Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help ensure that infrastructure service suppliers do not leave areas of poor broadband connection in fully connected urban areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We aim to achieve nationwide gigabit capable coverage by 2030, connecting a minimum of 99% of premises across the UK. The regulatory regime has helped create a competition-friendly environment in commercially viable areas, supporting market entry and expansion by alternative network operators. Project Gigabit is designed to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises that will not be built to by the market. We continue to monitor commercial rollout plans and adapt Project Gigabit plans accordingly. We are aware pockets of unconnected premises remain in urban and suburban areas and continue to assess the best approach to addressing these
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of re-nationalisation of forensic services in England and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The forensics market plays an important role in the provision of services in England and Wales and we have no plans to nationalise it, but we are looking at whether a new National Centre of Policing might include national capabilities such as forensics.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Building Digital UK on the existing levels of (a) fibre and (b) gigabit capable broadband of premises included in Project Gigabit in Didcot and Wantage constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The latest data from the independent website Thinkbroadband.com shows that in the Didcot and Wantage constituency, over 52% of premises have access to full fibre broadband, and 86% can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps).
To improve this further, Gigaclear is currently delivering two contracts as part of Project Gigabit that will bring gigabit-capable broadband to approximately 10,000 eligible premises across Oxfordshire, including in the Didcot and Wantage constituency.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Eurofins Forensic Services Limited on the market for forensic services to police forces in England and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has routine discussions with commercial forensic providers on issues relating to the forensics market, including through the Association of Forensic Science Providers which represents companies including Eurofins Forensic Services.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring companies to record age-related data in their recruitment practices as means of ensuring compliance with the 2010 Equalities Act.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recruitment practices are a matter for individual employers, provided that they comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, including the age discrimination provisions. We would encourage larger employers to monitor their recruitment patterns in the context of relevant protected characteristics, as a useful indicator of the strength of their compliance with the 2010 Act. There are currently no plans to make such data collection a requirement.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that disabled children from all socio-economic backgrounds receive appropriate therapy.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people, and will break down the barriers to opportunity and ensure that every child has the best start in life. This includes all children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Across England, community health services, including therapies, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce long waits.
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires that education, health, and social care services work together to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. In May 2023, NHS England issued statutory guidance setting out the requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to have an executive lead for SEND, who will lead on supporting the Chief Executive and the board to ensure the ICB performs its functions effectively in the interests of children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
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 ensure there is adequate competition in the domestic veterinary care insurance sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pet insurance providers are private businesses and are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase assistance to states affected by (a) fragility, (b) conflict and (c) violence.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK helps states affected by fragility, conflict, and violence using a range of development and diplomacy levers to support those best placed to build peace. UK funded programmes through Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF) help address the underlying causes.
In addition to bilateral and regional programming, the UK continues to invest in the Peacebuilding Fund, the UN's primary mechanism supporting prevention and peacebuilding activity in over 40 countries including Sudan, South Sudan, West Africa, and the Sahel. The UK has contributed over £175 million since the inception of the Peacebuilding Fund in 2006, including £5 million for 2024-2025.
The UK also remains one of the largest global humanitarian aid donors, funding bilateral life-saving support during humanitarian crisis, including in many regions that are affected by conflict and violence, such as the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make international conflict resolution in Sudan a foreign policy priority.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have both made addressing the situation in Sudan a priority, and are actively working together with a range of regional and international partners towards ending the suffering of the Sudanese people. On 24 January, the Foreign Secretary travelled to the Chad/Sudan border and met with Sudanese refugees. During this visit, he announced his intention to convene Foreign Ministers in London this spring to galvanise international political efforts to end the conflict.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) support the restoration of peatlands and (b) deliver the targets in the England Peat Action Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as peatlands. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities.
We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before. Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, and going forwards will be primarily funded through Environmental Land Management schemes, such as the Landscape Recovery and Countryside Stewardship schemes.
Private finance will also be vital if we are to meet our peatland restoration ambitions. To support peatland restoration, the Government is implementing a range of policies that will mobilise private investment. These include working with the IUCN to attract investment via carbon credits through the Peatland Code.
The England Peat Action Plan was published under the previous Government.