Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the availability of defibrillators in (a) South East Cornwall constituency and (b) other (i) rural and (ii) coastal areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.
Funding was allocated where there was the greatest need, for example, remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas. There are no plans to undertake further work on improving access or provide additional support for AEDs, in light of the rapid expansion of AEDs across the UK.
We recognise the important work the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has undertaken in identifying communities with limited access to a defibrillator. The BHF undertook this work as part of its 2025 community defibrillator fund programme. The BHF is urgently encouraging areas eligible to apply to its 2025 scheme to do so. Further information is available at the following link:
Across the South West, there are currently over 12,000 public access defibrillators registered on The Circuit, with most being privately owned. Approximately 1,000 of these defibrillators are owned and managed by the South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST).
SWAST is working to improve the availability, accessibility and emergency readiness of all public accessible defibrillators across the South West. SWAST is currently contacting guardians of defibrillators which have not had a status check registered on The Circuit for more than three months. This proportion has, as a result, reduced from one third of all defibrillators to 17% over the past year.
SWAST is also working with all schools across the South West to encourage them to register their defibrillator on The Circuit, with 90% of schools across the South West now having a defibrillator registered, the highest percentage in the country. SWAST is also promoting the labelling of public access defibrillators using stickers produced by The Circuit to reduce the time taken for a defibrillator to return to its cabinet after allocation, reducing the time that it is unavailable.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to defibrillators in (a) South East Cornwall constituency and (b) other (i) rural and (ii) coastal areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.
Funding was allocated where there was the greatest need, for example, remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas. There are no plans to undertake further work on improving access or provide additional support for AEDs, in light of the rapid expansion of AEDs across the UK.
We recognise the important work the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has undertaken in identifying communities with limited access to a defibrillator. The BHF undertook this work as part of its 2025 community defibrillator fund programme. The BHF is urgently encouraging areas eligible to apply to its 2025 scheme to do so. Further information is available at the following link:
Across the South West, there are currently over 12,000 public access defibrillators registered on The Circuit, with most being privately owned. Approximately 1,000 of these defibrillators are owned and managed by the South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST).
SWAST is working to improve the availability, accessibility and emergency readiness of all public accessible defibrillators across the South West. SWAST is currently contacting guardians of defibrillators which have not had a status check registered on The Circuit for more than three months. This proportion has, as a result, reduced from one third of all defibrillators to 17% over the past year.
SWAST is also working with all schools across the South West to encourage them to register their defibrillator on The Circuit, with 90% of schools across the South West now having a defibrillator registered, the highest percentage in the country. SWAST is also promoting the labelling of public access defibrillators using stickers produced by The Circuit to reduce the time taken for a defibrillator to return to its cabinet after allocation, reducing the time that it is unavailable.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers that (a) are not connected to the gas grid and (b) rely on alternative costly fuels in (i) South East Cornwall and (ii) other rural and coastal areas.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently, including those who are not on the gas grid. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.
We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. In February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.
I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all they can to support their customers who are struggling with their bills. I recommend that any consumers who are struggling with their bills should contact their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice to see what support they may be able to receive.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of welfare changes on the mental health of claimants in (a) South East Cornwall constituency, (b) rural areas and (c) coastal areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 reduce death rates from (a) alcohol, (b) drugs and (c) suicide in (a) the North and (b) coastal regions.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
A vital part of delivering the Health Mission shift to prevention will be action to reduce the number of deaths due to alcohol and drug use, especially in deprived areas. In England, rates of drug poisoning and drug misuse deaths have a marked north-south divide, with the North East of England having consistently seen the highest rate of drug and alcohol deaths over the previous decade.
The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services to ensure that those in need can access high quality help and support. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, which is being reviewed in light of the recent Office of National Statistics data, to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. Additionally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published Commissioning quality standard: alcohol and drug services, which provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas. Further information on the guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services
The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug and alcohol misuse deaths, and to drive improvements in the continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess local need and the causes of mortality, in order to plan to meet it.
Earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:
It also published guidance on incident planning and preparedness for the emerging threat of potent synthetic opioids.
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. The ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.
The Government has committed to tackling suicide as one the biggest killers in this country. The 8,500 new mental health workers we will recruit will be specially trained to support people at risk to reduce the lives lost to suicide. The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in September 2023, identifies a number of targeted actions at a national level. We are exploring opportunities to go further.
79 organisations have been allocated funding up to March 2025 from the £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund and are delivering a broad and diverse range of activity that will prevent suicides and save lives including in the North and in coastal areas. Organisations benefitting include Lancaster Men’s Hub, Stockton and District Advice and Information Service, and Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change Ltd.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of tourism on the local economy in (a) rural and (b) coastal communities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
With coastal and countryside destinations making up 25% of domestic day trips and 31% of domestic overnight stays in 2023, tourism is recognised as a key sector with the potential to contribute strongly to economic growth and pride in place of an area.
