Stuart Anderson MP: written questions
237 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Agriculture: South ShropshireDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54947More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the agriculture budget will be spent in South Shropshire constituency.
Answer: At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Shropshire, and across the country.We remain committed to a farming budget of £2.4 billion for 2025/25 and are on track t...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSites of Special Scientific InterestDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to improve the condition of Sites of Specific Scientific Interest.
Answer: SSSIs continue to be one of the most effective tools for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and deliver a wide range of health and socio-economic benefits. Defra is working with Natural England to improve the efficiency of SSSI monitoring and drive del...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordBreakfast Clubs: Rural AreasDepartment for EducationTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53170More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure rural schools are able to access the Breakfast Clubs Early Adopters scheme.
Answer: In order to test and learn about how best to support schools in implementing new free universal breakfast clubs, the department has selected over 750 early adopter schools who began delivering from the start of the 2025 summer term, ahead of national roll...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDentistry: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53169More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the retention and recruitment of dentists in rural areas.
Answer: We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in rural and coastal areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 mor...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordLeisure CentresDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53168More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve the long-term viability of local authority-owned leisure centres.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities. The ongoing responsibility of providing ac...
Answered 28 May 2025
Original Parliament recordActive Travel: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help increase active travel options in rural areas.
Answer: The Department for Transport recently announced almost £300 million of funding to boost active travel across England. This includes £222.5 million to local authorities outside of London, including rural areas. Active Travel England (ATE) supports local au...
Answered 23 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadband: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve mobile reliability in rural areas.
Answer: 4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile network operator (MNO) has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass, but our ambition is for all populated areas of the UK to benefit from high quality, reliable, 5G standalone coverage by 2030; this includes...
Answered 28 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMembers: CorrespondenceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53165More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 5 December 2024 from the hon. Member for South Shropshire, inviting him to meet farmers in his constituency.
Answer: Thank you for your invitation. Ministers regularly engage and visit farmers across England and have met with farming organisations and representatives nearly every week since coming into Government, and I hope to visit farmers in your constituency soon.
Answered 12 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordBus Services: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51939More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the sustainability of bus services in rural areas.
Answer: The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: VeteransDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51938More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will reduce the cost of the Veterans Railcard.
Answer: We are not planning to reduce the price of the Veterans’ Railcard. Any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy will require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice: Rural AreasHome OfficeTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51433More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether funding will be allocated to roll out hotspot policing in rural areas.
Answer: This Government has awarded £66.3m in 2025/26 to all 43 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales for the Hot Spot Action Fund. This funding is for high-visibility patrolling in the areas with the highest densities (‘hotspots’) of knife c...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPension Credit: Rural AreasDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51432More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to increase awareness of the availability of Pension Credit in rural areas.
Answer: The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we ran the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across the whole of Great Britain. This included adverts on television; radio (including Greates...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: South ShropshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51431More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dental care in South Shropshire constituency.
Answer: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild den...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDisadvantaged: Rural AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51430More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to tackle pockets of deprivation in rural local authority areas.
Answer: The 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement begins to fix the foundations of local government by targeting additional funding to places with greatest need and demand for services (using deprivation as a proxy for this), and less ability to raise incom...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: South ShropshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51429More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to support community pharmacies in South Shropshire constituency.
Answer: For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.There is also...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51428More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the long-term sustainability of the hospice sector.
Answer: Palliative care services are included in the list of services an Integrated Care Board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordOrthopaedics: VeteransDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51427More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to support access to orthopaedic care for veterans.
Answer: Veterans with an orthopaedic condition related to their time in service can ask their general practitioner to refer them to Op RESTORE. Op RESTORE is an integrated physical health and wellbeing service, and works to ensure that veterans are seen in the ri...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning Authorities: Rural AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50207More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the (a) skills and (b) capacity of planning authorities in rural areas.
Answer: Supporting local planning authorities to attract, retain and develop skilled planners is crucial to ensuring they provide a proactive, efficient planning service for local communities and that new developments are well designed and facilitate local growth...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterans: Departmental ResponsibilitiesMinistry of DefenceTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50206More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a Minister for Veterans Affairs will be appointed.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister gave to Question 124 on 24 July 2024.
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSports: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50205More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department is providing for the renovation of multi-use sports pitches.
Answer: The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.We also deliver funding to support multi-use sport pitches th...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTelevision Licences: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50204More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the TV licence increase on household budgets.
Answer: In April 2025 the level of the licence fee increased in line with inflation, as set out in the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement that was reached under the previous government. The increase will mean that TV licence costs £5 more per year for households than in...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Rural AreasTreasuryTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50203More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to support small businesses in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural communities.
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced tax reforms to support small businesses, including: more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at ...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture and Food: ExportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50202More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to increase export opportunities for UK farmers and food producers.
Answer: The Government will always seek new opportunities to grow the UK’s world class agri-food and drinks sector. We are working to agree a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement with the European Union to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and e...
Answered 30 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFood BanksDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49036More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help retailers distribute surplus food to local charities.
Answer: The Government recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy encourages food businesses, including retailers, to prioritise redistribution of any surp...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordInflationTreasuryTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49035More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help return inflation to the target rate.
Answer: Inflation has fallen from the peak of 11.1%, returning to the 2% target in September 2024, before slightly increasing again to 2.6% in March. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as th...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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