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Written Question
Environment Agency: Termination of Employment
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Environment Agency staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

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

The number of Environment Agency staff who left and joined the organisation in each financial year since 2016/17 is detailed below. We are unable to provide data from 2014/15 or 2015/16 as this information is not readily available.

(April 2016 - March 2017)

(April 2017 - March 2018)

(April 2018 - March 2019)

(April 2019 - March 2020)

(April 2020 - March 2021)

(April 2021 - March 2022)

(April 2022 - March 2023)

(April 2023 - Jan 2024)

Number of EA staff who left the organisation within a financial year

999

1988

836

966

754

1149

1315

829

Number of EA staff who joined the organisation within a financial year

977

912

888

1008

364

890

2297

1640


Written Question
Visas: Families
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether the joining family member of a person who (a) would have met the former threshold for family visas in force until 10 of April 2024 and (b) does not qualify under the new threshold will be placed on the 10-year route to settlement.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Government engages regularly with interested stakeholders including through a number of its advisory groups, when developing its policies. We did not invite representations from stakeholders specifically on the MIR prior to the announcement of 4 December 2023.

The decision to raise the MIR was taken to ensure that migration policy is supportive of the wider ambition for the UK to be a high-wage, high-productivity, high-skill economy, and help to ensure that migrants make a net positive contribution to the public finances in addition to ensuring that families would not need to have recourse to welfare and had sufficient resources to participate in British life.

Previous advice and evidence provided by the Migration Advisory Committee regarding net-fiscal contributions and access to benefits was considered when making this decision. We did not seek further advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) before making the decision to increase the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) element of the family Immigration Rules.

A child who is applying for permission after 11 April 2024 to join their parent who, prior to 11 April met the lower threshold and was granted permission, will be subject to transitional arrangements and must meet the same threshold as their parent (£18,600 plus the child component, capped at £29,000). Where they meet the threshold alongside the other requirements of the 5-year route, they will be granted on the 5-year route to settlement.


Written Question
Visas: Married People
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8266 on Visas: Married People and to his oral contribution of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, for what reason the Migration Advisory Committee was not consulted on those proposals.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Government engages regularly with interested stakeholders including through a number of its advisory groups, when developing its policies. We did not invite representations from stakeholders specifically on the MIR prior to the announcement of 4 December 2023.

The decision to raise the MIR was taken to ensure that migration policy is supportive of the wider ambition for the UK to be a high-wage, high-productivity, high-skill economy, and help to ensure that migrants make a net positive contribution to the public finances in addition to ensuring that families would not need to have recourse to welfare and had sufficient resources to participate in British life.

Previous advice and evidence provided by the Migration Advisory Committee regarding net-fiscal contributions and access to benefits was considered when making this decision. We did not seek further advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) before making the decision to increase the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) element of the family Immigration Rules.

A child who is applying for permission after 11 April 2024 to join their parent who, prior to 11 April met the lower threshold and was granted permission, will be subject to transitional arrangements and must meet the same threshold as their parent (£18,600 plus the child component, capped at £29,000). Where they meet the threshold alongside the other requirements of the 5-year route, they will be granted on the 5-year route to settlement.


Written Question
Visas: Families
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether his Department invited representations from stakeholders prior to announcing an increase to the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Government engages regularly with interested stakeholders including through a number of its advisory groups, when developing its policies. We did not invite representations from stakeholders specifically on the MIR prior to the announcement of 4 December 2023.

The decision to raise the MIR was taken to ensure that migration policy is supportive of the wider ambition for the UK to be a high-wage, high-productivity, high-skill economy, and help to ensure that migrants make a net positive contribution to the public finances in addition to ensuring that families would not need to have recourse to welfare and had sufficient resources to participate in British life.

Previous advice and evidence provided by the Migration Advisory Committee regarding net-fiscal contributions and access to benefits was considered when making this decision. We did not seek further advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) before making the decision to increase the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) element of the family Immigration Rules.

A child who is applying for permission after 11 April 2024 to join their parent who, prior to 11 April met the lower threshold and was granted permission, will be subject to transitional arrangements and must meet the same threshold as their parent (£18,600 plus the child component, capped at £29,000). Where they meet the threshold alongside the other requirements of the 5-year route, they will be granted on the 5-year route to settlement.


