theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_149

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March to Question 34375 on Elections: Disqualification Orders, how many prosecutions have been made under the Elections Act 2022. \p Rushanara Ali: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 34375 on 7 March 2025.

As stated in our previous answer, we do not hold data on how many people have been disqualified. This includes data on the number of people prosecuted.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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David Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment between (a) young adults and (b) other age groups experience of homelessness; and if she will help support young adult's needs in the homelessness strategy. \p Rushanara Ali: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, what instruction has been given to the planning inspectorate on determining land as grey belt. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.

On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, and to support a consistent approach to determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here. This new guidance will support authorities in producing Local Plans, while also making sure that planning applications and development on suitable grey belt land can proceed in the short-term in areas without an up-to-date plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 30616 on Asylum: Health Services, if she will make it her policy to collect information on the amount spent by local authorities on services to support (a) refugees and (b) people seeking asylum to access healthcare services. \p Jim McMahon: As set out in my answer to Question 30616, the department does not hold this information to the level requested. At this time, line 49 in the local authority expenditure and financing statistics accounts for services or interventions for asylum seekers, including:

MHCLG engages with local authorities and other government departments to understand what data is a priority to capture within the local authority expenditure and financing statistics, and considers making changes on a case by case basis. At present, we do not have plans to collect additional information on local authority spend on refugees.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2024 on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, HCWS244, what her planned timetable is to (a) consult and (b) bring measures into force on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024’s provisions on (i) service charges and (ii) legal costs. \p Matthew Pennycook: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement in question, the government will consult this year on the Act’s provisions on service charges and on legal costs, bringing these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16199 on Infrastructure: Planning Permission, what steps she is taking to speed up Ministerial decision-making on national significant infrastructure consents. \p Matthew Pennycook: As part of the government’s Plan for Change, we are committed to fast-tracking planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects by the end of this Parliament.

The reasons that Ministerial decisions on individual applications can exceed the three-month statutory deadline are varied and complex and include the need to secure additional information on unresolved matters at the point Ministers receive the recommendation of the Examining Authority.

The forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes measures designed to resolve issues prior to the decision stage. It will deliver a faster and more certain consenting process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) by ensuring that National Policy Statements are updated regularly, streamlining NSIP consultation requirements and reducing opportunities for judicial review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_155

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 25797 on Tree Preservation Orders: Bedfordshire, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of keeping a centralised national record of Tree Protection Orders. \p Matthew Pennycook: Tree Preservation Orders safeguard individual trees or groups of trees of particular value to local amenity.

Local planning authorities have the principal responsibility for applying these protections effectively.

The government has no plans at present to create a central record of their decisions, but we will keep the matter under review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_156

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025, to Question 30643, on Nightclubs and Public Houses: Planning, if she will provide the gov.uk address for her Department's guidance on (a) noise and (b) statutory nuisance; and whether her Department issues specific guidance on the agent of change principle. \p Matthew Pennycook: Planning Policy Guidance on noise with advice about how planning can manage potential noise impacts in new developments, and the ‘agent of change’ principle, can be found in the online Planning Practice Guidance on Noise here in Paragraph: 009 Reference ID: 30-009-20190722.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_157

Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press notice entitled Help to save households money and deliver cleaner heat to homes, published on 21 November 2024, when her Department will announce a date for the removal of the one-meter rule which requires planning permission to install heat pumps in England. \p Matthew Pennycook: Further announcements on permitted development rights for air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points will be made in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_158

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26368 on Property Development: Floods, if she will make an estimate of the number of houses that may be built on flood plains between up to July 2029. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 26368 on 3 February 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_159

Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timetable is for bringing forward proposals for a Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill; and what plans she has to consult leaseholders on those proposals. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will introduce a statutory requirement for swift bricks. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have obtained refugee status since 4 July 2024. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_162

