Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-opening the railway line from Heathfield to Newton Abbot for passenger services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Newton Abbot to Heathfield line is currently out of use, having last carried freight traffic in 2015 and passenger traffic in 1959. Network Rail consider it important to safeguard the line in case it is restored for passenger and/or freight services in the future, subject to any viable future business case.
Network Rail has previously examined the case for reintroducing passenger services between Newton Abbot and Heathfield. While improved connectivity could deliver benefits, forecast demand was relatively low and was not considered sufficient to justify the significant costs of upgrading and operating a conventional rail service. The business case could, however, change in future if costs reduce or demand increases.
Interest has emerged in using the route as a trial corridor for battery powered Very Light Rail (VLR) vehicles. This could provide a lower-cost way of reintroducing passenger services while also testing innovative low-carbon transport technology. Before any decision could be made, further engineering, commercial and economic assessments would be needed to confirm whether a VLR scheme is viable. This work would need to examine funding and operating arrangements, technical and regulatory requirements, and the potential impact on any future plans to reinstate heavy rail freight services.
Network Rail considers that further work on the VLR option would help establish whether it could offer a practical and affordable means of restoring passenger services on the route.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are available to review and amend local government boundaries where proposed reorganisation would place communities within more than one unitary authority area; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of such arrangements on local communities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of serious data breaches involving special category information since July 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, personal data breaches which pose a risk to individuals must be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent data protection regulator.
The ICO publishes information on personal data breaches reported to it through its Data Security Incident Trends dashboard: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/complaints-and-concerns-data-sets/data-security-incident-trends/ . The Government does not hold information on the number of data breaches centrally.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what enforcement action has been taken against organisations with inadequate data security since July 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the UK's data protection legislation independently of Government. The ICO has a range of powers to address organisations’ failures to comply with their data protection obligations, including where they have failed to implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data. These powers include enforcement notices, civil monetary penalties and, in certain circumstances, powers of prosecution. Information about enforcement action taken by the ICO since July 2024 is published on the ICO’s website (https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/complaints-and-concerns-data-sets/) .
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if they will make an assessment of companies charging for returns after customers have hit a certain return rate for purchased items.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Businesses are generally free to set their own commercial policies, including policies relating to product returns, provided these comply with consumer law. Some retailers may charge for returns due to the environmental impact of returning a product.
The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 provide for a 14 working days cooling-off period for distance contracts. If the retailer charges for refunds, they must make this clear to the consumer ahead of the transaction.
Where goods are faulty, traders must bear the reasonable costs of returning rejected goods as stipulated in the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether a statutory body is under a duty to monitor concentrations of respirable crystalline silica in ambient air at residential properties in the vicinity of mineral extraction sites.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's response is being taken forward through the respective departments' responsibilities. Additionally, the Government has established the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss, bringing together leading security, military and academic experts to help Government identify priority risks, strengthen cross-government coordination and turn evidence into practical action. The Taskforce will provide independent challenge and recommendations to ensure climate and nature risks are considered more systematically across national security and resilience planning.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 implications for her Department's policies of levels of ambient concentrations of respirable crystalline silica near ball clay workings in England.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's response is being taken forward through the respective departments' responsibilities. Additionally, the Government has established the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss, bringing together leading security, military and academic experts to help Government identify priority risks, strengthen cross-government coordination and turn evidence into practical action. The Taskforce will provide independent challenge and recommendations to ensure climate and nature risks are considered more systematically across national security and resilience planning.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to help revitalise wildlife populations in the context of the World Wildlife Fund's report entitled Living Planet Report.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are taking steps to help revitalise wildlife populations, but not specifically in the context of the World Wildlife Fund's report entitled Living Planet Report. In England we have four legally binding targets to benefit our wildlife populations: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; to reverse declines by at least 10% by 2042, when compared with 2030; to reduce the risk of national species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042.
To deliver against the statutory targets we are taking action at scale to create, restore, manage, and protect wildlife-rich habitats, reduce pressures on biodiversity, and take targeted action for species. Actions include the Species Recovery Programme, which over the 2026-2029 period will fund 130 projects to benefit a wide range of species through recovery actions such as targeted habitat restoration, species reintroductions, and critical research.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase awareness, diagnosis and treatment of Strep B in newborns in Devon.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided to the Hon. Member for Slough on 24 October 2025 in response to Question 82361.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support younger diagnosis of ADHD in women.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to the Hon Member for Leicester East on 18 June 2026 in response to Question 5565.