Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Environment Agency in managing flood defences in the last five years; and if he will make made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing (a) a dedicated flood defence agency and (b) other models of flood management oversight.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Defra has recently established a Flood Resilience Taskforce which brings together local, regional and national government and organisations including from the voluntary and insurance sectors to improve resilience and preparedness in England.
The role of the EA, Local Authorities and other flood risk management authorities in incident management is set out in the Flood & Water Management Act 2010.
Defra has not assessed the adequacy of international flood defence agencies. It is not the role of Defra to assess the effectiveness of agencies of other countries.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of flood defence agencies in other countries; and what account his Department takes of such an assessment in consideration of a potential Flood Defence Agency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Defra has recently established a Flood Resilience Taskforce which brings together local, regional and national government and organisations including from the voluntary and insurance sectors to improve resilience and preparedness in England.
The role of the EA, Local Authorities and other flood risk management authorities in incident management is set out in the Flood & Water Management Act 2010.
Defra has not assessed the adequacy of international flood defence agencies. It is not the role of Defra to assess the effectiveness of agencies of other countries.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits of establishing a Flood Defence Agency as a standalone arms-length body and (b) implications for (i) budget allocations and (ii) operational efficiency of such a body.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Defra has recently established a Flood Resilience Taskforce which brings together local, regional and national government and organisations including from the voluntary and insurance sectors to improve resilience and preparedness in England.
The role of the EA, Local Authorities and other flood risk management authorities in incident management is set out in the Flood & Water Management Act 2010.
Defra has not assessed the adequacy of international flood defence agencies. It is not the role of Defra to assess the effectiveness of agencies of other countries.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the guidance on free refills in his Department’s publication entitled Restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar or salt by location and by volume price: implementation guidance, updated on 29 September 2023, remains his policy.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to tackling the childhood obesity crisis and raising the healthiest generation of children ever.
Under the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 laid during the previous Parliament, restrictions on the promotion of less healthy food or drinks in prominent places in retail stores, for instance entrances, check-outs, and aisle ends, and their equivalent places online, came into force in England in 2022.
Under the same legislation, restrictions on volume price promotions of less healthy food or drinks, such as three for the price of two offers and free refills of sugary drinks in the out of home sector, are due to come into force in England on 1 October 2025.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2024, to Question 13469, on Low Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling, if his Department will publish a formal response to the consultation.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to building a National Health Service fit for the future, with a greater emphasis on the prevention of avoidable health harms, supporting people to live well for longer. The Government is currently considering how best to address alcohol related harms.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers from his Department have had discussions with the Mayor of London on smoking outside (i) nightclubs and (ii) pubs since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced to Parliament on 5 November 2024, and passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 November 2024. The bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce 80,000 preventable deaths, reduce the burden on the National Health Service, and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.
Ministers, officials, and special advisers from the Department have not met with the Mayor of London to discuss smoking outside nightclubs and pubs since 5 July 2024.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what objectives his Department has identified for its public engagement roadshow on the future of the NHS; and if he will make an assessment of the value for money provided by the programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The promise that the National Health Service will be there for you when you need it has been broken for too many people. That is why we have launched the biggest ever national conversation on the future of the NHS.
Despite consensus from health experts and charities that we need to make three shifts, from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, to ensure that the NHS is fit for the future, this hasn't happened. We need to do things differently, and that is why instead of writing a plan in London and asking people what they think of it, we're starting by asking the public and staff what is most important to them. We want their fingerprints to be all over the 10-Year Health Plan, as we want them to feel the positive impact in their lives.
To do this, we are running a series of regional deliberative events with the public and staff. Deliberative engagement is a widely respected methodology that involves communities in decision-making, to understand their needs and hopes for the services which affect their lives. The approach ensures we hear from a variety of perspectives and encourages free, fair, and open discussion.
The events are being delivered within the Department's budget as part of its responsibility to promote the health and wellbeing of everyone in England. We are determined to do this in a way that gives everyone the chance to get involved, while also ensuring value for money. At this point in time, we are not able to provide accurate costs for the deliberative events, because they are still ongoing.
Our engagement exercise will help us to develop the 10-Year Health Plan. We will work closely with charities and national organisations, health and care providers, local government, and others to help us do this. All the insight we receive, whether at an organisational or individual level, will be considered alongside a wide range of data points to shape the development of the plan.
To support this work, we have also established 11 policy working groups which will consider the future vision for the NHS, and the areas of the NHS that will need to change to achieve this.