Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether allocated funding to the Animal and Plant Health Agency for Asian hornet response operations has changed since 2023.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The response to Asian hornet also known as Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) is carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU do this as part of the overall programme of work that they deliver for Defra from the funding allocated to APHA. There isn’t a specific budget allocated to the response to YLH. Being part of APHA means the NBU can draw on further resources which allows them to take action on notifiable bee diseases, while continuing to provide an effective response to YLH.
In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of YLH nests found in GB and the NBU located and destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations. Further analyses during the winter of 2023 indicated that a few of the nests may have reached maturity and released queens which overwintered. Therefore in 2024 the NBU carried out spring trapping for YLH in 4 areas across the south of GB. Additional funds were allocated for the spring trapping work.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays in Ukrainian Visa Extension Schemes applications on Ukrainians in the Newton Abbot constituency.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We recognise the importance of minimising any delays in the processing of UPE applications. The vast majority of Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme applications are being processed within Service Level Agreements. There may be applications which have varying levels of complexity which can cause a delay to an application. Applicants that apply before their previous permission expires will continue to have their conditions maintained under Section 3C of the Immigration Rules.
Information on visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot of 9 June 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A response for both letters will be sent to the Hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot of 3 June 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A response for both letters will be sent to the Hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff were assigned to the (a) identification and (b) removal of yellow-legged Asian hornet nests in (i) 2025, (ii) 2023 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There has been 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff assigned to nest destruction in 2022, 2023 and 2025. This means they were assigned to that role and available on call when needed.
There has been one FTE Senior Operational Lead dedicated to yellow-legged hornet since 2024 to manage the overall response.
No other staff are employed or allocated on a full-time basis to yellow-legged hornet The response is managed by redeploying staff from other business as usual delivery, based on outbreak demand.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to correspondence of 13 June 2025 from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's correspondence. I issued a response to the hon. Member on 21 July.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has (a) issued guidance to and (b) held discussions with local authorities on the estimated end date of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
From 4 February 2025, individuals in the UK under a Ukraine visa scheme have been eligible to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, granting an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK as well as access to work, benefits, healthcare, and education. The duration of permission is calculated from the date of application, meaning end dates will vary accordingly. Those granted permission in February 2025, for example, will have permission to stay in the UK until August 2026.
The Government recognises the importance of providing clarity and reassurance to Ukrainians living in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes and is aware that many individuals and families are seeking certainty about their future once their leave under the UPE schemes expires. As such, the Government is actively considering the future of the Ukraine visa schemes and will provide further clarity as soon as it is in a position to do so.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any dedicated Asian hornet rapid response teams have been (a) disbanded and (b) downsized since 2023.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The response to Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) also known as Asian hornet is carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU do this as part of the overall programme of work that they deliver for Defra from the funding allocated to APHA. The NBU has been taking action against YLH since 2016 and has developed a fine-tuned effective response. They frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported. Therefore, Defra has not established dedicated Asian hornet rapid response teams.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to support the development of a public-facing data access tool to allow independent verification of water quality alerts issued by South West Water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is important that the public have access to reliable information on storm overflow discharges. The Water (Special Measures) Act introduced a duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. This matches the pre-existing duty for storm overflows, which was introduced on 01 January.
To support this, Water UK have launched a central hub that provides discharge data of every storm overflow in England on a single website.
As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels of investment. This includes South West Water delivering £764 million of investment to reduce storm overflow spills and £55 million to install real-time monitors at high-priority sites.
Ofwat will hold water companies to account for the decisions set at the Price Review. Ofwat's claw back mechanism ensures that funding for schemes not delivered is returned to customers, by reducing bills.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 require South West Water to (a) reinstate collaboration with Surfers Against Sewage and (b) provide real-time data to the Safer Seas and Rivers Service.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is important that the public have access to reliable information on storm overflow discharges. The Water (Special Measures) Act introduced a duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. This matches the pre-existing duty for storm overflows, which was introduced on 01 January.
To support this, Water UK have launched a central hub that provides discharge data of every storm overflow in England on a single website.
As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels of investment. This includes South West Water delivering £764 million of investment to reduce storm overflow spills and £55 million to install real-time monitors at high-priority sites.
Ofwat will hold water companies to account for the decisions set at the Price Review. Ofwat's claw back mechanism ensures that funding for schemes not delivered is returned to customers, by reducing bills.