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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for 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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown measures on communities that are recovering from the 2019–20 winter floods.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government recognises the impact of COVID-19 on flood-affected householders and businesses and sympathises with those affected.
Flood recovery is a devolved matter and in England the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the lead Government department for recovery.
In response to the flood events of 2019 and 2020, the Government activated the Flood Recovery Framework in England. This framework aims to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
This framework includes the Community Recovery Grant, a one-off £500 hardship grant, available to eligible flooded households and businesses. Those households are also able to receive a 100% council tax rebate (for a minimum of three months); rebates will apply to the flooded property and any temporary accommodation those households are required to move into.
In addition to the core framework led by MHCLG, Defra leads on two recovery schemes: the Property Flood Resilience Scheme and the Farming Recovery Fund. The Property Flood Resilience fund enables eligible flood-affected properties to receive up to £5,000 to improve their resilience to future flooding. Both the November 2019 and February 2020 schemes remain open despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Defra officials are working closely with local authorities to monitor the situation and provide support if necessary.
The Farming Recovery Fund was opened to support the recovery from the June and July 2019 floods in North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This was extended to cover the further flooding in parts of South Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and the Midlands in November 2019. The Farming Recovery Fund was subsequently further extended to support recovery for farmers most seriously affected by flooding in February 2020 to parts of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and North and East Yorkshire. Delivery is unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials are also in close contact with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to understand the progress insurers are making within the recovery process in light of COVID-19. In general, insurers are stepping up their use of technology to work around the need to be in properties in person. They have access to the required protective equipment where needed, and suitable accommodation is being found where required. The ABI has been active in providing customers with regular updates and keeping officials informed of the progress on the ground.
Last week the Government published its long-term plan to tackle the risks of flooding and coastal erosion. The plans include £200 million for innovative projects such as sustainable drainage systems and nature-based solutions like temporary or permanent water storage areas which also boost wildlife. These will support 25 areas at risk of flooding to test and demonstrate innovative actions to adapt to a changing climate and improve their resilience.
In addition, up to £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021. 22 areas across the country will benefit from this immediate boost to jobs supporting the local economy as communities recover from the impact of coronavirus.
The Environment Agency (EA) has carried out approximately 20,000 post-incident inspections following the flooding events in November 2019 and February 2020. These inspections are now complete and the results have been used to plan projects for the EA’s recovery programme that will deliver asset repairs. Government provided £120 million of funding at the Budget in March to repair assets damaged in this winter’s floods, and it is expected that all assets will be restored by the end of October 2020, or the EA will have sufficient temporary measures in place to mitigate risks to communities while works complete over winter.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273 on Ministry of Defence: Empty Property, if he will list the (a) parliamentary constituencies and (b) local authority areas those void properties are in.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
A list of the void properties by Local Authority can be found in the table below.
The Department does not record constituency details for Service Family Accommodation (SFA). The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Local Authority | Void SFA |
ALNWICK | 32 |
ANGLESEY, ISLE OF | 52 |
ASHFORD | 10 |
AYLESBURY VALE | 71 |
BARNET | 5 |
BIRMINGHAM | 5 |
BRACKNELL FOREST | 76 |
BRECKLAND | 119 |
BRIDGNORTH | 117 |
BRIGHTON AND HOVE | 3 |
BRISTOL, CITY OF | 1 |
BROADLAND | 1 |
BROMLEY | 13 |
BROXTOWE | 33 |
CAMDEN | 2 |
CANTERBURY | 48 |
CARADON | 19 |
CARDIFF | 5 |
CARLISLE | 21 |
CARRICK | 1 |
CASTLE MORPETH | 20 |
CHARNWOOD | 17 |
CHERWELL | 49 |
CHESTER | 55 |
COLCHESTER | 110 |
COTSWOLD | 23 |
COUNTY OF HEREFORDSHIRE | 11 |
DARLINGTON | 46 |
DOVER | 48 |
EAST DEVON | 30 |
EAST DORSET | 16 |
EAST HAMPSHIRE | 319 |
EAST LINDSEY | 30 |
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE | 44 |
EXETER | 4 |
FAREHAM | 16 |
FOREST OF DEAN | 17 |
FYLDE | 93 |
GLOUCESTER | 31 |
GOSPORT | 104 |
GREENWICH | 50 |
GUILDFORD | 107 |
HAMBLETON | 234 |
HARROGATE | 126 |
HARROW | 34 |
HART | 168 |
HAVANT | 1 |
HERTSMERE | 58 |
HILLINGDON | 118 |
HOUNSLOW | 19 |
HUNTINGDONSHIRE | 118 |
KENNET | 317 |
KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA | 3 |
