1-20 of 559 results for primarymember:"Neil Parish"
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.42 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.004 seconds
- Search query
- primarymember:"Neil Parish"
- We searched for
- primaryMember_ses:302851
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
More
Member
More
Primary member
More
Answering member
More
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
More
Publisher
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Devon.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Devon.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked National Health Service dental practices in England to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity between April and June 2022 to improve access for patients safely. Patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance in finding a local dental practice or NHS 111 if seeking urgent dental care.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England and Bristol and Peninsula Dental schools as part of the South West Dental Reform programme to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry in the region. We are also currently developing further proposals for dental system reform with the aim of improving access for patients.
I associate myself with the Secretary of State’s comments on Lord Plumb, who for over 70 years really fought for agriculture and food in this country.
Further to the great question from my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), the Agriculture Act 2020 requires the Government to conduct and assess our national food security every five years. The Minister has said that that will be reduced to every three years. In 2020, after food supply chain challenges arose during the pandemic, the Select Committee recommended that the Government commit to producing a report every year and, with the situation in Ukraine, global gas prices, pressures on food supply, severe labour shortages and the high price of fertiliser, that is more important than ever. Will my hon. Friend therefore reconsider producing an annual report?
I associate myself with the Secretary of State’s comments on Lord Plumb, who for over 70 years really fought for agriculture and food in this country.
Further to the great question from my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), the Agriculture Act 2020 requires the Government to conduct and assess our national food security every five years. The Minister has said that that will be reduced to every three years. In 2020, after food supply chain challenges arose during the pandemic, the Select Committee recommended that the Government commit to producing a report every year and, with the situation in Ukraine, global gas prices, pressures on food supply, severe labour shortages and the high price of fertiliser, that is more important than ever. Will my hon. Friend therefore reconsider producing an annual report?
My hon. Friend knows that food is always at the very top of my agenda, and the nation’s food security is as well. He and I have discussed the right frequency for that report’s sequencing many times. It is a substantial piece of academic work, and I was proud of the version that we published at the end of last year. We have always said that we will undertake more frequent reporting if that is required, but I think that, for that serious piece of work, the three-year timescale is about right.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support Ukrainian refugees to escape the conflict zone in Ukraine and (b) expedite asylum applications to the UK for vulnerable people, including the elderly, women and children.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support Ukrainian refugees to escape the conflict zone in Ukraine and (b) expedite asylum applications to the UK for vulnerable people, including the elderly, women and children.
The Government is moving as quickly as possible to ensure those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme, the first of their kind to be operationalised anywhere in the world.
Both of these schemes are free, and people applying under the schemes will be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years. They will have full and unrestricted access to benefits, healthcare, employment, and other support.
The Government has streamlined the process so valid Ukrainian passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out.
Whilst the Government sympathises with people in many difficult situations around the world, there is no provision within the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge.
The Government does though welcome vulnerable people in need of protection to the UK through our resettlement schemes. These schemes have provided safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK.
I thought I would take advantage of an extra question. With our trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, which are to be welcomed, we will need to make a great drive to send food and drink across the world. Can we have more enthusiasm from the Government to drive our exports, especially food and drink?
I thought I would take advantage of an extra question. With our trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, which are to be welcomed, we will need to make a great drive to send food and drink across the world. Can we have more enthusiasm from the Government to drive our exports, especially food and drink?
It is crucial that we do exactly what the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee says. The Cabinet Office works closely with DEFRA on our great campaign to promote food around the world and we do that through our trade commissioners and the great teams that we have in post. One example is that we worked closely with DEFRA to promote Scottish seafood in China, which contributed an immediate £1.5 million in export wins.
Both the report from the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in April last year and the national food strategy, which came out last July, made recommendations to the Government on transforming public sector food procurement. While we still await the Government’s response to the food strategy, we will need shorter, more local supply chains, so that we can get great-quality, sustainable British food into the public sector. The south-west stands ready to be used as a pilot to test out a dynamic procurement system, but plans are stalling after funding from the Crown Commercial Service for the South West Food Hub was withdrawn. What can my right hon. Friend do to speed up the roll-out of the dynamic procurement model? Will he look again at supporting the South West Food Hub as a pilot, because it is doing great work?
Both the report from the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in April last year and the national food strategy, which came out last July, made recommendations to the Government on transforming public sector food procurement. While we still await the Government’s response to the food strategy, we will need shorter, more local supply chains, so that we can get great-quality, sustainable British food into the public sector. The south-west stands ready to be used as a pilot to test out a dynamic procurement system, but plans are stalling after funding from the Crown Commercial Service for the South West Food Hub was withdrawn. What can my right hon. Friend do to speed up the roll-out of the dynamic procurement model? Will he look again at supporting the South West Food Hub as a pilot, because it is doing great work?
