Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 merits of commissioning a national Climate Alert App to provide citizens with up-to-date information and advice on climate-related risks, including flooding, drought and wildfire, and guidance on adapting to and mitigating those risks.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recently launched Common Warnings Framework makes weather and flood warnings more consistent and easier to understand through a common risk matrix and terminology across organisations.
This week the Environment Agency launches the ‘Flood Action Online' website, serving as a ‘one-stop-shop’, connecting people to existing services and flood information support.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has taken steps to address the delays to licenses being reinstated after a medical revocation by the DVLA, and the impact the current delays are having on individuals waiting for their licenses to be reinstated.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued. The length of time taken to deal with an application often depends on the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a licence can be issued.
To keep up with growing customer demand and to offer a better service, the DVLA is updating its Drivers Medical function and has launched a new casework system which will deliver significant improvements for drivers with medical conditions.
The DVLA also launched a new digital medical services portal for customers in March, which covers around 1600 medical conditions. This service has recently been enhanced allowing more drivers to apply online, including those renewing their licence at the age of 70, those applying for a provisional licence and those whose licences were previously surrendered a revoked.
These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the use of clinical trials for research into pancreatic cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 July in response to Question 16704.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of the statutory framework governing surplus extraction under the Pension Schemes Act 2026 for providing sufficient protection for scheme members, and (b) the potential impact of the fact that there is no requirement for members to receive a share of released surplus before payments are made to sponsoring employers on protections for scheme members.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published an Impact Assessment alongside the Pension Schemes Act 2026, which included an assessment of member security impacts from surplus extraction is considered low.
Decisions to release surplus will be subject to trustee discretion and underpinned by strict safeguards. Trustees, who are required to act in the interests of scheme beneficiaries, will determine how members may benefit from any release of surplus.
We have recently consulted on draft regulations setting out the requirements for surplus release and protections for scheme members. They require actuarial certification that scheme funds remain sufficient to pay members’ promised pensions, both at the point of release and under a forward-looking test. The scheme actuary must be satisfied that the sufficiency test will continue to be met for a three year period after surplus funds have been released to employers and any additional member benefits which may have been included, ensuring that member protections are not eroded. Schemes will remain subject to the statutory funding framework.
When the surplus regulations come into force, the Pensions Regulator will issue guidance outlining matters for trustees to consider when releasing surplus, including whether members may also benefit. This guidance will be subject to consultation before it is published.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the sufficiency of the incentives under the surplus extraction provisions in the Pension Schemes Act 2026 for sponsoring employers to share surplus funds with (a) scheme members and (b) members whose pre-1997 pension benefits do not receive annual increases.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pension Schemes Act 2026 provides greater flexibility for more trustees of well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus, while maintaining strong protections for members. Scheme trustees, working with sponsoring employers, will be responsible for decisions on surplus release and must act in the interests of scheme beneficiaries. They will determine how members may benefit from any release of surplus, which could include discretionary benefit increases. As part of any agreement to release surplus funds to the employer, trustees may negotiate additional benefits for members.
The Government recognises that some members have pre-1997 accrued pension rights that are not subject to statutory annual increases. The Pensions Regulator already expects trustees to consider members who would benefit from discretionary increases and to take account of any history of making such awards.
When the surplus regulations come into force, the Regulator will issue guidance outlining matters for trustees to consider when releasing surplus, including whether members may also benefit. This guidance will be consulted on before it is published.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 (a) the costs and benefits for local authorities of installing underground refuse collection systems and (b) the potential impact on (i) collection efficiency, (ii) streetscape quality, and (iii) fly-tipping costs.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Collection methodology is a local decision. Government guidance states that local authorities should decide collection methodology in a way that meets local needs, provides value for money for the taxpayer, and does not lead to build-up of odorous waste at the kerbside or an increase in fly-tipping of residual waste.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans her Department maintains to ensure the continued availability of essential food supplies in the event of significant domestic or international crop failures caused by extreme weather.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain underpinned by diverse sources, and this diversity remains a core strength, supporting response to disruptions without significant impact on national food security.
We are investing in resilience; spending £200 million up to 2030 through the Farming Innovation Programme, including an extra £50 million for Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements for short- and long-term resilience to our changing climate.
The Government has committed to develop adaptation objectives to improve preparedness for the impacts of climate change. This will support an ambitious and impactful fourth National Adaptation Programme due in 2028.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) water recycling, (b) new reservoirs, (c) leakage reduction and (d) desalination as measures to increase water supply resilience.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies set out how they will provide a secure water supply through their Water Resources Management Plans. Within their plans, water companies must consider all demand management and water resources infrastructure options, including leakage reduction, water recycling, reservoirs and desalination, to ensure the most effective solutions are selected.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will take steps to ensure that members of the civil pension scheme who have depleted personal savings while waiting for McCloud remedy pension benefits to be paid are restored to their previous financial position.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Capita is responsible for delivering the remaining 2015 Remedy work. The cases remaining to be processed are generally the most complex, involving intricate service histories, multiple retirements, or complex benefit structures.
All active and deferred Remedy-affected members receive this choice at retirement.
The McCloud remedy work is a bespoke and one-off piece of work that is not an ongoing part of the services for members who have not yet retired. As part of the remedy work, members, who had service during the remedy period, who retired and claimed benefits before 1st October 2023, receive an immediate choice remedial savings statement (RSS). The RSS confirms their options and asks them to confirm their choice of benefits between their legacy scheme and alpha for the remedy period. To date, 58,411 RSS’s have been distributed and 42,516 immediate choice elections have been implemented.
The Cabinet Office has now received Capita's Remedy Delivery plan for completion of the outstanding work. We are currently reviewing, challenging and assuring the Full Business Case and cost profile. The Civil Service Pensions Scheme website will be updated as this work progresses.
It is important to note that all impacted members in receipt of a pension are already receiving benefits and that the remedy is a potential adjustment, depending on the member’s choice, to benefits already in payment. As such the alternative scheme benefits does not automatically provide a member with a higher pension and lump sum. Where it does and the member makes an alternative scheme election, the difference between what has been paid and what is due, will be backdated to the original payment date and paid to the member inclusive of interest.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps her Department is taking to accelerate resolution of McCloud remedy cases have not yet commenced and are not expected to be fully resolved until mid-2027.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Capita is responsible for delivering the remaining 2015 Remedy work. The cases remaining to be processed are generally the most complex, involving intricate service histories, multiple retirements, or complex benefit structures.
All active and deferred Remedy-affected members receive this choice at retirement.
The McCloud remedy work is a bespoke and one-off piece of work that is not an ongoing part of the services for members who have not yet retired. As part of the remedy work, members, who had service during the remedy period, who retired and claimed benefits before 1st October 2023, receive an immediate choice remedial savings statement (RSS). The RSS confirms their options and asks them to confirm their choice of benefits between their legacy scheme and alpha for the remedy period. To date, 58,411 RSS’s have been distributed and 42,516 immediate choice elections have been implemented.
The Cabinet Office has now received Capita's Remedy Delivery plan for completion of the outstanding work. We are currently reviewing, challenging and assuring the Full Business Case and cost profile. The Civil Service Pensions Scheme website will be updated as this work progresses.
It is important to note that all impacted members in receipt of a pension are already receiving benefits and that the remedy is a potential adjustment, depending on the member’s choice, to benefits already in payment. As such the alternative scheme benefits does not automatically provide a member with a higher pension and lump sum. Where it does and the member makes an alternative scheme election, the difference between what has been paid and what is due, will be backdated to the original payment date and paid to the member inclusive of interest.