Ellie Chowns MP: written questions
232 published records · newest first.
Written questions
USAID: 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 recordAttendance Allowance: ApplicationsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42108More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to reach decisions on Attendance Allowance applications.
Answer: Attendance Allowance is currently undergoing a significant modernisation through the piloting of an online digital claim process. We are using customer feedback to design a transformed application that is shorter and easier, which focuses on collecting on...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: ParkingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42056More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require NHS hospitals to operate pay on exit parking.
Answer: The NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts states that trusts should consider installing ‘pay on exit’ or similar schemes so that drivers pay only for the time that they have used.National Health Service organisations shoul...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBetting: General Election 2024Department for Culture, Media and SportTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42055More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37932 on Gambling Commission, in what month this year she expects the Gambling Commission to concludes its investigation on allegations under s
Answer: The Gambling Commission is continuing its investigation into potential criminal offences of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election. Responsibility for specific timings relat...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMisrepresentation: Environment ProtectionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42053More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress the Competition and Markets Authority has made on its investigation into misleading environmental claims, announced on 26 January 2023.
Answer: Following the closure of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products, the CMA...
Answered 4 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordKinship CareDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41668More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of support for children in kinship care.
Answer: The department is taking a number of steps to ensure that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting the people who care for them.From September 2024,...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordProducts: RecyclingDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41667More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many products have been investigated in detail by the Competition and Markets Authority as part of its fast-moving consumer goods investigation announced in January 2023.
Answer: In January 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced a compliance review into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector – these include essential everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products. Over the period following that announ...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordProducts: RecyclingDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41666More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has made on their investigation into misleading environmental claims made in relation to fast moving consumer goods announced in January 2023;
Answer: Following its compliance review into environmental claims, in December 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) opened an investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include eve...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCharging Points: PricesDepartment for TransportTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41661More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to help prevent price differentials for different types of users of EV charging points.
Answer: The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. The Government are aware of the cost differential between those who ca...
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordIndependent Commission into Adult Social CareDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40866More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to set a new date for cross party talks to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on social care.
Answer: Baroness Casey will be contacting all party groups to set dates with parties across the House very shortly. She will commence her commission in April 2025.
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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