Alex Mayer MP: written questions 2024
239 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Agriculture: South of EnglandDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13900More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department is providing to farmers to transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in (i) East, (b) South West and (c) South East of
Answer: The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our countr...
Answered 15 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHigh Speed 2 Line: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13899More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the amount of private finance required to deliver the HS2 Euston quarter development.
Answer: The Department for Transport is responsible for delivering tunnelling for HS2 to Euston, as well as developing a much-improved station site.To support the delivery of a significant number of homes alongside this project, MHCLG has established the Euston H...
Answered 2 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPolice: TrainingHome OfficeTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had discussions with police forces on the provision of training on potential inks between domestic violence and violence against animals.
Answer: The Government will treat violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a national emergency. We have set out our ambition to halve VAWG in a decade using every available lever.Committing violence towards a pet or an assistance animal or using them to contro...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSewersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13896More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish its planned timescale for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Answer: This Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) in new developments. We need to see SuDS in more developments; to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water inf...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDigital TechnologyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13895More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a digital champion in each local authority area.
Answer: The Government believes Digital Champions play a key role in advancing the digital connectivity agenda - and help local communities to realise the benefits advanced connectivity can bring. We strongly encourage local and combined authorities to appoint th...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record4G and 5G: BedfordshireDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13894More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve (a) 4G and (b) 5G coverage in Bedfordshire.
Answer: This Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Bedfordshire, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordTrees: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13548More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support the conservation of endemic tree species.
Answer: Genetic conservation is critical to maintaining the genetic pool of England’s native and endemic tree species. This diversity is important for evolutionary adaptation to environmental change. The Millennium Seed Bank, managed by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,...
Answered 15 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordForestsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13547More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will he make an assessment of the potential impact of the import of (a) soy, (b) palm oil, (c) cocoa and (d) other products on the UK's contribution to tropical deforestation.
Answer: UK consumption of soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber and cattle products was associated with 15,363 hectares of deforestation in 2021 of which 11,201 was tropical deforestation. These commodities are estimated to account for 55% of the UK’s tropical and...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: TemperatureDepartment for TransportTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13546More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with bus operators to help protect the safety of (a) passengers and (b) bus staff during heatwaves.
Answer: The Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) Regulations 1981 sets out the requirements for public service vehicles in relation to the equipment on board and vehicle specification. It makes clear that ‘adequate ve...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordRailways: TemperatureDepartment for TransportTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13545More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with rail companies to help support the safety of (a) passengers and (b) rail staff during heatwaves.
Answer: Train operators are required by law to mitigate and manage the safety risks to staff and passengers associated with heatwaves. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) recently updated its guidance in June 2023 covering the specific arrangements and measures that op...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood: Wholesale TradeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13544More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of crime perpetrated by fraudsters posing as legitimate food wholesalers in the last 12 months.
Answer: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not hold crime data relating to this question. Fraudsters posing as legitimate food wholesalers are committing theft, which would primarily sit under a policing remit.However, the FSA has published research on the broa...
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordProducts: LabellingDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12533More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 9980 on Products: Labelling, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of items of (a) furniture and (b) other products that have been
Answer: Animal testing of chemical substances is prohibited in all but a very limited number of circumstances where it is essential for the protection of human and animal health or environmental safety, as prescribed by the REACH Regulation. Therefore, where test...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSchools: TransportDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12532More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department made available for school transport for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in academic years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22, (c) 2022-23, (d) 2023-24 and (e) 2024
Answer: Most central government funding for home to school travel is provided through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is non-ringfenced, giving local ...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12531More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish the final evaluation report on the £2 fare cap commissioned by her Department from Frontier Economics and SYSTRA.
Answer: The Department has published two interim reports setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the national bus fare cap scheme, and further updates will be provided in due course. These reports are available at: https://www.gov...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordRoad Traffic Control: FloodsDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12530More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an estimate of the cost of closing roads during flooding in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) nationally in September.
Answer: The Department recognises the profound importance of our country’s road network in moving people, goods, and services around the country. The economic impact of closing roads will vary greatly depending on the roads in question and on the scale and severi...
Answered 7 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHedgehogs: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12529More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has for the (a) protection and (b) conservation of hedgehogs following the change to their conservation status on the International Union for Conservation of
Answer: The Government has no plans to provide additional legal protection to the hedgehog in England. While we are concerned about hedgehogs, there is no evidence to suggest legal protection will address the main causes of decline namely habitat loss, pesticide ...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordEquality: CurriculumDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12528More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to add education on diversity to school curriculums.
Answer: The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curric...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: Food SupplyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12527More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to include food systems as a priority within Nationally Determined Contributions.
Answer: The UK will announce a 1.5°C aligned 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution at COP29, followed by publication of the detail underpinning it - known as Information to facilitate Clarity, Transparency and Understanding (ICTU) - ahead of the February 2025 d...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12526More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2.3.2 of the report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, published on 4 September 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential i
Answer: The Strategic Dialogue of the Future of EU Agriculture provided a mechanism for EU stakeholders to make suggestions to the European Commission to help inform its work shaping its Vision for Agriculture and Food. As this report represents those stakeholder...
Answered 13 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordGambling: Video GamesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12525More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the Advertising Standards Authority upholds standards in relation to pre-watershed online gambling adverts in mobile gaming apps that may b
Answer: As part of the UK Advertising Codes, issued by the Committees for Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committees of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the Advertising Standards Authority, adverts must not be placed in children’s med...
Answered 13 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInternet: SalesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12524More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will introduce an enforceable liability provision in legislation to ensure that consumers can seek redress for defective products bought via online marketplaces.
Answer: The UK’s product liability legislation has been in place since 1987. My department is undertaking a review of this legislation and, as part of the review, we will consider the range and types of products that should be in scope, given recent technological...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordInternet: SalesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12523More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen the duties of online marketplaces to protect consumers.
Answer: Online marketplaces, like other traders, will be required to comply with new laws arising from the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which the Government is currently implementing and updates the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regul...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal Breeding: Animal WelfareHome OfficeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12522More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) regulate and (b) monitor (i) MBR Acres and (ii) other breeding facilities to ensure compliance with animal welfare standards.
Answer: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides protections for animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Pract...
Answered 7 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal Experiments: DogsHome OfficeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12521More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of number of beagles needed for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.
Answer: animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of a...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal Experiments: DogsHome OfficeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12520More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of beagles being bred for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.
Answer: animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of a...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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