Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the cost of railcards; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure rail travel remains affordable for (a) young people, (b) older passengers and (c) people on lower incomes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The price of most railcards increased by £5 from 2 March 2025, except the Disabled Persons Railcard. Railcards still offer significant savings on rail fares with the average railcard holder saving up to £158 annually. In many cases, the price of railcards has not increased in a decade, during which time the cost of running the railway and the subsidy provided to the railway by the taxpayer has increased significantly. This small price increase helps to balance the funding for the railway between passengers and taxpayers.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Gatwick Airport expansion on the (a) capacity and (b) reliability of the rail network serving that airport; and what steps she is taking to mitigate potential disruption to (i) passengers and (ii) local communities.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In her letter of 27 February 2025, my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport indicated that she was minded to approve the proposed development of the Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Project based on the principles of the requirements set out by the Examining Authority in its report. It is now for the applicant to respond. Both the letter and the report are published on The Planning Inspectorate’s website - https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR020005 .
The effects of the proposed development on the rail network, its users and local communities will be taken into account in the final decision, though my Right Honourable friend will note both Network Rail and rail operators were consulted as part of the application and have not objected to the proposals. However as this remains a live planning application with the Department, I cannot comment further on those issues at the current time.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of the pace of the existing system for identifying and remediating dangerous cladding and fire safety issues; and what steps she is taking to accelerate the process.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government has been clear that the pace on remediation has been too slow. Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is unacceptable that so many buildings still have unsafe cladding.
We have announced a step change towards addressing the building safety crisis through the publication of our ambitious Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP). Our plan will drive the pace of remediation through new proposed legal duties and powers, new funding, new resources and new partnerships.
In December 2024, the Remediation Acceleration Plan was launched. We recognise that the scale and importance of the challenge is so significant that we expect to publish a further update on this plan in summer 2025 to report on progress and to reflect the second phase of the spending review.
Through this plan, we aim that by the end of 2029 all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remediated. Furthermore, by the end of 2029, every 11m+ building with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties.
We are also driving pace and effectiveness through existing funding schemes. The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) was launched in 2023 to help fund work to address unsafe cladding for buildings between 11-18 metres, as well as those over 18 metres outside London, but has since been expanded to include all government funded remediation projects outside London. The benefits of transferring buildings to this scheme include increased pace through the use of automated processes, better experience for residents, and greater cost effectiveness. We are continuing to seek opportunities to exploit the benefits of the CSS further.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make (a) dental mouth guards and (b) other dental orthotics services available for free on the NHS for people who are on Pension Credit.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dental mouth guards are available for free to any patient who is in receipt of Pension Credit, Guarantee Credit, or anyone else who is exempt from dental patient charges, where they have a specific dental need for one. There are currently no plans to change the dental patient charge exemption criteria.
National Health Service orthodontic treatment is free for people under 18 years old with a clear health need for treatment. Orthodontic treatment is not usually available on the NHS for adults. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/orthodontics/
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the Rural England Prosperity Fund has been reduced for the year 2025-2026.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced on 4 March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the Government spending review.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department has spent on infrastructure upgrades for (a) ports and (b) airports in preparation for the implementation of the Entry/Exit System.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
EES will need to be implemented at the juxtaposed controls in the UK. In general, ports are expected to provide infrastructure relating to border controls without government funding. Given the specific issues caused by the need to implement EES, the previous Government awarded a £3.5m grant to each of Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar to assist with achieving the optimum implementation models at these juxtaposed controls.
My Department, National Highways and Kent County Council are working with Port of Dover on minor capacity improvements to the A20/Union Street junction to support the port’s new Western Docks EES processing facility. This is being led by Kent County Council.
British airports, and maritime ports other than Port of Dover, will not be implementing EES, as these ports do not host juxtaposed controls.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 374 on Schools: Solar Power, what steps her Department has taken to support schools in the move to solar; and what funding they will provide to schools for the installation of solar PV panels.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High and rising school standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. High-quality and sustainable buildings are a key part of that.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports schools, hospitals and other public sector bodies with funding to switch to cleaner heating and cut building emissions. Additionally, capital funding allocated by the department to the school sector each year can be used for projects that improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of school buildings, as well as improving the condition of the estate to keep schools safe and operational. From visits made to schools for the department’s Condition Data Collection programme (CDC2), we know that almost 30% of schools already have photovoltaic panels installed.
Decisions on which projects to prioritise with capital allocations are primarily taken at a local level. In the 2024/25 financial year, the department committed £1.8 billion in capital funding to improve the condition of the school estate. At the Autumn Budget 2024 the government increased funding to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
This is on top of the School Rebuilding Programme, which is rebuilding or refurbishing poor condition buildings at over 500 schools. Since November 2021, the department has required all new department-delivered schools be designed to be net zero carbon in operation. This is alongside delivering investment to increase green infrastructure and sustainable water management on school sites.
The department is aware of an increasing amount of interest in this area from schools and suppliers and is engaging with the sector to look at how it can further support schools in the move to solar. Our sustainability support programme provides online and in person help to education settings in identifying appropriate actions to become more sustainable, including considering decarbonisation of their energy supply. Where schools are considering the purchase of solar panels or other sustainable systems, our ‘Get help buying for schools’ service provides support to ensure that schemes procured are of high-quality and value to the sector. Information about the service can be found here: https://gethelpbuyingforschools.campaign.gov.uk/.
Pilot programmes such as the Net Zero Accelerator Service and the Decarbonisation Pilots have been working with small groups of schools to explore what interventions work best in different typologies of schools to reduce emissions and energy bills. The learning from these pilots will be captured and shared through the sustainability support programme.
The department has also published guidance for schools and colleges on sensible steps for reducing energy use and small-scale works to improve energy efficiency. Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate. In addition, advice on reducing energy costs, including renewing energy contracts, and frameworks for procuring sustainable solutions, is available here: https://find-dfe-approved-framework.service.gov.uk/pages/rising-energy-prices.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with East Sussex County Council on ensuring timely progress on (a) the Bishopstone Junction and (b) other key infrastructure improvements.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year following collaborative and open engagement with our stakeholders and will meet the manifesto commitment to develop a “long-term strategy for transport”.
Regarding the A259 South Coast Road Corridor scheme, all future spend is subject to the Spending Review and until that is completed, I am unable to provide assurances on any individual project. Local authority scheme promoters will be updated on the future of schemes in due course.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to (a) publish her long-term transport strategy and (b) make a decision on the Major Road Network project put forward by East Sussex County Council.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year following collaborative and open engagement with our stakeholders and will meet the manifesto commitment to develop a “long-term strategy for transport”.
Regarding the A259 South Coast Road Corridor scheme, all future spend is subject to the Spending Review and until that is completed, I am unable to provide assurances on any individual project. Local authority scheme promoters will be updated on the future of schemes in due course.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the value of goods traded from (a) the UK to Russia via Georgia and (b) Russia to the UK via Georgia.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
HMRC only collects and holds information for exports based on the initial country of destination that the goods were exported to and therefore are unable to provide an estimate for goods that are traded onwards. Exports to Georgia are published as stated below, but we do not hold information on goods that then move on to Russia from there.
Import information including country of origin (CoO) is available from www.tradeinfo.com. From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
These tables include country of dispatch (CoD) which gives information on the country of export. If specifically wanting information on CoO this is available in the bulk datasets archive. The data available includes value and volume/weight of imports.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.