Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 the minimum income requirements for spousal visas on pensioners who are unable to increase their income.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Secretary commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. Once published, we will consider their report and decide on any policy changes, consistent with the objectives of the Government’s Immigration White Paper.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing penalties to local government for delays in implementing food waste collections due to (a) market congestion for vehicles and (b) other external factors.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working closely with local authorities and other key stakeholders across the waste sector to support implementation of food waste collections under Simpler Recycling in England. We are aware of concerns about delivery timelines, pressure on supply chains for vehicles and containers, and the need to upgrade waste and recycling infrastructure. Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) on interventions to address bottlenecks in supply chains, including recently published guidance by WRAP to support local authorities procuring food waste services: Weekly food waste implementation supplementary procurement guidance | WRAP.
Public authorities (such as waste collection authorities) are expected to comply with their statutory duties. If they do not comply, they are at risk of judicial review. Local authorities are independent bodies and are accountable to their electorate rather than to Ministers or Government departments.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of postbox theft; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle it.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the year ending December 2024, there were 7,998 ‘Theft of mail’ offences recorded by the police across England and Wales, a 24% increase compared with the previous year.
The Government recognises the profound impact theft can have on individuals and wider communities. Key to tackling all types of theft is having more police on the streets. That is why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. This will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems.
The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of the additional neighbourhood policing roles.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rules on pension entitlements for survivors of police officers on levels of loneliness.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The 2015 police pension scheme is the scheme currently open to serving police officers. This scheme provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse. These benefits were first introduced for all eligible police officers in the 2006 police pension scheme, which was superseded by the 2015 scheme.
For officers who joined policing prior to 2006, the 1987 police pension scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.
From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will publish the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling rural crime, safeguarding rural areas through tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft and anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and action to prevent fly-tipping.
We recognise that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why we are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the next iteration of a Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy, to ensure the government’s Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live, including rural communities. This will be published in due course.
This joined up approach between government and policing will help ensure the weight of government is put behind tackling rural crimes such as the theft of high value farm equipment and livestock.
In addition, we are providing funding of £800,000 in the current financial year to the National Rural and National Wildlife Crime Units. This will ensure these specialist units continue to help police forces tackle rural and wildlife crime, including helping tackle organised theft and disrupting the activities of serious and organised crime groups.
Rural communities will also benefit from more local visible policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, helping to tackle crimes like anti-social behaviour and county lines which can have a devastating impact on rural life.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help tackle the backlog in certificate of lawfulness appeals at the planning inspectorate.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027.
Casework including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework, appeals against refusal of planning permission and appeals against enforcement notices are currently being prioritised.
In addition, the Inspectorate has designed and developed a new digital Appeals Service currently in Beta phase. This new service improves the process for submitting appeals, including reducing the number of invalid appeals submitted. In turn, this reduces the number of validation checks required and is speeding up the time taken to validate appeals.
The new service has been expanded to cover all local planning authority areas.
The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 16285 on Methylphenidate: Shortage, what recent progress his Department has made on improving the supply of methylphenidate in (a) Norfolk and (b) the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The supply of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets has greatly improved. However, some issues persist. We are continuing to work to resolve these remaining issues by engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to build further capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. The Department is also working with new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to improve the supply and resiliency for the United Kingdom’s market.
The Department continually updates a list of currently available and unavailable attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website. This helps ensure those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. This list is available at the following link:
www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd
The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Norfolk is not held centrally.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support communities affected by coastal erosion through the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is committed to supporting coastal communities and providing a strategic plan to manage flood and coastal erosion risks including the use of Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs).
The new £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will provide investment in our coastal communities to help revitalise communities and support tourism. We will be engaging with local authorities, coastal community groups and local industry associations to understand how we can best target this funding to where it matters most.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principles.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.
When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.
The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances i.e. full arrears payment by one lump sum, partial lump sum payment and a schedule of on-going payments to recover any remaining arrears within a maximum of two years, and a schedule of on-going payments to recover the full arrears within two years.
After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation, discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.
If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). A DEO instructs an employer to make deductions from the paying parent’s earnings and pay the amounts to the CMS who will pass this onto the receiving parent. The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.
If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures, including order for sale, where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removal of driving licences, disqualification of passports, and committal to prison.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues attending the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025 on access to a cross-border carbon storage market.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the EU Reset we are working with the EU to identify areas to strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit including on energy. We are aligned with the EU ambition to support industry to deploy CCUS at scale and we both see CCUS as essential to meeting our respective net zero emissions.
We see a strong opportunity to collaborate with the EU on CCUS; our global early mover status, comparative regulatory regimes such as similar CO2 storage licensing and safety standards and our extensive offshore experience mean we can be a valuable partner to the EU. This includes establishing cross-border CO2 transport and storage networks across the continent.