Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to enable the completion of work that has started following the announcement of the decision to reduce funding to Natural England's programme to designate and expand national landscapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England have the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new National Landscape designations. For year 2025/26 the direct funding for this work was not continued. Natural England is using baseline budget to fund a reduced programme of landscape designation work.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided to the programme to designate and expand national landscapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra provided direct funding of £1.1 million per annum for years 2022/23 - 2024/25 to accelerate Natural England's work on designations. As well as the programme to consider designating and expanding National Landscapes, Natural England used this funding on wider work relating to landscape designations and alternatives.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is taking firm steps to expand humanitarian aid in Gaza, working with trusted partners including UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations to deliver food, healthcare, and shelter. A significant portion of our Financial Year 2024/25 funding has already reached Gaza, including life-saving medical supplies. Some remain prepositioned at border crossings or in regional warehouses due to access constraints. On 19 May, the UK co-signed a joint donor statement urging Israel to fully restore humanitarian aid access to Gaza and permit the United Nations and other aid organisations to operate independently. The UK continues to press for safe, unhindered humanitarian access.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled, Experimental AI could help councils meet housing targets by digitising records, published on 19 April 2025, for how long after digitisation will local authorities be expected to retain paper records.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities should consider several factors in the retention of their records. These include compliance with statutory requirements such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Information Regulations, the requirement to hold evidence until the threat of a legal challenge has passed under the Limitation Act 1980, operational purposes and historic interest.
In general, digital and hard copy records have the same status.
The 19 April 2025 press release is focused on the AI tool ‘Extract’ and its ability to help councils convert decades-old, handwritten planning documents and maps into data in minutes.
On the 9 June 2025, as part of London Tech Week, the Prime Minister announced the government’s intention to roll Extract out across the country by Spring 2026. As part of this long-term transition to digital ways of working the Department will consider how paper records should be dealt with.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help achieve the release of the remaining Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since day one, this Government has been clear that we need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages cruelly detained by Hamas, better protection of civilians, significantly more aid consistently entering Gaza, and a path to long-term peace and stability. The remaining hostages must be released and the only way to return them safely is through a deal. The UK is playing an active role in coordination with our international partners and continue to urge all parties to re-engage in ceasefire negotiations to get the hostages out and to secure a permanent end to the conflict.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a deterrent to reduce the numbers of migrants arriving in small boats.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (UIN HCWS406) made by the Home Secretary on 30 January 2025 on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will direct Great British Railways to promote local tourism (a) on trains and (b) at stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of tourism to the national economy. Domestic tourism was one of the drivers of the expansion of the railway, bringing people to new destinations outside of their regions for the first time. The railway currently promotes tourism destinations extensively through its marketing, and we are confident that will continue under Great British Railways (GBR).
Ahead of the establishment of GBR, Railway 200 is celebrating the UK’s rich rail heritage through a year-long programme of events. With many events across the country, the campaign is encouraging people to explore the country by train, supporting local tourism, boosting regional economies, and highlighting the enduring role of rail in connecting communities across Britain.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Experimental AI could help councils meet housing targets by digitising records, published on 19 April 2025, if she will issue guidance to local authorities on the expected quality checks they will need to put in place to ensure that data is transcribed accurately.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ‘Extract’ tool is currently being tested. When the tool is launched the department will provide guidance alongside it to support local authorities in verifying and producing accurate data. The tool has also been designed to include a human verification element in the process of extracting data, which will enable local authorities to identify if any of the data is inaccurate and amend the results.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May to Question 49985 on Planning: Appeals, when he plans to publish the guidance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Guidance on the costs that may be considered when calculating planning fees will be published at the earliest opportunity following Royal Assent of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of naming the East-West Rail station Stewartby for Universal once the Universal UK theme park opens.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Between November 2024 and January 2025 EWR Co. held a non-statutory consultation where they presented options for stations and services on the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford; feedback from this is currently being considered. No decisions have been taken on names for potential stations on East West Rail at the current time.