Anna Sabine

The new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes aim to help the environment while supporting farming and food production. These will include support for farmers and land managers to adopt natural flood management approaches in a way that reduces flooding and coastal erosion risks to local communities.

The Environment Agency (EA) is developing an initiative called Heart of Wessex that incorporates large parts of the Frome and East Somerset constituency. It is led by the EA and works across Natural England, The Forestry Commission, local eNGOs and community groups. It is designed to leverage natural capital and ecosystem services to draw in largescale sustainable finance across the boundaries of Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

We have also been working with Wessex Water and the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership to develop a partnership project in the Cam & Wellow Catchment under the Water Industry National Environment Programme. This project will help drive large amounts of investment into natural capital, delivering nature-based solutions, habitat creation and water quality improvements across the constituency.

Other partnership projects in this constituency that we have supported, and which have invested in natural capital include:

• Natural Flood Management and farm advisory projects to tackle diffuse pollution in the Somerset Frome catchment.
• A project in Frome Town called Transforming Waterways in Somerset Towns.
• A river restoration scheme on the River Mells.
• A project in the Somer Valley which included creating green spaces and access to nature to promote improved health and wellbeing in the local communities.

In our manifesto we said that we will expand nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs.

In Somerset we are restoring and improving our peatlands through a number of projects, including the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, Landscape Recovery, and the Paludiculture Exploration Fund.

Dessert and culinary apples play an important role in local economies, with the sector worth a combined £188 million in 2023.

The Government is committed to championing British farming and, in partnership with the sector, we are considering a number of ways to achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including development of new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests such as ermine moths.

The Environment Agency (EA) undertake a programme of ecological, water quality and chemical monitoring on the Somerset Frome according to the requirements defined by the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (WFD). This provides an understanding of the overall Ecological Status of the river. The EA act on the findings of this monitoring, to investigate any failures to meet the status required.

The WFD monitoring classification shows the Frome from its source to the confluence with the Maiden Bradley Brook as achieving poor ecological status. The Frome from Maiden Bradley Brook to the River Mells is achieving a moderate ecological status.

The reasons for not achieving good ecological status are a mixture of point and diffuse source pollution. This is elevating the nutrient levels in the water which in turn are affecting the plant and algal communities in the river. The results of the Environment Agency’s monitoring work indicate that sources are a mixture of treated sewage discharges from water company assets and from agricultural and land management practices.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top government priority. Change has already begun – the Water (Special Measures) Bill, announced during the King’s Speech, delivers on our manifesto commitment to put water companies under special measures by strengthening regulation to clean up our waters. That change will take time. Over the coming weeks and months, the Government will outline further steps to reform the water sector and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.

National Highways work in collaboration with Local Highway Authorities (LHA) to minimise disruption to motorists during roadworks, this includes seeking agreement from LHAs for suitable diversion routes.

For longer-term works, National Highways engage with LHAs as well as other key parties to ensure that stakeholders directly affected by roadworks are consulted and their views considered in plans, and if necessary, diversion routes revised.

During major closures, National Highways’ National Traffic Operations Centre will use its network of electronic roadside variable message signs (VMS) to tell motorists of any adverse impact. Using this strategic information signing, National Highways will endeavour to keep traffic upon its own network so as not to overwhelm local roads.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government and will support our health mission. Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on this in due course.

The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the government will introduce a Buses Bill later this session. This will put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, ensuring networks meet the needs of the communities who rely on them, including in rural areas.

The Bill will increase powers available to local leaders to choose the model that works best in their area, whether that be franchising, high-quality partnerships with private operators or local authority ownership. The Department is currently working to consider and determine the exact scope of the Buses Bill.

We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding so they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions.

The Department is aware that many people are unable to access the Cycle to Work scheme, including the self-employed and those who are retired, on low incomes, or not in employment. The Department will continue to consider ways of addressing this as part of its future plans for active travel.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. We are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on this in due course.

National Health Service Commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme based on population need.

The UK Health Security Agency works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination, including for boys.

NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS app, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. We have also introduced the Golden Hello scheme which will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in areas that need them most for three years. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England will publish planning guidance for 2025/26 in due course.

In accordance with the NHS Provider Selection Regime, contracts for National Health Service-funded healthcare services may be awarded to NHS trusts or foundation trusts and to non-NHS providers from the private and voluntary sectors. It is possible for a private organisation, that holds such a contract to deliver services to the NHS, to be acquired by a private equity company. In such circumstances, the NHS commissioning organisation, either an integrated care board or NHS England, which holds the contract must be notified of the change of control. In all cases, organisations delivering NHS services must deliver the requirements of the contract, and failure to do so may result in sanctions or even contract termination. More information on the selection regime is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/how-commissioning-is-changing/nhs-provider-selection-regime/

We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the NHS and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. In particular, he has highlighted the need to improve the number of patients starting their treatment within 62 days of referral and to increase the number of patients diagnosed at an earlier stage.

Improving 62-day performance and early diagnosis are already key priorities for NHS England. Lord Darzi’s report will inform our ten-year plan to reform the NHS, which include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

The 2021 Census found that there are approximately 4.7 million people in England who said they provided unpaid care. In the Frome and East Somerset constituency, the Census data showed that there were 7,900 people who said they provided unpaid care.

The Post-Incident Review into Disruption of the Public Emergency Call Service on Sunday, 25 June 2023, published on 21 March 2024, sets out that during the incident (spanning 06:24 to 16:56), a total of 9,641 unique callers were unable to access the emergency services via 999/112 and many more were delayed or disrupted.

The Home Office does not hold a breakdown of this data by constituency, local authority or police force area.

The National Planning Policy Framework states that planning policies and decisions should plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities and other local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments. This is supported by guidance in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code. Local planning authorities are responsible for applying this policy and guidance through their local plans and decisions on planning applications.