Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve road infrastructure in Fylde constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2024 National Highways completed the £162m Windy Harbour to Skippool off-line bypass around the village of Little Singleton, removing a major bottleneck on the A585 into Fleetwood. Other routes serving the region, such as the M55 have been considered as part of National Highways South Pennines Route Strategy, and this will form the evidence base for future investment planning decisions for the strategic road network in the region.
Investment on the local road network in the region is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council, who will benefit from their share of an extra £500 million for highways maintenance during 2025/26 as announced at the Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase his Department’s support for SMEs in the defence industry in Fylde constituency.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make a vital contribution to economic growth and are a valuable source of technical innovation in defence. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, as well as the Department’s Social Value policies. We work with our largest suppliers through a network of their SME Champions, trade associations and SME representatives to ensure that SMEs have fair access to opportunities in our supply chain and that our prime contractors are adopting policies, such as fair payment practices, that support small businesses working in defence.
We have announced the launch of a new hub to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain and have committed to set direct SME spending targets for the Ministry of Defence by June this year, ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK, including those in the Fylde constituency, will benefit from the decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions on the defence industry in Fylde constituency.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As individual suppliers and contractors will manage the changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions differently, it would be extremely difficult for the Department to estimate the impact this will have on the defence industry, including those based in the Fylde constituency.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36175, what steps she is taking to improve the Network Rail infrastructure reliability.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail manages the UK’s railway infrastructure, and the Office of Rail and Roal (ORR) oversees delivery. Government has committed to continue record levels of investment, providing £44.1bn across the five-year control period spanning 2019 to 2024.
This funding settlement is determined through a Periodic Review process led by the ORR. The last Periodic Review concluded in March 2024. The objectives for this control period include maintaining and improving rail infrastructure assets to help support a more reliable railway for passengers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on farmers’ mental health in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.
The Government continue to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds four charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by the Farmer Network, operates in Lancashire. Their ‘Keep Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign is delivering workshops, training, events, networking, 1:1 advice and the provision of additional Field Nurse services in the region. Furthermore, the Government is paying out £60m through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by this unprecedented extreme wet weather.
Finally, the Government announced in their 2024 manifesto 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36175 on Avanti West Coast: Standards, what conclusions were drawn from the minister's meeting with Avanti West Coast.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Minister discussed Avanti West Coast (AWC) and Network Rail’s (NR) joint performance plans, including actions such as substantial driver recruitment and training on the new Evero fleet, timetable step ups and NRs first 60 miles plan.
AWC's cancellation score has improved by an average of 4.4 percentage points year-on-year between October and December 2024. However, the Minister was clear that this is still not good enough and further improvements are required.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36175, what conclusions were drawn from the minister's meeting with AWC and Network Rail.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Minister discussed Avanti West Coast (AWC) and Network Rail’s (NR) joint performance plans, including actions such as substantial driver recruitment and training on the new Evero fleet, timetable step ups and NRs first 60 miles plan.
AWC's cancellation score has improved by an average of 4.4 percentage points year-on-year between October and December 2024. However, the Minister was clear that this is still not good enough and further improvements are required.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 fly-tipping in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are often best placed to respond to incidences of fly-tipping. They have a range of enforcement powers which we encourage them to make good use of. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide enforcement guidance, which councils would legally need to have regard to.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, to promote good practice on tackling fly-tipping. Various practical tools, including ‘how to’ guides covering key issues, are also available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 take steps to encourage people to buy Lancashire produce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As we set out in our Plan for Change, we are focused on supporting our farmers, supporting rural economic growth and boosting Britain’s food security.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed, has confirmed to businesses and industry groups from across the food sector that work is underway to develop an ambitious new food strategy.
The strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and will deliver wide ranging improvements. This will set it up for success in ensuring it is able to feed the nation, can realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals.
Defra officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the food supply chain to understand their work to promote British produce in-store and online. We strongly support efforts to promote British food and back our farmers, who produce some of the best food in the world. This is why the food strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and ensure that our food system can feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals, now and in the future.
The UK has a wide range of incredible regional food and drink products, including from Lancashire, like Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese which is a protected designation of origin. I strongly encourage anyone to seek out and enjoy their own local produce and the great things that other regions have to offer, too.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the number of farmers who will be affected by changes to (a) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made.
This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.
As an outcome of the October 2024 Spending Review, we have committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.