Greg Smith MP: written questions
93 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Recycling: PackagingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39101More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department consulted industry representatives on the level of extended producer responsibility fees.
Answer: The Government consulted on the principles of extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, including the principle that producers would cover the full net costs to local authorities of managing household packaging waste. This included an estimate of...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRecycling: PackagingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39100More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the extended producer responsibility scheme does not disproportionately impact (a) consumer choice and (b) product availability.
Answer: Through making producers responsible for the costs of managing the packaging they use; packaging extended producer responsibility will incentivise producers to use less packaging and transition to re-usable or easy-to-recycle packaging. Defra have not ide...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGlass: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39099More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility fees on brewers using glass bottles.
Answer: Following the passage of the legislation introducing extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) through parliament, the government has been working closely with industry, including the glass sector, to understand the impact of the upcoming fees...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39098More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce (a) financial support and (b) tax relief for businesses impacted by extended producer responsibility.
Answer: The Government wants to see all businesses take steps to reduce packaging use, ensure packaging is easy to recycle, and where appropriate move to re-use systems. However, the pEPR scheme includes generous exemptions to reduce the burden on small producers...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39097More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the extended producer responsibility scheme does not reduce investment in UK manufacturing.
Answer: The scheme treats domestic manufacturing and import equally, with all packaging and packaged products, whether manufactured and supplied domestically or imported into UK, subject to the obligations in the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations. Simi...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39096More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that small businesses are not disproportionately impacted by extended producer responsibility fees.
Answer: The Government wants to see all businesses take steps to reduce packaging use, ensure packaging is easy to recycle, and where appropriate move to re-use systems. However, the Government also recognises the importance of protecting small producers from dir...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39095More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to mitigate the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on food and drink prices.
Answer: The aim of pEPR is to ensure businesses - rather than taxpayers - are responsible for the cost of dealing with packaging when it becomes waste. These regulations will encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and increase recyclab...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39094More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to delay the implementation of extended producer responsibility.
Answer: No. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into effect on 1 January 2025, PackUK, the Scheme Administrator has been appointed, and producers will start to accrue scheme costs from 1 April 2025.
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39093More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the extended producer responsibility scheme on (a) brewers and (b) other businesses.
Answer: Following the passage of the legislation introducing extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) through parliament, the government has been working closely with industry, including the glass sector, to understand the impact of the upcoming fees...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordOvarian CancerDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer through the non-specific symptoms pathway.
Answer: NHS England does not hold comprehensive national data on cancers diagnosed through non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways since their roll out began. The data set records the number of gynaecological cancers diagnosed through NSS pathways but does not specif...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordOvarian CancerDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle regional variation in the levels of early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Answer: NHS England does not hold comprehensive national data on cancers diagnosed through non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways since their roll out began. The data set records the number of gynaecological cancers diagnosed through NSS pathways but does not specif...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordOvarian CancerDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39090More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help shorten the diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer.
Answer: NHS England does not hold comprehensive national data on cancers diagnosed through non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways since their roll out began. The data set records the number of gynaecological cancers diagnosed through NSS pathways but does not specif...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordOvarian CancerDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39089More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to work with (a) the NHS and (b) other (i) stakeholders and (ii) charities to increase awareness of ovarian cancer.
Answer: NHS England does not hold comprehensive national data on cancers diagnosed through non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways since their roll out began. The data set records the number of gynaecological cancers diagnosed through NSS pathways but does not specif...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordListed Places of Worship Grant SchemeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 13 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38145More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with grant making agencies on additional financial assistance to buildings with projects over £25,000 (a) underway and (b) about to commence work unable to
Answer: Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challe...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordListed Places of Worship Grant SchemeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 13 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38144More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) phasing in and (b) enabling the completion of projects already (i) on-site, (ii) soon-to-start and (iii) those part of the phased work
Answer: Claims received in this financial year are unaffected, assuming that they are eligible claims with the required detail and documentation. We expect the cap will be applied to all claims received on or after 1 April 2025. We will be publishing guidance on ...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordListed Places of Worship Grant SchemeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 13 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38143More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of?changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the number of apprenticeships and training opportunities across the heritage sector
Answer: We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordArts: Listed Places of Worship Grant SchemeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 13 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38142More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's Sector Plan for the creative industries, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) cre
Answer: DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tig...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordArts: Listed Places of Worship Grant SchemeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 13 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38141More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme on the Government's aim of increasing access to the arts at (a) local, (b) regiona
Answer: DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tig...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRural England Prosperity FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35761More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the quantum for the Rural England Prosperity Fund for 2025-2026 was decided.
Answer: The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money ...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRural England Prosperity FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35760More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the Rural England Prosperity Fund has been reduced for the year 2025-2026.
Answer: The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money ...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUNRWA: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 6 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the restoration of funding to UNRWA on the UK's relations with the United States.
Answer: Since the Foreign Secretary restored funding to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in July 2024, the UK has committed £41 million this financial year to UNRWA, to deliver essential services for civili...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDoug GurrTreasuryTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26577More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers have had with Doug Gurr since 4 July 2024.
Answer: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and deliveryDetails of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisati...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: Employers' ContributionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 902073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase to employers' National Insurance contributions on hospices.
Answer: We have taken necessary decisions at the Autumn Budget, which enabled a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department. In December, we announced a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices and an additional £26 ...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Exhaust EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21028More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will conduct modelling on the potential impact of increases in the use of (a) low carbon-emitting and (b) synthetic fuels by vehicles in the logistics sector on carbon emissions.
Answer: Low carbon fuels, including synthetics, are helping decarbonise the logistics sector and are supported by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. Any future policy decisions on the support for low carbon fuels in transport will be developed and informed ...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: ApplicationsHome OfficeTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20042More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to extend the deadline for registering for an e-Visa.
Answer: There is no deadline for registering for a UKVI account to access an eVisa. Most BRPs expire on 31 December and we encourage all BRP holders to create a UKVI account before their BRP expires. If a person has not created an account by 31 December 2024, the...
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
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