Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to seek new nominations for another round of mid-tier Access for All funding.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Spending Review 2025 confirmed £280m total funding for the Access for All programme over a four-year period. Our focus is on delivering full step free access at stations, rather than the smaller scale upgrades previously delivered under the mid-tier. As such, we have no current plans to fund a future round of mid-tier projects.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of Islamist attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt on 31 October 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 November to Question 85661.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to introduce a comprehensive systems planning framework with responsibility for (a) integrated and (b) holistic water system planning.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will respond to the recommendations published in the final report of the Independent Water Commission through a White Paper. We will bring forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.
The Government's day-one response committed to a regional approach to water system planning, including a catchment-based model to strengthen local involvement and tackle all sources of water pollution more effectively.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding the Environment Agency received for river and stream maintenance in each of the last five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As the EA operates at arm’s length from its sponsor department, Defra, it is for the EA to determine how much of its budget it spends on maintenance under its remit.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding the Environment Agency received in each of the last five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The EA’s total budget for 2025/26 is £2,274 million. This is an increase of £188 million compared with its £2,086 million budget in 2024/25.
Year | Total budget |
2025/26 | £2,274m |
2024/25 | £2,086m |
2023/24 | £1,961m |
2022/23 | £1,704m |
2021/22 | £1,627m |
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure farmers receive support for instances of flooding in winter 2025-26.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To support rural communities and farmers, we:
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the average insurance premiums for properties in each flood risk zone in each of last five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme enabling households at high flood risk to access affordable insurance. Since launch, over 650,000 properties have benefitted, with 346,000 policies supported in 2024/25.
Before Flood Re, average premiums for flood-affected homes were around £4,400; now they are approximately £1,100.
Defra continues working with Flood Re and insurers to monitor affordability, support resilience, and improve outcomes through schemes like Build Back Better and the PFR Grant, alongside engagement with industry leaders at an insurance roundtable to ensure access to affordable coverage and fair claims for flood-prone homes.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the number of properties in each flood risk zones that does not have insurance.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme enabling households at high flood risk to access affordable insurance. Since launch, over 650,000 properties have benefitted, with 346,000 policies supported in 2024/25.
Before Flood Re, average premiums for flood-affected homes were around £4,400; now they are approximately £1,100.
Defra continues working with Flood Re and insurers to monitor affordability, support resilience, and improve outcomes through schemes like Build Back Better and the PFR Grant, alongside engagement with industry leaders at an insurance roundtable to ensure access to affordable coverage and fair claims for flood-prone homes.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many new homes were built within areas classified as flood zone 3 in 2024-2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on how many new homes were built within areas classified as flood zone 3 in 2024-2025.
The proportion of new residential addresses built on national Flood Zone 3 is published by financial year in live table P320 of our ‘Land use change: new residential addresses’ release. The most recent figures are for 2021-22 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on establishing a new integrated water industry regulator.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Alongside the recommendations which the Government responded to on 21 July, the Commission examined many other areas within its remit, to ensure that water sector regulation delivers for environmental, public health, customer and economic outcomes. This is reflected in the recommendations in Sir Jon’s final report, including recommendations intended to create a single powerful regulator to help provide the clarity and stability investors need to bring forward billions of pounds of funding, driving jobs, skills and growth across the country.