Patrick Spencer MP: written questions
159 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Flood Control: Central Suffolk and North IpswichDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13704More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what Natural Flood Management projects are currently funded by the Environment Agency within Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency; what their total value is; and what evidenc
Answer: The Anglian Eastern Regional Flood Coastal Committee has a Local Levy funding stream for Risk Management Authorities to support delivery of Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects. Successfully funded projects within the constituency include:Parham NFM £6...
Answered 2 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordSolar PowerDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13403More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of the capacity required to meet the 47GW solar target by 2030 will come from (a) rooftop installations, (b) brownfield and previously developed land and (c) greenfield develo
Answer: The Government has not set discrete targets for rooftop and ground-mounted solar by 2030. However, modelling suggests that, even in the most ambitious scenarios, only up to 0.4% of UK land (0.6% of agricultural land) would be devoted to solar in 2030. Pla...
Answered 3 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: Central Suffolk and North IpswichDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 25 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13402More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new flood funding policy will change the Government Outcome Rate threshold that schemes in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency must meet to qualify for Environme
Answer: In October 2025, following consultation, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places by simplifying our funding...
Answered 30 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the highways maintenance block formula on rural counties such as Suffolk.
Answer: Every area faces its own unique challenges. That is why highways maintenance funding is based on established national datasets like road lengths, to help make the system as fair as possible across the country.The Government plans to review the funding for...
Answered 25 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: SuffolkMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11988More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what process will determine the final geographic boundaries of the three new unitary authorities in Suffolk; who will conduct that process; and what the timetable is for its comp
Answer: The final geographic boundaries of the three new unitary authorities in Suffolk have been decided by the Secretary of State who has announced that he will exercise his power to modify the base proposal received from West Suffolk, Babergh, Mid Suffolk, Eas...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSolar Power: Planning PermissionDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11987More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether independent Agricultural Land Classification surveys conducted by a qualified soil scientist are a mandatory requirement before solar farm applications on potential BMV land are deter
Answer: Agricultural Land Classification surveys are typically conducted using existing site survey reports, where available. Where this isn’t the case, the developer commissions a new survey, which should be conducted by soil scientists, or experienced soil spec...
Answered 30 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: Central Suffolk and North IpswichDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11986More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which flood defence schemes are included in the capital programme for flood and coastal erosion risk management in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency for 2026-2036; and wha
Answer: This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. Through the largest flood programme in history, this record ...
Answered 26 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria local highway authorities must meet to access the 25% incentive element of the additional highways maintenance funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024; and when those criteria will be communic
Answer: To access the 25% incentive element of the £500m additional highways maintenance funding for 2025 to 2026 announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, local highway authorities were required to publish a report demonstrating how they comply with best practice in ...
Answered 23 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government Finance: SuffolkMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 18 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether an independent assessment was made of the projected savings from three unitary authorities in Suffolk compared with the single-authority model proposed by Suffolk County
Answer: All proposals were considered carefully on a case-by-case basis against the six criteria set out in the statutory invitation, alongside consultation responses, representations received and all other relevant information. Decisions were taken in the round,...
Answered 24 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSolar Power: AgricultureDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 18 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance his Department issues to planning inspectors on the weighting to be given to Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land when determining solar farm appeals; and whether he
Answer: Appeals against planning refusal are decided in accordance with the applicable planning policies – in most cases, these are the National Planning Policy Framework and the Planning Practice Guidance. These state that, wherever possible, developers should u...
Answered 26 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSustainable Farming IncentiveDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of applications for SFI agreements on farm businesses that had not entered one; and what bridging support is availab
Answer: The Government has allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. This is being invested in a range of grants and schemes to support farmers, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), Countryside Stewa...
