Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much is the total annual funding allocation for the Landscape Recovery Scheme for the current and next financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. Defra has set out how it plans to spend this budget on its farming blog here and here.
Landscape Recovery is part of the Environmental Land Management offer. Projects run over multiple years. In December 2025, Defra announced plans to spend £500m on the implementation of the first tranche of Round 1 agreements over the next 25 years. Further details on the timing of future rounds, and their funding, will follow in due course.
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year, including Farming and Countryside Programme spend broken down by each scheme. The latest report, covering financial year 2024/25, can be accessed here: Farming and Countryside Programme annual report 2024 to 2025 (HTML version) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding will be available for new applications to the Landscape Recovery Scheme in the next application round.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. Defra has set out how it plans to spend this budget on its farming blog here and here.
Landscape Recovery is part of the Environmental Land Management offer. Projects run over multiple years. In December 2025, Defra announced plans to spend £500m on the implementation of the first tranche of Round 1 agreements over the next 25 years. Further details on the timing of future rounds, and their funding, will follow in due course.
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year, including Farming and Countryside Programme spend broken down by each scheme. The latest report, covering financial year 2024/25, can be accessed here: Farming and Countryside Programme annual report 2024 to 2025 (HTML version) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of combined sewage overflows discharging into the South Winterborne at Martinstown on the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency regularly assess the impact of storm overflows on the environment, including those discharging into the South Winterborne at Martinstown.
Water companies are installing continuous water quality monitors to quantify the impacts of sewerage undertaker assets, including storm overflows, on the quality of receiving watercourses.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to prevent a reduction in apprenticeship starts among employers who pay into the levy but whose levy funds do not cover full training costs.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question UIN 109925.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the August 2025 apprenticeship funding changes on employer participation in engineering and other high-cost apprenticeship standards.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question UIN 109925.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of improvements in physics education on the development of new technologies and economic growth.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Physics education is the responsibility of the Department for Education.
The government recognises the importance of research, including physics, to economic growth and its contribution to the UK’s innovation capacity and industrial strategy.
This academic year, two thirds of the £1.3bn Strategic Priorities Grant to HE is to support the provision of high-cost subjects, including physics. From this, the Office for Students allocates £1,737 per student FTE to providers for physics students.
42% of UK Research and Innovation funded PhDs in 2024/25 were through the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. UKRI will invest over £2bn in doctoral training this spending review period.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of bright vehicle headlights on people with (a) sensitive and (b) elderly retinas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Approved Halogen, Xenon and LED light sources have been permitted in road vehicle headlamps for many years; no UK specific assessment has been made of their effect on drivers' safety and visibility for vulnerable road users. Nevertheless, international regulations require more powerful headlamps to be fitted with an automatic washing system to reduce the risk of light being misdirected by dirt on the lens, and with an automatic levelling systems to allow the correction of headlamp aim when the vehicle is loaded.
We know headlamp glare is a real frustration for many drivers and is even discouraging some from driving at night and in the recent Road Safety Strategy we have committed to carrying out further focused research in this area. In advance of the next phase of work we are engaging with the College of Optometrists to better understand the issues and experiences their patients are raising with them.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of halogen and high-intensity headlights on driver safety and visibility for vulnerable road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Approved Halogen, Xenon and LED light sources have been permitted in road vehicle headlamps for many years; no UK specific assessment has been made of their effect on drivers' safety and visibility for vulnerable road users. Nevertheless, international regulations require more powerful headlamps to be fitted with an automatic washing system to reduce the risk of light being misdirected by dirt on the lens, and with an automatic levelling systems to allow the correction of headlamp aim when the vehicle is loaded.
We know headlamp glare is a real frustration for many drivers and is even discouraging some from driving at night and in the recent Road Safety Strategy we have committed to carrying out further focused research in this area. In advance of the next phase of work we are engaging with the College of Optometrists to better understand the issues and experiences their patients are raising with them.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review regulations relating to motorcycle headlight brightness and beam alignment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are detailed requirements that must be satisfied before vehicles can be sold or registered in the UK. The lighting system fitted to motorcycles is included in the pre-registration assessment which requires that headlamps are approved to internationally recognised standards to ensure that they are bright enough to light the road ahead but not so bright as to dazzle other road users. Headlamp operation and aim is also routinely checked as part of the annual MoT inspection.
No recent UK assessment has been made of the effectiveness of dipped motorcycle headlamps but in response to public concerns raised about glare from vehicle headlamps an international glare prevention taskforce has been established at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. UK officials and vehicle manufacturers’ representatives are actively involved in the work of the group which is reviewing existing requirements and looking at potential measures to reduce the occurrence of headlamp glare.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that motorcycle lighting systems do not cause glare for other road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are detailed requirements that must be satisfied before vehicles can be sold or registered in the UK. The lighting system fitted to motorcycles is included in the pre-registration assessment which requires that headlamps are approved to internationally recognised standards to ensure that they are bright enough to light the road ahead but not so bright as to dazzle other road users. Headlamp operation and aim is also routinely checked as part of the annual MoT inspection.
No recent UK assessment has been made of the effectiveness of dipped motorcycle headlamps but in response to public concerns raised about glare from vehicle headlamps an international glare prevention taskforce has been established at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. UK officials and vehicle manufacturers’ representatives are actively involved in the work of the group which is reviewing existing requirements and looking at potential measures to reduce the occurrence of headlamp glare.