Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support fire services across the East of England to tackle wildfires.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue services have been responding to an exceptionally challenging period of wildfire activity, with multiple significant incidents being managed simultaneously across England and Wales.
Measures have already been utilised to assist with the response to emergencies such as the ban on the disposable BBQs introduced on 14 August as well as use of the emergency alert system across the East of England and other parts of the UK. These are options that will assist emergency services going forward.
This year, we have made available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power to standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester) through the Local Government Finance Settlement. It is for each fire and rescue authority to decide how best to use that funding, including for wildfire training, preparation and prevention, based on local risk.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how much funding was provided to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) each year between 2020-2025; and what proportion of that funding was spent on activities intended to replace the use of animals in scientific procedures (as opposed to activities focused on refinement or reduction).
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NC3Rs receives funding from a number of sources. Its core funding is provided by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) which are part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Core funding for financial years:
2020/21: £9.35M
2021/22: £9.45M
2022/23: £10.20M
2023/24: £10.00M
2024/25: £10.10M
2025/26: £7.93M
Replacement of the use of animals is included in all NC3Rs programmes with the exception of its animal welfare projects. Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, more than 80% of grants awarded by the NC3Rs have been to replace the use of animals.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of prolonged periods of dry weather on the risk of surface water flooding when heavy rainfall occurs; and what steps she is taking to help prepare for that risk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra keeps flood risks under continual review. The dry conditions of recent months have meant the ground is hard and compacted across the country, increasing the risk of localised surface water flooding in all areas following heavy rain or thunderstorms.
The Government is supporting improved surface water flood forecasting and risk mapping. The daily Flood Guidance Statement, produced by the Environment Agency and Met Office, provides regular assessments of the risk of surface water flooding. This helps lead local flood authorities, who manage local flood risks from surface water.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide the total number and the total value of successful claims by Network Rail to claim back from hauliers costs incurred by bridge strikes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail's bridge strike data does not record whether an incident was caused by a haulier, bus operator or other heavy goods vehicle. Since the start of Control Period 7 (1 April 2024), Network Rail has recovered £16.28 million in costs arising from bridge strikes. During this period, Network Rail has pursued 3,162 recovery claims, of which 822 resulted in a financial recovery.