theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry of 24 October 2025, with the transfer to his department accepted on 3 November 2025. \p Luke Pollard: I responded to the hon. Member on 8 December 2025 (our ref: MC2025/27344).
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any organisations have been removed from the list of Armed Forces Covenant signatories due to non-compliance since November 2022. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: Since November 2022, two organisations have been removed from the list of Armed Forces Covenant signatories due to concerns over non-compliance. Due to confidentiality, we are unable to disclose the names of the organisations.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visas a) his Department, b) the National Army Museum, c) the National Museum of the Royal Navy, d) Sheffield Forgemasters International and e) the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations have sponsored since 4 July 2024. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: Since 4 July 2024, the Department has sponsored six visas. In addition, National Army Museum has sponsored none, the National Museum of the Royal Navy has sponsored one, Sheffield Forgemasters International has sponsored two, and Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations have sponsored one.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any new veteran support centres will be located in Lincolnshire. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: Applications are currently open for organisations to bid to become VALOUR recognised centres. The exact locations of centres will be dependent on the applications received, with consideration given to the geographic spread of centres. The programme guidance for applicants encourages them to consider how their bid will deliver more equity of access and consistency in service quality throughout the UK.

VALOUR recognised centres will facilitate in-person access to multiple services for veterans right across the UK. These centres will be required to meet high standards and provide timely data to the UK government regarding the needs and experiences of veterans to inform future service improvements.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans into suitable employment. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: This Government is committed to ensuring that veterans and their families are fully supported in transitioning to sustainable careers post military service.

A range of support is available, including the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), which is the initial point of provision for those transitioning into civilian life. The CTP offers assistance to individuals seeking employment for up to two years pre leaving service and for two years post service.

For veterans who are more than two years post-service, as well as their families, additional support is provided through Op ASCEND. This initiative has already successfully supported 5,000 veterans and family members and engaged with over 420 employers to create employment opportunities.

These core programmes form part of a suite of wider initiatives, which include pathways for veterans gaining employment in the Civil Service, and 12 months National Insurance relief for employers who hire veterans in their first role post-service.
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Amanda Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support is available to Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) personnel who are (a) pregnant and (b) new parents where both partners are employed by the RFA; and what provision is made to ensure adequate childcare arrangements for seafaring couples. \p Louise Sandher-Jones: Over and above guidance from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, women within the RFA receive additional protections from 26 weeks of pregnancy. Alongside this, a comprehensive range of support is available for parental, maternity, paternity, adoption, carers, and shared parental responsibilities. These provisions include enhanced leave entitlements and tailored assistance through mechanisms such as Occupational Health, keep-in-touch days, and reasonable workplace adjustments.

This framework is complemented by a full programme of opt-in wellbeing interventions, activities, and advice delivered through the Employee Assistance Programme, the Defence Health and Wellbeing Portfolio, and Family and People Services. Further support is provided by linked organisations such as the Defence Sports and Recreation Association and the Civil Service Sports Council. In addition, the RFA workforce benefits from an extended welfare network under the umbrella of expert services, including the Navy Families Federation, ensuring holistic support for employees and their families.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in protecting children in Northern Ireland. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK from both illegal and age-inappropriate content. These protections are now in force, as of 25 July, children in Northern Ireland should be seeing a tangible difference in their online experiences.

Ofcom are already taking robust action against non-compliant services failing to fulfil their duties. Since the children’s safety duties have been in force, over 6,000 services have implemented highly effective age assurance to prevent children seeing the most harmful online content; improving protections for millions of children online.

We will continue to monitor the Act’s effectiveness and will not hesitate to take further action to protect children online if evidence shows this is necessary.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the life sciences sector. \p Kanishka Narayan: This summer the Government published the Life Sciences Sector Plan, setting out how we will strengthen one of the UK’s most important sectors. The Plan focuses on enabling world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform. Backed by up to £2 billion of public investment alongside funding from UKRI and NIHR, the UK is already securing multibillion-pound private investment, expanding manufacturing, streamlining regulation and clinical trials, and building new research infrastructure. The recent UK-US trade deal on pharmaceuticals will also ensure that British-based pharmaceutical and medical technology firms have the lowest-tariff access to the US market in the world, a major competitive advantage. The deal will also allow more NHS patients to access cutting edge new innovations.
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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the development of Quantum Computing, including research at Universities. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Government’s Digital and Technologies Sector Plan outlined £670 million of investment to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum computing through our quantum computing mission. It also backed our flagship National Quantum Computing Centre with a 10-year budget, providing them with long term certainty to expand activity and demonstrating Government’s commitment to the sector.