The Government is implementing a range of measures to support the sector and maximise its benefits for local economies, including working with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience, and promoting rural areas such as the South Downs, Northumberland, Pembrokeshire and the Yorkshire Dales. Additionally, as mentioned at Heritage Day in March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be launching a dedicated fund to support enhancements to our seaside heritage to help protect and rejuvenate coastal assets which are in need of love and attention.
To ensure that the tourism organisation landscape works for local communities, the Government has introduced the Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation programme and the North-East Destination Development Partnership pilot. These aim to bring clarity and coherence at a regional level and drive investment and both domestic and international visitor spend across a region including in rural and coastal areas. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, through VisitEngland, has accredited 33 LVEPs so far across a range of English regions.
As set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan Update (2023), the Government will work to ensure that the benefits of tourism are shared across every nation and region, and expects the sector to contribute to the enhancement and conservation of the UK’s cultural, natural and historic heritage and minimise damage to the environment.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the spread of reported Asian hornet nesting sites in England since 2019.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
A risk assessment for Asian hornet was completed in 2011. The risk assessment concluded that there were multiple pathways through which Asian hornet could arrive in England and therefore that entry was very likely. Several areas were identified where Asian hornet incursions were thought to be most likely and this included Southern English counties, coastal regions, open areas near fresh water and areas close to ports and airports.
Since 2019 there have been 80 Asian hornet nests located and destroyed in Great Britain with 77 of these nests located in the South of England.
In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of nests when compared to all previous years, with 72 nests located and destroyed. The majority of the nests were located in the South-East (62), while 8 were located in the South and South-West and 2 were located in the North of England.
We ask all members of the public to be vigilant for sightings of Asian hornet during the peak season (June-October) as Asian hornets are known to be an effective hitch hiker and may be spotted anywhere across the country.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
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 help flood affected areas in (a) Bournemouth East constituency and (b) the South West.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
a) Bournemouth East is at risk of flooding from the sea, Christchurch Harbour, the River Stour and Surface Water. The Environment Agency and Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch Council are working in partnership to ensure plans are in place to reduce the flood and coastal erosion risk both now and into the future taking account of climate change. Work is underway on the Lower Stour and Christchurch Bay Flood Risk Management Strategies. These strategies will inform future investment needed to both reduce flood risk and adapt to climate change. The Environment Agency and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council are capturing information from recent flood events and will build this into their Strategies and future investment plans. Both organisations are also engaging with affected communities.
As part of the Government’s 6- year £5.2 billion (2021/22-2026/27) capital investment programme £22.7m of Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) is being invested in Bournemouth East. This will better protect 3003 properties from flooding or coastal erosion. On the coast we are investing in the Bournemouth Beach Management Programme to reduce the risk of coastal erosion. Work is underway and includes groyne replacement, beach recharge, and redevelopment of the long groyne at Hengistbury Head.
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council are developing surface water management plans that will identify high risk locations and measures necessary to reduce the risk of surface water flooding, these plans will take account of recent flooding.
b) Across the South West the Environment Agency and Local Authorities are similarly working with local communities to help them recover from flooding over the last few months.
The Flood and Coastal Risk Management capital programme (2021/22 – 2026/27) has planned FDGIA capital investment of £696m for the South West ONS region*. This investment is forecast to better protect around 21,300 properties from flooding and coastal erosion.
*Please note that allocations are reviewed each year and are subject to change, and numbers for properties better protected are forecasts which are also subject to change. Totals may not include projects that are cross-boundary across multiple ONS regions.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor pyridine in the River Tees; and what assessment they have made of whether preparation for the Teesside Freeport is safe to fishing interests.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Environment Agency carries out routine monitoring of water quality in the River Tees, which includes testing for Pyridine. Monthly samples are taken at 10 locations within the Tees Estuary and adjacent coastal waters.
The Tees South Bank Quay licence application required a full Environmental Impact Assessment under the Marine Work (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (2017) and Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009), which included an assessment of likely significant effects to fish ecology and fishery receptors. Various mitigation measures were stipulated on the licence and the full detail of the licensing and consultation process can be found on the MMO Public Register.
Meanwhile, the Marine Management Organisation uses internationally accepted guidelines including from The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic 1992 (OSPAR) to help inform its licensing decisions.
The UK is a contracting party to OSPAR, and OSPAR guidance is used to identify chemicals for testing. Pyridine is not routinely measured in sediment, and there are currently no plans to monitor for pyridine in sediments generally, including for dredge and disposal applications. Pyridine is not listed as a Chemical for Priority Action (contaminant of concern, based on persistency, liability to bioaccumulate, and toxicity) by either OSPAR (https://www.ospar.org/work-areas/hasec/hazardous-substances/priority-action) [copy attached to this answer] or the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) Clacton constituency and (b) deprived coastal areas in the South are included in the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are committed to levelling up opportunity across the UK – by boosting jobs, wages and prospects for all communities. The government is launching a new Levelling Up Fund worth £4bn for England. This will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. We will publish more detail on the criteria for assessing bids in the prospectus.
The Department is also working to implement the findings of the Green Book Review to better reflect the government's strategic objectives in business cases, particularly on levelling up.