Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 is taking to reduce the level of pollution in the River Wear.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) routinely assesses the level of pollution in the River Wear, taking water samples from multiple sampling sites. The EA is working with the Coal Authority, Northumbrian Water and local farmers to reduce pollution levels in the River Wear.
Northumbrian Water who operate in and around the River Wear has been informed that the inspection rates of their facilities will increase fourfold over this financial year. This will put the onus on Northumbrian Water to increase compliance at their sites which discharge into the River Wear.
The government's Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan is driving investment to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows. This includes storm overflows discharging into the River Wear.
Since 2011, the Water and Abandoned Metal Mine programme has delivered a number of small-scale interventions in the Wear catchment to begin to address the approximately 80km of the River Wear and its tributaries that are polluted by lead, cadmium or zinc.
Defra and the EA continue to work with farmers in the River Wear catchment, and across the country, to minimise and prevent agricultural pollution. This includes through advice-led enforcement of farm regulations to bring farmers into compliance, providing significant grant funding to improve infrastructure and adopt new technologies, and paying farmers through Environmental Land Schemes to deliver improved environmental outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address public concerns concerning (1) the quality of drinking water, and (2) the discharge of untreated waste into the sea, rivers and lakes.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is important not to conflate the quality of raw water and drinking water. Drinking water quality in England is of an exceptionally high standard and among the best in the world. Compliance with drinking water quality standards has been consistently high for a number of years, with a rate of 99.97% in 2022.
The Government published the Plan for Water in April 2023 – our comprehensive strategy for managing our water environment. It brings together the significant steps we have already taken with a suite of new policy actions. It aims to change the way that we manage water, improve water quality, and continue to secure our water supply through increased investment, stronger regulation and enforcement.
The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. The Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP) sets out stringent targets to protect people and the environment; and prioritises for early action areas used for bathing, for growing shellfish or with high ecological importance. The SODRP will drive £60 billion investment between now and 2050 to improve storm overflows, the largest infrastructure programme in water company history.
We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the regulators will not hesitate to hold companies to account.
The recent cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham is extremely unfortunate and it is a horrific experience for the people who have been made ill. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is actively investigating the cause, extent and actions of the company, and will take actions including enforcement action in due course to prevent this type of event happening again.
Thankfully, these events are very rare, and elsewhere consumers should continue to have confidence in their high quality drinking water.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) estates and (b) facilities related incidents related to (i) non-critical and (ii) critical infrastructure risk occurred in (A) all hospitals and (B) hospitals containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of additional SEND places that each local authority that has received funding under the Dedicated schools grant: very high deficit intervention arrangements has opened since the relevant agreement was put in place.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Safety Valve programme supports the local authorities with the highest Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits. The programme requires the local authorities involved to develop substantial plans for reform to their high needs systems, with support and challenge from the department, to rapidly place them on a sustainable footing. If the local authorities can demonstrate sufficiently that their DSG management plans create lasting sustainability, including reaching an in-year balance, and are effective for children and young people, then the department will enter into an agreement.
Through the agreements, the local authorities are subsequently held to account for their reform and savings projections via regular reporting to the department. The department will help the local authorities with additional revenue funding over time to contribute to their historic deficits, but this is contingent on delivery of the reforms in the agreements.
Capital funding is a necessary feature of many local authorities DSG management plans, in cases where investment in local infrastructure will result in the availability of more appropriate provision and subsequent revenue savings. Local authorities with safety valve agreements are therefore invited to apply for additional high needs capital funding, to be provided as a one-off ‘top-up’ to their high needs provision capital allocations.
In order to receive additional capital funding, local authorities must demonstrate how investment would align to the reform plans and savings projections in their safety valve agreements. Proposals also need to show how capital plans will meet identified gaps in provision and improve the local provision offer.
The department has allocated additional capital funding to 26 local authorities through this route, totalling £175 million.
Once funding is allocated, local authorities have appropriate flexibility to make sensible adjustments to their plans, reflecting that the statutory duty to provide sufficient school places remains with the local authority.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many notices to quit have been issued by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to (a) service and (b) non service families in Service Family Accommodation properties in the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Data on the number of Notices to Quit (NTQs) issued to Service personnel and their families in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK is available from April 2022; the implementation date of the current service contract:
Year | No of NTQs issued to Service Personnel |
April 2022 – end December 2022 | Nil |
January 2023 – December 2023 | 159 |
January 2024 – March 2024 | 5 |
A monthly breakdown of issued NTQs since January 2023 is provided below:
Month | Number of NTQs Issued to Service Personnel |
Jan 23 | 2 |
Feb 23 | 0 |
Mar 23 | 0 |
Apr 23 | 0 |
May 23 | 0 |
Jun 23 | 0 |
Jul 23 | 0 |
Aug 23 | 72 |
Sep 23 | 23 |
Oct 23 | 33 |
Nov 23 | 27 |
Dec 23 | 2 |
Jan 24 | 3 |
Feb 24 | 2 |
Mar 24 | 0 |
The Civilian Sublet Tenancy Scheme began in 2016 and no NTQs were issued until 2019. An annual breakdown of the number of NTQs that have been issued to Civilian Sublet tenants living in SFA properties in the UK is provided in the table below:
Time Period | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (to April 16th) |
No of NTQs issued to Civilian Sublet Tenants | 14 | 3 | 459 | 95 | 92 | 98 |
A monthly breakdown of issued NTQs since January 2023 is provided below:
Month | Number of NTQ’s Issued |
Jan 23 | 11 |
Feb 23 | 1 |
Mar 23 | 5 |
Apr 23 | 9 |
May 23 | 8 |
Jun 23 | 0 |
Jul 23 | 1 |
Aug 23 | 1 |
Sep 23 | 14 |
Oct 23 | 16 |
Nov 23 | 17 |
Dec 23 | 9 |
Jan 24 | 17 |
Feb 24 | 3 |
Mar 24 | 63 |
Apr 24 (up to 16th of the month) | 15 |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many notices to quit have been issued by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to (a) service and (b) non service families in Service Family Accommodation properties in the UK in each month since January 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Data on the number of Notices to Quit (NTQs) issued to Service personnel and their families in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK is available from April 2022; the implementation date of the current service contract:
Year | No of NTQs issued to Service Personnel |
April 2022 – end December 2022 | Nil |
January 2023 – December 2023 | 159 |
January 2024 – March 2024 | 5 |
A monthly breakdown of issued NTQs since January 2023 is provided below:
Month | Number of NTQs Issued to Service Personnel |
Jan 23 | 2 |
Feb 23 | 0 |
Mar 23 | 0 |
Apr 23 | 0 |
May 23 | 0 |
Jun 23 | 0 |
Jul 23 | 0 |
Aug 23 | 72 |
Sep 23 | 23 |
Oct 23 | 33 |
Nov 23 | 27 |
Dec 23 | 2 |
Jan 24 | 3 |
Feb 24 | 2 |
Mar 24 | 0 |
The Civilian Sublet Tenancy Scheme began in 2016 and no NTQs were issued until 2019. An annual breakdown of the number of NTQs that have been issued to Civilian Sublet tenants living in SFA properties in the UK is provided in the table below:
Time Period | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (to April 16th) |
No of NTQs issued to Civilian Sublet Tenants | 14 | 3 | 459 | 95 | 92 | 98 |
A monthly breakdown of issued NTQs since January 2023 is provided below:
Month | Number of NTQ’s Issued |
Jan 23 | 11 |
Feb 23 | 1 |
Mar 23 | 5 |
Apr 23 | 9 |
May 23 | 8 |
Jun 23 | 0 |
Jul 23 | 1 |
Aug 23 | 1 |
Sep 23 | 14 |
Oct 23 | 16 |
Nov 23 | 17 |
Dec 23 | 9 |
Jan 24 | 17 |
Feb 24 | 3 |
Mar 24 | 63 |
Apr 24 (up to 16th of the month) | 15 |
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address infrastructure and building safety issues within (1) school buildings, and (2) the NHS estate; and what is their current risk assessment for building collapse or failure in each of those.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement strategies to mitigate the risks of labour shortages in the supply chain for infrastructure projects.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government works with the construction sector, through the Construction Skills Delivery Group, to identify and plan to meet future skills needs in the sector. We also work with the industry to support the development and adoption of digital and industrialised construction techniques, as well as robotics and autonomous systems, which will reduce the labour intensity of the sector.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will have discussions with his UN counterparts on the reports of an alleged Hamas (a) war room and (b) weapons depot being located in a UNRWA school in Nuseirat, Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
All parties must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Care must be taken to limit operations to military targets and to minimise harm to civilians and civilian objects.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following Asda's recent announcement about developing a town centre in London, what steps they are taking to support supermarket chains’ initiatives involving mixed-use developments that include housing.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government strongly encourages the re-use of suitable brownfield land as set out in our National Planning Policy Framework. Making the most effective use of brownfield land, including through mixed use developments, will support the provision of the homes we need, and is key to regenerating our high streets and town centres, supporting economic growth in the hearts of our towns and cities and maximising the use of existing infrastructure.