In 2024 we launched five quantum technology hubs, including a dedicated hub for quantum computing based at the University of Oxford. This brings together researchers from universities across Great Britain with industry partners, collaborating to progress quantum computing research and develop a skilled workforce.
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Lee Pitcher:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to review the legal and regulatory framework governing the domestic use of CCTV, with particular reference to protections for individuals whose homes or private spaces are captured by neighbouring security cameras. \p Ian Murray: The department has no plans to review the current legal and regulatory framework governing the domestic use of CCTV, which can play a useful role in making householders feel safe and helping the police to prevent crime.

Individuals that use CCTV to film outside their property boundary have to comply with the UK’s data protection laws. This means that any personal data captured, such as images, recordings and footage of identifiable individuals, should be processed fairly, lawfully, transparently, and securely.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published practical guidance to help people concerned about intrusive use of CCTV: Home CCTV systems | ICO. Regardless of whether or not the use of CCTV falls within the data protection legislation, the ICO recommends that people use it responsibly to protect the privacy of others.

Where the use of a domestic camera system constitutes harassment or stalking, other, criminal laws will apply.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much and what proportion of funding allocated to AI and semiconductor growth zones will be spent in Wales; and over what timeframe. \p Kanishka Narayan: The AI Growth Zones programme aims to attract billions of pounds in private investment into AI data centres and drive economic growth through job creation. The programme will create opportunities for skills development and apprenticeships, forge research and development partnerships with local universities, and enable British businesses to participate in major AI projects.

We have announced four AI Growth Zones, two of which are Welsh sites, with one in Anglesey and another in South Wales. These sites will benefit from major private investment, including Vanguard's planned £10 billion investment in the South Wales AI Growth Zone. In addition to this private capital, we are providing £5 million for each AI Growth Zone through UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) to support skills development and AI adoption, ensuring that local communities benefit directly from the programme. This funding will be available from April 2026 for all AI Growth Zones.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect the elderly and most vulnerable from unsolicited calls selling mobile phone upgrades or contracts. \p Ian Murray: Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Under PECR, companies must not make live marketing calls to a number that is registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. Organisations must not make automated marketing calls unless the recipient has specifically consented to receive this type of call from them.

PECR are enforced by the Information Commissioner who can impose financial penalties for breaches of the regulations. Once commenced, provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 will significantly increase the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Commissioner. Details of enforcement actions are published at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department takes to record UK public sector participation in EU-linked research consortia. \p Kanishka Narayan: Information on European Commission-led programmes, such as Horizon Europe, is collected by the Commission. This data is publicly available and includes details on successful consortia, including UK public sector organisations. It can be found in the R&I Projects section of the Funding and Tenders Portal under the Key Figures page using the relevant filters: R&I Proposals - Summary | Sheet - Qlik Sense. DSIT uses this and other relevant sources to assess UK participation and measures to keep improving this.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme will be reintroduced in Henley and Thame constituency. \p Kanishka Narayan: Our priority currently is to provide gigabit-capable coverage to as many premises as possible in Henley and Thame constituency through our Project Gigabit contracts, rather than through other schemes.

Project Gigabit contracts give better certainty of delivery than voucher projects, and also involve lower administrative overhead for suppliers and communities as well as the government. Future delivery is therefore much more likely to be through contracts rather than voucher delivery in most areas.

We will continue to monitor progress and review the need for further support as delivery continues. If gaps in coverage are identified, further interventions, including reopening the voucher scheme, may be considered.
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Dawn Butler:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to safeguard individuals in response to rapid developments in artificial intelligence, including protecting 1) the general public and 2) Members of Parliament from deepfakes, digital impersonation, and the misuse of personal identity. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes, including to MPs, very seriously. Deepfakes are captured by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute illegal content or content harmful to children.

Sharing a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence under the Act. Government has also legislated to criminalise the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfake images.

The AI Security Institute (AISI) works to build an evidence base on the potential risks advanced AI systems could pose, to inform government decision making and help make AI more secure and reliable.
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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology,	whether Innovate UK will resume its Smart Grants funding stream to support innovation-led start-ups. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Smart grants programme has been paused while Innovate UK redesigns its funding programmes to best suit the needs of innovative businesses and align to the objectives of the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

However, Innovate UK has launched a new £130 million ‘Growth Catalyst’ Innovate UK scheme focused on scaling innovative businesses in Industrial Strategy growth sectors. This offers grants, aligned private sector investment, and tailored support to companies, and this approach has a track record of driving 10:1 follow-on investment.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, by which date all lifts in Tothill Street will be fully operational. \p Nick Smith: There are three lifts in the Tothill Street building and the lifts are part of a wider six-year refurbishment programme. Lift HoP 328 has been refurbished and is now in service. Work on lift HoP 329 is underway and expected to be complete by February 2026.

