Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the construction industry in Herefordshire of the housing moratorium issued in October 2019.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 59777 on 28 October 2021.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve local bus services in Herefordshire.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has announced £1.2 billion of transformation funding for buses in the Spending Review. We will allocate funding after assessing the Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) which all English Local Transport Authorities outside London, including Herefordshire County Council, are developing in collaboration with their local bus operators.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of pollution in the River Wye for (a) local housing, (b) the local environment and (c) levelling up.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to delivering the homes this country needs and is striving to level up all parts of the country. The Government's Get Building Fund, via the Marches LEP, has invested £1 million in the River Wye catchment, to aid the construction of Integrated Wetlands to mitigate the sources of nutrient pollution. This will enable the delivery of 1,385 nutrient neutral dwellings in the catchment.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the HS2 budget is for bat protection and mitigation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd does not have a specific bat protection budget. Most environmental and ecological mitigations - such as hedgerow, wetland, woodland or grassland creation - will be deployed to mitigate the impact of construction upon multiple species. As such, it is not possible to isolate a proportion of the cost of these mitigations to specific bat protection.
In some circumstances, obligations to protect specific bat populations can arise from legislative and regulatory arrangements, or from undertakings and assurances given to Parliament through the hybrid Bill process. Where this is the case, HS2 Ltd will seek physical or ecological solutions that fulfil the requirements of those obligations to the satisfaction of licensing authorities such as Natural England, but which also take account of the need to provide value for money to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent to date on bat protection and mitigation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd does not have a specific bat protection budget. Most environmental and ecological mitigations - such as hedgerow, wetland, woodland or grassland creation - will be deployed to mitigate the impact of construction upon multiple species. As such, it is not possible to isolate a proportion of the cost of these mitigations to specific bat protection.
In some circumstances, obligations to protect specific bat populations can arise from legislative and regulatory arrangements, or from undertakings and assurances given to Parliament through the hybrid Bill process. Where this is the case, HS2 Ltd will seek physical or ecological solutions that fulfil the requirements of those obligations to the satisfaction of licensing authorities such as Natural England, but which also take account of the need to provide value for money to the taxpayer.
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 assessment he has made of the (a) level of pollution in the river Wye and (b) impact of that pollution on aquatic life.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) carries out regular sampling of the River Wye to monitor chemical and biological quality. The main sampling season for the impacts on aquatic life is March to September. Recently collected data is available on the Defra Data Services Platform website here:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/appgallery
The last formal classification of ecological status for the River Wye was carried out in 2019. Overall waterbody classifications for the Wye Management Catchment within England were:
Where there is new data available a refresh of these classifications will be completed in 2022. Details of these assessments are published on the Catchment Data Explorer website here:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/
The EA has increased monitoring of water quality and aquatic life in the Wye Catchment in response to deteriorations identified in the 2019 assessments and recent algal blooms within the catchment. The EA is analysing data collected through the growing season this year (March – September 2021) to update its understanding of the sources, pathways and impacts of pollution in the catchment.
Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, the EA and other partners are working together to find effective solutions to restore the River Wye Special Area of Conservation (SAC) to a favourable condition with respect to phosphate. These measures are set out in the Nutrient Management Plan which is published here:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/directory-record/2097/nutrient_management_plan
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 Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to make an announcement on Ofcom's review of the Terms of Trade.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The independent television production sector in this country is a fantastic success story, generating around £3 billion in revenue each year. I have considered carefully Ofcom’s report on the television production sector and decided that the regulations continue to be effective and play a key role in supporting a diverse and vibrant production sector. We have therefore decided to make no change.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the proposals for long-term infrastructure and marketing spending in the Money Advice Service's 2016-17 business plan to take into account the implications of the proposed new delivery model for public financial guidance.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Following the publication of the government’s Public Financial Guidance: proposal for consultation, the Money Advice Service (MAS) will publish a revised 2016-17 Business Plan in May.
As outlined in the proposal for consultation document, the government will work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority and MAS to ensure a smooth transition to the new money guidance body.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential for virtual wards to improve health care delivery.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We recognise the importance of care at home and have identified 800,000 of the most vulnerable patients as part of the Proactive Care Programme.
Virtual wards could provide one way of reducing unplanned admissions by providing the staffing, systems and routines of hospital care in the patient’s own home.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on the effective use of ICT.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office works closely with police-led governance groups that guide the use of national police ICT. In addition, together with Police and Crime Commissioners, the department has supported the creation of the Police ICT Company, which will lead on the design, purchase and delivery of local, regional and national ICT. PCCs have now committed to making the Company operational.