Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the countries with which the Government is conducting negotiations for the return of illegal migrants. started.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Listing the countries with which the Government is conducting negotiations relating to the return of illegal migrants, either to their country of origin or a country through which they travelled to the UK, would be unhelpful in fostering and building on relations which are vital in supporting the tackling of illegal migration and targeting the gangs that prey on the vulnerable.
Bilateral returns agreements are one of many tools that facilitate returns and support international returns co-operation.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her priorities are to tackle illegal immigration; and how these differ from her immediate predecessor.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
As the Home Secretary has set out, she will do whatever it takes to secure our borders; working to restore order to the asylum system, ensuring that the rules are properly respected and enforced, and working upstream to tackle those facilitating illegal migration.
The now embedded Border Security Command (BSC) is leading the national response to preventing small boats crossing the English Channel. The BSC work closely with the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, and overseas counterparts in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Iraq. This collaborative approach has already led to widely publicised raids, arrests, and new bilateral agreements that will further strengthen enforcement and intelligence-sharing over the coming months.
To ensure we restore order to the asylum system, we are committed to meaningful reform of our current immigration system and processes. We will legislate to reform our approach to the application of Article 8 in the immigration system. Alongside this we will also pursue international reform, working closely with our partners in the Council of Europe. These reforms will restore the correct balance between individual rights and the wider public interest of controlling migration.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the cost of housing asylum seekers in (a) hotels, (b) private rental accommodation and (c) council housing in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of small boat crossings since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Border Security Command was established to provide strategic leadership in tackling small boats, ensuring our approach is informed by a single and shared understanding of the threat through the integrated use of intelligence, assessments, data and evidence. The Command has an established process for monitoring and evaluating work underway, including assessing delivery and monitoring trends in arrivals. The Government keeps all options to tackle small boat crossings, and the Organised Crime Groups behind them, under constant review.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Rivers: Flood Control, how much of the £200 million funding for river asset management will be allocated to Suffolk County Council.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is allocating approximately £200 million for the management of flood and coastal risk management assets in 2025/26.
This funding, which is managed by the EA and not allocated to other risk management authorities, will enhance our ability to manage flood risks and ensure public safety. £4 million of this funding is allocated to asset management activities within Suffolk County Council’s boundaries in 2025/26.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Flood Control and the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57092 on Flood Control: Finances, if he will set out how the £2.65 billion of funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management for 2024 to 2026 (a) has been and (b) will be spent.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March 2024 and can be found here. Information on spend can be found here, and information on plans can be found here.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) people and (b) groups have been prosecuted by the Environment Agency for damaging (i) watercourses and (ii) rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Information on prosecutions by the Environment Agency under its regulatory powers is available on gov.uk. Cases completed from January 2000 that resulted in a conviction are included.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Flood Control and the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57092 on Flood Control: Finances, how much of the £2.65 billion funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management for 2024 to 2026 (a) has been and (b) will be allocated to Suffolk County Council.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March 2024 and can be found here.
In 2024/25, Suffolk County Council received a funding allocation from the investment programme of £900,000. In 2025/26, Suffolk County Council received an allocation of £500,000. Information on spend can be found here, and information on plans can be found here.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Rivers: Flood Control, how much of the £200 million funding for river asset management will be allocated to preserve the River Deben in Suffolk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Of the £4 million that the Environment Agency is allocating for the management of flood and coastal risk management assets within Suffolk County Council’s boundaries in 2025/26, approximately £300,000 has been allocated to asset management along, or close to, the River Deben.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2021/22, (b) 2022/23, (c) 2023/24 and (d) 2024/25.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment.
The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations.
Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme.
Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.