Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will allocate additional funding to support police forces in rural areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle crime and the allocation of funding to police forces in England and Wales remains an important consideration. The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years and more details on police force funding allocations for 2026-27 will be made via the provisional police funding settlement later in the year.
Through our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. We have worked closely with the National Police Chief’s Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2029. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of allowing police forces to release details of a suspect's (a) ethnicity, (b) nationality and (c) immigration status on the fairness of subsequent trials.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not direct operational policing decisions, including those related to the disclosure of information about a person suspected or charged with committing an offence. These matters rightly fall under the purview of Chief Constables.
The murders and subsequent riots in Southport in July 2024 raised questions about how the Government may best counter misinformation and disinformation without creating a risk of being in contempt of court in relation to ongoing criminal proceedings. There are restrictions on what can be said before and during a trial to ensure that trials are fair and justice is delivered. At the same time, however, social media is putting these long-established rules under strain, especially in cases such as Southport where partial or inaccurate information appears online.
The NPCC and the College of Policing issued interim guidance to police forces in August, which aims to support forces in managing sensitive investigations and mitigating risks associated with them.
The interim guidance encourages police forces to confirm a suspect’s ethnicity and nationality (where known or recorded) in certain high-profile or sensitive investigations where they determine it is necessary to maintain public safety and reassure the public.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the current care funding framework on people with dementia who want to remain at home.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care is part of our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that shifts care from hospitals to communities, with more personalised, proactive, and joined-up health and care services that help people stay independent for as long as possible.
We are empowering people and giving them more choice and control over their care, for instance by promoting greater use of direct payments. We are also expanding care options to boost independent living at home through an additional £172 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant over two years, enabling approximately 15,600 extra home adaptations, and are introducing care technology standards to help people choose the right support.
This year's Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to introduce targeted measures to address the cost of living pressures in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to allocate additional funding to support people with the cost of living in West Dorset in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to allocate funding to support people with the cost of living in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.
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, if she will allocate funding to support mental health services for farmers in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since May 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, providing £500k to support charity projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farmers in England. The fund, which runs until March 2026, supports projects designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities, and deliver a range of essential services including the development of new online resources, provision of workshops, training events and networking opportunities, and one-to-one support.
In addition, this Government is investing in mental health to ensure it receives the same attention as physical health. This includes the hiring of 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes – including in rural communities.
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, if she will allocate funding to support rural communities with (a) infrastructure and (b) service delivery costs in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities.
Rural communities make an important contribution to the UK economy and in 2023, rural areas contributed £259 billion to England’s Gross Value Added (GVA), representing 12.2% of the total GVA for England.
The Government recognises the additional challenges they face with respect to infrastructure resilience and essential service delivery, and Defra works across government to ensure that these factors are appropriately reflected when funding decisions are made.
In June, departmental budgets across Government were set up to 2029/30.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will allocate funding to support mental health services for armed forces (a) personnel and (b) reservists in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The mental health and wellbeing of our Armed Forces is a priority for the Government and will continue to be funded.
All Service personnel have access to mental health support throughout their career, including medical and non-medical services. This includes, but is not limited to, preventative support such as wellbeing services, digital content, access to trained mental health first aiders, interventional support, and appointments with clinical staff.
For Armed Forces personnel requiring dedicated mental healthcare, the Defence Medical Services provides a responsive, flexible, accessible, and comprehensive treatment service.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of inheritance tax changes on family farms in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 84115.