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025, to Question 29605, on Asylum: Housing, what is the Resource DEL budget for Asylum Support, Resettlement and Accommodation in financial year 2024-25. \p Dame Angela Eagle: I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer he received on 11 February 2025 to UIN 29605.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2025, to Question 29612, on Asylum: Health Services, whether independent sector providers have been commissioned by her Department to provide NHS health care services to asylum seekers in the last 12 months. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Private healthcare is not provided to asylum seekers as part of Asylum Support and Accommodation provided by the Home Office.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33002 on Asylum: Finance, if she will make an estimate of the number of top-up payments made to Asylum Support Enablement Cards in each week since 4 July 2024. \p Dame Angela Eagle: I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer he received on 3 March 2025 to UIN 33002.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the overseas aid budget has been spent in the context of housing for asylum seekers in the UK in each of the last three years. \p Dame Angela Eagle: In-donor refugee costs are published each year in the Statistics on International Development (SIDs). 2024 figures will be published in the Spring 2025 provisional SIDs publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential for exploitation of migrant care worker visas being tied to individual employers; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of visa sponsorship being done via an independent body. \p Seema Malhotra: The Government condemns the exploitation of international care workers by rogue employers in the adult social care sector and continues to take robust action against this unscrupulous behaviour.

We have recently implemented a prohibition on Skilled Worker sponsors recouping sponsorship costs from those they sponsor, and those doing so now risk losing their licence. We also intend to ban any employer who flouts employment laws from acting as a sponsor in the future.

However, employer sponsorship is a core element of the UK’s economic immigration system and ensures those who most directly benefit from attracting workers to the UK play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the system.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take legislative steps to criminalise people who knowingly mislead a potential employer with a misrepresentative CV. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Government’s key priorities within the Safer Streets Mission are to restore neighbourhood policing, tackle antisocial behaviour, and halve the levels of knife crime and violence against women and girls within a decade. We have no plans to divert policing resources to focus on the Hon Member’s suggested priority instead.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities, (b) local police and (c) rural stakeholders on tackling rural crime. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. The Government is joint with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver a new Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, ensuring our Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live.

Rural communities will benefit from more local visible policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will put 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities across the country, helping to tackle crimes like anti-social behaviour (ASB), fly tipping and county lines which can have a devastating impact on rural life. In addition, the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit – specialist policing units supported by the Home Office - play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime.

To tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting, we are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.

I recently have met with the NPCC lead for rural crime and the Head of the National Rural Crime Unit, on how we can better work together to tackle the scourge of rural crime in our countryside communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to enable access to safe protest around the Tower of London. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The management of protests is an operational decision for the police.

The Government fully support the police to ensure that the right to protest can be exercised in a lawful way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_170

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing licensing for air guns. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Air weapons are subject to firearms legislation which regulates their possession and use. Air weapons can be lawfully possessed in England and Wales without a firearm certificate if the muzzle energy is not more than six foot pounds for air pistols, and 12 foot pounds for air rifles. An air rifle above this muzzle energy threshold must be held on a firearm certificate and an air pistol above this threshold is a prohibited firearm which can only be held with the authority of the Secretary of State.

In July 2023, secondary legislation introduced in Parliament clarified the ‘reasonable precautions’ which air weapons owners must take to safely store air weapons away from children, so that whenever under-18s are present, air weapons must be stored securely, out of sight, and separately from ammunition.

The Government keeps all firearms controls under review, and we will not hesitate to take action to further tighten the controls on air weapons where it is deemed appropriate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 27 February 2025 on Consultation Results: Alcohol in licensed pavement areas, HCWS477, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the expiry of easement measures on pubs. \p Dame Diana Johnson: As explained in the written statement of 27 February 2025, those businesses with an on-sales only licence that have taken advantage of the Covid era easement and wish to continue off-sales after 31 March will need to obtain a licensing variation. According to recent statistics published on GOV.UK, as of October 2024, 2490 premises were taking advantage of the easement.

To minimise the impact on businesses, the Government has amended statutory licensing guidance to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to apply for this variation. This guidance advises licensing authorities to initially treat applications for such amendments as a minor variation to the licence. This will minimise any transitional cost and bureaucracy for those affected by making the process quicker and much cheaper – costing £89 - than major licence variations.

