Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 4.20 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, by how much the core government grant for police forces will be increased for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

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

The Budget confirmed that the core government grant for police forces will increase. Further details and force level allocations will be set out at the provisional settlement in December.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress the Royal Air Force has made on creating a first Net Zero airbase by 2025.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Chief of the Air Staff remains committed to the pledge that all RAF estate will operate beyond estate-powering fossil fuels by 2050.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that community benefit funds provide adequate compensation to communities affected by nationally significant infrastructure projects.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

It is the Government’s priority to build support for developments by ensuring communities directly benefit, as per the commitment set out in the election manifesto. As such we are reviewing how to most effectively deliver community benefits for communities living near new energy infrastructure.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of (a) current and (b) future planned incineration waste capacity is used in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough.

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

Local authorities consider their waste treatment capacity needs at local level via Waste Local Plans. The Government does not undertake assessments of the national proportion of waste management and treatment facilities at an individual authority level. Before the end of this year, however, we hope to publish an analysis of municipal residual waste treatment infrastructure capacity, including exports, against expected future residual waste arisings in England so we can understand what future capacity may be required following implementation of the packaging reforms. This will include assessment of currently operational and consented capacity at a national level and by planning region. This analysis will support decision making relating to planning for new residual waste treatment infrastructure.

The published Local Authority Collected Waste Management Statistics detail waste collected by local authorities and how this is managed and treated. These statistics are available here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to Question 6842 on Veterans: Homelessness, how many veterans have been denied allocation of social housing owing to not passing local connection and residency tests for the area in which they require housing.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The forthcoming changes to social housing allocations regulations will exempt all veterans from local connection and residency tests. Local councils will continue to design and operate allocations policies in a way that best meets the needs of local communities.

The Statutory Homelessness in England statistics for January to March 2024 (Statutory homelessness in England: January to March 2024 - GOV.UK) shows that between January-March 2024, 650 households owed a homelessness duty in England included a member who reported having served in HM Forces. However, we do not hold data on the number of veterans who may have failed to qualify for social housing due to a lack of a local connection.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to Question 6842 on Veterans: Homelessness, how many homeless veterans will eligible for social housing following the exemption of veterans from local connection and residency tests.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The forthcoming changes to social housing allocations regulations will exempt all veterans from local connection and residency tests. Local councils will continue to design and operate allocations policies in a way that best meets the needs of local communities.

The Statutory Homelessness in England statistics for January to March 2024 (Statutory homelessness in England: January to March 2024 - GOV.UK) shows that between January-March 2024, 650 households owed a homelessness duty in England included a member who reported having served in HM Forces. However, we do not hold data on the number of veterans who may have failed to qualify for social housing due to a lack of a local connection.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for the publication of her Department's response to the consultation on the Future Homes Standard.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024, and a Government response has not yet been issued. The consultation proposed that the new standards would apply to all new domestic and non-domestic buildings.

We fully support the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing mobile dental services in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough.

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

We are clear that Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, also known as the Dentistry Recovery Plan, published on 7 February 2024, did not go far enough to improve access for dentistry patients in the National Health Service. As part of our ambitions for dentistry, we will review what elements of the Dentistry Recovery Plan can be taken forward and within NHS budgets, including the proposals for dental vans.