Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had discussions with the Welsh Government on support for care services for elderly people in rural areas in Wales.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
We are committed to resetting the relationship with the Welsh Government, and my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales meets regularly with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues.
The Department for Health and Social Care also works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments on shared objectives. The First Minister for Wales has said improving access to social care in Wales is one of her priorities.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to increase growth in rural areas.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A prosperous rural economy will be underpinned by improvements to rural connectivity and productivity, the availability of affordable energy and access to services. To this end, the UK Government is investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK.
We are also providing more than £3 billion of UK-wide funding this year to farmers and land managers, supporting rural prosperity.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) the Prime Minister and (b) his officials have had discussions with representatives of (i) NewsCorp and (ii) News UK on a potential part two of the Leveson Inquiry between 5 July 2024 and 24 July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) the Prime Minister and (b) his officials have had discussions with (i) NewsCorp and (ii) News UK on press regulation between 5 July 2024 and 24 July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Parliament on tackling the time taken for compensation claims in relation to miscarriages of justice to be processed.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government is committed to the effective delivery of compensation schemes in relation to miscarriages of justice.
Scottish Parliament has been in recess since the formation of the new Government, so no discussions have taken place. However, through the resetting of the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments, Scotland’s two governments will be able to work together in addressing the causes of delays to miscarriages of justice claims in order to bring justice to those affected.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with banks on the potential impact of the removal of mobile bank services on people in (a) Bonar Bridge, (b) Lairg, (c) Helmsdale and (d) Dornoch.
Answered by Bim Afolami
Decisions to open or close a branch or mobile banking service are commercial decisions for firms and the Government does not intervene. However, it is imperative that banks and building societies recognise the needs of all customers, including those who need to use in-person services.
Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches, including mobile branches, or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable.
Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office or Banking Hubs.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many water sports (a) training sessions, (b) activities and (c) events have been reported to her Department due to unsafe water quality in each year since 2020.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Event organisers, including National Governing Bodies (NGBs), are responsible for ensuring appropriate measures are in place to protect participants.
We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.
Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy that will help encourage people to get active.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many water sports (a) training sessions, (b) activities and (c) events have been reported to his Department due to unsafe water quality in each year since 2020.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is responsible for designating bathing waters in England but many water sports training sessions, activities and events will take place outside of these bathing waters. Information on water quality issues affecting local training sessions, activities and events is not routinely reported to Defra. Government is committed to improving water quality through more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement to tackle every source of river and sea pollution.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department requested that water sports (a) training sessions, (b) activities and (c) events were (i) cancelled and (ii) postponed due to unsafe water quality in each year since 2020.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is responsible for designating bathing waters in England. As decisions on water sports training sessions, activities and events are managed locally, Defra has not requested that any are cancelled or postponed.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports who have impacted by water pollution and sewage discharges.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal and inland waters for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples each year at England’s 424 designated bathing waters, which are used to determine the annual bathing water classifications. These classifications are displayed on signage at bathing waters and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water. Defra welcomes applications for bathing water designations in England for both coastal waters and inland waters such as lakes and rivers. Anyone, including swimming clubs, can apply to designate a site as a bathing water by following the application guidance available at: Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. We have taken a series of actions to require water companies to improve how they manage wastewater. For example, we have set ambitious targets through the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan to reduce the use of storm overflows. This will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history: estimated at £60 billion capital investment in 25 years. To support these targets in the near term, water companies have committed to £180m of new funding over the next year to help tackle sewage spills. This is a new investment committed by water companies to deliver enhanced maintenance programmes to improve the sewer network and is expected to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills polluting English waterways.
These measures will benefit swimming, surfing, angling, canoeing and all other water sports.