As we made clear in the Written Statement, the Government will monitor the decisions made around the country by local authorities on these requests for licence variations, in liaison with the beer and pub industries, and will assess any evidence that pubs where the current easements have been working successfully are being denied the opportunity to continue making off-sales beyond April 2025 without reasonable cause. In those circumstances, and notwithstanding the results of last year’s consultation exercise, we will consider what further steps may need to be taken through the licensing regime to support our local pubs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Luke Myer:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the (a) Football Association and (b) Football Association of Wales on increasing the level of football clubs' contributions to policing costs at matches; and what steps she is taking to reduce the cost to the police of policing football matches. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We are aware of the pressures that football policing places on police force budgets. We agree that large, highly-profitable businesses should make a reasonable contribution to the costs of policing their events and we are considering options for how to manage this in a fair and proportionate way going forward.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28151 on Offences against Children: Inquiries, how the £5 million will be allocated to local authorities; and whether local authorities must bid for such funding. \p Jess Phillips: On 16 January 2025, the Home Secretary announced a funding package to deliver stronger national support for locally-led work on tackling group-based child sexual exploitation. This includes supporting Oldham Council who have confirmed work to undertake a local inquiry that has already begun. We are in the process of consulting with local authorities and relevant stakeholders on the design and delivery of this package and will update the House in due course.

Baroness Casey is leading the National Audit in her role as the Government's lead Non-Executive Director. She is therefore not receiving additional remuneration for the Audit.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of child-trafficking have been investigated in Cambridgeshire since 2010. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery; ensuring that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery, including potential maximum sentences of life imprisonment for perpetrators and specific support and protection for victims, including children. The Home Office has provided over £19 million of dedicated funding to the police since 2016, to improve national policing capabilities to identify victims and to investigate offenders to bring them to justice.

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK's framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. The table below shows the number of NRM referrals where Cambridgeshire Constabulary were the police force responsible for investigation for individuals that were under 18 at the time of referral. This data is available up to 2016.

Year

Number of NRM referrals

2024

55

2023

68

2022

45

2021

37

2020

5

2019

55

2018

29

2017

15

2016

5

The identification of a child who is a potential victim of modern slavery, or is at risk of being a victim, should always trigger the agreed local child protection procedures to ensure the child's safety and welfare, and to enable the police to gather evidence about abusers and coercers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including pension fraud as part of the Government's forthcoming fraud strategy. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government committed in our manifesto to introduce an expanded Fraud Strategy, which will cover all relevant types of fraud where criminals target the UK public and businesses, including pension fraud.

We will be engaging all relevant stakeholders in the development of the Strategy, and further details will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of a Chinese embassy in London on transnational repression efforts against Hong Kongers, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Chinese dissidents. \p Dan Jarvis: The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government.

We are clear that national security is the first duty of Government. The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the Planning Inspector on 14 January. That letter is clear that the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues.

We have a broad suite of powers to counter foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to keep people safe.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to publish a public private economic crime data strategy. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government is committed to delivering the Economic Crime Plan 2 commitment to publish a public-private Economic Crime Data Strategy. The Home Office has engaged extensively with stakeholders in the public and private sectors over the last 18 months to determine the vision and content of the strategy and intends to publish a strategy later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish its response to the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. \p Dan Jarvis: The Report from Part One of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences, “Disclosure in the Digital Age”, will be published shortly. The Government Response will be published in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that backdoor access to encrypted data is not misused by unauthorised actors. \p Dan Jarvis: The UK has a longstanding position of protecting people’s privacy whilst also ensuring action can be taken against child sexual abusers and terrorists.

The suggestion that cybersecurity and access to data by law enforcement are at odds is false. The Investigatory Powers Act contains robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and ensure that data is only obtained on an exceptional basis and only when it is necessary and proportionate to do so.

It is entirely possible to have robust cyber security measures that guard against access to data by malicious actors whilst also ensuring data can be disclosed in response to specific authorised requests.

Home Office Ministers and senior officials regularly meet with key stakeholders, including technology companies, on a range of policies and issues.

Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025, to Question 30641, on Asylum: Finance, what the budget is for payments to councils under the (a) Grant 7 and (b) Grant 6 programmes across (i) England and (ii) the United Kingdom for financial years (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26; and whether there are targets for the number of individuals who will be assisted. \p Dame Angela Eagle: I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer he received on 14 February 2025 to UIN 30641.

The number of individuals assisted is based on demand and not on targets.