KERRIER | 59 |
KING'S LYNN AND WEST NORFOLK | 122 |
KINGSTON UPON THAMES | 26 |
LEEDS | 1 |
LICHFIELD | 31 |
MAIDSTONE | 25 |
MEDWAY | 156 |
MELTON | 18 |
MERTON | 4 |
MID BEDFORDSHIRE | 155 |
MID SUFFOLK | 44 |
NEW FOREST | 13 |
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE | 6 |
NORTH CORNWALL | 6 |
NORTH DEVON | 22 |
NORTH DORSET | 146 |
NORTH KESTEVEN | 216 |
NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE | 1 |
NORTH SHROPSHIRE | 90 |
NORTH TYNESIDE | 6 |
NORTH WILTSHIRE | 274 |
NUNEATON AND BEDWORTH | 8 |
PEMBROKESHIRE | 54 |
PETERBOROUGH | 122 |
PLYMOUTH | 174 |
POOLE | 15 |
PORTSMOUTH | 63 |
POWYS | 45 |
PRESTON | 10 |
PURBECK | 39 |
RESTORMEL | 28 |
RICHMOND UPON THAMES | 11 |
RICHMONDSHIRE | 268 |
RUGBY | 22 |
RUNNYMEDE | 10 |
RUSHMOOR | 223 |
RUTLAND | 193 |
SALISBURY | 554 |
SCARBOROUGH | 10 |
SEFTON | 1 |
SEVENOAKS | 2 |
SHEPWAY | 82 |
SHREWSBURY AND ATCHAM | 5 |
SOUTH BEDFORDSHIRE | 3 |
SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE | 126 |
SOUTH HAMS | 14 |
SOUTH KESTEVEN | 28 |
SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE | 127 |
SOUTH SOMERSET | 65 |
SPELTHORNE | 19 |
ST. EDMUNDSBURY | 65 |
STAFFORD | 29 |
STRATFORD-ON-AVON | 14 |
SUFFOLK COASTAL | 82 |
SURREY HEATH | 104 |
SWINDON | 8 |
TAUNTON DEANE | 13 |
TELFORD AND WREKIN | 47 |
TEST VALLEY | 160 |
TEWKESBURY | 48 |
THANET | 2 |
THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN | 92 |
THREE RIVERS | 13 |
UTTLESFORD | 25 |
VALE OF WHITE HORSE | 152 |
WAKEFIELD | 1 |
WANDSWORTH | 9 |
WEST BERKSHIRE | 38 |
WEST DEVON | 4 |
WEST LINDSEY | 51 |
WEST OXFORDSHIRE | 113 |
WEST WILTSHIRE | 145 |
WESTMINSTER | 11 |
WINCHESTER | 90 |
WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD | 98 |
WOKING | 12 |
WOKINGHAM | 76 |
WREXHAM | 1 |
WYCOMBE | 106 |
YORK | 37 |
Void SFA Total | 8,458 |
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2018 to Question 135134 on legal aid scheme: immigration, in (a) how many areas and (b) which areas were one or fewer compliant tenders received in response to the Legal Aid Agency's recent tender process.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Immigration and Asylum regions, procurement areas and access points from 1 September 2018
Region | Procurement area | Number of access points | Access points |
London and South East England | London and South East England | 6 | Buckinghamshire |
Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth & Isle of Wight | |||
London | |||
Mid, South West and Coastal Kent | |||
Oxfordshire & Berkshire | |||
Surrey & Sussex | |||
Midlands and East of England | Midlands and East of England | 7 | Bedfordshire & South Hertfordshire |
Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire | |||
City of Leicester | |||
City of Stoke-on-Trent | |||
Coventry | |||
Greater Nottingham, Derby & South Derbyshire | |||
South Staffordshire, Sandwell and Birmingham | |||
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | 4 | County Durham East, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Gateshead |
South Yorkshire | |||
West Yorkshire | |||
City of Kingston upon Hull | |||
North West England | North West England | 3 | East & West Lancashire |
Greater Manchester | |||
Merseyside | |||
South West England | South West England | 3 | City of Bristol, Gloucestershire and North Somerset |
City of Plymouth and Devon | |||
Swindon | |||
Cardiff | Wales | 3 | Bridgend, Cardiff and South East Wales |
Neath Port Talbot and Swansea | |||
North East Wales |
The LAA received one or fewer compliant tenders in 6 Immigration and Asylum access points, as follows:
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2018 to Question 135134 on legal aid scheme: immigration, how many immigration law access points there are in each region.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Immigration and Asylum regions, procurement areas and access points from 1 September 2018
Region | Procurement area | Number of access points | Access points |
London and South East England | London and South East England | 6 | Buckinghamshire |
Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth & Isle of Wight | |||
London | |||
Mid, South West and Coastal Kent | |||
Oxfordshire & Berkshire | |||
Surrey & Sussex | |||
Midlands and East of England | Midlands and East of England | 7 | Bedfordshire & South Hertfordshire |
Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire | |||
City of Leicester | |||
City of Stoke-on-Trent | |||
Coventry | |||
Greater Nottingham, Derby & South Derbyshire | |||
South Staffordshire, Sandwell and Birmingham | |||
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | 4 | County Durham East, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Gateshead |
South Yorkshire | |||
West Yorkshire | |||
City of Kingston upon Hull | |||
North West England | North West England | 3 | East & West Lancashire |
Greater Manchester | |||
Merseyside | |||
South West England | South West England | 3 | City of Bristol, Gloucestershire and North Somerset |
City of Plymouth and Devon | |||
Swindon | |||
Cardiff | Wales | 3 | Bridgend, Cardiff and South East Wales |
Neath Port Talbot and Swansea | |||
North East Wales |
The LAA received one or fewer compliant tenders in 6 Immigration and Asylum access points, as follows:
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts and healthcare organisations there are in (a) East Sussex, (b) West Sussex and (c) Sussex; and what the respective tasks are of those trusts and organisations.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The information requested is as follows:
There are four NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and two acute National Health Service trusts that serve the populations of East Sussex.
