Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to expand safe routes for asylum seekers.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through our existing global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. Safe and legal routes will continue to play a vital role in our overall migration system. However, given the scale of today’s global displacement challenges, it is not possible to offer a pathway into the UK to every person who needs or wants one. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on improving the standard of placements available to young people studying Catering T Levels in Cumbria.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is examining what provision will best meet the needs of employers and students in this important sector, which plays an important role in Cumbria.

There are 143 level 2 and level 3 qualifications in the hospitality and catering sector for 16-19 year olds that are approved for funding in 2024/2025. Catering qualifications are not due to be defunded as part of the post 16 qualifications reform.

There is a wide range of support and guidance available for employers and providers to ensure that T Level students have a high quality experience on their industry placement. This includes workshops, webinars, continuing professional development support and online guidance. Providers also receive £550 per industry placement student as part of their wider 16-19 funding allocation to support the costs of sourcing and setting up industry placements and can use their 16-19 bursary funding to support disadvantaged students to access placements.

The latest data shows that 78% of 2021 T Level starters who completed an industry placement were ‘very’ or ‘quite satisfied’ with it.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure new houses are only built where there is sufficient (a) water supply and (b) sewage treatment.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 9948 on 23 October 2024.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will issue a revised strategic policy statement to OFWAT on its regulation of water companies.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government and regulators work together to drive improvements that benefit both customers and the environment and hold water companies to account where necessary through strong enforcement action. We have set clear expectations of the sector, including regulators, and will not hesitate to take further action if we do not see the necessary action.

The measures that will be implemented through the Water (Special Measures) Bill are a down payment on the comprehensive reforms needed to restore our rivers, lakes, and seas to good health, meet the challenges of the future, and drive economic growth

The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh government, has launched an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation. The latest step in the Government’s programme to transform how our water system works. The Commission will adopt a broad scope. That will include considering the role of the regulators, ensuring they are effective for holding companies accountable, as well as establishing clear outcomes and a long-term vision for the future.

The Commission will report to the Secretary of State for Environment, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs with recommendations, in Q2 2025. The UK Government and Welsh Government will then respond and consult on proposals, including potential further legislation. The Government does not intend to issue a revised statement until after the outcomes of the independent commission.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department have worked on teams covering (a) water companies and (b) sewage in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to end the practice of operator self-monitoring, in the context of recent trends in the level of river pollution discharges.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will introduce a requirement for water companies to publish information on discharges from emergency overflows in near real-time (within an hour of a discharge occurring). This requirement will be in addition to the duty coming into force for companies to publish discharges from storm overflows in near real-time.

The increased availability of near real-time data will be independently scrutinised by the regulators and will fulfil the Government’s commitment to ensure independent monitoring of every outlet.

The Environment Agency (EA) are already recruiting up to 500 additional staff for inspections, enforcement and stronger regulation, increasing compliance checks, and quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March next year. The increase in inspections will allow the EA to conduct more in-depth and independent audits to get to the root-cause of incidents, reducing the reliance on operator self-monitoring.

On 23 October the Government launched an Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system. The Commission includes specific objectives around ensuring water industry regulators are effective, have a clear purpose, and are empowered to hold water companies to account.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the management of the University Teaching Hospital of Morecambe Bay Trust on the closure of the Helme Chase maternity unit at the Westmorland General Hospital.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The reconfiguration of services is a matter for integrated care boards and the local National Health Service in cases of specialised and national services. All service changes should be based on clear evidence, clinically led, and involve engagement with patients and stakeholders to ensure they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

Whilst birthing services are temporarily suspended, women can continue to access antenatal and postnatal care, as well as outpatient appointments as normal at Helme Chase. The trust also offers safe home birthing and birth services at their other two units. Following a six-month suspension of birthing services, the trust is undertaking a full review of the midwifery led birth provision, and the associated staffing budget. Options have been identified to reinstate birth services at the unit and they are being consulted on with the relevant teams before a decision is made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to increase the number of safe routes available to people fleeing persecution.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The United Kingdom will always take seriously our responsibility alongside others to help those fleeing war and persecution, but we need a proper system where rules are enforced.

Safe and legal routes will continue to play a vital role in our overall migration system.

Our priority right now is the relocation of those who have been identified as eligible for resettlement under our resettlement schemes, and fixing the gaps in existing routes. That is why we have affirmed our ongoing commitment to the UK Resettlement Scheme; supported the reunification of Afghan families under the ACRS route; provided sanctuary for Ukrainians under our Ukraine schemes; and provided routes for Hong Kongers under our Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route. We will continue to keep this system under review.

FA Cup replays

Bus fare cap

Celebrating the Royal British Legion in Cumbria

Use of swift bricks

Found: We must all realise the responsibility that we have to make a success of it. 56 Tim Farron ( Liberal

Found: We must all realise the responsibility that we have to make a success of it. 56 Tim Farron ( Liberal

Found: George Mr Joshua Reynolds Charlotte Cane Steff Aquarone Alex Easton Ellie Chowns Olly Glover Tim

Found: George Mr Joshua Reynolds Charlotte Cane Steff Aquarone Alex Easton Ellie Chowns Olly Glover Tim