Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average waiting time and (b) longest waiting time for driving tests in Somerset was in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.

As of 15 July 2024, there were 531,704 car practical driving tests booked, and 91,306 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. The table below shows the average waiting time by year for a driving test at each driving test centre in Somerset.

*In 2020, the DVSA extended the booking window for customers, allowing them to book a driving test up to 24 weeks in advance. The 24-week booking window is still in place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of safety measures in place for the A361 around Frome.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Somerset Council are the relevant highways authority for the A361 around Frome and are responsible for any assessments on road safety. However, I am aware that Somerset’s Road Safety Team have been active in engaging with the community and are working with the Police over further road safety engagement and enforcement plans for later this year. I understand they are also undertaking a reassessment of traffic engineering measures at certain locations to see if any measures might help to reduce the likelihood of collisions occurring.

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 implications for his policies of pollution levels in the River Frome.

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

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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many emergency calls in (a) Frome and East Somerset constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) the Avon and Somerset police force area went unconnected as a result of the network failure on 25 June 2023.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was to access children and adolescent mental health services in Somerset in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information regarding what the average and longest waiting times were to access children and adolescent mental health services in Somerset is shown in the attached table.

This report provides data on the number of referrals for children and young people waiting and entering treatment for mental health services along with median and 90th percentile waits.

The data provided covers the reporting period 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024 and has been grouped at national level and at integrated care board (ICB) level for ICBs which cover Somerset. The data at ICB level has been rounded and suppressed in accordance with Mental Health Services Dataset suppression rules. NHS England have no published data for a comparable date prior to 2023/24.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) apple farmers and (b) cider makers whose crops have been affected by ermine moths in Somerset.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with National Highways on minimising disruption to local residents and businesses during the closure of the A36 at Limpley Stoke.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The scheme is to repair a geotechnical fault and stabilise the embankment by the A36 and as such is a business as usual safety related scheme led by National Highways. National Highways has engaged with local businesses, residents residing within the limits of the closure, Bath and North-East Somerset Council, Wiltshire Council and is currently speaking with Parish Councils.

The scheme will produce a stable road with reduced risk of a more extended closure for a future failure. Work will commence from 12^th August 2024 and last until Spring 2025. Extensive signage will be erected from Bath and the south advising of the closure and diversion routes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions from schools in Somerset by age in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department publishes figures from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent release can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england.

The number of suspensions and permanent exclusions in Somerset by age, for the 2013/14 to 2022/23 academic years, which is the latest data available, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/31f23f0d-20c2-4c95-b8d0-08dcab23db45.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of insulin stocks in pharmacies in Somerset.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. No assessment has been made, as information on stock levels within individual pharmacies is not held centrally. Local demand is managed by individual pharmacies.

We are aware of supply issues with Tresiba FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre pre-filled pens and Fiasp FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre pre-filled pens. The Department continues to work with the respective manufacturers to help resolve the supply issues. We have issued communications to National Health Service healthcare professionals, providing comprehensive management guidance, advice, and information, to allow them to support their patients. These supply issues do not only affect the United Kingdom, and we have a range of well-established processes to manage them when they do occur.

Dental provision in the South West of England

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust

Post Office services in Wellington, Somerset

UK arms exports to Israel

Child poverty and the two-child benefit cap

State pension age and 1950s-born women

Peace in Israel and Gaza