Sarah Dyke MP: written questions
202 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Digital Technology: DisadvantagedDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 901954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle digital exclusion.
Answer: It is shocking that the last government published no digital inclusion strategy for 10 years. This Government is determined to remedy that and I hope to be able to say more soon.
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: DisabilityDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18682More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging for disabled people.
Answer: To address the specific barriers disabled EV drivers face when using public chargepoints, the Government co-sponsored the publication of the Publically Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standard, which provides specifications on designing and instal...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEnvironmental Land Management SchemesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16621More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers and land managers successfully applied for capital grants for environmental land management in (a) Glastonbury and Somerton constituency and (b) England in 2024.
Answer: Between 1 January 2024 and 28 November 2024, there have been 6573 successful applications for Capital Grants under the Environmental Land Management Schemes in England in 2024. The Rural Payment Agency cannot provide constituency data at this time due to ...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCatering: WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15871More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning single-use food service materials for dine-in settings that have more than 20 covers.
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 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15870More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using (a) refillable and (b) returnable packaging to help support the transition to become a circular economy.
Answer: Refillable and returnable packaging is a key part of supporting the transition to a circular economy. Defra is working with WRAP to identify and analyse measures that could be used to encourage greater use of refillable and returnable packaging.
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordRural England Prosperity FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15135More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Rural England Prosperity Fund has been spent.
Answer: Delivery of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) has been devolved to eligible local authorities. This includes assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and day-to-day monitoring. REPF funding is available from April 2023 to M...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordRural England Prosperity FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15134More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to extend the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
Answer: The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise. The ...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: TreatiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14247More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what position the UK will take on (a) chemical recycling and (b) a mass balance approach in negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty.
Answer: At the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop a new UN Plastics Treaty, the UK will align with our domestic policy on any provisions related to chemical recycling, including mass balance. Therefore, where relevant we will ...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: Consumption and ProductionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14246More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 9584 on Plastics: Treaties, what level of (a) production and (b) consumption of primary plastic polymers is sustainable.
Answer: The UK supports measures under the proposed Global Plastics Treaty to reduce the production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels, and the Government recognises that further work will be needed to establish what those sustainab...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: TreatiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14245More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty in South Korea.
Answer: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: TreatiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14244More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of levels of international funding needed to support new financial mechanisms that would be required under the Global Plastics Treaty.
Answer: The Government is committed to playing a leading role at the forthcoming fifth intergovernmental negotiating committee to ensure an effective plastic pollution treaty is agreed which addresses the full lifecycle of plastics. Funding will be needed from al...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9800More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has carried out an impact assessment of ending the £2 bus fare cap.
Answer: Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of the government’s top priorities as we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The government is looking at the future of the £2 fare cap as a mat...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7887More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much and what proportion of the Project Gigabit fund has been allocated to rural areas.
Answer: The latest published data shows that between April 2022 and March 2023, 90% of premises benefiting from publicly-subsidised broadband rollout, including Project Gigabit, were rural.Almost £2 billion of contracts have been signed to connect over a million ...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBeverage Containers: LitterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6670More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles, (b) glass bottles and (c) metal beverage containers littered annually in the UK.
Answer: Across the UK, it is estimated that approximately 4 billion plastic and 2.5 billion metal drinks containers are not recycled every year – a significant amount being littered. Once the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers is introduced, the De...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBeverage Containers: Deposit Return SchemesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6669More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential environmental benefits of including (a) PET plastic bottles, (b) glass bottles and (c) metal beverage containers within the proposed
Answer: The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers across all four nations will include single-use drinks containers from 150ml to 3 litres. In England and Northern Ireland, materials included in DRS are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel,...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHorizon IT System: CompensationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6668More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he expects people affected by failures in the Post Office Horizon IT system to receive compensation by March 2025.
Answer: Government is committed to providing redress to individuals affected by the Horizon scandal as quickly as possible. We continue to seek options to speed up redress, in discussion with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board. For example, on the Horizon Co...
Answered 9 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Rural AreasDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 3 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 4063More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department supports rural businesses.
Answer: Businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, can access support through their local Growth Hubs. DBT is committed to helping rural businesses to boost exports, improve access to finance, stamp out late payment practices and compete for p...
Answered 11 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 900176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses in rural areas.
Answer: Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. Over half a million business are registered in rural areas, with the rural economy contributing over £315 billion a year to England alone. The Government is committed to im...
Answered 17 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordRestoring Your Railways Fund: SomersetDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2153More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to improve rail connections in Somerton and Langport in the context of the cancellation of the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
Answer: The Department is undertaking a capital spend portfolio review. The review will consider a number of projects under the former Restoring Your Railway programme.
Answered 3 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordTax AvoidanceTreasuryTabled 25 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 1887More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to commission an independent review into the loan charge by 4 October 2024.
Answer: I know that the loan charge is a very important matter for many members and their constituents. Within my first two weeks in office, I had my first meeting with campaigners to discuss the loan charge. The Chancellor and I have been considering this matter...
Answered 30 Jul 2024
Original Parliament recordFarming Recovery FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 23 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 1405More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of eligible applicants to the Farming Recovery Fund have received full compensation; and what his planned timetable is for delivering outstanding compensation payments.
Answer: To date all eligible farmers identified in the original Farming Recovery Fund announced in April 2024 have been offered the payment in line with the published criteria. In May, Defra announced a further expansion to the fund and further information on tha...
Answered 29 Jul 2024
Original Parliament recordHorizon IT System: CompensationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 718More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his expected timetable is for when sub-postmasters impacted by the Horizon IT System will start receiving letters on compensation entitlements.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring justice and financial redress is delivered as swiftly as possible for postmasters affected by the Horizon IT Scandal, whether that is through the redress schemes that are already operating or the new scheme which we...
Answered 23 Jul 2024
Original Parliament recordBanks: ClosuresTreasuryTabled 17 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 306More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number of bank branches that have closed in England in the last 10 years.
Answer: According to consumer website Which?, UK banks and building societies closed over 6000 branches across the UK from January 2015 to May 2024. The Government recognises the importance of banking to communities and high streets. The Government has therefore ...
Answered 22 Jul 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: FinanceDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 305More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for the funding of (a) the Bus Service Improvement Plan and (b) BSIP Phase 2 after the next financial year.
Answer: Improving bus services is a key part of this Government’s growth mission. We are determined to deliver better services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The Government will empower local transport authorities and refor...
Answered 22 Jul 2024
Original Parliament recordHospital Beds: SomersetDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 304More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital beds there were in Somerset (a) in 2015 and (b) 2024.
Answer: The latest published data shows a total of 1,438 hospital beds in Somerset, in quarter four of 2023/24. This compares to a total of 1,374 hospital beds reported by National Health Service trusts in quarter four of 2014/15.Data on NHS bed numbers is publis...
Answered 22 Jul 2024
Original Parliament record
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