I am extremely keen to work with my hon. Friend on this issue. He raises an important point and I am happy to meet him as a matter of urgency to take this forward. It is worth reminding the House that there was not specific funding for this; the memorandum of understanding with the South West Food Hub did not include specific funding. The CCS had been using its existing headcount and funding to establish a commercial solution for food, but the wider point he raises is a very valid one and I am extremely keen to explore it with him.
What steps the Government is taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts.
What steps the Government is taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts.
We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises by transparently publishing contract pipelines and simplifying bidding processes. These measures are working, and the latest central Government procurement figures for 2019-20 show that £15.5 billion was paid to small and medium-sized businesses to help to deliver essential services for UK taxpayers.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to NATO countries bordering Ukraine on humanitarian assistance for refugees of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to NATO countries bordering Ukraine on humanitarian assistance for refugees of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.
We have deployed UK humanitarian experts to support Ukraine's neighbours, including Poland and Romania, who are receiving and supporting the increasing flow of refugees fleeing Ukraine.
With Putin’s murderous regime wreaking havoc on Ukraine and murdering innocent women and children, there is a direct impact on food and grain prices. Ukraine has stopped exports, as have many other countries. What will the Secretary of State do to protect grain supplies in this country? Secondly, what talks will he have with the retailers to ensure that we can share some of the pain of the costs, which pig and poultry just cannot stand? Thirdly, how are we going to create greater food security and grow more grain in this country, which we are in need of?
With Putin’s murderous regime wreaking havoc on Ukraine and murdering innocent women and children, there is a direct impact on food and grain prices. Ukraine has stopped exports, as have many other countries. What will the Secretary of State do to protect grain supplies in this country? Secondly, what talks will he have with the retailers to ensure that we can share some of the pain of the costs, which pig and poultry just cannot stand? Thirdly, how are we going to create greater food security and grow more grain in this country, which we are in need of?
On my hon. Friend’s final point, we published a highly comprehensive analysis of our food security, including a focus on the production to supply ratio, which showed that we produce roughly three quarters of the food that we are able to grow and consume here. On his specific point, we were aware of the risk of these events in Ukraine and set up a dedicated group within DEFRA at the beginning of January to do contingency planning for the possible impacts on food. We do not import wheat from Ukraine, or only very small quantities; we are largely self-sufficient in
wheat and we import the balance from Canada. However, we are looking at the cost of inputs, particularly for the livestock sector, such as poultry.
Q5
.
Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con):
First, may I say how brave the Ukrainian people are and that they have the full support of the whole House? May I also commend the Prime Minister and the Government for the excellent actions that we have taken so far?
Ukraine is very much the bread basket of the world and it grows much wheat. We therefore need to make sure that there is food security and also security of global food supply. Does the Prime Minister agree that we need also to look to our production in this country to make sure that we can maintain a good standard of food production and enhance our food production in order to keep good and affordable food for the future?
Q5
.
Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con):
First, may I say how brave the Ukrainian people are and that they have the full support of the whole House? May I also commend the Prime Minister and the Government for the excellent actions that we have taken so far?
Ukraine is very much the bread basket of the world and it grows much wheat. We therefore need to make sure that there is food security and also security of global food supply. Does the Prime Minister agree that we need also to look to our production in this country to make sure that we can maintain a good standard of food production and enhance our food production in order to keep good and affordable food for the future?
Yes, my hon. Friend knows whereof he speaks. He is a great advocate of UK food and farming. That is why we are increasing the farming investment fund to £48 million. We have a massive opportunity, particularly for UK fruit and vegetables.
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 2 March.
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 2 March.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which countries have contributed to the $12 billion donor fund announced at COP26 to halt and reverse forest loss and protect land rights; and how much each of those donors has committed.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which countries have contributed to the $12 billion donor fund announced at COP26 to halt and reverse forest loss and protect land rights; and how much each of those donors has committed.
Over a five-year period between 2021-2025, the $12billion Global Forest Finance Pledge will support forest-related climate action in countries eligible for Official Development Assistance.
The pledge has been supported by 12 public donors: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, the UK, the USA, and the European Commission on behalf of the European Union.
The UK has confirmed to provide at least £1.5 billion to the pledge.
Further details of what the pledge will deliver on can be found at:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Levelling Up White Paper will include plans to take specific and targeted steps to realise the social and economic potential of the countryside.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Levelling Up White Paper will include plans to take specific and targeted steps to realise the social and economic potential of the countryside.
Levelling up means empowering local leaders and communities to seize their own destiny; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weak; and restoring local pride across the UK.
The UK Government recognises that each place and geography is different, and is committed through the Levelling Up White Paper to fulfil the social and economic potential of all places and geographies across the UK by building on their individual strengths and opportunities.
More details are set out in the White Paper which was published today.
Further to that question, many large retailers are keeping their budget lines at a higher price than they need to while not raising the price of higher-priced food, so I think there is an argument that they could do more to lower the price of food. Further to the Secretary of State’s comments on FareShare, can he see the £5 million that I think it is due to get food directly from farms, processors and retailers straight out to the people who need it?
