Ben Spencer MP: written questions
198 published records · newest first.
Written questions
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals AbroadDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9782More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which countries she is negotiating a reciprocal agreement on uprating state pensions.
Answer: My department is not negotiating any reciprocal social security agreements.
Answered 24 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRiver Thames: Flood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9781More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency’s performance on flood risk asset management along the non-tidal Thames; and what discussions he has had with that
Answer: Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why this Government launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedn...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordThames WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9780More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the performance standards he expects Thames Water to meet in response to a sewer flooding incident.
Answer: The Environment Agency expects water and sewerage companies to take all possible measures to avoid pollution incidents and to mitigate environmental impact if they occur. Thames Water’s current performance on pollution incidents is unacceptable and the co...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRiver Thames: Flood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9779More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of (a) flood risk and (b) primary navigation assets along the non-tidal Thames that are below their target condition lie within the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency
Answer: Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why this Government launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedn...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRiver Thames: Flood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9778More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the condition of flood risk assets along the non-tidal Thames on flood risk in that area.
Answer: Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why this Government launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedn...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRiver Thames: InfrastructureDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9777More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) ability of river users to safely navigate the Thames river and (b) potential economic impact of the proportion of navigation assets along
Answer: (a) The safety of river users navigating the non-tidal Thames is a priority for the Environment Agency (EA), although it remains the responsibility of the master of their vessel to ensure the safety of it and everyone on board. The EA have measures in pla...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordM25: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9575More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the economic impact to businesses and communities in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency of the M25/A3 improvement works.
Answer: National Highways (NH) is delivering a scheme on the M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange and selected surrounding roads to reduce congestion, improve safety, support planned housing and economic growth, and improve provision for pedestrians, cyclists an...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBridges: Runnymede and WeybridgeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9574More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the causes of delays in repairing bridge 142 in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.
Answer: To ensure public safety and prevent access to the bridge, Egham Hythe (Bridge 142) will be closed until the Environment Agency (EA) has completed the necessary repair. Following a tree strike in 2023 the EA has conducted several specialist surveys of this...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9573More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools are participating in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme; and how much funding is provided to each school as part of the Early Language and Support for Every Child in Surrey.
Answer: There are 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme currently, following the continuation of the programme for an additional academic year, which was announced in July 2024. The full list of schools registered...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRiver Mole: SewageDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9571More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to sewage works discharging into the river Mole and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from tho
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) has 31 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) schemes in the current investment period 2020-25. These cover the Mole catchment as a whole. The schemes involve a range of actions including increasing storm tank ca...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSewage: WeybridgeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9570More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to Weybridge sewage works and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from that site.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) has required Thames Water to improve the Event Duration Monitoring of storm overflows at Weybridge Sewage Treatment works as part of the current Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) 2020-25. The EA has inspecte...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSewage: Water TreatmentDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9229More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to Chertsey Sewage Works and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from that site.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) has required Thames Water to significantly improve the storm tank capacity at Chertsey Sewage Treatment works as part of the current Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) 2020-25 to reduce the frequency of storm...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSchools: Adrenaline Auto-injectorsDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9228More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) staff training and (b) equipment for the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis in schools.
Answer: Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, Academies and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions.The accompanying statutory guidance, entitled Supporting Pupils...
Answered 24 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal and Plant Health AgencyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9227More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned upgrade and improvement works at the Animal and Plant Health Agency on (a) current and (b) future trade agreements.
Answer: Work to safeguard and enhance the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) site in Weybridge continues. This capability ensures the Government can continue to manage a wide range of biosecurity threats which may otherwise affect our ability to trade. Defra...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordInland Waterways: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9226More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics are in place to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the timely response of the Environment Agency to reports of (i) waterway obstructions, (ii) lack of waterway maintenance and (i
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). As the principal sponsor of the EA, Defra works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordInland Waterways: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9225More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement powers he has over the Environment Agency if they fail to remove (a) a tree under the Wey Bridge and (b) other waterway obstructions.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). As the principal sponsor of the EA, Defra works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSewage: Runnymede and WeybridgeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8892More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take enforcement action against Thames Water in response to sewer flooding in the Runnymede and Weybridge Constituency.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) assesses all incident reports and responds to those which pose the greatest risk to the environment. The EA has received one recent report of sewer flooding in the Runnymede and Weybridge Constituency (since 1 September 2024). ...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHealth Centres: WeybridgeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8891More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on building a new healthcare facility to replace Weybridge Community Hospital.
Answer: Since the fire at Weybridge Community Hospital in 2017, the NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been working on plans to develop a replacement health centre. The planning application is due to be submitted shortly, following a public con...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordMagna Carta SchoolDepartment for EducationTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8890More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will rebuild the Magna Carta School in Egham.
Answer: Magna Carta was announced as part of the school rebuilding programme in February 2024. The department remains committed to rebuild or refurbish all schools within the programme and we can confirm that early planning work for Magna Carta has started.
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHeathrow Airport: RailwaysDepartment for TransportTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8889More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on (a) local traffic and (b) air pollution of a direct rail link from Egham to Heathrow.
Answer: A direct rail link from Egham to Heathrow is not currently being developed by the Department for Transport. Heathrow Southern Rail Ltd (HSRL) is developing proposals for a southern rail link to the airport, and I would expect impacts on local traffic and...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordM25: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8888More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make a comparative estimate of the potential reduction in local noise pollution on the M25 in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency by (a) repairing the sections of concrete motorway and (b) replacin
Answer: National Highways has already undertaken trials to monitor the noise generated by concrete road surfaces following surface treatments (including Next Generation Concrete Surfacing) and the noise generated by other types of road surface. The outcome of the...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordWritten QuestionsLeader of the HouseTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8887More
Question: To ask the Leader of the House, how many and what proportion of (a) named day and (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions were answered within the response deadline by (i) Department and (ii) month since 4 July 2024.
Answer: Data on response times to written parliamentary questions (PQs) is held by the House, not the government. PQs are an important part of the scrutiny of government and we are committed to ensuring that Members receive full and timely responses. In May 2024,...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordRailway Stations: LiftsDepartment for TransportTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8680More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of lift (a) availability and (b) maintenance and repair at train stations.
Answer: This is an operational matter for Network Rail and the train operating companies. Lifts should be available whenever passengers need them, however, there have been many occasions where this has not been the case. Network Rail has been aware of lift and es...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFlood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many enforcement actions relating to flood risk prevention were taken by the Environment Agency in each constituency in 2023.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) regulate works in rivers through a permissions-based approach under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. These are referred to as “flood risk activities”. The primary purpose of the regulations is to ensure in-river works ...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFlood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Environment Agency's (a) actions and (b) policies in managing flood risk from watercourse in riparian ownership.
Answer: Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, the Environment Agency (EA) has a strategic overview of the management of all sources of flooding and coastal change and are the lead authority for managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, estuaries an...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
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