Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will specify which Minister in each government department holds responsibility for oversight of the operations of Mountain Rescue services; and if the Government will consider designating a single minister and department with lead responsibility and full accountability for this function.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Mountain Rescue covers a broad range of capabilities provided by civilian, military, and voluntary responders. As such, a number of Ministers and departments are responsible for determining policy relevant to their areas of expertise and sponsoring these various services:
Any 999 call requesting Mountain Rescue is passed from British Telecom to the Police, who then reroute the call to the relevant Mountain Rescue agency to assist the caller. The Home Office is the sponsoring department for the police, including Police 999 call handlers. The Minister of State for Policing and Crime is Sarah Jones MP.
Any aircraft from HM Coastguard would be sponsored by the Department of Transport, via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation is Keir Mather MP.
Military Mountain Rescue teams are able to deploy without additional ministerial permissions, but the Ministry of Defence would be consulted for novel or continuous activity. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for the Armed Forces is Louise Sandher-Jones MP.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport leads on volunteering policy across government. The Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth is Stephanie Peacock MP.
Lead Government Departments are assigned to risks, rather than by capability or sector. The Government has no plans to designate a single minister or government department with sole responsibility for Mountain Rescue services.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of changes in North Sea oil and gas activity on the north-east of Scotland.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The North Sea basin is mature and in long-term decline, with oil and gas production falling by around 75% between 1999 and 2024. This has affected employment and investment in oil and gas, particularly in north-east Scotland.
Britain is well-placed to mobilise our natural advantage, using the skills and expertise of our offshore workforce and supply chain to get ahead in the global race for new jobs and industries.
The North Sea Future Plan sets out how the government will deliver end to end support, including North Sea Jobs Service, helping workers, communities and businesses benefit from clean energy opportunities.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of government policy on employment in Scotland's offshore oil and gas sector since July 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The North Sea is a mature basin, and production has been in natural decline for many years. Employment in oil and gas has therefore been declining over a prolonged period. Office for National Statistics data shows direct oil and gas employment fell by around a third between 2014 and 2024.
Since 2024, the Government has set out measures to support workers and communities through the transition, including through the North Sea Jobs Service and the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the the potential benefits of introducing an initiative to provide livestock farmers with practical guidance on disease prevention and responsible antibiotic use.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra supports livestock farmers in England to improve disease prevention, biosecurity and the responsible use of antibiotics through existing initiatives, including the Animal Health and Welfare Review and the Poultry Biosecurity Review. The Department continues to assess the evidence on animal health and disease prevention to inform policy development.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) and Defra are holding monthly National Drought Group meetings gathering intelligence from the agriculture sector on water resilience. Supplies in irrigation reservoirs have rapidly declined following a dry spring and many are now at less than 50% capacity. Conditions on abstraction licences to protect the environment also reduce water availability where river flows are low.
The EA has downgraded its spray irrigation prospects forecast for farmers following the dry weather and deterioration in the water resources position. The EA’s irrigation prospect report includes support packages available for farmers to increase their resilience.