Further to that question, many large retailers are keeping their budget lines at a higher price than they need to while not raising the price of higher-priced food, so I think there is an argument that they could do more to lower the price of food. Further to the Secretary of State’s comments on FareShare, can he see the £5 million that I think it is due to get food directly from farms, processors and retailers straight out to the people who need it?
I am aware that my hon. Friend has asked previously whether FareShare could also be engaged in making sure that food from farms does not go to waste, and I have said that I am willing to discuss that with it. On his point about prices, we have a highly competitive retail sector and, generally speaking, it has absorbed some of the price pressures to date.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to improve the efficiency of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to improve the efficiency of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to use its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Together with the ending of industrial action, these measures are having a positive impact. The queues are reducing, and customers will continue to see an improving picture in terms of turnaround times.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Minister was before the Select Committee last week saying that 7,000 hectares of trees would be planted in England by 2024. When planting those trees, we want native trees that have been grown in this country so as not to import disease. It takes three years to grow a tree, so we need the nurseries to be told exactly what we need for 2024.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Minister was before the Select Committee last week saying that 7,000 hectares of trees would be planted in England by 2024. When planting those trees, we want native trees that have been grown in this country so as not to import disease. It takes three years to grow a tree, so we need the nurseries to be told exactly what we need for 2024.
We are working hard to ensure that my hon. Friend has that clarity and that we have that understanding in the area of biosecurity. We want to ensure that everybody knows what the rules are so that we can get on with improving the environment and planting those trees.
What steps he is taking to help protect families from increases in global gas prices.
What steps he is taking to help protect families from increases in global gas prices.
The Government’s energy price cap will ensure that millions of households are protected from an instant wave of bill increases this winter. We also have well-established schemes in place for those businesses that are most exposed to energy prices.
Apologies, Mr Speaker—some of us are very slow learners.
With global energy markets in a state of flux, Tiverton and Honiton constituents, particularly elderly and vulnerable residents, are concerned about the sharp increases in household bills. With Christmas just around the corner, will my right hon. Friend assure me that the Government will do all they can to stabilise the UK energy sector and ensure that those who experience fuel insecurity have the support they need this winter? Many rural households are off grid, so oil and electricity prices are also of great concern.
Apologies, Mr Speaker—some of us are very slow learners.
With global energy markets in a state of flux, Tiverton and Honiton constituents, particularly elderly and vulnerable residents, are concerned about the sharp increases in household bills. With Christmas just around the corner, will my right hon. Friend assure me that the Government will do all they can to stabilise the UK energy sector and ensure that those who experience fuel insecurity have the support they need this winter? Many rural households are off grid, so oil and electricity prices are also of great concern.
I assure my hon. Friend that protecting consumers is our No. 1 priority. The Secretary of State and I engage with Ofgem very often and with energy suppliers constantly, to monitor the health of the energy market. The Government’s warm homes discount, winter fuel payment and cold weather payment schemes will support low-income and vulnerable households throughout the winter.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the projected emissions resulting from waste over the period of the 4th, 5th and 6th carbon budget periods.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the projected emissions resulting from waste over the period of the 4th, 5th and 6th carbon budget periods.
The Government's Net Zero Strategy sets the UK on the path to deliver on its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The Net Zero Strategy sets out Government's vision for transitioning to a net zero economy and covers a wide range of actions across different sectors.
Sectoral emissions for Waste and F-gases over forthcoming carbon budget periods are set out in Table 8 of the technical annex to the net zero strategy. These are: Carbon Budget (CB) 4 24-27 MtCO2e; Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 17-20 MtCO2e and CB6 12-15 MtCO2e.
n.b. NDC is the midpoint of CB5
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has an emissions reduction plan.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has an emissions reduction plan.
On 19 October, the Government's Net Zero Strategy was published, setting the UK on the path to deliver on its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The Net Zero Strategy sets out Government's vision for transitioning to a net zero economy and covers a wide range of actions across different sectors. The Natural Resources, Waste and Fluorinated-Gases (F-Gases) chapter covers Defra related sectors and their emission reductions including agriculture, peat and tree planting.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the projected resulting emissions for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use over the period of the 4th, 5th and 6th carbon budget periods.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the projected resulting emissions for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use over the period of the 4th, 5th and 6th carbon budget periods.
The Government’s Net Zero Strategy sets the UK on the path to deliver on its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The Net Zero Strategy sets out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy and covers a wide range of actions across different sectors.
Sectoral emissions for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) over forthcoming carbon budget periods are set out in Table 8 of the technical annex to the Net Zero Strategy. These are Carbon Budget (CB) 4; 51-57 MtCO2e; Nationally Determined Contribution 44-52 MtCo2e and CB6 38-48 MtCO2e.