Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he is taking steps to increase the number of apprenticeships within his Department.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across the civil service to break down barriers to opportunity. The Scotland Office considers the use of apprenticeships for all relevant recruitment campaigns.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she is taking steps to increase the number of apprenticeships within her Department.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Apprenticeships are available to new and existing Wales Office staff and my Department promotes these opportunities through Ministry of Justice (MoJ) intranet bulletins and Wales Office staff newsletters. When vacancies arise, the Department also considers if posts may be advertised as apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to increase apprenticeship opportunities within his Department.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In DBT, apprenticeships remain a core element of the learning and development offer for all employees. We are taking active steps to continue to increase apprenticeship opportunities within the Department, with commitment to our recently launched DBT Apprenticeship Plan for 2025-2026. This includes offering all new Executive Officer (EO) vacancies as apprenticeships, encouraging those at the start of their careers to consider an apprenticeship route as default.

DBT are also committed to support the new ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) Programme which seeks to support individuals kickstarting their careers whilst undertaking the Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship, with placements launching across government and within DBT in January 2026.

DBT also supports the Government’s commitment to improving digital skills through the TechTrack scheme which is committed to supporting 2,000 digital apprenticeships by 2030.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he is taking steps to increase the number of apprenticeships within his Department.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office remains committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government’s commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

As a department, the Northern Ireland Office annually recruits a Communication Apprentice through the Government Communications Service.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase the number of community (a) pubs and (b) social clubs.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Government recognises the crucial role that pubs and social clubs play in our communities, supporting local economies, providing a sense of community pride, and fostering belonging and connection.

We want to support communities to take ownership of assets that are important to them. Community Right to Buy, introduced in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will help local people acquire valued community spaces, such as pubs and social clubs, if they come up for sale, keeping these assets in the hands of the community.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress his Department has made on gigabit voucher take-up in rural areas.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses via local community broadband projects.

As of March 2024, 296,400 premises were able to take-up a gigabit-capable broadband connection as a result of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, the vast majority of which are in rural areas.

We continue to support broadband suppliers to deliver voucher projects that have been approved as part of Project Gigabit.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help reduce petrol prices in rural areas.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government will implement the Competition & Markets Authority's recommendation to help drive down pump prices by introducing a statutory open data scheme, Fuel Finder, at the end of 2025. This scheme will increase fuel price transparency, enabling drivers to compare prices easily and make more informed decisions on where to buy petrol and diesel. By introducing this statutory open data scheme, petrol filling stations will face increased competition, leading to a reduction in fuel prices across the UK, including in rural areas.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to local environmental improvement projects through the Water Restoration Fund.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Water Restoration Fund (WRF) was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million, based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023, due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways.

Going forwards, this government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters, which could include local environmental programmes to address pollution and improve water quality. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

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Found: Cocking Wendy Morton Lee Anderson Mr Andrew Snowden David Reed Richard Tice Greg Smith Stuart Anderson

Found: Cocking Wendy Morton Lee Anderson Mr Andrew Snowden David Reed Richard Tice Greg Smith Stuart Anderson