Details of funding for the forthcoming financial year will be issued in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025, to Question 29613, on Asylum: Contracts, whether her Department holds contracts with non-strategic suppliers for the provision of asylum accommodation and support services; and which organisation provides asylum accommodation and support services outside the (a) North West, (b) Midlands and (c) East of England. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office holds five contracts with non-strategic suppliers for the provision of Asylum Accommodation and Support Services, outside of the North West, Midlands and East of England. These services are provided by Mears and CRH.

Details of these agreements are published on Contract Finder at:

NEYH

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NEYH - Contracts Finder

Scotland

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Scotland - Contracts Finder

NI

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NI - Contracts Finder

Wales

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts Finder

South

AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts Finder
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of asylum seekers accommodated in (a) hotels, (b) houses and (c) flats. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Available data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation is published quarterly on GOV.UK under the immigration statistics data tables.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from (a) Guinea-Bissau and (b) Portugal have entered the UK by (i) age and (ii) ethnicity since 2010. \p Seema Malhotra: The Home Office publishes available data on entry clearance visas by nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of visas are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from 2005 up to the end of 2024.
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Ian Sollom:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues ahead of the publication of the Immigration White Paper. \p Seema Malhotra: The Home Secretary is in regular dialogue with colleagues about all aspects of her responsibilities within the Government’s Plan for Change.
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Charlie Maynard:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Good character: caseworker guidance, updated on 13 February 2025, how many people she expects to be impacted by this guidance. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided on 25 February 2025 to Question UIN 31371.
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help tackle litter along (a) motorways and (b) dual carriageways. \p Lilian Greenwood: National Highways is responsible for litter collection on motorways and some ‘A’ roads whilst the relevant local authorities manage litter collection on the rest of the roads in England.

National Highways is committed to keeping its roads predominantly free from litter, without compromising safety and delivering affordably. National Highways pick litter on a section of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) every day and is consistently working to deliver an improved and more rapid clean up using innovative interventions such as industrial vacuums, as well as undertaking a number of anti-littering interventions to influence behaviours and attitudes of road users towards litter. These include anti-littering messaging through social media, trialling AI enforcement cameras to capture those throwing litter on the SRN, using geofencing to send targeted anti-littering messages to mobile devices around identified litter hotspots, as well as putting up anti-littering posters and signs and installing car and lorry height bins at motorway service areas, to encourage drivers and passengers to dispose of their litter appropriately.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_187

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with trade unions on seafarer jobs providing DFDS services to Jersey from (a) Poole and (b) Portsmouth. \p Mike Kane: Ministers and officials meet regularly with the trade unions to discuss seafarers. The issue of seafarer jobs on the new DFDS services to Jersey has not been raised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_188

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the maritime registration sector within British Overseas Territories. \p Mike Kane: The Secretary of State for Transport provides support to the maritime registration sectors of the British Overseas Territories through the Overseas Support Programme managed by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. This programme has been running since 2016. The programme provides legislative drafting support and personnel training to the OTs maritime administrations and their ship registers to develop their maritime sectors. The MCA also discharges the Secretary of State’s general superintendence over all British shipping matters in respect of oversight, good governance, technical advice and common technical policy for the maritime administrations of the Overseas Territories.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_189

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with harbour authorities in (a) Poole and (b) Portsmouth on the application of the Seafarers Wages Regulations 2024 on ferry services scheduled to operate from these ports in 2025. \p Mike Kane: Department for Transport officials engaged with all harbour authorities with services in scope of the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023 and Regulations 2024 to explain how the legislation applies, ahead of it coming into force. This included Poole and Portsmouth.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_190

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will list the vessels certified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for DFDS’s roll-on roll-off ferry services to Jersey from (a) Poole and (b) Portsmouth. \p Mike Kane: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency currently do not certify any vessels operated by DFDS on services to Jersey from Poole or Portsmouth.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are currently working with DFDS in relation to vessels taking up operations from these ports later in March 2025 and April 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_191

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she made an assessment of the potential impact of relocating HM Coastguard's mud rescue capability from Coleraine to Bangor on the (a) North Coast and (b) North West. \p Mike Kane: An operational assessment of the impact of relocating HM Coastguard’s mud rescue capability from Coleraine, including the impact on the (a) North Coast and (b) North-West was undertaken both at Area and Divisional level.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_192

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) delays and (b) cancellations of trains in England. \p Simon Lightwood: Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers; we need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.

The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.

