Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of flooding have been reported in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency and (b) North Yorkshire in the last 12 months.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – 92.1% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition
Lead Local Flood Authorities undertake formal investigations after significant floods and produce Section 19 reports, which include the number of properties affected. Not all floods require a Section 19 investigation. Criteria for investigation include the number of properties internally flooded, nature of flooding, frequency of flooding, and critical infrastructure affected.
Over the last year, there have been three periods when areas of North Yorkshire have experienced significant or prolonged flooding, including one in Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency. North Yorkshire Council has 125 recorded reports of flooding since January 2024, over 50 of those in Knaresborough. Knaresborough experienced significant surface water flooding in May 2024, with over 50 homes and businesses affected.
Last winter, York and parts of North Yorkshire were affected by continued high river levels following prolonged wet weather and storms. Although widespread flooding was largely avoided, lower lying areas and communities were impacted. Storm Darragh recently affected communities in Derwent and Rye catchments in North Yorkshire, with 30-40 properties flooded. Villages such as Kirkby Mills, Kirkbymoorside and Marton were affected.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle delays in processing ARAP applications (a) from people at immediate risk of harm in Afghanistan and (b) generally.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
It is a priority for this Government to relocate all those eligible under ARAP as quickly as possible, with multiple Government Departments playing a key role to deliver this service.
The Ministry of Defence have received over 107,000 unique applications in total but all require consideration. In addition, the Ministry of Defence receive additional family member applications in relation to most eligible applicants, as well as requests for review of ineligible decisions, all of which must be considered. We are working to process these applications as quickly as possible. However, every case has to be considered individually based on the information available. Where cases are particularly complex, time must be taken to properly take into account all considerations to ensure the right outcome is reached.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources have been allocated to ensure that the ARAP scheme is functioning (a) efficiently and (b) effectively.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The successful delivery of the ARAP scheme is contingent on the joint capabilities of the Defence Afghan Relocation and Resettlement (DARR) directorate and the Operation LAZURITE programme.
The Ministry of Defence has allocated £308 million in funding for Afghan resettlement, for this year. As of 1 December 2024, there are also 304 contractors, civilian and military colleagues working within DARR, and 365 Service personnel deployed under Operation LAZURITE, who ensure the ARAP process is efficient and effective; this ranges from determining eligibility, through to providing resettlement support for Afghan eligible principals and their families in the UK.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of GP-to-patient ratios in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency and (b) North Yorkshire in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each general practice (GP) is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no recommendation from NHS England for how many patients a GP should have assigned, or the ratio of GPs or other practice staff to patients.
The demands each patient places on their GP are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only the GPs but also including the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients. The following table shows the full-time equivalent (FTE) doctor to patient ratios in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, for the last five years:
Date | Median number of GP FTE doctors per 10,000 registered patients |
September 2020 | 6.9 |
September 2021 | 6.3 |
September 2022 | 6.8 |
September 2023 | 6.4 |
September 2024 | 6.7 |
While it is not possible to provide data specifically for the county of North Yorkshire, the following table shows the FTE GP doctor to patient ratios within the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), for the last five years:
Date | Median number of GP FTE doctors per 10,000 registered patients |
September 2020 | 5.8 |
September 2021 | 5.6 |
September 2022 | 5.7 |
September 2023 | 5.8 |
September 2024 | 6.2 |
Notes:
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average pupil-to-teacher ratio is in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) nationally.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional, local authority, parliamentary constituency (prior to 2023 boundary changes) and individual school level, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
In the 2023/24 academic year, which is the latest data available, the ratio of pupils to teachers (qualified and unqualified) in state-funded schools was 19.2 in Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency (2024 boundary), 18.0 in North Yorkshire local authority and 18.1 nationally in England.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he will take steps to provide redress to people whose (a) property values or (b) access to mortgage finance has been impacted by spray foam insulation installed using a Green Homes Grant Voucher.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has worked with the insulation industry and lending community to address concerns relating to spray foam. Protocols were published in March 2023 to support surveyors to assess spray foam, provide reassurance to lenders, and inform consumers.
While the Department cannot comment on the decisions made by individual lenders, the presence of spray foam should not automatically prevent lending. Decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis following a survey. Recent indications are that most mortgage lenders no longer have blanket policies on spray foam insulation.
Any borrower seeking to take out a mortgage may find it useful to shop around and speak to a mortgage broker to find the best possible product for them.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data his Department holds on the number of homes that used Green Homes Grant vouchers for spray foam insulation.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A breakdown of measures installed under the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme can be found in the Green Homes Grant evaluation report: www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-homes-grant-voucher-scheme-evaluation.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) voucher approval, (b) issuance and (c) payment processes for the Green Homes Grant.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
An evaluation of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was published in November 2023 under the previous Government. It can be found on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-homes-grant-voucher-scheme-evaluation.
Further evaluation of the scheme will support the delivery of future schemes under the Warm Homes Plan, which will be upgrading up to 300,000 homes next year alone.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to (a) identify and (b) notify people who may have had spray foam installed through a Green Homes Grant about (i) potential damage caused by spray foam to their property and (ii) the potential impact of spray foam installation on their ability to secure a mortgage.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme required that consumers seek advice from a suitably qualified TrustMark registered installer before they applied for a voucher. It also required that installations meet Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 2035.
If a homeowner believes that any installation work carried out in their home under a government scheme is faulty, they should first contact the installer. The TrustMark website contains further guidance on steps consumers can take if things go wrong (https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowners/if-things-go-wrong). If a product has been installed to the standard it should not require removal.
A surveyor should be able to use the published inspection protocol (https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections) to make an assessment as part of the mortgage lending process.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of complaints to the Trustmark scheme in relation to the Green Homes Grant scheme have been upheld; how much compensation has been paid to Green Homes Grant recipients due to upheld complaints to the Trustmark scheme in total; and how many Green Homes Grant recipients have since received compensation due to an upheld complaint.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The department does not hold the Trustmark complaint data regarding the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme.