Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a Foxhound driver.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a Jackal driver.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a light gun operator.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 17 March to 119860, how many and what proportion of Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements had an annual value of over £100,000.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between January 2025 to December 2025, there were 45,295 Sustainable Farming Incentive Agreements. 863 of these agreements had an annual value of over £100,000, which is 1.91% of the overall agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative assessment he has made of levels of costs for heating oil users compared to mains gas and electricity customers, in the context of price increases following the Iran conflict.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department keeps energy prices and affordability under close review across all fuels. Gas and electricity customers benefit from the energy price cap. This is already fixed for April to the end of June and limits the unit prices suppliers can charge for default tariffs and helps smooth the impact of wholesale price movements.
Heating oil users are not covered by the energy price cap and are therefore more exposed to short‑term price volatility than mains gas and electricity customers. Recent price reflect instability in the Middle East, which has affected global price expectations rather than UK physical supply.
Following discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority, we welcome its comprehensive examination of the heating oil industry, and we are working closely with the CMA to understand their findings and develop options to increase consumer protections in this sector, including potential regulatory measures.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of increases in petrol and diesel prices on community transport services; and whether she plans to increase support available for such services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the vital role community transport operators play in connecting people with their communities, and the challenges faced by operators when costs such as petrol and diesel fluctuate.
To support community transport operators, the Department makes up to £3.8 million available each year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). An uplift of 60% has been added to BSOG claims for community transport operators until 31 March 2026. This means community transport operators will receive £1.60 for every £1 claimed, reflecting the increased costs faced by the sector.
The Government is also providing over £3 billion for bus services from 2026/27 over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes nearly £700 million per year for local authorities through the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG). Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will be allocated £31.8 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £10.6 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including expanding services and improving reliability. This could include supporting some community transport services.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of 31 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions on the projected average value of an SFI agreement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The purpose of streamlining the offer is not to reduce overall support for the sector, but to ensure funding is focused on actions that deliver the greatest value for food production and the environment.
The SFI26 offer includes 71 actions rather than 102, reflecting the removal of options that had low uptake or delivered limited environmental or productivity benefit. This ensures a simpler, fairer and better-targeted scheme. We have also introduced an annual agreement value cap of £100,000 to help spread funding across more farms and widen participation.
Payment rates remain based on income-foregone-plus‑costs, and many actions continue to offer attractive returns. By improving accessibility and value for money, SFI26 supports long‑term farm profitability while enabling more businesses to benefit from agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the last year for which figures are available, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements had a value of over £100,000.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From January 2025 to December 2025, there were 45,295 SFI Agreements. 6,439 of these had an agreement value of over £100,000 for the full 3-year lifetime of the agreement, which is 14.22% of the overall agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the last year for which figures are available, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements included the GRH6 action.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between January 2025 to December 2025, there were 19,824 SFI 24 Agreements. 663 of these agreements included the GRH6 action, which is 3.34% of the overall agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified at the level of (i) UK Cyber Security Council Principal Cyber Security Professional, and (ii) UK Cyber Security Council Chartered Cyber Security Professional, or equivalent.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The accreditations in question, whilst aligned to the Defence cyber skillsets, are not formal Ministry of Defence qualifications. The information is not therefore held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.