Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of terraced timber-frame homes that have (a) timber cladding and (b) UPVC cladding that may be affected by fire safety issues.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for conservation areas. The Manual to the Building Regulations notes that where the functional requirement of Part B Fire Safety applies to buildings of special architectural or historic interest, local authority building control and conservation officers may be able to advise on how to comply appropriately, if guidance intended for common building situations might prove too restrictive.
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023.
I would be delighted to meet my Hon Friend and I know we are trying to do so, alongside our Rt Hon Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as soon as diaries permit.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timeframe is for assessing the effectiveness of the annual local authority road maintenance survey 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Each year the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) commissions an independent survey of local authority highway authorities in England, including London, and Wales.
According to the AIA report, the aim of the survey is to take a snapshot of the general condition of the local road network based on information provided directly by those responsible for its maintenance.
The Department considers the report, along with a range of other evidence, when we are bidding to His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT).
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to extend the limitation period for making claims under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 52 years.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I am grateful for my Hon Friend’s suggestion. Whilst we are not proposing to extend the Defective Premises Act limitation period any further, I will bear in mind his suggestions should it ever be considered in the future.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate her Department has made of the trade generated by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka since his appointment.
Answered by Greg Hands
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what areas of the economy the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka has promoted during his tenure.
Answered by Greg Hands
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the Environment Improvement Plan’s objective to secure £500 million of private finance for nature restoration by 2027.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government has set a target to mobilise over £500m per year of private finance into nature’s recovery in England by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. We are making progress towards the target by supporting the development and integrity of nature markets through the British Standards Institution Nature Investment Standards Programme; delivering Biodiversity Net Gain; committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund; helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; and increasing the supply of nature investment projects through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.
We recently published an update on progress on our Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on further policy interventions needed to support the growth of high integrity voluntary carbon and nature markets in the coming months.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps to strengthen UK-Israel trade relations.
Answered by Greg Hands
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral evidence given by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Water and Rural Growth) to the Environmental Audit Committee on 15 May 2024, which designated bathing water location was tested three times more than was statutorily necessary.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently 451 designated bathing waters in England and the Environment Agency takes over 7,000 bathing water samples each year. The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 require designated bathing waters to be sampled at least 5 times per bathing season. This year, all bathing waters in England will be sampled more than this statutory minimum. The table below summarises the number of sites at each planned sampling frequency for the 2024 bathing season.
Number of planned samples per season | Number of sites |
20 | 236 |
15 | 109 |
10 | 106 |
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka has visited Sri Lanka in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Sri Lankan reconciliation process.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Sri Lanka is a human rights priority country, and the UK regularly engages with the Government of Sri Lanka on areas of concern, including progress on reconciliation. We recognise the significant doubts expressed by affected communities regarding the credibility of reconciliation mechanisms. The UK has stressed the importance of an inclusive participatory process to build trust. Any mechanism must be independent, meaningful, and transparent, meet the expectations of affected communities, build upon previous transitional justice processes, and provide pathways for accountability. The UK continues to fund work on the removal of landmines and the resettlement of internally displaced communities to support reconciliation efforts.