Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed plans to make it easier to build data centres on levels of water usage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38, Defra continues to work with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how water efficiency and demand in data centres can be improved.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to monitor the water usage of data centres built in AI Growth Zones.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38, Defra continues to work with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how water efficiency and demand in data centres can be improved.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to introduce further regulations to enable the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to issue payments to the affected.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Subject to Parliamentary approval, I am aiming for the second set of Infected Blood regulations to be in force by 31st March 2025.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of the infected blood community were invited to start their claim for compensation between 17 October 2024 and 31 December 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Between 17 October and 31 December 2024, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority invited 45 people to make a claim for compensation, comprising the initial group of 20 invitees and a further group of 25 at the end of December. The Authority made the first compensation offers to 10 people with a total value of more than £13 million, and so far 4 of those offers have been paid out.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many compensation payments were made by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority between 17 October 2024 and 31 December 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Between 17 October and 31 December 2024, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority invited 45 people to make a claim for compensation, comprising the initial group of 20 invitees and a further group of 25 at the end of December. The Authority made the first compensation offers to 10 people with a total value of more than £13 million, and so far 4 of those offers have been paid out.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Question 2947 on Water Companies: Accountability, when he expects the consumer water panels to be established.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.
Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.
An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department or water companies will appoint members to consumer water panels.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.
Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.
An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the Infected Blood Compensation Authority compensation scheme will open for members of the infected blood community to make claims.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority opened the compensation scheme to a small number of people in October 2024 as part of the initial development and testing of the compensation payment service. This will increase to around 250 people by March of this year, increasing to larger numbers after that. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority is responsible for the operational delivery of the scheme, including the management of the application process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) governance and (b) performance of the water industry in England meets the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to the effective implementation of our international obligations under the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.
The United Kingdom is not currently subject to any water industry related compliance recommendations concerning its obligations under the Convention.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times prisons in Norfolk operated an (a) amber and (b) red regime in each the last 10 years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As this information demonstrates, the new Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis, with prisons on the point of collapse.
All public sector prisons have systems in place for the day-to-day management of staff resources and regime delivery, to ensure that regimes are safe, decent, secure, resilient and sustainable.
The recorded information relating to regimes in prisons in Norfolk is available from September 2022 onwards, and is as follows:
Red Regime – None
Amber/Red – 151 times
Green/Amber – 450 times.