Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the (a) Directors of Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway and (b) Chief Executive of the Office of Rail and Road on the inclusion of Wellington in Shropshire in future services operated by Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of the Industry Consultation, conducted by Network Rail, the Department for Transport reviewed the open access application from Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway and was supportive in principle of this application. Department for Transport officials have engaged with Directors at Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway and will continue to do so.
Passenger open access operators are train operators that run services without contractual arrangements or direct support from Government. Decisions on access to the rail network are a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its role as independent regulator for the rail industry and the Department for Transport is unable to direct the ORR in its decision making. Should Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway wish to include Wellington in Shropshire in future open access proposals they will need to apply to the ORR in the usual manner.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to provide financial support to (a) adult and (b) youth brass bands in (i) Telford and Wrekin borough and (ii) Shropshire in the next five years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Arts Council England, which is funded by taxpayers and National Lottery players, is working with Brass Bands England, the sector support organisation for brass bands. In particular, it is providing support to brass bands across the country to develop their membership and audiences.
While there are no specific plans for the funding of brass bands in Telford and Wrekin borough or Shropshire at present, brass bands from anywhere in the country are eligible to apply for Arts Council England’s National Lottery project grants. Since April 2022, the Arts Council has provided over £500,000 of funding for 21 applications from brass bands. It also provides annual funding to the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and the organisation Making Music, both of which support youth and amateur adult brass bands.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much UK Development Aid has been transported by road and air into Gaza in 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza. Much of this support is in the form of contributions to large scale appeals, which prevents us from directly attributing UK funding to specific items. It includes support to the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. A delivery of 315 tonnes of life-saving food aid was made via this route in January. We also delivered 87 tonnes of aid - inclusive of five tonnes of Cypriot aid - on board RFA Lyme Bay in early January and in late January the UK and Qatar delivered a joint consignment of 17 tonnes of family sized tents. In February the UK and Jordan delivered 4 tonnes of aid by air to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects the next Community Ownership Fund bidding round will open.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We will announce the timings of the next bidding window in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK has adequate ground-based surface-to-air defence capabilities to defend itself from potential medium- and long-range missile attacks.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To complement the Air Defence already provided by the RAF’s Typhoon Force, Defence has committed funds in year to significantly enhance its Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems capabilities. The British Army, through its Land Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) Programme, plans to spend more than £3 billion over the next ten years modernising its GBAD, with substantial investment in scaling, extending, and integrating its Air Defence capability. Similarly, the Secretary of State has recently announced a £405 million upgrade to the Royal Navy’s Sea Viper Air Defence System that will enable it to defeat ballistic missile threats. Further detail on Defence’s plan for protecting the United Kingdom against attack from the skies can be found in the Defence Command Paper Refresh which was published on 18 July 2023.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on stationing non-UK nuclear weapons at UK military sites.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It remains longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit (a) RAF Cosford and (b) the RBSL Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities in (i) the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and (ii) Shropshire in 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I visited RBSL in Telford, Shropshire on 13 February 2024 to see both Boxer and Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities.
I understand that the Defence Secretary has responded to the hon. Member separately on his written invitation to visit both of these sites.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with mobile phone manufacturers on encouraging the development of phones that are disabled when their users are driving motorised vehicles.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We appreciate that phones deactivating when entering a motorised vehicle would ensure consumers’ compliance with existing laws regarding the use of mobile phones while driving. However, the Government currently has no plans to discuss this issue with mobile phone manufacturers. It is important to recognise it is not possible to determine whether the owner of a mobile device is driving or a passenger within a vehicle, and so automatic disabling features are likely to be difficult to create with accuracy.
Most Android and iPhones already have ‘do not disturb’ or ‘drive mode’ features embedded within their operating systems, which can activate automatically once a device connects to a car’s Bluetooth network.
While mobile phones are a vital part of modern life and business, drivers must always use them safely and responsibly.
The Government amended the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving in March 2022. The offence is now triggered by any use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving, reflecting the real world where smart phones or devices are used not only for calls and texting.
The change in the law in 2022 has made it easier for the police to enforce this offence as they no longer have to prove that any use they identified from the roadside involved calls and texting.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to commission research into developing a vaccine to protect livestock from the Schmallenburg virus.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A vaccine for Schmallenberg virus was authorised for use in the UK in 2015. The marketing authorisations are still valid for GB and NI, but the vaccine is not commercially available in the UK at present.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce a low interest deposit scheme for people seeking entry-level rental accommodation in the private sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government does not have plans to introduce a low interest deposit scheme for the private rented sector. Local authorities may offer deposit guarantee or bond schemes to people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.
Councils can choose to use Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) or Homelessness Prevention Grant funding to provide rent deposits for people in financial difficulties.
Since 2011 the government has provided almost £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities and is investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years (2023-2025) including a £109 million top up for 2023/2024.