Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating separate funding for (a) oral hygiene education and (b) toothbrushing schemes in schools located in areas with high levels of tooth decay.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to help promote and deliver supervised toothbrushing programmes for 3 to 5 year-olds in the most deprived communities.
We recognise that prevention is better than cure. For this reason, we will be targeting the areas of highest need in order to have the greatest impact on young children’s oral health.
Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.
Currently all state-funded schools in England are required to teach about good oral hygiene as part of the statutory health education set out within relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on tackling the threat to underwater cables posed by foreign states; and what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of such cables.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and I have had a number of discussions with our European counterparts on threats to underwater infrastructure. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs discussed this most recently at the UK-Netherlands Strategic Dialogue in December 2024. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely on this issue with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is the lead government department for telecommunications and is responsible for developing policies to help ensure the security and resilience of underwater telecommunications cables.
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 recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of supermarket supply chain practices on the financial stability of farmers; and what steps he is taking to help farmers receive equitable prices for agricultural produce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists.
Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices.
These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers.
A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce.
Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.
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 steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the use of late payments by supermarkets and (b) increase transparency in the food supply chain.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists.
Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices.
These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers.
A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce.
Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.
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, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) promote and (b) fund nature-based solutions to reduce flooding risks along rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s Environmental Land Management schemes will provide payments for managing land and water in a way that reduces flood risk. For example, the Sustainable Farming Incentive standards include actions to support waterbody buffering and soil health on farm woodland and hedgerows. Countryside Stewardship currently provides payments for actions that slow down surface runoff and also mitigate flooding from rivers, and we have recently announced a significant expansion of the flood and drought resilience offer within Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. One of the 2 themes for first wave of Landscape Recovery pilot projects was “Restoring England’s streams and rivers: improving water quality, biodiversity and adapting to climate change.” Many of the actions undertaken to restore England’s streams and rivers will provide flood risk mitigation benefits as well.
Tree planting along rivers can help slow water flow and temporarily store water as part of natural flood management. The England Woodland Creation Offer provides financial support for tree planting and incentivises woodland creation that reduces flood risk through supplementary payments.
In addition, the floods investment programme delivers a range of schemes, including natural flood management. The Government inherited an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. Established in 2011, the existing formula slows down the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process, and neglects more innovative approaches to flood management such as natural flood management. A consultation will be launched in the coming months which will include a review of the existing formula.
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 steps his Department is taking to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that rural areas offer significant potential for growth and is taking steps to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas.
As the Secretary of State announced in his Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year, he understands that the focus of the department should be on boosting profitability on primary income, whilst also supporting its diversification.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase the level of funding made available to support the (a) growth and (b) financial sustainability of women’s Rugby Union at (i) grassroots and (ii) professional levels.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport including supporting its expansion.
In October last year, the Department for Business and Trade launched the 2024-25 Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator scheme. The aim of the scheme is to attract more private investment in women’s sport and drive growth into the sector. Over 20 leagues, teams and competitions across 9 different sports will benefit including Rugby Union.
Sport England have awarded the Rugby Football Union £13,859,000 as one of their long-term system partners for the period 2022-27 to support grassroots men’s and women’s rugby union.
In addition to this DCMS has provided £28.76 million of investment to support England hosting the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, including £14.55 million of legacy funding. This ‘Impact 25’ funding is providing substantial improvements in facilities and greater opportunities for women and girls at all levels of the game in England.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) the governance structures in men's rugby union and (b) their alignment with the requirements for government funding allocations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of government.
The revised Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity that are required from sporting governing bodies, including the RFU, who seek – and are in receipt of – DCMS and National Lottery funding from UK Sport and/or Sport England (DCMS’ arm’s-length bodies). This is kept under review.
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England has awarded the RFU £13,859,000 for the period 2022-27 as one of Sport England’s long-term system partners to support grassroots rugby union.