Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many days significant wave heights in the English Channel were forecast to be less than 0.5 meters high in each calendar month between January 2021 and December 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is set out in the table below:
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
2021 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 23 | 20 | 10 | 19 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 155 |
2022 | 12 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 169 |
2023 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 120 |
2024 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 156 |
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has taken steps to work with Portsmouth City Council to help increase pension credit take-up.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As part of our nationwide Pension Credit campaign, the Department has engaged with all councils in Great Britain, including Portsmouth City Council, via the regular LA Welfare Direct bulletins.
The LA Welfare Direct 8/2024 bulletin in August featured a ‘call to action’, asking local authorities to help promote Pension Credit during the Pension Credit Week of Action and offering them the opportunity to request our promotional materials. The latest LA Welfare Direct 12/2024 bulletin also included a reminder about the 21 December Pension Credit backdating deadline to qualify for either a Winter Fuel Payment or Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
In response to our call to action over 160 councils across Great Britain have supported our Pension Credit campaign either on social media, or by distributing the promotional material we have provided. We know that Portsmouth City Council are one of the councils that has promoted Pension Credit on social media using our campaign messages.
The local DWP strategic relationship team have also shared the campaign promotional material directly with Portsmouth City Council and attended a recent Tackling Poverty Partnership event to help raise awareness of our campaign.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Ministry of Defence and (b) OFGEM on the AQUIND Interconnector project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will publish a decision on the AQUIND Interconnector project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State continues to follow the process stated in his letter of 12 July 2024 to AQUIND Limited and the Ministry of Defence regarding considering the MOD’s representations. The 12 July 2024 letter and further updates can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website for the AQUIND Interconnector planning application. There is no statutory deadline for determining this application.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of establishing a cross-departmental programme led by the Cabinet Office to (a) develop a long-term strategy and (b) ensure funding for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
The Government is working at pace to deliver these new initiatives. The Government’s spending plans will be set out at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps has she taken to ensure that the drive to build new social housing will include (a) an assessment of how much additional supported housing is required and (b) provision to deliver the correct level of supported housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We will bring forward details of future investment at the Spending Review.
Minister Ali set out on 10 September that the Government will publish shortly additional research on the supply and demand for supported housing. We will set out our plans for supported housing in due course.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
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 work with the six largest energy suppliers to ensure that they (a) help support vulnerable customers with their bills and (b) provide adequate social tariffs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I have been meeting regularly with energy suppliers to outline my expectations of the standard of service that they should provide, including supporting vulnerable consumers.
In August, I met with 13 suppliers – including the six largest suppliers – and encouraged them to build on the Voluntary Debt Commitment from last year and go further in supporting vulnerable customers this winter.
The Government has no plans to introduce a social energy tariff this winter. It expects energy suppliers to do everything they can to support customers who are struggling with bills, especially vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve educational outcomes for (a) children in social care and (b) other care-experienced young people.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government will champion the ambitions of all children and ensure that background is not a barrier to success. In the department’s Children’s Wellbeing Bill, we will set out our plans to raise standards for all children in social care and will ensure that they are supported to thrive.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
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 enable criminal charges to be brought against water company executives who persistently break the law.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water (Special Measures) Bill delivers on the Government’s commitment to bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers.
Through the Bill, the maximum penalty for obstruction of investigations by the regulators will be strengthened to include imprisonment for up to two years in all cases, and it will be possible for cases to be heard either in the Crown Court or the Magistrates Court. In addition, the Bill will provide for potential imprisonment where the obstruction is attributable to the consent, connivance or neglect of a senior officer of the company.