Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme on glass producers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.
The Government has worked closely with industry, including the glass sector, throughout development of pEPR. Feedback from stakeholders was factored into finalising the regulations, including formally consulting stakeholders on a draft of the pEPR regulations in 2023.
We are encouraging the glass industry to seek to reduce the cost impacts of pEPR through a transition to reuse and refill. This is encouraged under pEPR, as producers are only required to report and pay disposal cost fees for household packaging the first time it is placed on the market, and can then offset these fees when they recycle this packaging at the end of its life, thereby avoiding the vast majority of pEPR fees.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase funding for Parkinson's nurses.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are 25 specialised neurological treatment centres across the National Health Service in England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with Parkinson’s can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
We do, however, acknowledge significant neurology workforce challenges, including a need for more neurologists and specialist nurses, and we are taking significant steps to address NHS workforce challenges.
This summer, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver a transformed health service over the next decade and treat patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
We have also launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and improve care for people with long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive and tailored for patients.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with local authorities to ensure the reliability of bus services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to seeing better, more reliable bus services delivered right across England. The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England. Bill measures aim to enable public access to a new database of information about local services. This will help ensure transparency in LTA and operator service delivery.
In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce improvements to services and infrastructure to help improve reliability. Wiltshire Council have been allocated over £6.7 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services across the area, including Melksham and Devizes.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the merits of extending eligibility for Warm Home Grants to (a) those with EPC ratings higher than D and (b) people with disabilities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) scheme is designed to target those in or at risk of fuel poverty. Those with EPC band A-C ratings are out of scope because a household is only considered by Government to be fuel poor if they have a residual income below 60% of median income (after accounting for required fuel cost) and live in a home that has a Fuel Poor Energy Efficiency Rating (FPEER) below Band C.
WH:LG excludes all disability benefits from household income calculations to help households including members with disabilities not to exceed the £36,000 household income eligibility threshold. Additionally, people with health conditions; who are vulnerable to the cold; or who are in receipt of certain disability benefits, can use this as one of their two required criterions to become eligible under ECO LA Flex Route 2.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the backlog of drivers waiting for a driving test.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce driving test waiting times across the country.
Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on her Department's Motorcycles in bus lanes consultation outcome, updated on 21 November 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The consultation responses did not provide sufficient evidence to move away from a position of local authority choice to one in which allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes is the default.
The government response included a commitment to update Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/24: Motorcyclists using bus lanes. No timetable has been set for publication. The Department will also consider how best to work with combined authorities and Transport for London, to encourage a more joined up approach to motorcycle access in these areas, through discussions around the Government’s devolution agenda.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on (a) ending and (b) reversing deforestation.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Tackling deforestation is vital to meeting UK goals on climate, nature and growth. If tropical forests are lost, food prices will rise, including for UK consumers. While rates of deforestation are falling in some countries such as Brazil, drivers of forest loss are complex and will require collective global effort.
The UK is driving progress through political leadership and diplomatic engagement, and through our international climate finance, working with partner governments to improve forest governance, sustainable trade and unlocking private finance.
We recognise we must also do our bit domestically. We are working towards our Environment Act targets, including to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and to reach 16.5% tree canopy cover in England by 2050. We have pledged up to £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration over the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26. Total tree planting and woodland creation reached over 5,500 hectares in England last year [2023/2024].
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle antisemitism in universities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has confirmed £7 million in funding to address antisemitism in education. Additionally, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will soon be hosting a round table with vice-chancellors to discuss tackling antisemitism on campus.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) access to training and (b) the integration of Ukrainian doctors into the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are various local schemes to support refugee health and care staff into National Health Service employment. The training and integration of refugee doctors into the NHS, including those from Ukraine, is managed at a local level by NHS employers according to local requirements.
It is our ambition that all Ukrainian refugees who are healthcare professionals in their home country and who meet the standards required in the United Kingdom are able to achieve registration efficiently and use their skills within our NHS.
A page has been published on the GOV.UK website specifically for Ukrainian refugees which aims to provide an overview of the processes required by specific healthcare professional regulators, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-in-healthcare-in-the-uk-homes-for-ukraine
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors in the UK. The GMC has introduced a number of measures to support applications from refugees. Information about these measures is available at the following link: