Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve local healthcare provision in rural communities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rural populations increasingly include people who are most likely to need care. South Shropshire is facing particular challenges. The waiting list for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB has increased by 12,000 compared to 2023.Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend the targeted STEM retention incentive payments for secondary school teachers to those teachers in further education colleges.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In October, the department expanded eligibility for retention incentives to include early career further education (FE) teachers in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and technical subjects. FE teachers can currently apply for the payment between 14 October 2024 and 31 March 2025 on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/targeted-retention-incentive-payments-for-fe-teachers.
The targeted retention incentive, aimed at boosting the recruitment and retention of teachers, gives eligible teachers in disadvantaged schools and all colleges up to £6,000 after tax. This has doubled the previous retention payments paid to school teachers and is now available to eligible teachers at all FE colleges, for the first time.
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 steps he is taking to increase levels of community energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will support Local and Combined Authorities and Community Energy Groups to roll out small and medium‑scale renewable energy projects, to develop up to 8GW of cleaner power by 2030.
The Government also supports the community energy sector through the £10 million Community Energy Fund, which enables communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.
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 recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on the effectiveness of Royal Mail's delivery of the universal service obligation on letter delivery delays.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector, including the overall provision of the universal service obligation.
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to monitor and enforce Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Commissioners are taking to help churches in rural areas undertake renovations in (a) parish halls and (b) other assets that can serve the wider community.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Church buildings are community assets as well as places of worship and almost 80% of churches are involved in 35,000 social action projects annually.
Church Halls are able to apply for support from our Net Zero Carbon programme’s Quick Wins Fund (currently £2.4 million total),which can help church halls become more sustainable and energy efficient.
Through the Archbishops’ Council, the Church Commissioners funded the Buildings for Mission project, which has so far provided £6.2 million to all 41 dioceses across England for grants for repairs to churches. A further £3.2 million has funded over 30 Church Buildings Support Officers to help parishes most in need in rural and urban areas to keep their church buildings in good repair and extend their use by the wider community.
St Michael and All Angels in Lydbury North, which is within the South Shropshire constituency, has received Buildings for Mission funding for urgent roof repairs and heritage at risk. St John the Evangelist in Newcastle on Clun has also received funding for urgent ceiling plastering work restoration, supported by the Buildings Support Officer in the Diocese of Hereford.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help increase participation in UK Parliament Week.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Parliamentary Capability Team within the Cabinet Office designs and delivers training for civil servants on all aspects of parliamentary procedure. Parliament Week is an important part of the training calendar every year. This year a programme of events will take place each day designed to improve the awareness and understanding of Parliament across the Civil Service. This will include discussions with the right honourable Leaders of both houses, officials and members. These events are advertised across all departments and open to all to attend.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to encourage participation in UK Parliament Week.
Answered by Nick Smith
The Commission fully supports UK Parliament Week, the largest single public engagement campaign delivered by the UK Parliament.
This year, UK Parliament Week (18–24 November) will reach over two million people, who will take part in over 15,500 activities being organised by schools, youth organisations and community groups all over the UK, in British Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies, and many countries around the world. Every parliamentary constituency will host some form of UK Parliament Week activity.
UK Parliament Week activities are registered by the public via the UK Parliament Week website. Activities can take many forms. They have previously ranged from themed assemblies and meeting Members of Parliament to artistic and creative activities with a Parliament or democracy theme. All those who register activities are sent either a printed or digital resource to help participants learn about Parliament. The resources include board games and quizzes aimed at school-aged learners.
The Commission invites all Members to participate in UK Parliament Week by encouraging constituents to sign up for events and activities that will help them learn more about the role of Members, the work that Members carry out both at Westminster and in their constituencies, and the importance of parliamentary democracy.
UK Parliament Week is delivered by the Participation team, Parliament’s bicameral public engagement specialists.
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 recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of animal welfare penalty notices.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The first annual report from enforcement authorities on penalty notices issued is to be submitted to Defra by June 2025 and a consolidated report will subsequently be published.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for rural crime.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime – broadly classified as any crime and anti-social behaviour occurring in rural areas. We are introducing tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, stronger neighbourhood policing, and robust laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.
We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers across England and Wales.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers to tackle farm equipment theft, fly-tipping and other rural crime, and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle wildlife offences.
The CPS provides specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute rural crime.
Each CPS Area also has a crown prosecutor dedicated to act as a Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime Coordinator to ensure the specialist knowledge needed to prosecute such offending is readily available.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of automated external defibrillators in rural areas.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes. This is why the Government increased the number of publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
The Government is committed to improving access to AEDs in public spaces, and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. We made a further £500,000 available from August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Department’s Community AED Fund. The criteria specified for the original grant continues to apply and will go to applications for AEDs in areas where there is the greatest need, including in areas of high footfall, hot spots for cardiac arrest, and areas that already have low access to AEDs, which could include rural areas.