Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for concluding negotiations on the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement; and what steps he is taking to support Armenia in closer engagement with the West.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I reiterated this government's steadfast support and respect for Armenia to Foreign Minister Mirzoyan on 11 October. We will continue to support Armenia through our programming engagement to develop its governance and rule of law, our defence cooperation and our trade and economic ties.

Deepening our trading relationships is an important part of this government's Growth Mission. The Department for Business and Trade is currently developing a new Trade Strategy and the FCDO is reviewing the Political Cooperation Agreement negotiations which were underway when the election was called. Next steps for the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement are part of this work.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for capital investment in (a) rail and (b) road infrastructure in Chester South and Eddisbury constituency to secure economic growth for the cross-border manufacturing cluster.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and we are absolutely committed to improving rail connectivity across the North and working with local leaders. Our Budget in October 2024 confirmed we are progressing planning and design work to support future delivery of our plans for northern rail connectivity and, following the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2, we are considering how to address capacity and connectivity issues north of Birmingham.

We are also going beyond the government’s promise to fix an additional 1 million potholes per year and providing a £500 million cash increase on 2024-25 local roads maintenance baseline funding, for 2025-26. Chester South and Eddisbury Parliamentary constituency is across two local authority areas, Cheshire West and Chester, and Cheshire East. For 2025-26, Cheshire West and Chester will receive an uplift in highways maintenance funding of £4,084,000 for a total of £15,515,000, and Cheshire East will receive an uplift of £5,546,000 for a total of £21,030,000.

Future funding for capital investment in transport will be determined as part of DfT’s spending review, scheduled for spring 2025. This process will involve assessing national priorities and allocating resources accordingly to address critical infrastructure needs.

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 ensure that Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 is being implemented in full; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's drainage and gully systems to deal with increasingly volatile weather.

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

This Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised SuDS in new developments. We believe that this can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available, or commencing Schedule 3 to the FWMA 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.

The Government has updated the National Planning Policy Framework to encourage a more holistic approach so that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where they could have drainage impacts in a way which is proportionate to the nature and scale of the scheme.

This Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage and wastewater system both now and for future demand.

As part of the Environment Act 2021, water companies in England are required to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues.

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Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Aphra Brandreth; Dan Carden; Uma Kumaran

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No description available

This inquiry will explore the extent and effectiveness of the UK’s soft power in what is an increasingly challenging global environment. The inquiry will consider the UK’s unique soft power strengths and ask how the UK might best measure and actualise the benefits it accrues from its soft power. This inquiry will also scrutinise the work of the Government’s new Soft Power Council and any subsequent strategy to strengthen UK soft power.

Submit Evidence (by 24 Feb 2025)

Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are increasingly weaponised by hostile state and non-state actors and this inquiry will seek to understand which actors are primarily responsible, and which channels and technologies are being used. It will seek to map motivations, sources and locations of the most pressing disinformation threats to democracy, and to understand the impact of artificial intelligence. The inquiry will examine how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can work with allies and multilateral organisations to combat the spread of disinformation that seeks to undermine democratic values and institutions. The inquiry will also ask how the Government can coordinate its counter-disinformation work across departments and best work with private organisations. This inquiry will take a regional approach by examining disinformation campaigns within Europe, the Americas, Indo-Pacific and Africa, to understand how the UK can better counter disinformation from malign actors.

No description available