Ellie Chowns MP: written questions 2025
289 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Forests: CommoditiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49640More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with producer country stakeholders as it designs the Forest Risk Commodities implementing regulation.
Answer: 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 chai...
Answered 9 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services and Social Services: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49221More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services and Social Security: Advisory ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of integrating health services with social welfare advice.
Answer: 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, lo...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Chronic IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49219More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Medical ExaminationsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49218More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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
Answer: 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 acro...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFruit and Vegetables: PackagingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47066More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, 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.
Answer: 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 econ...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46481More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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.
Answer: 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, r...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Health and Sexual and Reproductive HealthDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46480More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing (a) sexual health services and (b) public health back into the NHS.
Answer: 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 fut...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInternational Development: NutritionForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, 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 Depar
Answer: 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, Commo...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUSAID: MalnutritionForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, 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) ot
Answer: 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...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: NutritionForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, 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 prog
Answer: 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...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHuman RightsMinistry of JusticeTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, 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
Answer: 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.
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordProperty Development: Recreation SpacesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44831More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, 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.
Answer: The government does not hold comprehensive information on the number of open public spaces in new housing developments that are owned by private companies.
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordNature ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44830More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to publish the 48 new Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answer: 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 pre...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordStudents: LoansDepartment for EducationTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44184More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, 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
Answer: 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...
Answered 15 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCooperatives and Credit UnionsTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43742More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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 u
Answer: 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 commit...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43650More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of facilitating the recycling of blister packs.
Answer: 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 c...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEconomics of Biodiversity ReviewTreasuryTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43385More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she is making on implementing the findings of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published by her Department in February 2021.
Answer: 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 de...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHeat NetworksDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43296More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of district heating schemes.
Answer: 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...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: CostsDepartment for TransportTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 43011More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, 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.
Answer: 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 charg...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHorticulture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42918More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with representatives of the horticultural industry on an alternative to the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answer: The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security remains steadfast. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agri...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLitterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 36460 on Litter, what steps he plans to take to support local authorities to tackle littering.
Answer: Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering and related problems, in a way tailored to the community in which they occur. They have a range of enforcement tools at their...
Answered 4 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: ReformDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42915More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, what criteria she plans to use to identify claimants with
Answer: The assessment process is an important part of claiming PIP and WCA to ensure that people receive the right level of support. However, for some people with very severe health conditions and disabilities, by the time they come to make a claim, they have al...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change and Nature ConservationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 28 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the UK's ability to meet its binding climate and nature targets.
Answer: The measures contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, including a new Nature Restoration Fund and streamlined consultation requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, will help deliver the government’s climate and nature com...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCountryside: AccessDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42122More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals in this Session to create a right of responsible access to the English countryside.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. That is why we have set out ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national r...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament record
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