Publicly-owned Great British Railways will end years of fragmentation – bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers with more reliable, better-quality services and simpler ticketing and fares. Shadow Great British Railways (SGBR) will start to provide the opportunity to take joined up, whole system decisions that improve performance for the benefit of passengers and taxpayers.

The Office of Rail and Road publish statistics on delays and cancellations periodically and quarterly on their website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_193

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on whether a road in a new build development should be adopted by a local authority. \p Lilian Greenwood: Any decision on whether or not to adopt roads of this sort is a matter for the local highway authority. The Department has published guidance on gov.uk on Highways Adoption: The Adoption of Roads into the Public Highway, which was last updated in August 2022. It sets out the process by which new and existing roads can be adopted by highway authorities so that they become maintainable at public expense.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_194

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30745 on National Highways: Flood Control, if she will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing additional funding to Internal Drainage Boards that wish to take on responsibility for Highways balancing ponds. \p Lilian Greenwood: The ownership and management of National Highways’ assets, at this level, fall within National Highways’ delegated authority. The Department does not plan to make an assessment on the future ownership of balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_195

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding her Department is providing for public transport projects in Fylde. \p Simon Lightwood: The government is committed to delivering the better, more reliable bus services that passengers deserve. In the Budget the government confirmed investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable. Lancashire County Council has been allocated over £27 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services.

All future funding for buses will be considered as part of the upcoming multi-year spending review. We have also committed to reforming bus funding to give local leaders more control and flexibility to allow them to plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities.

Lancashire County Council will also receive a share of the £650 million-plus funding for local transport announced in the Budget. This funding aims to support everyday journeys and improve transport connections in our towns, villages, and rural areas, as well as in our major cities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_196

Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding her Department plans to provide for road improvements at the capital roads project Brenley Corner; and when work will begin on it. \p Lilian Greenwood: Proposals to improve Brenley Corner on the A2 are being developed as part of the pipeline of projects to be considered for possible delivery in a future Road Investment Strategy. Funding has been allocated for the development stages of the proposals only. If taken forward, the project would enter construction beyond 2031.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_197

Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for direct flights to resume from the UK to Pakistan. \p Mike Kane: Pakistan is still on UK Air Safety List and there is a process to follow to come off the Air Safety List. The Department for Transport, along with the UK Civil Aviation Authority continues to engage with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. Responsibility remains with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority to ensure it is meeting required safety standards to be delisted and we cannot provide a timeline on this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_198

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending free bus travel to all people over 60 years old in England, outside of London. \p Simon Lightwood: The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as lowering the age of eligibility, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations such as lowering the age of eligibility. Additional local concessions are provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.

The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. East Midlands Combined County Authority has been allocated £40.5 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_199

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the practice of charging (a) to allow householders to park within the curtilage of their property without a formally approved dropped kerb and (b) making highways works to drop a kerb; and whether councils are able to generate a profit from such charges. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has issued no guidance to local authorities on these matters. Section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 makes clear that local authorities may recover costs of carrying out works to create a dropped kerb, once complete.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_200

Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) recall diesel vehicles found to contain illegal defeat devices. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department for Transport is the department responsible for setting and enforcing standards for NOx emissions from diesel vehicles. The Market Surveillance Unit within the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is undertaking a programme looking at possible non-compliant diesel emissions in Euro 5 and Euro 6A/B/C diesel cars and vans where there is reason to believe that they contain a prohibited defeat device.

DVSA investigations will include assessing the impact of excess NOx emissions from non-compliant vehicles.

This programme of investigations is ongoing, and the Department will publish outcomes of these investigations when completed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-12 conversation_201

Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of use of electric vehicles on emissions in the next 15 years. \p Lilian Greenwood: The main driver of electric vehicle uptake in the UK is expected to be the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate for cars and vans. This has legislated zero emission vehicle targets for sales of new cars, rising from 22% of new car sales in 2024 to 80% in 2030, and for sales of new vans, rising from 10% in 2024 to 70% in 2030. A cost benefit analysis was published alongside the regulation that estimates that this uptake of zero emission vehicles will deliver greenhouse gas savings of 29 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 5 (2028-2032), 79 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 6 (2033-2037), and a total of 420 Mt CO2e savings from 2024-2050.