposals, on which we will further consult following the multi-year Spending Review concluding later this year. We are keen to develop these reforms in partnership with the sector and to understand views from across local government on factors affecting the demand and need for services, including in rural areas like Cornwall.
Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to increase clarity in the process of allocating funding to local areas through (a) consultation on their development and (b) publication of detailed methodology.
Building on the measures in the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025. The government set out its six key guiding principles for funding reform, of which one is transparency. This consultation and engagement will inform the development of our detailed proposals, on which we will further consult following the multi-year Spending Review concluding later this year. We will publish and seek views on methodologies as part of this consultation.