Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase funding available to national landscape teams.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to empowering Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder, and more accessible to all. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge for National Landscapes teams. Defra business planning is ongoing, and we will communicate the outcomes of this as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help tackle barriers to export for small businesses.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is committed to supporting small businesses grow and export. UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.
DBT is also piloting an enhanced partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, taking a targeted place-based approach to accelerate small business growth through exporting across the region. This will be rolled out to other regions across England over the next 12 months.
We will bring forward further measures in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle modern slavery in illegal hand carwashes.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery across all sectors, including hand car washes.
The Responsible Car Wash Scheme, partly funded by the Home Office, sought to enhance compliance, and investigate non-compliance in the car wash sector. As part of the scheme, a Car Wash Code of Practice was developed in collaboration with the sector to test the effectiveness of different interventions in raising standards.
As the scheme has concluded, the Government is assessing these evaluations to understand how both to bolster compliance, and support sector-led initiatives. The Government and enforcement bodies, such as the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, continue to support industry initiatives aimed at improving standards, while also cracking down on individual carwash operators employing and exploiting illegal workers.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the use of artificial intelligence in farming and agriculture.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI is a general-purpose technology, with a wide array of applications. The government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will make the most of this transformative technology by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology engages regularly across government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, to understand how they are considering AI-related policy opportunities within their remit.
In addition, Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme supports AI adoption across four sectors, of which agriculture is one.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage community ownership of locally valued assets at risk.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 23 December 2024, this government announced the outcome of the Community Ownership Fund Round 4, and awarded £36.2 million to 85 projects across the UK. This represents the largest ever window of the Fund to date, both in terms of funding awarded and number of projects.
The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment to communities and there will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 prevent hand carwash operators from disposing of chemicals illegally down public storm drains.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is the responsibility of hand car wash businesses to ensure that they are not polluting the environment as a result of their activities. This is set out in guidance on Gov.uk.
Chemicals in car wash products may become classed as waste (including containers with residual chemicals in them). A site operator will need to establish if this is the case and ensure that Hazardous Waste Regulations are followed in respect of correct disposal.
For discharges to water and sewerage company networks, a site operator may need to apply for a trade effluent consent from the water and sewerage company. If a discharge is to surface water drain/sewer, or the ground, a permit under Environmental Permitting Regulations may be required.
If a hand car wash business were to cause an environmental incident, the Environment Agency would respond to the incident as it would any other environmental incident. The Environment Agency responds to substantiated reports of environmental incidents and will take appropriate action under the enforcement and sanctions policy dependent on the nature and severity of any offence. The Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy can be found on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will continue to support the Rural Housing Enablers Scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to funding the Rural Housing Enabler programme until 31 March 2025.
It is also providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 to boost the supply of new housing, including in rural areas. This includes a £500 million top up to the Affordable Homes Programme.
Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise and announced in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new teachers will be delivered in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, and high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.
There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament. This will help ensure that children in South Shropshire and all other areas of the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many youth hubs will be established in rural areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to breaking down barriers to success and opportunity. Too many children and young people today do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health, and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than going on to achieve and thrive.
Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Ensuring young people from rural areas are included in the rollout of Young Futures Hubs is incredibly important.
As part of the development process, the department is engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities and other key stakeholders to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery. This will ensure we are making use of the vast knowledge and experience that already exists, and will include considerations of the most suitable locations, as well as how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from their support. The number of Young Futures Hubs, their specific locations and their reach are still being determined, and we will share further information regarding these Hubs in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make the Responsible Car Wash Scheme’s Code of Practice mandatory.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department of Business and Trade does not currently have any plans to make the Responsible Car Wash Scheme’s Code of Practice mandatory.
I also refer the member for South Shropshire to the answer I provided to UIN 21371 on 9 January for further information.