Campaign reply - Emergency Budget: Protecting people from homelessness

Thank you for writing to me about tackling homelessness. 

I completely agree with you that a single person without a roof over their head is one too many. The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping once and for all by 2024.

 

A new strategy 'Ending Rough Sleeping For Good' has been published which sets out the Government's plan to prevent more people from finding themselves without a safe roof over their heads. This builds on the encouraging progress which has already been made, with the number of rough sleepers falling in every region of England and levels in 2021 reaching an eight-year low overall.

 

The new strategy is backed up by £2 billion worth of investment over the next three years to 2025. This includes funding for emergency accommodation, longer-term housing and tailored wrap-around support. The Government will also improve the support available to help people with experience of rough sleeping into employment.

You are absolutely right about the important role that safe accommodation plays in helping vulnerable people off the street.

 

The Government is making the largest ever investment in move-on accommodation which is helping to provide vulnerable people with support and a place to live. The £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme will deliver 6,000 move-on homes to those who are rough sleeping or who have a history of sleeping rough. Once in their new home, rough sleepers will be supported by specialist staff to access the help they need.

 

A key focus of Government work is helping people find longer-term accommodation and ensuring that they receive personalised support to move forwards. Local councils have an important role to play here. I know that, already, the number of people in emergency accommodation has nearly halved, with more people securing long-term homes.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Stop the industrial fishing frenzy

Thank you for contacting me about the health of the ocean, which is among my top priorities representing our coastal area.

The UK is a global leader in protecting our seas, the ocean and marine life, and works with counterparts both in the UK and overseas to help achieve these aims. I am pleased to sit on the Environmental Audit Committee in Parliament to scrutinise this work.

Since 2019, the United Kingdom has been leading the Global Ocean Alliance of countries championing ambitious ocean action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the target to protect at least 30 per cent of the global ocean by 2030. The United Kingdom also serves as ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People, which champions 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. Between these alliances, over 120 countries have pledged to support the global 30by30 ocean target at the upcoming 15th Conference of Parties to the CBD in December 2022.

I am aware that nearly 8.3 per cent of the global ocean is now protected. Achieving a 30by30 target will require an international effort. The UK is leading the way, with 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) now protect 38 per cent of UK waters, which are all subject to planning and licensing regimes to ensure they are protected from harmful activities. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has built a comprehensive network of MPAs and are focusing on making sure they are protected properly.

The UK is a global leader in protecting its ocean and marine life. Since 2010, 100 additional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been introduced, which now protect 38 per cent of UK waters. These MPAs are subject to planning and licensing regimes to protect them from damaging activities and further plans to manage fishing activity are being developed. The Government’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund will help some of the world’s poorest communities to protect the ocean from plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. In August 2021, Ministers announced the first five programmes under the Blue Planet Fund totalling £16.2 million of funding. 

 

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Green New Deal - will you back the bill?

Thank you for contacting me about a Green New Deal.

The UK has already set ambitious interim targets, including a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels. These targets commit build on the Ten Point Plan and put the UK firmly on the path to net zero by 2050, leading the way in tackling climate change globally. Furthermore, the Government also amended the Environment Act 2021 to include a new, historic, legally binding target on species abundance for 2030 to halt the decline of nature, and to address the unacceptable amount of sewage discharged by water companies into our rivers.

The Government's Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment and potentially three times as much from the private sector, to create and support up to 250,000 green jobs. This investment will drive innovation and lead to significant improvements in green technology which may benefit housing, transport, education, care and manufacturing.

The North Sea Transition Deal will be a key component in ensuring the oil and gas sector work with the Government over the long-term to deliver the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea production, as well as other carbon intensive industries.

The Green Jobs Taskforce was established to help the Government better understand how the UK could grasp opportunities of the Green Industrial Revolution. The findings and recommendations from the taskforce have helped develop and inform the Net Zero Strategy. In the strategy, the Government announced its ambition to support up to 440,000 jobs across net zero industries in 2030, contributing towards a broader pivot to a greener economy which could support 2 million jobs in green sectors or by greening existing sectors. The Government will work with business to grow green industries, supply chains and skills in the UK, and ensure resilience to international changes in supply chains. 

