Extracts from
Westminster Hall debate on Red Squirrels: Potential
Extinction
(Ynys Môn) (Lab):...The hon. Lady
is talking about funding, which is important. One important source
for conservation in the UK has been European structural funds,
particularly in relation to public land owners and the community
working together to preserve and increase the number of red
squirrels. Will she join me in pressing the Minister to use
the shared
prosperity fund post Brexit in the same positive
way when it comes to wildlife and the preservation of species such
as the red squirrel?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey):...I have already
referred to the fact that landowners, if they wish to do more and
possibly designate reserves, may apply for countryside stewardship
scheme funding. That is open to them. Many different challenges
will of course continue but, in response to other questions about
funding, it is available. Natural England still funds a variety of
activities such as species recovery programmes, which are very much
alive. There is also what we will do with the shared
prosperity fund. The choices about future funding in
Wales are a decision for the Welsh Government, but certainly the
environmental land management scheme will be a real opportunity for
farmers and landowners to consider carefully where, in the right
place, we can continue to invest significantly in a species...
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Extracts from
Westminster Hall debate on English for Speakers of Other
Languages
(Blackpool South)
(Lab):...There is a moral as well as an economic case
for the Government to address. I pay tribute to other Members for
their comments and observations in interventions and speeches. My
hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton (Afzal Khan) is of
course the Labour Home Office spokesperson on such matters. He
talked about how provision for children is a key element of the
matter, and also a barrier. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield
Central (Paul Blomfield) made the important point that the European
social fund had been a significant contributor to ESOL and asked
whether the Minister would guarantee to match that. As far as I am
aware, that will probably come substantially from the shared
prosperity fund that the Government have talked about...
...I am really sorry to interrupt the Minister, to whom I am
listening carefully. I do not mean this in any way sardonically—the
mood music coming from her is great—but my hon. Friend the Member
for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) made a point about losing
ERDF and ESL funding, and we do have a real concern about this area
and others. Can the Minister give us any details on when we will
see some nuts and bolts about the shared prosperity fund?
The Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills (Anne Milton)...I
will refer to that later, but to answer directly now, there is a
lot of work going on about the shared prosperity fund. In the
Department for Education, we are very aware of the benefits
delivered through the European social fund. Moral imperatives
were mentioned, and that money plays a crucial part in giving
people an opportunity to take a step on various paths in their
lives, as will the shared prosperity fund that replaces it. I
cannot give details—not because I do not want to, but because I
do not know.
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