Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to promote green skills programmes as part of the national skills strategy in Huddersfield.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Green skills are crucial to economic growth and the government’s net zero by 2050 target. Clean energy industries have been identified as a priority sector in the Industrial Strategy, alongside other sectors fundamental to clean energy like advanced manufacturing.

Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are employer-led plans setting out priorities to better meet local skills needs. LSIPs must consider the skills needed to meet net zero, climate adaptation, and wider environmental goals. The West Yorkshire LSIP identifies clean energy and green construction as priority sectors. West Yorkshire’s Local Growth Plan reinforces the green economy as a local priority, embedding sustainability as a core principle and setting out actions to achieve net zero.

The government will set out a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education and skills later this year, including steps to strengthen the skills pipeline in key sectors. The strategy will set out how the skills system will support the delivery of the Plan for Change.

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 effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms to reduce pollution by water companies in local rivers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Water (Special Measures) Act (WSMA) provides the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade, giving the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies.

A record 81 criminal investigations into water companies have been launched in England since the election, and the Environment Agency has increased inspections into sewage pollution by nearly 400% since last July.

Furthermore, the regulators will be bolstered by at least £55 million additional per year through water company permit charges and implementation of the new cost recovery powers in the WSMA, ensuring that polluters are held to account for breaches of their obligations.

The Independent Water Commission will consider the roles and responsibilities of the water industry regulators and how we can ensure our regulators operate as effectively as possible. The Commission’s Interim Report was published on 3 June, and the final report and recommendations will be published later in the summer.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to support integrated public transport in Huddersfield.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are committed to improving public transport and delivering a transport system that works better for people across the country, enables growth and provides access to opportunities.

To support this, we are providing significant investment to West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) including £2.1bn of Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. This is in addition to the £830m allocated to WYCA through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), some of which is expected to support the development of transport improvements in Huddersfield town centre, including enhancements to active travel routes and upgrades to Huddersfield Bus Station.

At the recent Spending Review, we provided further commitment to the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) which will deliver improvements to rail journeys between Manchester and York, via Huddersfield and Leeds and will provide significant investment at Huddersfield station.

We have also brought forward the Bus Services (No.2) Bill, which will put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them, including in Huddersfield.

In addition, we will be publishing an Integrated National Transport Strategy later this year, which will put people and the journeys they make at the heart of how we plan, build and operate transport.

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 restoration of (a) the River Colne in Huddersfield and (b) other urban rivers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are funding two projects led by the Calder and Colne Rivers Trust this year through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. One project is a three-year project looking at pollution,land and highway management issues on the River Colne and tributaries. The other is a feasibility and design project in the second of its three years, developing solutions for artificial barriers across the Calder and Colne catchment.

Through the WEIF, we are committing £3 million of investment this financial year to restore urban rivers. By combining this with rod licence income and working in partnership with organisations like the Wild Trout Trust, the Environment Agency is tackling urban waterway challenges and delivering lasting environmental improvements through collaborative action.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top priority for this government. We are putting water companies under special measures through our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act has introduced new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against law breakers and made it mandatory for water companies to publish plans to reduce pollution incidents.

The Independent Water Commission will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and clean up our waterways for good.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of bus services, in the context of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Increasing the availability of bus services and continuing the rollout of zero emission buses are vital to decarbonising our transport system. We want to ensure that the more sustainable choice is the more convenient choice. The government will deliver an updated Carbon Budget Delivery Plan later this year, detailing policies to decarbonise all sectors, including transport, out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037.

As part of the government’s ambitious plan for bus reform, we introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England.

In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million to local authorities across the country. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming around £900 million each year from 26/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services.

University APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Source Universities: Innovation Harpreet Uppal (Labour): To ask the Secretary of State for Education

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Homelessness Minister), Paula Barker MP, Bob Blackman MP, David Smith MP, Emily Darlington MP, Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Homelessness Minister), Paula Barker MP, Bob Blackman MP, David Smith MP, Emily Darlington MP, Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentary Staff; Duncan Anderson (office of Lee Pitcher MP), Joss Edwards MP (office of Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentary Staff; Duncan Anderson (office of Lee Pitcher MP), Joss Edwards MP (office of Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentarians; Baroness Grender, Chris Vince MP, Steve Witherden MP, Baroness Lister, Shockat Adam MP, Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentarians; Baroness Grender, Chris Vince MP, Steve Witherden MP, Baroness Lister, Shockat Adam MP, Harpreet Uppal

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls – Kevin Bonavia MP, Alice Macdonald MP, Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: , Abtisam Mohamed MP, Mike Amesbury MP, Afzal Khan MP, Lorraine Bevers MP, Imran Hussain MP, Harpreet Uppal

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: , Abtisam Mohamed MP, Mike Amesbury MP, Afzal Khan MP, Lorraine Bevers MP, Imran Hussain MP, Harpreet Uppal