Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, have they made of the cultural and economic welfare of the permanent residents of the Scilly Isles.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is committed to levelling up all parts of our country. We have also recognised the unique circumstances and needs of island communities and their residents, including by establishing the Islands Forum. The Forum is a mechanism for discussing the challenges and opportunities faced by island communities, and for considering how by working together local government and the UK Government (and where relevant the devolved administrations) can support the people of islands across the UK.

The Isles of Scilly has been awarded up to £6 million to fund a museum and cultural centre on St Mary’s. In addition, the final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £6.8 million to the Council of the Isles of Scilly, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £0.5 million or 8% in cash terms on 2023-24. This includes an additional £150,000 in funding in recognition of the unique circumstances facing our island authorities, and their physical separation from the mainland.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, have they made of the number of illegal migrants who have reached the UK from or via Tunisia in each of the last 3 years.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release published on gov.uk. Data on detected irregular arrivals by nationality is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’ with the latest data up to the end of December 2023.

Please note these statistics do not include details of countries of transit, and nationality may differ from country of origin.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government which specific counties are included within the term "the west country of England" when they refer to this region.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The West Country is not an official region, but could be loosely and approximately defined to match the South West region. The West of England, covers a much smaller area, focussed around the Greater Bristol and Bath city region. The West of England Combined Authority is made up of the following local authority areas: South Gloucestershire, Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the spread of Asian hornets on the welfare of (1) honey bees, and (2) other insect populations, in England; and what action they are taking to prevent the further spread of this invasive species.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.

Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to these insects. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests.

In 2023 a total of 72 nests were located and destroyed, the majority of these were located in the South-East (62). The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, rapidly located and destroyed the nests so we would expect any impacts on honey bee colonies and other pollinators to be small and localised.

From the analysis of nests found in 2023, a number of areas were identified where there is a low risk that Asian hornet queens may have overwintered. To address this, the NBU is carrying out spring trapping and working collaboratively with stakeholders to monitor traps at locations across Kent, East Sussex, Devon and North Yorkshire.

The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action against Asian hornet in 2024 thereby continuing to minimise the impacts on honey bees and other pollinators.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the spread of reported Asian hornet nesting sites in England since 2019.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

A risk assessment for Asian hornet was completed in 2011. The risk assessment concluded that there were multiple pathways through which Asian hornet could arrive in England and therefore that entry was very likely. Several areas were identified where Asian hornet incursions were thought to be most likely and this included Southern English counties, coastal regions, open areas near fresh water and areas close to ports and airports.

Since 2019 there have been 80 Asian hornet nests located and destroyed in Great Britain with 77 of these nests located in the South of England.

In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of nests when compared to all previous years, with 72 nests located and destroyed. The majority of the nests were located in the South-East (62), while 8 were located in the South and South-West and 2 were located in the North of England.

We ask all members of the public to be vigilant for sightings of Asian hornet during the peak season (June-October) as Asian hornets are known to be an effective hitch hiker and may be spotted anywhere across the country.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Somerset Levels' resilience to flooding during the winter of 2023–24.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Catchments like the Brue on the Somerset Levels & Moors have seen record breaking conditions. Hundreds of properties have been flooded across Somerset and the Lead Local Flood Authority (Somerset Council) is planning to publish 11 Section 19 flooding reports.

Protecting some communities on the Somerset Levels and Moors from flooding is reliant on careful management of water levels, the storage and pumping of water from the moors, mobilisation of enhanced pumping capacity as well as targeted water injection dredging and the delivery of further flood/drought risk management interventions. Continued operation and maintenance of flood risk structures and equipment is essential to manage the risk. Future investment needs to factor in climatic change and help reach net zero.

Led by the Environment Agency, tens of millions are being invested in flood storage reservoirs to ensure they are safe and the Bridgwater tidal barrier will reduce tidal flood risk to 11,300 homes and 1,500 businesses. The detailed design is complete and enabling works are underway.

The natural geography of the Somerset Levels and Moors, in combination with climate change, indicates communities and businesses must remain prepared for flooding. The Somerset Rivers Authority Partnership, which has recently consulted on and published a new 10-year strategy, is helping Flood risk management authorities to work together so the Levels and Moors become a more climate resilient place.

The Government’s drive to tackle climate change, alongside exiting the EU is delivering an evolution of environmental, flood risk and farming policy. This change is presenting tangible economic and environmental opportunities for the communities living and working on the Levels and Moors in this pump drained landscape.