Refurbishment of the final lift, HoP 330, is planned but does not yet have a confirmed date as the schedule is being reviewed. In the meantime, we will continue to monitor performance of HoP 330 and address any issues as they arise. Should a specific component need replacing we will do so.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to enact the socioeconomic measures in the Equality Act 2010. \p Olivia Bailey: The Government will set out its timeline for commencement of the socio-economic duty in due course. We are currently drafting statutory guidance that will clarify how the duty can be applied effectively. As part of this process, public bodies will have the opportunity to engage on the guidance to make certain that we understand how to best implement the duty.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 80915, on Women: Politics and Government, what plans she has to consult political parties on implementation of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010. \p Olivia Bailey: The Government is committed to commencing Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections.

Office for Equality and Opportunity officials are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under Section 106, including the specifics with regards to data collection. Officials will consult with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have humanist pastoral support provided through prison chaplaincy services. \p Jake Richards: We recognise and respect the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith or belief while in custody. Chaplaincy plays a critical and unique role in the work of prisons and the life of prisoners. It not only provides advice on faith and belief matters but also offers pastoral care regardless of an individual’s faith or belief, in support of HM Prison and Probation Service’s commitment to decency, safety and rehabilitation.

Specifically Humanist/Non-Religious pastoral support is available from chaplains at the following prisons:

Aylesbury

Bullingdon

Channings Wood

Dovegate

Durham

Frankland

Highpoint

Isis

Pentonville

Stafford

Wayland

Wormwood Scrubs
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a centralised Probation service. \p Jake Richards: A unified Probation Service operates throughout England and Wales, under the leadership of the Chief Probation Officer, who provides both professional guidance and system oversight for probation staff.

We recognise that probation works best when delivering in partnership, and Regional Probation Directors and their teams have significant flexibility to collaborate with local partner agencies. Examples of that local collaboration and innovation include joint delivery of Integrated Offender Management with police forces and co-commissioning of services for offenders with metro mayors.

The probation service needs investment and strong leadership – which we are delivering. It is our assessment that further structural changes at this time would be disruptive and detrimental.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on community payback services in (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham for each year from 2015 to date. \p Jake Richards: The data below shows the annual spend for Community Payback services in the Greater Manchester Probation Region since 2021.

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

£m

£m

£m

£m

Greater Manchester Unpaid Work

1.40

3.93

4.70

4.46

To note:

Data cannot be broken down below regional level.

Data prior to July 2021 is unable to be reported on, due to probation regions being under the management of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The unification of CRCs and the National Probation Service (NPS) in England and Wales took place on 26 June 2021, marking a significant restructuring of the probation system.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help increase public confidence in sentencing. \p Jake Richards: In October 2024, we commissioned the Independent Sentencing Review, led by former Lord Chancellor Rt. Hon. David Gauke. The Review was tasked with re-evaluating the sentencing framework to ensure that there is always a place in prison for dangerous offenders and victims will always know that justice will be done. It also aimed to ensure that sentences are consistent and make sense to victims and the public.

The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before Parliament, implements many of the Review’s recommendations. The Bill represents a once in a generation change to our criminal justice system, making significant changes to the sentencing framework, the way in which offenders are managed and serve sentences in the community. It also aims to create a justice system that better serves victims.

When sentencing, courts must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, issued by the Sentencing Council, unless not in the interests of justice to do so. The guidelines provide a structured approach for sentencers to follow and are designed to help enhance consistency and transparency in sentencing decisions.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sentencing guidelines in preventing reoffending among repeat offenders. \p Jake Richards: The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is a non-departmental public body set up to promote greater transparency and consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary. Its primary role is to issue guidelines on sentencing, which the courts must follow unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so.

There are a range of matters to which the Council must have regard when producing guidelines, one of which is the relative costs and effectiveness of sentences in reducing reoffending.  In order to help inform the way in which it has regard to such matters, the Council, as part of its strategic objectives for 2021-26, committed to reviewing the evidence on the effectiveness of sentencing and has published two independent literature reviews: The Effectiveness of Sentencing Options on Reoffending (2022) and Reconceptualising the Effectiveness of Sentencing: four perspectives (2024). The 2022 review brought together evidence on factors associated with reoffending and desistance; the (direct and indirect) costs of different types of sentences currently available in England and Wales and how sociodemographic characteristics impact these issues. The 2024 review focused on the effectiveness of sentencing from the perspectives of offenders, the general public, victims and sentencers.

