Every parliamentary written question tabled by Martin Wrigley this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,441–1,460 of 1,723 · this parliament
Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to commission a follow-up to the Leveson report.
The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them. This Government has no current plans for further legislation in this area.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will submit an environmental information request to South West Water seeking to obtain details of the (a) testing and (b) monitoring they have carried out along the River Teign in the last five years.
Access to testing and monitoring data is vital for transparency and to hold water companies to account to deliver protections for our rivers, lakes and seas. There are a number of provisions to ensure that Government, regulators and the public have access to the information about discharges from water company assets. The Environment Agency undertakes statutory bathing water samples to test for microbiological water quality including faecal indicator organisms at Teignmouth Town, Shaldon and Ness Cove, and six additional freshwater sites along the River Teign, during the bathing water season. High readings will be investigated. This data is published on the EA’s Swimfo bathing waters website so that the public can make an informed decision before swimming. Since 1 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. This data can be found on the South West Water website.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of cutting funding for Adoption South West on parents of adopted children in Devon; and when the funding for 2025-26 will be announced.
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will (a) support and (b) meet with the community organisation Friends of the River Teign, in the context of South West Water's plans for tackling levels of overflow along the River Teign.
The Government commends the work of community groups in bringing attention to environmental issues, such as the state of our rivers. The local Environment Agency Team last met with the Friends of the River Teign (FORT) through the South Devon Catchment Partnership in December 2024. The next meeting is arranged for Thursday 6 March. It will include an update on water quality testing including additional monitoring of the Teignmouth Back Beach, Defra’s bathing water consultation, and wider Environment Agency work to improve water quality in the River Teign.
If she will take steps to ensure the adoption and special guardian support fund can continue to offer support beyond March 2025.
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.
If the Government will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of and (b) lessons learned from the security response to the Russian invasion of Crimea; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of that response on the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister made clear in his statement to the House on 25 February 2025 that this Government is actively responding to the security situation regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We have already commissioned a Strategic Defence Review (SDR) to examine the whole of Defence and identify where reprioritisation of roles, capabilities, activities, and support may be made in the current Defence programme to allow new investment, achieve better value for money, and secure greater economic gain for the UK. The Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State in the spring of this year. The Secretary of State will then subsequently report to Parliament. This Government is also beginning the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, reaching 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, maintaining that level for the rest of this Parliament, and then setting a clear ambition for defence spending to rise to 3% in the next Parliament.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the ability of children with special educational needs and disabilities requiring home-to-school transport to attend lessons.
I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
If his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of staffing levels in care providers in Devon.
English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.The Department continues to monitor adult social care workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool and intelligence from key sector partners.
Whether her Department has plans to continue funding the adoption and special guardianship support fund for financial year 2025-26.
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.
Whether she has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Licensed Private Hire Car Association on the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on future provision of home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs beyond March 2025.
Departmental officials engage regularly with local authorities to understand the challenges they face and will continue to monitor this situation. We do not expect there to be a significant impact on home-to-school travel for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel and deliver this through a range of in-house services and external providers. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not met with the Licensed Private Hire Car Association on this topic.The government has more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500 which means that more than half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities will either gain or see no change next year. Businesses will still be able to claim employer National Insurance contributions relief, where eligible.
If his Department will make an assessment of the financial reasons for care providers closing.
Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities. Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their populations, and to develop and build local market capacity.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities also have a temporary duty to ensure continuity of care in the event of business failure. This means that people continue to receive the care and support they need if their adult social care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
Communities and Local Government, if she will ensure that building management companies covering new developments have adequate (a) investment funds and (b) fees for continued (i) maintenance and (ii) rejuvenation of public spaces.
As part of our manifesto commitment to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private housing estates to an end, the government intends to consult on options to reduce the prevalence of private management arrangements for new estates which are the root cause of the problems faced by many residential leaseholders.The government is clear that new housing estates must have a sustainable plan for their long-term maintenance, upkeep and regeneration. The National Design Guide and National Model Design Code, which are both part of the suite of planning practice guidance that supports the National Planning Policy Framework, emphasise that well designed places consider management and maintenance regimes from the early stages of the design process and set them out in a management plan.
Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of trends in the level of (a) access and (b) participation in university services by (i) UK and (ii) international students.
Universities and higher education providers are independent institutions, and the government plays no part in their day to day running. Consequently, the department does not hold data about trends relating to university services for UK and international students.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the ability of local authorities to fulfil their statutory obligations for ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities are able to attend school.
I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
If she will meet with hon. Members representing constituencies in Devon to discuss (a) the recent Ofsted report in Devon and (b) SEND provision.
The department has been working closely with Devon County Council since Ofsted’s inspection of children’s services in March 2020, in which services were found to be ‘inadequate’ overall and were placed in formal intervention under a Statutory Direction.In September 2022, the department issued Devon with an Improvement Notice for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) was developed with the local authority and integrated care board (ICB). The department is working with all statutory partners involved in delivering SEND services in Devon to monitor and support improvement, which includes the deployment of SEND advisers to assist the local area and to offer advice.In October 2024, children’s services in Devon were inspected by Ofsted. Publication of the report has been delayed as a part of Ofsted’s quality assurance processes. Once confirmed, findings from the report will be used as part of our wider evidence base to help shape the longer-term approach to supporting children’s services at the Council.Following the conclusion of Ofsted’s quality assurance process and the publication of the inspection report, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the hon. Members for constituencies in Devon to discuss progress and next steps to our intervention of both children’s services and SEND in Devon.
What estimate she has made of the number of (a) Russian (ii) shadow fleet and (ii) trade vessels and (b) other vessels that have travelled to and from Russian ports that have entered UK waters in the last 12 months.
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 07 February 2025, to Question 27704.
Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce a community right to buy for (a) social landlords and (b) community-led housing organisations.
Through the English Devolution Bill, we will introduce a ‘right to buy’ to empower local people to bring community assets, such as shops, pubs and community centres, into community ownership. There are no plans for this to apply to social or community-led housing.
Communities and Local Government, if her Department will introduce a community right to buy for social landlords and community-led housing organisations.
Through the English Devolution Bill, we will introduce a ‘right to buy’ to empower local people to bring community assets, such as shops, pubs and community centres, into community ownership. There are no plans for this to apply to social or community-led housing.
Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has plans to introduce a cap on political donations.
Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections and, as stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will share details with Parliament in due course.Political parties play a vital role in our democracy, and it is important that they are able to fundraise effectively and communicate with the electorate. The law sets out that it is the responsibility of political parties to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of a donor and whether they are permissible. The Government will take any necessary steps to ensure those requirements are tightened and abided by.
Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of international students on UK universities.
This government is clear that international students, who make a positive impact on UK higher education (HE), our economy and society as a whole, are welcome in the UK. They bring significant benefits, by enriching our university campuses, forging lifelong friendships with our domestic students and becoming global ambassadors for the UK.HE providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2022/23 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of English HE providers. In its most recent report on the financial health of the sector, published November 2024, the OfS assessed the risks to provider financial sustainability and overreliance on recruitment of students from particular countries was noted as a particular concern.The OfS emphasised that the HE sector should be cautious about depending too much on international student fee income in their recruitment forecasts and urged institutions to have strong contingency plans to mitigate the financial risks of over-recruiting from a single country.All providers must continue to adapt to financial risks and, as autonomous bodies independent of government, it is for them to decide on effective business models.