The Government’s Energy Security Strategy sets out plans to accelerate the deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen, while supporting the production of domestic oil and gas in the nearer term – which could see 95 per cent of electricity being low carbon by 2030. To this end, the Energy Security Bill was announced as part of the Queen's Speech 2022, which includes concrete measures to deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy. 

The progress and agreements achieved at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 was encouraging. The Glasgow Climate Pact calls on countries to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition. 

I am also ensuring that Cornwall plays a central role in developing green technologies, including by producing the critical minerals and off-shore wind needed for our energy transition.

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Maternity pay is not enough to survive the cost of living crisis

Thank you for contacting me about maternity leave and maternity pay. 

As Chair of the All-Party-Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Baby Loss and a member of the APPG on Women’s health, this is an issue I care about deeply. 

 

I have been pressing Ministers on this issue, and I am pleased that the UK’s Maternity Leave offer is now amongst the most generous in the world – up to 52 weeks of leave are available, 39 weeks of which are paid.

As you may know, under Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay, eligible parents receive 90 per cent of normal earnings for the first 6 weeks, followed by up to 33 weeks at the statutory flat rate (£151.20 per week).

In 2019, the Government consulted on reforming parental leave and pay. It also conducted a formal evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, including large-scale, representative surveys of employers and parents. I understand the feedback from this consultation is helping inform government thinking as proposals are brought forward. 

As part of the evaluation of Shared Parental Leave and Pay, the Government commissioned large, representative, surveys of parents and employees which asked about a broad range of parental leave and pay entitlements` including high-level options for reform. The information collected is providing a fuller picture of how well the current system of parental leave and pay is working for parents and employers.

I will continue to press the Government closely on this issue and share your views. 

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Demand the UK government stops arming Israel

Thank you for contacting me about military exports to Israel.

The government takes its export control responsibilities extremely seriously and operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, based on the most up-to-date information and analysis available, including advice received from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Ministry of Defence, and other government departments and agencies as appropriate.

 

Licence decisions take account of prevailing circumstances at the time of application and include human rights and international humanitarian law considerations. I am assured that the Government will not issue export licences where to do so would be inconsistent with the criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the arms might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

I know that Ministers continue to monitor the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories closely, and will take action to suspend, refuse or revoke licences – in line with the criteria – if circumstances require.

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Please support a Minister for Animal Free Science

Thank you for contacting me about animal research.

Animal research plays a vital role in providing safety information for potential new medicines. As a result of findings from animal studies, a large number of potential new drugs never get as far as being tested in humans. Some aspects of the toxicological assessment of new medicines cannot be adequately assessed in humans, and animal data will be the only kind available. 

I would like to reassure you that the UK's rigorous regulatory system ensures that no animal testing or research takes place if a non-animal alternative exists that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) is the UK’s leading scientific based organisation dedicated to replacing, refining, and reducing the use of animals in scientific research and testing. The NC3Rs supports the research community to use the latest science and technology to replace animal studies, providing new approaches for biomedical research, and avoiding the time and cost associated with animal models.

Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, the Government has invested £77 million in research towards developing new approaches to replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in scientific procedures, and an additional £32 million through its CRACK IT programme for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and universities to work with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries on collaborative 3Rs projects that aim to generate commercial opportunities in this area.

Without animal testing it is highly likely that a large number of potentially dangerous new medicines would be tested in healthy volunteers and patients in clinical trials. This would be completely unacceptable. That said, I welcome the Government's commitment to the development of non-animal technologies. Such technologies have the potential to reduce the reliance on the use of animals, improve the efficiency of drug research and development, and deliver safer, cheaper, and more effective medicines to patients. Ministers have also stressed that they continue to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research.

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Campaign reply - Solidarity for CWU members in BT/Openreach industrial dispute

Thank you for contacting me about the industrial dispute involving members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and BT/Openreach.

It is my understanding that CWU members, including call centre workers and engineers took part in strike action due to a dispute over pay.

BT and Openreach, as its wholly-owned subsidiary, are private sector employers and therefore this dispute was a matter for them and CWU to resolve and not something the Government can involve itself in.

Thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.