Answered 25 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: SuffolkDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10392More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the highways maintenance block funding allocation was for Suffolk County Council in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24, (c) 2024-25 and (d) 2025-26; and what proportion of each year's allocation was ringfenced for p
Answer: The Department’s total annual highways maintenance funding allocation to Suffolk County Council between 2022-23 and 2025-26 is show in the table below: 2022 to 2023 (£m)2023 to 2024 (£m)2024 to 2025 (£m)2025 to 2026 (£m)27.235.530.743.8 The funding is pai...
Answered 23 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government Finance: SuffolkMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10391More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what transitional funding will be made available to shadow unitary authorities in Suffolk between elections in May 2027 and vesting day in April 2028; and how that figure was cal
Answer: The Government announced £63 million in additional capacity funding to support local authorities in areas undergoing local government reorganisation, with each new unitary authority receiving at least £900,000. This means that, across the three new unitar...
Answered 22 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSolar Power: SuffolkDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 16 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10388More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what area of Grade 1, 2 and 3a agricultural land in Suffolk has been used for ground-mounted solar development since 2019; and if he will take steps to ensure future solar consents in that co
Answer: Data on the area of land occupied by solar projects is contained in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). The Government does not currently categorise the data based on agricultural land type. However, work is underway to expand the REPD to inclu...
Answered 24 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSustainable Farming IncentiveDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10387More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm businesses in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency held a live Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement as of 11 March 2025; and what the average annual payment
Answer: As of 11 March 2025, there were 147 farm businesses in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency holding a live Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement. The average annual payment value per agreement in that constituency was £27,431.
Answered 23 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119746More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average pothole funding per mile of road is in each local authority.
Answer: A full explanation of how highways maintenance funding is allocated is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations. Local highway authorities can choose to spend Highways Maintenance Block fundi...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of pothole a) reports and b) repairs per capita in i) urban and ii) rural local authorities in the last 12 months.
Answer: The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of pothole reports made to local authorities. Under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities are responsible for the condition of their local road networks, including resp...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119744More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of local highways maintenance funding allocated by her Department has been received by predominantly rural local authorities in each of the last three years.
Answer: A full explanation of how highways maintenance funding is allocated is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations. Local highway authorities can choose to spend Highways Maintenance Block fundi...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119743More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the local highways maintenance funding formula for rural road networks.
Answer: The Department has not made an assessment of the average cost of maintaining a mile of road in rural or urban local authorities. Every area faces its own unique challenges. That is why highways maintenance funding is based on established national datasets...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119742More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the average cost of maintaining a mile of road in (a) rural and (b) urban local authorities.
Answer: The Department has not made an assessment of the average cost of maintaining a mile of road in rural or urban local authorities. Every area faces its own unique challenges. That is why highways maintenance funding is based on established national datasets...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119741More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many potholes were reported per mile of road in (a) rural and (b) urban local authorities in England in the last three years.
Answer: The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of pothole reports made to local authorities. Under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities are responsible for the condition of their local road networks, including resp...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFirearms: LicensingHome OfficeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117108More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had any meetings with BASC, has any future meetings with BASC and any other organisations planned, on the issue of combining section 1 and 2 licenses for shotguns.
Answer: Home Office Ministers and officials meet with a range of stakeholders with an interest in firearms related issues, including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), from time to time and will continue to do so.I had a meeting with BA...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFirearms: LicensingHome OfficeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117107More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has evaluated the cost to local police constabulary of changes to licensing requirements around shotgun ownership.
Answer: The Government is intending to consult on strengthening shotgun controls in due course. The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published in February 2025, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the li...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFirearms: LicensingHome OfficeTabled 27 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116655More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of combining section 1 and 2 licenses on public safety.
Answer: The Government is intending to consult on strengthening shotgun controls in due course. The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published in February 2025, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the li...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFirearms: LicensingHome OfficeTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116322More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for the consultation on Section 1 and Section 2 licensing of shotguns and firearms.
Answer: The Government has committed to having a new public consultation on changes to the licensing controls on shotguns.We will publish the consultation in due course.
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament record
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