That is precisely why we have introduced strategic cross-boundary planning through spatial development strategies—[Interruption.] The hon. Member says that it is not working, but it is not in place yet. We passed the Planning and Infrastructure Act last year, and it will be in place in short order. I am more than happy to have a conversation about it with her.

The Government want Buckinghamshire council to develop 91,000 homes, but 2,890 of those are basically to be adjacent to Northamptonshire, and it will be my residents in Brackley who are affected by that. They are going to have none of the help in developer contributions or a proper say in the matter, so will the Minister meet me to discuss this concerning issue for my constituents?

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14 January is attached.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, between 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low income families.

Local authorities may not charge a fee for transport for eligible children. Some authorities choose to arrange transport for children who are not eligible, but they are not required to do so. They may also charge for such transport, but this is a matter for the local authority.

The department is keen to understand how well home to school transport supports children to access educational opportunities and will be working with our officials on this.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

​​Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are now in place in around nearly 8,500 schools and colleges across the country, with 498 expert teams offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues. MHSTs have achieved their NHS Long Term Plan coverage ambition a year early and more teams are coming. By March 2025, there will be over 600 MHSTs up and running. Further information regarding this can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6641f1e1ae748c43d37939a3/Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_implementation_programme_2024_data_release.pdf.

​Data from NHS England shows that since 2018/19, when the first wave of MHSTs were commissioned, there are currently nine MHSTs in Northamptonshire and 99 MHSTs for the London integrated care system region. A link to the data can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/#_Mental_Health_Support.

Data on the number of MHSTs by constituency is not currently available.​

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

In Northamptonshire, over the period 2010/11 to 2022/23 the Environment Agency has better protected 310 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £14.7 million total spend, sourced from both Government Grant in Aid funding as well as partnership funding sources.

In Northamptonshire, over the period 2023/24 to 2029/30, the Environment Agency is forecasting to better protect 486 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £18.4 million total spend. This represents the current consented Flood and Coastal Risk Management investment programme, which was approved in February 2024.

The Environment Agency is working with Risk Management Authorities and communities across Northamptonshire. It should be noted that the former Northamptonshire County Council was successful in securing funding for a number of county-wide schemes which are now being progressed by the Unitary Authorities. Relatively small allocations have been used to benefit multiple communities and pave the way for increased resilience. In terms of council-led projects, the current priorities are East Brook Culvert in Kettering for North Northants Council (£425,000 future allocation, £227,000 previous spend) and St Leonards Road in Northampton for West Northants Council (£285,000 future allocation). Notable Environment Agency projects include development of the Nene Water Management Strategy (£3.5 million over a three-year programme) to provide a clear direction for the most economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable way to manage the river and waters between Northampton and Peterborough. There is also investment of £949,268 in the ongoing maintenance of the Northampton Flood Defences.

Decisions to open or close a branch are commercial and the Government does not make assessments of these closure decisions. Nonetheless, it is imperative that banks and building societies recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who need to use cash or in-person services. The Government is monitoring the wider situation closely.

The Government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to introduce a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. Upon the closure of a core cash service such as a bank branch, LINK assesses the community’s access to cash needs. If additional cash services are needed, industry will provide a shared solution such as a Banking Hub.

Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. The FCA’s guidance is clear that firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable. Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office or Banking Hubs.

UK Finance have recently confirmed 225 Banking Hubs will be announced by the end of 2024, up from the 130 locations currently confirmed. Furthermore, following my recent discussions with the UK high street banks, participating firms have also committed to improving Hubs by standardising the services available between firms, ensuring that customers will not require their own digital device to bank, trialling a ‘customer liaison service’ and trialling Saturday openings.

For the current financial year 2024/25, the Environment Agency has an allocation of £1,293,000 for flood defence maintenance work in Northamptonshire. This includes items such as weed cutting, grass cutting, fish and eel pass maintenance, mechanical and electrical maintenance work to assets, electricity and general operational costs. The Environment Agency will prioritise its statutory duties and those works which provide the highest benefit for reducing flood risk.

In Northamptonshire, over the period 2023/24 to 2029/30, the Environment Agency is forecasting to better protect 486 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £18.4 million total spend. This represents the current consented Flood and Coastal Risk Management investment programme, which was approved in February 2024. We will continue to work with the Risk Management Authorities and communities to develop and progress identified projects.

Following the flooding experienced during the winter of 2023/2024, we will continue to work with partner Risk Management Authorities and communities to identify any needs for additional flood risk management work – either capital or revenue. We are currently engaging with a variety of communities (directly and with other partners) that experienced flooding to assist them in understanding their flood risk and working to develop community resilience so that these communities are more prepared and can recover faster following future flooding.

Under the general practice contract, practices must provide services during core hours, from 08:00 to 18:30 on all weekdays, except bank holidays. Out of hours services are those provided outside of core hours, which practices are paid for via the Global Sum Payment. Practices can opt out of providing these services with their commissioner’s approval, and the relevant deductions will be made to the Global Sum Payments. The amount of Global Sum funding received has been uplifted every year since 2013. Where a practice has opted out of delivering out of hours services, the commissioner must commission the services from an alternative provider, for that practice’s registered patients.

As set out in the answer to Question UIN 11182 on 30 January, the English Housing Survey sets out levels of overcrowding and damp and mould in all residential accommodation, including social housing. Details are available online.

The ONS publishes both rental price and rental affordability indexes at local authority and regional levels respectively, and the department publishes data on the number of unoccupied dwellings, as defined for council tax purposes, at local authority level. Data is not available at parliamentary constituency level.

The provision of affordable housing is part of the Government's plan to build more homes and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.

Unfortunately, we do not have public data by constituency and do not yet have the full data for 2022. However, I can tell my hon. Friend that in 2021, north Northamptonshire generated a total of 362 GWh of renewable electricity. The people of Kettering, like their representative, want Kettering to be one of the greenest constituencies in the country.

T7

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Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con):

Lots of green renewable energy is generated in Northamptonshire. For the last year for which figures are available, what was the total output, and the breakdown by type?