Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has commissioned an internal review into the decision-making process for proposed changes to the Coastguard Rescue Service.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My department undertook further work to scrutinise the information that was provided to inform decision making for the Coastguard Rescue Service model. Following this, I confirmed on 16 July that plans to move to an expenses-only volunteer model in September would no longer go ahead, pausing implementation to consider the right arrangements for Coastguard Rescue Officers.
We are considering in depth the options for the future of the Coastguard Rescue Service. Our priority is to ensure the service remains safe, effective and sustainable in the long term. Coastguard Rescue Officers make an extraordinary contribution across the United Kingdom, and this Government is incredibly grateful to them for their invaluable public service.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the cost to households of bus fare increases between July 2024 and July 2026.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The change in total household spending on bus travel between July 2024 and July 2026 would be influenced by a range of factors, including number of trips, regional fare levels, and the mix of ticket types and travel passes purchased.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what the regional distribution of funding will be under the National Space Innovation Programme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) does not allocate funding according to regional distribution. Proposals are assessed competitively on their individual strength against the published criteria, irrespective of location.
Since 2020, NSIP has awarded 124 grants worth a combined £85.8m. The regional distribution of project leads, and associated funding is set out below:
Region |
| Total projects | Total grant value | Percentage of total grant value |
South East |
| 41 | £21,771,428.84 | 25.4% |
Greater London |
| 19 | £15,381,810.44 | 17.9% |
Scotland |
| 16 | £13,719,774.74 | 16.0% |
East Midlands |
| 10 | £8,218,476.14 | 9.6% |
East of England |
| 6 | £7,321,466.11 | 8.5% |
North East |
| 8 | £7,229,487.15 | 8.4% |
South West |
| 9 | £4,090,699.47 | 4.8% |
Wales |
| 4 | £2,813,216.93 | 3.3% |
Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1 | £2,371,609.06 | 2.8% |
West Midlands |
| 6 | £1,946,485.97 | 2.3% |
North West |
| 3 | £814,859.84 | 1.0% |
Outside UK |
| 1 | £85,000.00 | 0.1% |
Northern Ireland |
| 0 | £0.00 | 0.0% |
Total |
| 124 | £85,764,314.69 | 100.0% |
The regional spread of awards broadly reflects the distribution of space capabilities, companies and clusters across the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues on whether mobile phone alerts should be targeted at areas subject to the highest level of heat-health risk, rather than issued nationally.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The alert to which the Hon Member refers related specifically to the risk of wildfires and did not provide general health advice.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government's use of mobile phone alerts to communicate health advice to the public during periods of extreme heat in 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The alert to which the Hon Member refers related specifically to the risk of wildfires and did not provide general health advice.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether retailers will be expected to operate a Challenge 25 policy for the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the documentation published at the following link:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional funding will be provided to local authorities to enforce the proposed ban on high caffeine energy drinks.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the documentation published at the following link:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for determining the age threshold for banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the documentation published at the following link:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what products fall within the definition of a high-caffeine energy drink.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the documentation published at the following link:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of hours spent (a) responding to and (b) preparing for Westminster Hall Debates by (i) government ministers, (ii) civil servants and (iii) special advisers in his Department for each parliamentary session for which the information is available.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
It is not possible to provide information on the number of hours spent for preparing Ministers, civil servants and special advisers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates. There will be differences in the time spent depending on the policy matter and length of the debate. Debates can also be cross-cutting and require resources from multiple departments or engage departmental bodies.