Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on field trials of bovine TB vaccination of cattle; and what his planned timescale is for a full roll-out of a vaccine.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Developing a vaccine against TB in cattle is one of the government’s top priorities. Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (‘CattleBCG’) and a new companion DIVA skin test (to detect infected among vaccinated animals) in the next few years. Field trials of the CattleBCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test started in 2021 and are ongoing.
Final deployment will rely on the success of the ongoing field trials, achieving UK Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) (for both CattleBCG and the companion DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition through the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) and our trading partners for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinated cattle, and acceptance of vaccination from stakeholders across the supply chain. Defra is working closely with industry to co-design policy proposals.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help ensure the protective equipment supplied to fire-fighters is up to date.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Fire and Rescue Authorities are responsible for the health and safety of their employees.
It is for individual fire and rescue authorities, as employers with responsibility for health and wellbeing, to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training they need to safely respond to the wide range of incidents which they attend, based on their assessment of local risk. Research being commissioned on carcinogens.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding available to education authorities covering largely rural areas.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The schools national funding formula accounts for the challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the ‘sparsity’ factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.
Given the importance of local schools to rural communities, the government has made changes to the sparsity factor, including reforms which mean that more schools are now eligible for this funding. Following these reforms, the total funding allocated through the sparsity factor has increased from £42 million in the 2021/22 financial year to £98 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with local authority trading standards departments on the accuracy of fuel pumps at filling stations; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of testing on fuel pumps.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is a part of the Department for Business and Trade. OPSS engages with trading standards on many issues related to protecting consumers, including the enforcement of weights and measure legislation.
Local Weights and Measures Authorities in Great Britain have a statutory duty to report on the level of local weights and measures enforcement work they undertake which includes liquid fuel measuring instruments such as petrol pumps. The latest Section 70 Weights and Measures report covering data for the year up to 31st March 2023 was published in September.
As stated in the report, 19 inspections of LFMIs resulted in prosecution or caution in 2022-23.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers in areas recently affected by flooding.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government announced a significant package of support, via the Flood Recovery Framework, to areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Babet. The Framework provides funding for eligible households and businesses and includes a £2,500 Business Recovery Grant for SMEs which have suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance, and council tax discounts. Farmers in eligible areas may also access grants up to £5,000 per property to install property flood resilience measures where they have internal flooding to homes or business premises.
Wider support includes £25 million of funding to improve flood resilience through a new natural flood management (NFM) programme which closed on 10 November, and catchment sensitive farming advice for farmers on NFM, water and air quality. We will introduce further NFM measures under our environmental land management scheme next year. Also, as set out in the Environment Agency’s latest flood strategy roadmap, flood risk management authorities will be working with farmers and landowners to help them adapt their businesses and practices to be resilient to flooding and coastal change. The National Farmers Union is working with the Environment Agency to establish a rural resilience partnership focused on helping farmers and growers adapt to a changing climate.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will bring forward proposals to implement the recommendations in the Third Report of the House of Commons Procedure Committee of Session 2009-10 on Accountability to the House of Commons of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords, HC496, which was published on 22 March 2010.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Procedure Committee has announced an inquiry into this issue and it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt the conclusions of that inquiry.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the roadworks on the M62 at the Ouse bridge, what estimate his Department has made of when (a) those roadworks will be completed, (b) the temporary speed limits will be removed and (c) all lanes will be open to traffic; and what steps his Department is taking to expedite the completion of those works.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The initial scope of the project included the replacement of two half joints on the eastbound carriageway however, following further inspections, National Highways determined that it was necessary to replace all eight joints. Whilst this means works will be ongoing longer than anticipated, it will minimise future disruption to road users and mitigate the risk of any future emergency failures that could lead to the full closure of the bridge.
The programme of works on the M62 Ouse bridge is scheduled to complete by the end of August 2024, at which point the temporary speed limits and lane closures will be removed.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to establish a formal regulatory framework for Artificial Intelligence; and whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals on this issue.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March, we published the AI Regulation White Paper, which set out a regulatory framework to drive responsible, safe AI innovation. The White Paper set out five core principles to govern AI, and committed to establishing mechanisms to monitor AI risk, and coordinate, evaluate and adapt the regulatory framework as the technology evolves.
Since publishing the White Paper, we have taken rapid steps to implement our approach. We have established a central AI risk function in DSIT which will ensure that we can identify, measure and monitor existing and emerging AI risks. We are also engaging closely with regulators across the UK and their sponsoring government departments to understand their readiness to regulate AI effectively, across technical, regulatory, and market-specific expertise. Many regulators have already taken proactive steps to account for the impact of AI within their sectors – for example, the CMA has published its initial review of AI Foundation Models.
In the White Paper, we said that we do not intend to introduce new legislation at this stage. However, this is a fast-moving technology, and we will take action to mitigate risks and support safe and responsible AI innovation as required. We committed to an agile regulatory framework, and are monitoring current and emerging risks as AI evolves. As we have done throughout, we will develop our approach through engagement with industry and civil society, maintaining a pro-innovation approach that means AI improves the lives of the British people.
The consultation on the White Paper closed in June. During the consultation period, we heard from over 400 individuals and organisations across regulators, industry, academia, and civil society. We committed to an iterative approach that will evolve as new risks or regulatory gaps emerge. We will be setting out our next steps in our response to the White Paper consultation shortly.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses in Yorkshire have received funding from the Global Britain Investment Fund; and what proportion of that Fund has been spent.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Global Britain Investment Fund (GBIF) was launched in April 2022 which brought together several pre-existing funds under one banner. Following the machinery of government change in February 2023, GBIF is now shared between the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
To date 110 businesses have received funding, 4 of which are based in Yorkshire, with a total of £630m grant allocated representing 72% of the total £880m of funding for GBIF across all businesses.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to pet owners about feline coronavirus.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 November 2023 to the hon. Member for East Londonderry, PQ 1464.