Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure British ports operate at high efficiency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The United Kingdom has a world leading maritime sector, including its ports. The ports sector is largely privatised, so government direct intervention is limited. Whilst there are some government bodies who do direct day to day work within ports, matters that fall within the DfT’s jurisdiction are ones concerned with safety.
The department does have a range of grant programs designed to support the wider UK ports sector, with these programs aimed at supporting the transition to a green economy and at modal shift towards rail and water. We are working with other Departments to strengthen and streamline planning, including by updating the National Policy Statement for Ports.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 she has made of the quality of open water in Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency will publish updated water body classifications later this year (https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/England/classifications). This will provide a measure of the health of the water environment, focusing on the effects of pollution from sources like sewage, industry, and farming.
These classifications guide regulatory decisions and drive investment, such as the £22.1bn that water companies across England will spend on infrastructure, and environmental improvements between 2025-2030.
In Ashfield, by 2030, Severn Trent will deliver 46 new environmental actions on top of the 20 actions completed between 2020–2025. These actions can include small developments in a sewage treatment works, stopping sewage overflows, through to large interventions such as complete changes to sewage treatment.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve the water quality of open water in Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency will publish updated water body classifications later this year (https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/England/classifications). This will provide a measure of the health of the water environment, focusing on the effects of pollution from sources like sewage, industry, and farming.
These classifications guide regulatory decisions and drive investment, such as the £22.1bn that water companies across England will spend on infrastructure, and environmental improvements between 2025-2030.
In Ashfield, by 2030, Severn Trent will deliver 46 new environmental actions on top of the 20 actions completed between 2020–2025. These actions can include small developments in a sewage treatment works, stopping sewage overflows, through to large interventions such as complete changes to sewage treatment.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support domestic ferry companies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Domestic ferry companies operate their services predominantly in a commercial environment without intervention from the Government.
The Department for Transport continues to engage with domestic ferry companies and wider local stakeholders.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help support young people who are at risk of becoming homeless.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, tackling poverty and reforming renters’ rights. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to address youth homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, tackling poverty and reforming renters’ rights. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to prevent youth homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, tackling poverty and reforming renters’ rights. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to (a) understand and (b) tackle causes of youth homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, tackling poverty and reforming renters’ rights. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help tackle youth homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by building more homes, tackling poverty and reforming renters’ rights. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for the medical assessment stage of Personal Independence Payment claims in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment claimants receive timely assessments and continues to work closely with its suppliers to improve customer experience across all geographical areas, including Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands.
We have introduced a range of measures to increase assessment capacity and reduce waiting times. These include ongoing recruitment and training of additional health professionals and a series of process improvements to streamline the assessment journey.
Waiting times can vary by region due to local demand and operational factors. Assessment suppliers actively monitor regional performance to ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed, and additional capacity will be directed where appropriate.