Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will extend the definition of bathers to include other water user types in the context of the Bathing Waters Regulations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bathing waters are one of the most visible ways in which the public interacts with the water environment, and so it is critical that appropriate regulations meet the needs of water users and those involved with managing bathing water sites. In the November – December 2024 consultation on bathing water reforms, we asked respondents about wider reforms including the expansion of the definition of ‘bathers’ to include other water users and introducing multiple monitoring points at sites. The Government response to the consultation, published in March 2025, outlined that a clear majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with this proposal and many offered suggestions of what water users should be included. The Department is now exploring how evidence to support the delivery of these wider reforms, including expanding the definition of a bather might be developed. The timeline for detailed policy development and research will depend on the outcome of initial scoping work. Defra will engage with local and national stakeholders as this work progresses.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the upcoming Land Use Framework will include measures to improve public access to nature.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government consulted on land use in England from January to April this year.
The consultation recognised the importance of increasing responsible access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing. It stated Government’s intention to support access to green and blue spaces in urban and rural environments, and green routes for active travel to and through these spaces.
The responses to this consultation, and feedback from supporting workshops, are being analysed. These responses will inform the preparation of the Land Use Framework, which will be published early next year.
The Government has also announced, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, that we will bring forward an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to improve and expand public access to the outdoors.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to publish a white paper on access to nature.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has announced, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, that we will bring forward an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to improve and expand public access to the outdoors. The Green Paper will set out a range of policy options and invite views from stakeholders and the public, helping us to gather evidence and test approaches before decisions are made. This consultation will play an important role in shaping the development of future policy in this area.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered introducing an automatic payment option for clean air zone charges nationwide, similar to the system operating in London; and whether she will review the level of penalty charges for late or non-payment to ensure they are proportionate.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Autopay, where a driver could register their vehicle with the service and payment is taken automatically when that vehicle enters a Clean Air Zone, was considered as part of the CAZ digital service user research and design phases. This is not an existing feature of GOV.UK Pay.
Autopay was not taken forward at the time because it would have added significant cost and complexity to the service and would have delayed the point at which the service (and therefore the first CAZs) could go live. Penalty Charges for late payment are a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to strengthen (a) national preparedness and (b) resilience for (i) public health and (ii) other national emergencies.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government published the Resilience Action Plan on 8 July 2025 to set out its resilience strategy. It set out three core objectives to improve the UK’s resilience to the full range of risks we face: (1) continually assess how resilient the UK is in order to target interventions and resources; (2) enable the whole of society to take action to improve their resilience; and (3) strengthen the core public resilience system. These goals inform a series of activities to deliver greater resilience across the whole of society, as set out in the Resilience Action Plan.
The plan includes a commitment to the delivery of the National Exercising Programme (NEP) to improve preparedness for national emergencies. This covers a range of whole-system risks, with the priority areas for testing informed by our assessment of cross-cutting and systemic vulnerabilities and capability gaps. The NEP sets out a timetable of annual Tier 1 exercises requiring a central response, cross-government coordination, and ministerial engagement.
We are delivering the UK Biological Security Strategy to strengthen preparedness for future pandemics, and to mitigate the risks of biological accidents and incidents. In Autumn 2025, ‘Exercise PEGASUS’ tested the United Kingdom’s pandemic preparedness, involving every Government Department, the devolved governments, and included arm’s length bodies, local resilience fora, and the engagement of businesses, academics, and external stakeholders.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his correspondence of 10 June 2025, if he will ask the Minister for Energy to meet with the hon. Member for the South Cotswolds.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I have asked my office to contact the hon Member to find an appropriate date.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what conclusions he has come to about the potential risks of foreign investment in our utilities sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure extremely seriously with the UK being one of the most reliable and safest energy systems, and one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. Maintaining a secure energy supply is a key priority for the UK Government.
We have a range of effective measures in place which give the Government powers to balance an open investment environment to facilitate growth with protecting the areas of our economy that are the most sensitive to national security.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on SEND tribunal appeals in the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department paid His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service £13.471 million in 2024/25 to cover the operational costs of the SEND Tribunal, including administration, estates and salaries, for special educational needs appeals for children and young people aged 5 to 16.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that farmers continue to receive support for managing their land to prevent flooding beyond 2025; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of there being no replacement funding available in 2026 on flood risk and soil health .
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is increasing its funding for flood protection. We are investing £4.2 billion over three years in flood defences across the country – an average of £1.4 billion each year and a 5% increase compared to the current spending review period. This money will fund construction of new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to introduce a successor scheme to support on-farm natural flood management and drainage maintenance from 2026 onwards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is increasing its funding for flood protection. We are investing £4.2 billion over three years in flood defences across the country – an average of £1.4 billion each year and a 5% increase compared to the current spending review period. This money will fund construction of new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences.