Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what degree of parliamentary scrutiny applies to emergency transport orders enacted during sudden national blockades.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the circumstances of a blockade, different legal powers and options will apply depending on the mode of transport. This could include police action, injunctions sought via the courts, or it might also mean exercising existing legislative powers. For example, unauthorised blockades of a public road will likely constitute an obstruction offence under the Highways Act and/or the Road Traffic Act and may give rise to enforcement action.
A traffic authority may also approve for a road to be blocked in an emergency using a temporary traffic regulation order, under s14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, for example where the emergency relates to: “works, likelihood of danger or serious damage to the road’, or under s22C(4): “ for a purpose related to danger or damage connect with terrorism". These are administrative orders and are not subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 contains emergency powers that are only to be used in the most extreme circumstances. Emergency Orders are made as Orders in Council or can be made directly by the Minister where this must be brought forward urgently. An emergency order is subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of businesses in South Shropshire constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England will run a process to identify those who can best deliver this ambition, and to identify the places or people who could most benefit.
This Government is determined to give every child the best start in life and this programme will aim to put books in the hands of up to 300,000 more young children, to improve their readiness for school; while giving parents some breathing space with costs.
We will work with the Arts Council to ensure the programme is effectively targeted at the children who need it most, and this could include consideration of geographical indicators of disadvantaged communities.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of defence spending on regional economic growth across the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence spending supports regional economic growth through the preservation of peace and security, jobs, businesses and industrial activity in every nation and region of the United Kingdom.
In 2025-26, MOD expenditure with UK industry totalled £34.1 billion, of which £23.3 billion was spent outside London and the South East. The Government has also committed £250 million for five Defence Growth Deals in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Plymouth and South Yorkshire.
Defence investment will continue to support jobs, skills and economic growth across the United Kingdom while delivering the capabilities our Armed Forces need.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many jobs his Department estimates will be created as a result of planned defence investment by 2030.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence announced a significant increase in spending in the Defence Investment Plan published on 30 June.
Following a review ahead of the Budget 2026, we continue to estimate that this investment could support approximately 60,000 additional jobs by 2029-30, compared with 2023-24, across the defence industry and supporting industries. This remains consistent with the estimate underpinning the Defence Investment Plan.
Skills are fundamental to delivering the plan and supporting growth. Defence is continuing to engage with partners across Government and industry to understand the specific skills needed to deliver this investment.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what enhanced security standards there are on aviation, rail, and maritime hubs to prevent cascading supply chain failures.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport is a priority for this Government, and the Department for Transport has a strong track record of maintaining proportionate, risk-based security measures across the aviation, rail and maritime sectors to keep the travelling public safe and secure. Robust legislative and regulatory frameworks provide oversight and accountability across transport modes.
DfT also takes a comprehensive approach to resilience by assessing a wide range of risks to the transport system, including supply chain failures, and identifying the capabilities needed to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disruption. Government and industry work together to strengthen resilience across the transport system, and also through the Supply Chain Centre based in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, to reduce impacts to businesses and the public in the event of any disruption occurring.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of bank branch closures on rural communities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who and where it affects. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural communities.
The Government will publish the Review’s report in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how lessons learned from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Resilience and Preparedness Module 1 Report are being implemented and tracked across defence and civil emergency plans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government is committed to learning the lessons of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The recommendations from the Module 1 report have informed the Government's wider approach to resilience and pandemic preparedness, including the UK Government Resilience Action Plan and the Pandemic Preparedness Strategy, and has strengthened national exercising and lessons-management arrangements.
Within Defence, these lessons are reflected through the ongoing review and development of Defence pandemic and resilience arrangements, including the Defence Pandemic Management Plan, to ensure alignment with evolving cross-government plans and policy.
Defence also participated in Exercise PEGASUS, the UK's national pandemic preparedness exercise, which tested cross-government arrangements and Defence's contribution to a future pandemic response.
The lessons learned from this exercise are being combined with the recommendations of the remaining Covid Inquiry modules to generate the next stage of improvements. Defence continues to review its own plans and capabilities as national policy develops.
Defence and Civil Emergency Plans are distinct. Civil authorities remain responsible for preparing for and responding to domestic emergencies.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how international trade agreements are being leveraged to diversify high-risk import dependencies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our trade agreements play an important role in helping businesses build resilient supply chains through close ties and favourable trading terms across a wide range of markets where they can export goods and reliably source imports critical to their operations.
We are increasing our focus on addressing supply chain dependencies, including by seeking stronger supply chain resilience provisions through CPTPP. Our recent FTA with the Republic of Korea also included the UK's first dedicated supply chains chapter, creating mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities, share information and coordinate responses to disruption, while helping businesses diversify sources of essential inputs and raw materials.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what role the UK Supply Chain Centre is playing in identifying and addressing single points of failure in foundational imports.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Supply Chain Centre (SCC) published an action plan in June listing 36 product groupings identified as critical growth-driving inputs. We encourage UK businesses in IS manufacturing sectors to review these categories and identify any reliance on goods within them. The Centre engages with industry to help identify emerging risks, vulnerabilities, and dependencies. In the event of potential shortages, the Centre will provide analysis and insight to inform government contingency plans - these will be implemented in partnership with businesses and consumers, to ensure the continued functioning of our economy, essential services and critical national infrastructure.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what emergency protocols are in place to manage domestic energy rationing during international supply shortfalls.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain has a highly resilient energy system with diverse supplies and the Government expects these to continue to meet demand.
As a responsible government, we plan for all eventualities and work with industry to prepare and exercise robust contingency plans.
The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the established arrangements between Government, industry and regulators for the safe and effective management of gas and electricity supply emergencies.
The National Emergency Plan for Fuel contains a range of contingency measures that can be used to support fuel resilience during actual or threatened disruptions to fuel supplies.