The four CCGs are as follows:
- Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG);
- NHS Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG;
- NHS Hastings and Rother CCG; and
- High Weald Lewes and Havens CCG.
CCGs are responsible for making sure that the people they serve have access to the healthcare services they need. They do this by commissioning (buying) health services from healthcare providers. Together with their partners they make sure that resources are used efficiently and effectively to deliver the best possible health outcomes for their population.
The two Acute NHS trusts are as follows:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is an acute teaching hospital working across two main sites.
It provides district general hospital services to its local populations in and around the Brighton and Hove, Mid Sussex and the western part of East Sussex and more specialised and tertiary services for patients across Sussex and the south east of England.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides acute hospital and community health services for people living in East Sussex and surrounding areas.
The Trust offers a comprehensive range of surgical, medical and maternity services supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services.
There are three NHS CCGs and three acute NHS trusts that serve the populations of West Sussex.
The three CCGs are as follows:
- NHS Coastal West Sussex CCG;
- Crawley CCG; and
- Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG.
The three acute NHS trusts are as follows:
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH) has links with the operational delivery network for cancer and trauma care covering Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. In addition, QVH is involved in a number of multidisciplinary teams throughout the region.
Queen Victoria Hospital is a regional and national centre for maxillofacial, reconstructive plastic and corneoplastic surgery, as well as for the treatment of burns. It is a surgical centre for skin cancer and for head and neck cancer and provides microvascular reconstruction services for breast cancer patients following, or in association with, mastectomy.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is an acute trust formed on 1 April 1998, as a result of a merger between the East Surrey Healthcare NHS Trust and Crawley Horsham NHS Trust. It provides healthcare services to a growing population of around 535,000. The Trust has extensive, modern facilities including Magnetic Resonance Imagining and Computerised Tomography scanners, intensive and coronary care units and is the designated major incident centre for Gatwick Airport.
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of around 450,000 people across a catchment area covering most of West Sussex.
The Trust became an NHS Foundation Trust on 1 July 2013, just over four years after the organisation was created by a merger of the Royal West Sussex and Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trusts.
One community NHS trust, two Mental Health NHS foundation trusts and one ambulance NHS foundation trust serve the populations of both East and West Sussex.
Sussex Community NHS Trust is the main provider of community NHS health and care across West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and High Weald Lewes Havens area of East Sussex
It provides community rehabilitation and support for people with complex health needs and long-term conditions or people needing end of life care.
It also provides:
- Intermediate care, offering short term recovery and rehabilitation;
- Health promotion, supporting people to improve health and wellbeing; and
- Coordinated and flexible service for families and children.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS care and treatment for children, young people and adults of all ages living in south east England. Its mental health services provide care and treatment for people with conditions such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, dementia and personality disorder. Its specialist learning disability services provide community and inpatient care for people with complex health needs which can’t be met by other services.
The Trust provides care in people’s homes, in specialist clinics, hospitals, general practitioner surgeries and prisons.
Similarly, a single NHS Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust serves the populations of both East and West Sussex.
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is the leading provider of health and social care services for people of all ages with mental ill-health and learning disabilities in Surrey and North East Hampshire and drug and alcohol services in Surrey, Hounslow and Brighton.
The Trust’s core purpose is to work with people and lead communities in improving their mental and physical health and wellbeing for a better life; through delivering excellent and responsive prevention, diagnosis, early intervention, treatment and care.
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust responds to 999 calls from the public, urgent calls from healthcare professionals and provide NHS 111 services across the region.
The Trust covers a geographical area of 3,600 square miles (Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and North East Hampshire).
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on primary care in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England does not hold data at constituency level. NHS England advises that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across the country, including Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG, were invited to put forward proposals for investment from the Estates and Technology Transformation Fund (formerly the Primary Care Transformation Fund) in line with local estates and digital plans by the end of June 2016. A detailed review of submissions has begun and NHS England plans to provide feedback to CCGs on their investment bids this autumn.
In the meantime, NHS England is currently in ongoing dialogue with Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG and three practices in East Grinstead with regards to proposals concerning support required to increase capacity and build resilience. The national General Practice Forward View published recently by NHS England sets out the support that is being made available to general practitioner (GP) practices to help address some of the challenges they are facing and to support them to meet future patient need. This document can be found at:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/gpfv
Spend on GP services in West Sussex and Mid Sussex
CCG area | 2016-17 Budget | 2015-16 Outturn | 2014-15 Outturn |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Coastal West Sussex | 62,051 | 59,965 | 54,118 |
Horsham and Mid Sussex | 27,269 | 26,284 | 24,311 |
Crawley | 15,025 | 14,931 | 14,144 |
| 104,345 | 101,180 | 92,573 |
Source: NHS England
Notes: