Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the Code of Practice required to bring the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 into force.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Further to the answer given to Question UIN 15378 on 20 February 2024, following the call for evidence, we intend to publish a consultation on the caps on parking charges and debt recovery fees this year. The government is committed to reissuing the Code as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that ragwort is removed from (a) roadside and (b) other land for which the Highways Agency is responsible.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways recognises that ragwort poisoning can have a devastating effect on horses, as well as being damaging to cattle and other animals. However, in the right place, and where there is no risk to animal welfare, ragwort contributes to the biodiversity of the flora and fauna of the countryside.
On the strategic road network, where ragwort presents a high risk of poisoning horses and livestock or spreading to fields used for the production of forage, National Highways prevents ragwort spreading. National Highways policy for Common Ragwort control applies Defra’s ‘Code of Practice on how to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort’.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the use of catapults to (a) kill and (b) maim (i) wildlife and (ii) pets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes crimes against wildlife and against pets seriously, including those involving the use of catapults. Under provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife and in the event that a member of the public believes such an offence has taken place, they are encouraged to report the matter to the police so they can investigate. In particular where pets are concerned, it is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to 5 years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with Humberside police on the pledge that a police officer will attend every burgled home.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows a 56% fall in domestic burglaries when comparing the year ending September 2023 with year ending March 2010. This is clearly good news; however, we recognise the impact domestic burglary can have on individuals and communities and we are committed to tackling and preventing this crime.
The public rightly expects that the police will visit them when a home burglary has been committed, which is why we welcome the announcement made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on 8 June 2023 that all 43 police forces in England and Wales have been implementing this attendance policy since March 2023. https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-now-attending-scene-of-every-home-burglary.
The police commitment to attend home burglaries is supported by specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary.
We continue to liaise with Humberside Police and the NPCC who play a key role in tackling burglary through an array of different forums, including the Residential Burglary Taskforce and the National Policing Board. We are also working with police leaders across England and Wales to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public.
HMICFRS will be doing an inspection on Investigations shortly.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many requests for healthcare treatment for prisoners at HMP Full Sutton were made in each of the last five years; and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of healthcare treatment for prisoners at that prison.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Information on the number of individual requests for healthcare services for prisoners at HMP Full Sutton is not collected centrally. Healthcare services for the prison population at HMP Full Sutton are commissioned by NHS England, to ensure they are of an equivalent quality and standard to National Health Service care and treatment provided in the community. The range of services available to all 600 male prisoners at the facility includes general practitioner services, dental services, ophthalmic services, mental health services, and public health services, including substance misuse services.
The frequency and capacity of healthcare sessions commissioned at HMP Full Sutton is informed by the contracting and performance management process. Quarterly quality and performance reports are provided to commissioners, highlighting any service pressures and actions being taken to address workforce or access issues. New provider contracts will come into effect from 1 June 2024, with services being further strengthened to meet the needs of the prisoner population.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of households that have access to high speed broadband in East Yorkshire constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 96% of premises in the East Yorkshire constituency can access a superfast connection. Over 77% of premises are able to access a gigabit-capable connection, up from just 4% in December 2019.
We recently announced a £60 million Project Gigabit contract to further extend gigabit broadband coverage in West and parts of North Yorkshire, including in the East Yorkshire constituency. Parts of the constituency are also included in the Project Gigabit procurement for South Yorkshire. We plan to announce the details of that contract shortly.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what flooding (a) remediation and (b) prevention work has been undertaken in East Yorkshire constituency since 2019.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There has been £2.8m of capital investment in the East Yorkshire parliamentary constituency between 2019/20 and 2023/24. This has provided the Environment Agency led project to refurbish Barmston Sea End Outfall and projects to reduce surface water flooding delivered by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council in Pocklington and Langtoft.
Hempholme and Wilfholme pumping stations have both been refurbished, with most funding secured from the Local Enterprise Partnership and Internal Drainage Board. Both pumping stations have played a significant part this winter in helping to remove flood water from farmland in the River Hull catchment.
The Environment Agency is also conducting a project to assess and evaluate investment need in the Upper and Middle Hull, focussing on existing flood risk management assets. In addition, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has developed a business case for a scheme to reduce flood risk in the Kelleythorpe area of Driffield and is conducting feasibility studies for two other villages in the constituency.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to increase reservoir storage capacity.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published its Plan for Water which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.
Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies, consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes by 2050, including nine new reservoirs.
Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the current Price Review period (2020-2025) to investigate strategic water resources options, that are required to improve the resilience of England’s water supplies. In addition, Ofwat recently announced that water companies are bringing forward £2.2 billion for new water infrastructure delivery, over the next two years, with £350 million worth of investment in water resilience schemes.
The Government also supports the Agricultural sector with its Water Management Grant, under the Farming Transformation Fund, for the construction of new on-farm reservoirs, helping to ensure farmers have access to water when they need it most.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring into force the provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter from 2025.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall between the 9th and 15th April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book but has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, ‘regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body.’ There is no indication that the churches support a move to a fixed date for Easter.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts are held to use Fujitsu software by each Government department; and whether he plans to review those contracts.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
As with all contracts, we continue to keep Fujitsu's conduct and commercial performance under review.