Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 2,121–2,140 of 2,194 · this parliament
If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of an increase in defence spending on investment in Fylde constituency.
The increase in defence spending will fund critical investments in areas like autonomous systems, AI, cyber, rebuilding stockpiles and munition reserves, and therefore will support the security and resilience of the whole of the UK, including Fylde. The full details will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review.
Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department offers to household waste recovery firms in Fylde constituency.
We take household waste recovery firms to mean private waste collectors. We are working to support private waste collectors in England ahead of the upcoming Simpler Recycling reforms, which will ensure that across England, people will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school. Guidance has been published to assist local authorities, other waste collectors and workplaces in implementing the new requirements: Paper and card guidanceHousehold waste services guidanceWorkplace recycling guidance Defra has launched a Simpler Recycling Communications Toolkit to help local authorities and private waste collectors inform their business and non-domestic customers about the required changes. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders to support successful delivery of the reforms, in the lead up and following the 31 March 2025 implementation date for workplaces, and 31 March 2026 for households.
If he will take step to help prevent non-crown Post Office closures in Fylde.
Government protects the sustainability of the branch network by providing funding on the basis that Post Office meets minimum access criteria for example including in Fylde, that across the country, 99% of the population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office. Government works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the published access criteria. Along with the annual £50 million subsidy, we have provided a further £37.5 million in December last year to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on business in Fylde.
Wholesale energy costs have decreased for non-domestic consumers since the global energy crisis, but we recognise that some businesses may be struggling to pay their bills. 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. In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed. Business owners struggling to pay their bills should contact their supplier to discuss their options, including ‘blend and extend’ contracts, where the higher unit rate is blended with a new lower rate, spreading the cost over the course of a long contract.
What steps he is taking to help reduce employment costs for businesses in Fylde.
The Plan to Make Work Pay is central to our Plan for Change to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for all. It will tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security, creating long-term growth and investment to support businesses. We must ensure that our Plan works for all businesses. Insights gained from our ongoing engagement with businesses has been invaluable in developing proportionate, effective policy. Make Work Pay will increase workforce productivity and ensure a level playing field, so businesses trying to do the right thing, like those in Fylde, are not undercut.
What steps she is taking to help ensure the safety of teachers and pupils in schools in Fylde constituency.
Violent incidents in schools are rare, but all schools should be places of safety and learning. Education settings are designed to be secure environments with robust safeguarding frameworks. They should have policies on security measures, supported by clear guidance to develop plans for deterring attacks, keeping learners safe and implementing lockdowns when necessary.The department has a tested incident response mechanism that allows us to support the education sector if impacted directly or indirectly by a major incident. Our primary goal is to safeguard the health and safety of children, young people and staff while minimising disruptions to education. In addition, the department has published comprehensive guidance and high-quality resources to help teachers and learners prepare for and respond to counter terrorism incidents and attacks. These resources can be found here: https://www.protectuk.police.uk/catalogue/EducationLearningandGuidance.We also currently provide specialist pupil support in serious violence hotspots in England. Support, attend, fulfil, exceed taskforces are school-led partnerships that develop a targeted, local response to serious violence in ten areas. Interventions delivered include mentoring, social skills training and cognitive behavioural approaches. In alternative provision (AP) settings, alternative provision specialist taskforces are joined up, multi-disciplinary teams, which include youth workers, family workers and careers workers, embedded within the largest AP schools in 22 areas.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of mobile phones in schools on recent trends in the levels of pupil attainment in Fylde constituency.
Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance 2024.We expect all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.The department does not centrally collect behaviour data from schools or individual constituencies. The latest results of the annual National Behaviour Survey is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6628dd9bdb4b9f0448a7e584/National_behaviour_survey_academic_year_2022_to_2023.pdf.
What steps he is taking to support high street businesses in Fylde.
Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are delivering across government to create better conditions for high street businesses to thrive. The new Crime and Policing Bill will give better protection for businesses and retail workers, including those in Fylde, against assault and theft. We have introduced High Street Rental Auction powers for local authorities and before Christmas we opened the 100th Banking Hub – providing essential banking services for businesses and high street users. At the Budget the Chancellor announced plans to work with industry to design a new business rates system.Our Small Business Strategy, to be published later this year, will set out this Government’s plan for further supporting small businesses across key areas, including on the high street.Within Fylde constituency, Kirkham is benefitting from £6.29m from the Future High Street Fund and £3.27m from High Street Heritage Action Zone funding. This will help Kirkham become a more vibrant destination through town centre regeneration, bringing benefits to businesses and residents in Fylde.
If he will take steps to reduce employment regulations for businesses in Fylde.
The Plan to Make Work Pay is central to our Plan for Change to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for all. It will tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security, creating long-term growth and investment to support businesses. We must ensure that our Plan works for all businesses. Insights gained from our ongoing engagement with businesses has been invaluable in developing proportionate, effective policy. Make Work Pay will increase workforce productivity and ensure a level playing field, so businesses trying to do the right thing, like those in Fylde, are not undercut.
What steps her Department is taking to reduce pupil absenteeism in Fylde constituency.
Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity in all areas. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well-supported teaching and learning is, they will not benefit. Thanks to the hard work of parents and teachers there has been progress, but levels of absenteeism remain higher than they were prior to the pandemic.The department has set out clear expectations of all local authorities and schools in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory in August 2024. This guidance can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf.The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach and sets out clear expectations on how schools, trusts, local authorities and wider services should work together and with families to address attendance barriers and provide the right support, including where a pupil is not attending due to special educational needs.The department has also established 31 attendance hubs that offer their support to around 2000 schools, including secondaries. Hubs are established and led by senior leaders in schools with strong attendance practice. The meetings led by these hubs are intended to give senior leaders in other schools a forum to discuss and share effective attendance practice. Whilst we do not hold numbers at a constituency level, 23 schools in Blackpool, Lancashire and surrounding areas have been offered the support of an attendance hub.Last year, the department published an attendance toolkit, bringing together effective practice from across the hubs. This toolkit gives schools practical advice on how to diagnose and target their attendance problem and how to effectively implement great practice.We are also strengthening our tools for faster and more effective school improvement by launching the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams. Supported by over £20 million, these teams will offer both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system for all schools. The RISE teams are now beginning work with the first group of schools eligible for the targeted, bespoke service, including support for attendance as necessary. Improving school attendance is a national priority for RISE teams.Alongside hub lead schools and RISE advisers, the department is delivering a programme of regional attendance conferences across England, giving secondary school leaders and senior attendance champions the chance to hear directly from hubs and other practitioners on improving attendance. The conference in the North West will be held on 24 March.Every state school in England, including in Fylde constituency, is required to share their attendance data with the department. Schools can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.
How many schools left the breakfast club early adopters scheme due to funding constraints in Fylde constituency prior to 24 February 2025.
This government is clear on the impact that breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why we committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged pupils. The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters. The list of the 750 schools selected was published on 24 February. Early adopters will start delivering from the summer term, meaning we are bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.
Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 31587 on Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: Lancashire, which places of worship received funding in Fylde constituency; and what the awards were for.
In the Fylde constituency, 8 listed places of worship to a total value of £68,994.54 have received awards through the grant scheme. These were Fairhaven United Reformed Church receiving £1,759.30; Roman Catholic Church of St Anne receiving £9,092.24, Well Baptist Church receiving £15,585.62, St Anne’s Church Poulton Le Fylde receiving £6,177.46; Lytham Methodist Church receiving £793.13; St Anne Church receiving £23,057.48, St Nicholas Church Wrea Green receiving £2,051.60 and St John The Evangelist receiving £10,477.71.
With reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, if he will order additional Eurofighter Typhoon jets.
To provide the UK with the most relevant and capable Combat Aircraft force, the Ministry of Defence continually reviews the expected threat and the ability of our forces to counter it. Any further purchases would be set out in the usual way.
Whether British manufacturers will be given priority in new defence infrastructure contracts.
The additional investment in defence announced by the Prime Minister on 25 February 2025 will both protect UK citizens from threats and create a secure and stable environment in which businesses can thrive, supporting the Government’s number one mission to deliver economic growth. This includes maximising jobs, growth, skills and innovation in the UK. This Government is committed to supporting UK based manufacturers and will bring forward a new Defence Industrial Strategy later this year to align the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy. Defence infrastructure projects already make extensive use manufacturers based in the UK, but do also source materials and equipment to be used in contracts from overseas. Allowing sourcing from overseas helps maintains the competitive advantage of UK businesses and can provide better value for money.
What steps she is taking to reduce the cost of rail services in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
We are committed to reforming the overcomplicated fares system with a view to simplifying rail fares across the country. Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway. This year's 4.6 per cent increase will be the lowest absolute increase in three years and will support the Government's long-term plan to achieve financial sustainability of the railway.
Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the tourism industry in Fylde constituency.
The Government is implementing the most significant overhaul of regional destination management in a generation, creating a portfolio of nationally supported, strategic and high-performing Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) in partnership with VisitEngland. These LVEPs will provide strong local leadership and governance in tourism destinations all over the country, and Fylde is included in this programme as part of the Marketing Lancashire LVEP. The Marketing Lancashire LVEP works collaboratively with both local authority and private sector partners to communicate investment opportunities and to showcase Lancashire’s strengths as a place to live, work, study and invest in, as well as a premier destination for visitors.
Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned changes to the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme on listed places of worship in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was established to provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. 94% of applications have been under £25,000, and most claims are for under £5,000.A total of 8 claims have been paid out to Listed Places of Worship located in the Fylde parliamentary constituency, totalling £68,994.54, since August 2022.A total of 388 claims have been paid out to Listed Places of Worship located in the county of Lancashire, totalling £1,492,163.66, since August 2022.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 26765 on Soil: Conservation, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of thresholds for Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes; and what plans his Department has to review those thresholds to ensure they can be accessed by small family farms.
The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications. There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders. For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 26765 on Soil: Conservation, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of thresholds for the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier; and what plans his Department has to review schemes to ensure they can be accessed by small family farms.
The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications. There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders. For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 26765 on Soil: Conservation, what steps he is taking to ensure that family farms below the threshold required to access (a) Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and (b) Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes are able to receive support to prevent soil degradation on agricultural land impacted by repeated flooding.
The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications. There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders. For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.