Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Department's Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 89133 on Railways: East of England, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the (a) freight sector and (b) economy of the pause in work on that programme since 2022.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of projects that were unfunded, including the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 90532 on Pharmacy: Pollution, what the public health impact is.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes work to understand the health effects of exposure to chemicals, no incidents of pharmaceutical-related water pollution have been reported to the UKHSA. The Environment Agency routinely monitors inland water bodies, and if a chemical pollution incident occurs, the UKHSA may conduct an assessment of any potential public health impact.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 20 October 2025 to Question 80174, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that policy on (a) the Traveller community and (b) park home residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 89264 on Railways: East of England, answered on 18 November 2025, if she will make an estimate of the funding required for Network Rail to undertake detailed planning for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement Scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 8th of July regarding which rail and road infrastructure projects will progress following the completion of the 2025 Spending Review. The Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) was not among those projects funded at this time.
The previous government had committed to a number of infrastructure projects that were unfunded, this included the EACE scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department intends to respond to correspondence of 7 October 2025 from the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire on supporting neurodivergent people into employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I replied to the Hon. Member on 25 November.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer to Question 89265 on Legal Aid Scheme: Ely and East Cambridgeshire, how many of the providers in each procurement area are based in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are no legal aid providers with an office within the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
However, that does not mean that your constituents do not have access to legal aid and legal aid services both locally within the wider constituency or via national services provided on a remote basis.
As set out in the answer to Questions 86918 and 89265, the LAA does not commission services at constituency or individual town level. Services are commissioned and monitored at wider procurement area level. Constituents in Ely and East Cambridgeshire can access services locally within the wider procurement area which has more than the minimum number of contracts in each civil category. Additionally, the Cambridge Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service ensures that on the day emergency representation is available in respect of cases concerning eviction or loss of home is available to your constituents.
Local civil legal aid services are supplemented by national remote services such as Civil Legal Advice which provides access to free confidential advice on housing, debt, education and discrimination matters throughout England and Wales.
All duty slots on the Ely and East Cambridge duty solicitor scheme are covered. This means that anybody attending or arrested at a police station in your consituency will have access to a legally-aided solicitor.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to permit (a) commercial companies and (b) property developers to offer collection and reuse of non-drinkable rainwater.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra are considering the recommendations set out in the Independent Water Commission including the ask for Government to work with regulators to develop a new policy and regulatory framework to drive the adoption of water re-use infrastructure in the household and non-household commercial market.
The Government recognises the benefits of water reuse within domestic properties through rainwater harvesting with the additional benefit of reduced demand on the sewerage system through attenuation of water within the system. Opportunities to harness these benefits will be considered as part of our review of Part H of the Building Regulations including the use of dual pipe systems providing both potable and treated, non-potable water which has the capacity of supplying rainwater, greywater and stormwater. The treated reused water can be used for non-drinking purposes such as toilet flushing, outdoor use and washing machines. Potable water is still supplied for human consumption, as well as other domestic uses such as showering and sinks.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of answered on 17 November 2025 to Question 88055, on Humanitarian Aid, how much funding has been provided through the Official Development Assistance budget for (a) immediate humanitarian needs and (b) crisis support in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend for the requested period is published in the Statistics on International Development on GOV.UK, and is broken down by sector, including for humanitarian aid. Further information and annual reviews on specific programmes can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November to Question 88055 on Humanitarian Aid, whether a specific proportion of the Official Development Assistance budget is ring-fenced for those purposes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend for the requested period is published in the Statistics on International Development on GOV.UK, and is broken down by sector, including for humanitarian aid. Further information and annual reviews on specific programmes can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence of 1 September 2025 from the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire on the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reply was sent by Lord Hendy on 18 November. I would like to apologise for the delay in replying.