Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Nutrient Taskforce on phosphate pollution in the river Wye.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Wye catchment area is internationally important for biodiversity, principally due to the wide range of rare river wildlife. It is vitally important that we achieve the right balance to allow sustainable development to continue and protect our most important natural habitats.
A cross border taskforce focussing on the Wye Catchment was convened by Herefordshire Council in September. The taskforce further supports the ongoing work of the Nutrient Management Board and its associated Technical Advisory Group to find effective solutions.
The board meets quarterly to identify and review actions that achieve the phosphorus conservation target of the River Wye Special Area of Conservation. The primary mechanism for achieving this will be through the delivery of the Nutrient Management Plan, the first draft of which has been published.
In the short term, and alongside the work of the Nutrient Pollution Taskforce, Natural England has been working with Herefordshire Council to enable housing projects that can demonstrate nutrient neutrality to be able to proceed. This has included funding put in place by the Council for both a wetlands scheme, which will have a series of eight interconnected wetlands to support approx. 1500 houses, and the commissioning of the 'Interim Delivery Plan' which includes a Phosphate Calculator, thus enabling small scale developments to be unlocked.
I also attended a productive roundtable meeting on 13 July with Minister Pincher of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and local staff from the Environment Agency, Natural England and Herefordshire County Council to discuss this issue.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he had made of the effect of prescription charges on nursing students with respiratory conditions who are required to work with covid-19 patients.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have made no such assessment. Where a student has difficulty in paying for their prescriptions, they may be eligible for the National Health Service Low Income Scheme, which may provide exemption from the prescription charge and help with other health costs, on the basis of a means-tested assessment. They may also be entitled through other exemptions, such as a medical condition, maternity or through receipt of a qualifying benefit.
A prescription pre-payment certificate is also available where a holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor internet connectivity on rural communities in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the rollout of fibre broadband in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve internet connections in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on allocating funding to tackle pollution in the river Wye.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Wye catchment area is internationally important for biodiversity, principally due to the wide range of rare river wildlife. It is vitally important that we achieve the right balance to allow sustainable development to continue and to protect our most important natural habitats.
In the recently-announced Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, Defra has been allocated an additional £250 million to deliver against the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan for nature's recovery and the new legally-binding target to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. This specifically includes tackling nutrient pollution in rivers and streams.
We are almost doubling funding for the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme. This additional £17 million will allow all farms in England, including those in the Wye catchment, access to free 1-2-1 advice and support farmers to help them reduce water and air pollution through management of farmyard manure and soils, among other things.
We have also recently increased funding to the Environment Agency for 50 new farm inspectors. These will be targeted at high-risk catchments such as the Wye.
As well as Government funding, we are also looking to other investment routes to improve the state of our rivers and the surrounding environment. The water sector is investing £5.4 billion to protect the environment between 2020 and 2025 and we have set a stretching new target to raise at least £500 million in private finance for nature’s recovery every year by 2027 and more than £1 billion a year by 2030.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting the NMITE skills-based educational model for levelling up in the UK.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government is clear that all higher education (HE) providers have the potential to deliver on the government’s levelling up agenda, addressing the gaps that still exist in who participates in HE, whether by social background, region, or ethnicity and to deliver provision that much better delivers the skills the economy needs. Higher skills lead to higher regional productivity.
There are many different models through which HE providers deliver the skills their regional economies need. The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering has much potential but is still a new provider. The government will remain closely interested in the outcomes it delivers for its students.
The department published the ‘Skills for Jobs’ white paper in January 2021, setting out our blueprint to reform post-16 education and training, focusing on giving people the skills they need in a way that suits them.
The white paper sets out that we are putting employers at the heart of the skills system so that education and training meets their needs. By 2030, almost all technical courses will be on employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs. This builds on the success of our flagship apprenticeships programme where industry designed standards equip apprentices with the skills employers need. It also builds on our work developing new T Levels, which has involved over 250 employers in their design.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support residents in Herefordshire in accessing financial services following the recent closures of high street banks.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The decision to close branches is a commercial issue for banks and building societies and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.
Nevertheless, the Government firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered and mitigated where possible so that all customers and businesses continue to have access to banking services.
In September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority published guidance setting out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their personal and small business customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly. Alternative options for access include the Post Office, which allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
The Government also remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term. On 23 September 2021, the Government closed the Access to Cash Consultation, which included proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. This follows legislative changes to support the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase by shops and other businesses as part of the Financial Services Act 2021.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Natural England and (b) the Environment Agency on pollution in the River Wye.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Improving water quality is a government priority. The issues with phosphate pollution in the River Wye are well known. We are working closely with the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Ministers and local councils to address this issue through multiple channels.
A cross-border meeting about the Wye catchment was convened by Herefordshire Council in September. It is a new group set up to bring together the councillors and officers across all authorities, agencies, Welsh Water, and The Wye and Usk Foundation.
Separately, NE, Natural Resources Wales, the EA and other partners continue to work together, through the Nutrient Management Board and its associated Technical Advisory Group. The board meets quarterly to identify and deliver actions that achieve the phosphorous conservation target of the River Wye Special Area of Conservation. The primary mechanism for achieving this will be through the delivery of the Nutrient Management Plan which will identify measures needed to both restore the site to favourable condition and seek to create capacity for development, without harming the natural environment.
I have also visited the River Wye and attended a roundtable meeting with the hon. Member for North Herefordshire, the Minister of State (Minister for Housing) the Rt Hon Member for Tamworth, local EA and NE staff as well as Herefordshire Council staff held on 13 July to discuss the long-term plan for the River Wye and how we mitigate nutrient pollution there.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Ministers in the Welsh Government on pollution in the River Wye.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Improving water quality is a government priority. The issues with phosphate pollution in the River Wye are well known. We are working closely with the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Ministers and local councils to address this issue through multiple channels.
A cross-border meeting about the Wye catchment was convened by Herefordshire Council in September. It is a new group set up to bring together the councillors and officers across all authorities, agencies, Welsh Water, and The Wye and Usk Foundation.
Separately, NE, Natural Resources Wales, the EA and other partners continue to work together, through the Nutrient Management Board and its associated Technical Advisory Group. The board meets quarterly to identify and deliver actions that achieve the phosphorous conservation target of the River Wye Special Area of Conservation. The primary mechanism for achieving this will be through the delivery of the Nutrient Management Plan which will identify measures needed to both restore the site to favourable condition and seek to create capacity for development, without harming the natural environment.
I have also visited the River Wye and attended a roundtable meeting with the hon. Member for North Herefordshire, the Minister of State (Minister for Housing) the Rt Hon Member for Tamworth, local EA and NE staff as well as Herefordshire Council staff held on 13 July to discuss the long-term plan for the River Wye and how we mitigate nutrient pollution there.