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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the pressures on water resources in Norfolk; and what steps he is taking with local partners to reduce those pressures.

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

The entire eastern England region is classified as seriously water stressed. Norfolk is one of the driest parts of the country with only 600mm rainfall per year which is two thirds of the national average. Norfolk supports some of England’s most precious and sensitive river and wetland habitats. Climate change is bringing more frequent extreme events such as droughts, floods and increasing pressure on the environment and water supplies. Rainfall this spring has been 40% of average, putting pressure on the environment and water supplies.

Natural England (NE) has an ongoing monitoring programme for protected sites identifying their condition and the pressures acting on them. NE is working in partnership with Defra bodies and stakeholders to protect and restore our water-dependent environment and develop sustainable resilient water supplies for the future.

The Environment Agency (EA) is working with Water Resources East, public water companies, agriculture, and other sectors to ensure water abstractions are environmentally sustainable. In Norfolk, abstraction licences were last reviewed and re-issued in 2017/18 and are due for review in 2029/30. The EA closely monitors water resources and advises abstractors on water availability via the Water Abstraction Alerts service. Due to continuing hot and dry conditions Norfolk will move into Prolonged Dry Weather on 21 July.

The EA has, in partnership with NE, Cambridge Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, Affinity Water, and Anglian Water, published a guide on Shared Standards in Water Efficiency for Local Plans. It supports Local Planning Authorities in delivering sustainable growth across East Anglia, highlighting the region’s serious water stress. The guide promotes clean, sustainable water supply as essential for growth and nature recovery.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of people aged between 16 and 24 years old that are not in education, employment or training in (a) Norwich North constituency and (b) Norfolk.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department publishes statistics on 16-24-year-olds that are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England in the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The most recent dataset is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

The number of 16–24-year-olds estimated as NEET in England at the end of 2024 is estimated to be 837,000, approximately 13.6% of the population in that demographic group. These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes.

However, local authorities are required to encourage, enable or assist young people’s participation in education or training and return management information for young people aged 16 and 17. This data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/participation-in-education-training-and-neet-age-16-to-17-by-local-authority/2024-25.

It shows that of the 19,635 young people aged 16 and 17 who were known to Norfolk local authority at the end of 2024 (average of December 2024, January 2025 and February 2025), 1,141 were NEET or their activity was not known. These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken if using these figures.

In addition, 16-18 destination measures are published by parliamentary constituency. These official statistics show the percentage of pupils who did not sustain education, apprenticeships or employment for a 6-month period during the year following compulsory activity. This can be used as a proxy for NEET at age 18, for those who were participating in compulsory education at 17. The latest publication includes destinations in 2022/23 by Parliamentary constituency boundaries at that time. Data can be found here for Norwich North Parliamentary constituency: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a5a0cfd5-4d3d-47da-1dee-08ddc13e16b8.

Found: the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding; Noah Law; Alice Macdonald

Found: the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding; Noah Law; Alice Macdonald

Found: the meeting Members present: Sarah Champion (Chair); Tracy Gilbert; Monica Harding; Noah Law; Alice Macdonald

Found: ex-officio) (Interim Finance Director) N/A 107 2024-2025 Duncan Hames 18 November 2024 Alice Macdonald

Found: ex-officio) (Interim Finance Director) N/A 48 2024-25 Duncan Hames 18 November 2024 Alice Macdonald

Found: ex-officio) (Interim Finance Director) N/A 107 2024-2025 Duncan Hames 18 November 2024 Alice Macdonald

Found: ex-officio) (Interim Finance Director) N/A 48 2024-25 Duncan Hames 18 November 2024 Alice Macdonald

Submit Evidence (by 25 Aug 2025)

Nigeria was the sixth largest recipient of UK Official Development Assistance in 2023 with over £100m allocated. This was a reduction from third place in 2022 when it received £110m. As of 2024, Nigeria had by far the largest population in Africa and one of the highest population growth rates. Nigeria is the fourth largest economy in Africa and has a diaspora numbering hundreds of thousands living in the UK.