Written Question
Sewage: Pollution
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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 estimate of the number of homes affected by sewage rising into (a) gardens, (b) toilets and (c) sinks after heavy rains.

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

Discover Water, a water company performance data website which brings robust already-available company data from a range of sources together includes detail on sewer flooding incidents. In 2022-23; 47,176 areas of private land or gardens were flooded by sewage and 4,794 properties were internally flooded by sewage.

Sewer flooding may occur for a number of reasons, including a failure of the sewerage system; blockages; or when the sewerage system is overwhelmed when too much rainwater enters the sewers from surrounding roads, houses and land. Storm overflows stop sewage backing up into homes by releasing wastewater when the system is overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain. A growing population and ageing infrastructure, means these storm overflows are being pushed beyond their intended limits and that needs to change. As part of our Plan for Water, water companies are delivering the largest infrastructure programme in history - £60 billion of investment over 25 years. We continue to hold water companies to account and will not hesitate to act where there is evidence of wrongdoing.

Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage system both now and for future demand. As per commitments in the Environmental Improvement Plan and the Plan for Water, Defra will legislate to require water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. When producing DWMPs, water companies will be required to identify solutions in collaboration with other partners such as lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) and other flood risk management authorities.

Flooding from heavy rain and thunderstorms is known as surface water flooding. In England 3.4 million properties are at risk of such flooding. The responsibility for managing local flood risk, including from surface water, falls to LLFAs, in partnership with highways authorities and water companies. LLFAs are required to identify and agree local objectives for managing these local flood risks and to set them out in their statutory Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.


Written Question
Visas: Skilled Workers
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to this Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether family members of individuals that met the previous skilled worker salary threshold will remain eligible for the route to settlement.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Dependants of Skilled Workers can apply for settlement irrespective of the salary of the lead migrant, provided the lead migrant qualifies for settlement or has settled.

Further details on the changes and how they may affect migrants can be found through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-net-migration-measures-further-detail.


Written Question
Environment Agency: Legal Opinion
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff were in the Environment Agency's legal services team in each year since 2015.

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

The data in relation to Environment Agency Legal Services full-time equivalent numbers is detailed below:

Legal Services

Mar-15

137.1

Mar-16

144.6

Mar-17

136.8

Mar-18

137.8

Mar-19

141.5

Mar-20

146.4

Mar-21

142.7

Mar-22

137.2

Mar-23

145.4

Jan-24

148.4


Written Question
Hill Farming
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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 publish the upland farming Pathways to Success modelling analysis prepared between 1 March 2022 and 1 August 2022.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The work referenced was not completed. However, we have provided information on the potential impact of our farming reforms. For example, the evidence compendium was most recently updated in September 2022 and the Agriculture in the UK Dashboard was published in November 2023. These set out the contribution of Direct Payments on farm incomes, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure.


Written Question
Swimming: Water
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which bathing waters have been de-designated in each region since 2015.

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

Since 2015, the following bathing waters have been de-designated in the Environment Agency areas listed below:

Area

De-Designated bathing waters since 2015

Cumbria and Lancashire

2

Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

3

East Anglia

1

Solent and South Downs

1

Wessex

2

Yorkshire

2

The names of these sites are:

  • Staithes
  • Newhaven
  • Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach
  • Rock
  • Silloth
  • Instow
  • Allonby South
  • Clacton (Groyne 41)
  • Burnham Jetty North
  • Ilfracombe Wildersmouth
  • Tunstall

Written Question
Swimming: Water
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for bathing water status have been (a) made, (b) granted, (c) and (d) pending decision since 1 January 2023.

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

Defra has received 30 bathing water applications since 1 January 2023. All applications are currently being assessed by Defra officials against the eligibility criteria and evidence requirements set out in the bathing waters application guidance, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bathing-waters-apply-to-designate-or-de-designate.

In addition, Defra designated four sites as bathing waters in 2023, although the applications for these sites were received in 2022. These four sites were:

  • Sykes Lane Bathing Beach, Rutland Water
  • Whitwell Creek, Rutland Water
  • Firestone Bay, Plymouth
  • an area of the River Deben Estuary at Waldringfield, Suffolk