Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Obviously, farming is devolved in Wales, and the decision on how to spend that budget will be up to the Welsh Government.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I welcomed last week’s Budget announcements about improving rail transport, and I want to bang the drum for a most excellent project in Monmouthshire, the Magor walkway station, which is ready for investment—indeed, we might even call it oven-ready. Will my right hon. Friend commit to working with the Rail Minister and me, and Welsh Ministers, to deliver the five Burns stations, and will she meet me to discuss progress?

[Jo Stevens]

My hon. Friend is a wonderful advocate for her constituency and for the Burns commission’s recommendations for her constituency, and I would be very happy to meet her to discuss them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Q7. As the Chancellor said last week, we were left a toxic legacy by the previous Government, including rivers filled with polluted waste. Will the Prime Minister put the River Wye into special measures by designating it a water protection zone, and will he meet me and the excellent cross-border Wye Catchment Partnership to deliver its plan to clean up the Wye?

[The Prime Minister]

The River Wye is one of our most important and iconic rivers, and we are working closely with the Welsh Government on that pressing issue. The destruction of our waterways should never have been allowed. That is why we have launched a water commission to attract investment and speed up infrastructure delivery, and why we have introduced legislation to enable tougher penalties and severe fines to crack down on polluters. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.