The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. These evaluations assess the impact the guideline has had on sentencing outcomes and seek to determine whether the guideline has been implemented as intended, so that any issues can be identified and rectified. These evaluations use a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods.

The guidelines, strategic objectives, literature reviews and evaluations can be found online at the Council’s website: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of geographical variations in sentencing outcomes across courts in England and Wales. \p Jake Richards: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

The Ministry of Justice publishes detailed breakdowns of sentencing outcomes, including by Police Force Area on the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within his Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations. \p Jake Richards: The Ministry of Justice has not undertaken a central assessment of trends in job vacancies across key professional groups. Workforce planning is devolved to individual business groups, which are responsible for assessing their own staffing requirements and monitoring vacancy levels in line with operational priorities. This includes oversight of contractor organisations supporting the department, who are similarly responsible for overseeing their own workforce needs. Through established governance and performance-management arrangements, the department maintains oversight to ensure that services continue to be delivered effectively.

However, the ONS publishes information on the number of vacancies from the Vacancy Survey. These headline accredited official statistics are published monthly on a rolling three-monthly basis at UK-level, by industry sector, and by size of business, as part of the ONS's Vacancies and jobs in the UK release.

Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS's Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. These tables are published monthly and contain the number of online job adverts split by local authority and occupation (SOC 2020).

Be advised the ONS caution use of these alternative data sources because the data is not seasonally adjusted or directly comparable to their headline estimates.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many visas a) his Department, b) the Legal Services Board and c) the Legal Ombudsman have sponsored since 4 July 2024. \p Jake Richards: The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to help support the maritime sector. \p Emma Hardy: Defra, including arms length bodies such as the Marine Management Organisation, supports maritime industries through a range of policy and operational activities. This includes the marine licensing system, work to support growth in offshore wind, our Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme and other marine, fisheries and environmental policies. In doing this we work closely with other Government Departments including Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Department for Transport, Department for Business and Trade.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82809 on Water Companies: Risk Assessment, what steps she is taking to help ensure compliance by local authorities with statutory reporting duties on private water supply risk assessments; and if she will provide an update on progress made in responding to the recommendations of the 2024 research project: Impact and future of the regulatory model and legislative framework surrounding private water supplies in England and Wales. \p Emma Hardy: Reporting duties return rates by local authorities will be raised by officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government through their regular liaison meetings with the Local Government Association.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in (a) food and (b) drinking water. \p Emma Hardy: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) aims to keep levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food as low as reasonably achievable and is keeping the issue of PFAS under review.

Food business operators have a legal responsibility to ensure that any food they place on the market complies with general food law, which states that food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Where products are found to breach these requirements, local authorities have the power to take enforcement action.

The Committee on Toxicity (COT), an advisory body which provides independent scientific advice to the FSA, is currently undertaking an assessment of PFAS. This assessment includes an extensive review of the available data and derivation of updated health-based guidance values where possible.

Drinking water quality policy is wholly devolved and the following response is in relation to England only.

Defra and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) are working together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on DWI’s recommendations.

The DWI have issued guidance to water companies on PFAS. Concentrations of ‘sum of 48 PFAS’ reported as greater than 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) must be reported to the DWI as a water quality event and all necessary actions to reduce concentrations below this value must be taken. No treated water samples in 2024 were reported in Tier 3 (≥0.1 micrograms/L), supporting the effectiveness of industry mitigation strategies.
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John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take legislative steps to expand access rights for swimming and non-motorised craft on inland waters. \p Emma Hardy: The Government recognises the importance of access to nature for people’s health and well-being, and is considering the best approach to improving that, including access onto unregulated inland waterways. We are committed to working with stakeholders as this develops.
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Jess Asato:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Defra has implemented employee and manager guidance for domestic abuse. The guidance offers support for

All employees and managers must hold regular one-to-one meetings to ensure personal and wellbeing needs are met and that access to the Employee Assistance Programme is clear and available.

Additional training is available on the internal Learning Hub and covers key leadership and management skills such as effective communication, handling sensitive conversations, supporting wellbeing, and managing people issues.

Once available, we will promote the take-up of the training product for managers currently being developed by the Cabinet Office.
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Ruth Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consult on legislative steps to strengthen provisions in the Hunting Act 2004. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Government recognises that concerns persist around illegal hunting being carried out under the guise of trail hunting; that is why we have already committed in our manifesto to put an end to trail hunting. The Government will launch a consultation in the new year on how to develop proposals for an effective ban on trail hunting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_407

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the (a) percentage and (b) cash terms increase in the average household water bills, including waste water, of a dwelling in the Thames Water area, in each year from 2025 onwards, for those not on a social tariff, over each year of the regulated period, according to information held by (i) his department and (ii) Ofwat. \p Emma Hardy: This information is available on Ofwat’s website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_408

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82811 on Water Supply: Standards, whether she has assessed the adequacy of issuing non-mandatory guidance for private water supply risk assessments. \p Emma Hardy: The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) publishes and maintains a suite of risk assessment tools on its website. Risk assessments must meet the requirements of European standard EN 15975-2 entitled "Security of Drinking Water Supply - Guidelines for Risk and Crisis Management – Risk Management" which provides further guidance and if local authorities have any questions on performing risk assessments, they can contact the DWI who provide technical and scientific advice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_409

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82808 on Water Supply: Newton Abbot, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of Teignbridge District Council to meet its statutory duties for private water supplies, in light of the number of registered supplies and the associated workload for risk assessments and sampling. \p Emma Hardy: Local authorities can recover costs incurred from their work on private water supplies from the relevant person for the supply. Defra expects all local authorities to undertake their statutory duties.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_410

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82810 on Water Supply: Standards, what further information her Department holds on the reasons for these improvement notices, and what processes take place once such notices are received by central Government. \p Emma Hardy: The Drinking Water Inspectorate receives, records, and reports on the number of information notices each year. This information is provided in the Chief Inspector’s annual report on Private Water Supplies in England. Acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, the Chief Inspector of Drinking Water can confirm notices issued under Section 80 of the Water Industry Act 1991 if they are appealed, but no action is taken by Defra or the DWI on notices issued.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_411

Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the management of Avian Influenza outbreaks in a) Norfolk and b) the UK. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry and other captive birds in the UK, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) together with the Devolved Governments and their delivery agencies have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery.

Avian Influenza Prevention Zones (AIPZs) mandating enhanced biosecurity are currently in force across the UK. These apply to all bird keepers whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock. Additional national housing measures are also in force across the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland to mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of the disease.

To control and manage outbreaks in Norfolk, APHA has put in place additional biosecurity measures in disease control zones surrounding infected premises. These controls include mandatory housing for all poultry and captive birds which are located in the 3km Protection Zone surrounding an infected premises. Bird keepers can check where disease control zones are in force on our interactive map.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_412

Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to put in contingencies in areas that have sudden water outages. \p Emma Hardy: Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a supply of wholesome water under the Water Industry Act 1991 and associated water quality regulations. Additionally, the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency.

Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have statutory duties to plan for emergencies. As Category Two Responders water companies are members of their Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) and work in partnership to understand risk and develop contingencies such as response plans.

Defra has a work programme of strategy, policy, research, operational and regulatory enforcement activity dedicated to improving the resilience of the water sector. This includes the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) who regulate water company performance against SEMD requirements. They have a range of tools to hold companies to account, including serving companies with enforcement orders.

Most sudden water outages are managed at a local level by the affected water company in conjunction with other LRF members as appropriate. However, where the scale or complexity of an incident demands central government co-ordination or support, Defra will provide this to facilitate all relevant parties to work together effectively.

The Independent Water Commission made several recommendations on increasing resilience across the water sector and on strengthening the enforcement powers available to the regulator for SEMD. The Government is preparing to respond to these recommendations and our White Paper will set out more detail on our approach.
wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_413
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_413

Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with South East Water on water supply following issues at a treatment works on Saturday 29 November 2025. \p Emma Hardy: The Defra Secretary of State and Minister for Floods and Water have had frequent discussions with South East Water’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 29 November. This includes direct phone calls with the CEO by the Secretary of State and Minister for Floods and Water. The Minister for Floods and Water has also chaired three meetings which have been attended by South East Water’s CEO as well as senior leaders from the Local Councils and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Defra officials have held numerous discussions with South East Water CEO and officials, including direct calls with the CEO. They have also participated in Tactical Coordination Groups and Strategic Coordination Groups held by the Kent Local Resilience Forum. These have been attended by South East Water.

Officials from the Drinking Water Inspectorate have also engaged with the company as part of their full investigation into the incident. Further details of which can be found online.

Ministers and Officials will continue to engage extensively with South East Water on this incident until it is resolved.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_414

Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 90952 on Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025, if she can outline the (a) local and (b) national stakeholders who she will engage with during the initial scoping work and set out a timeline for the initial scoping work . \p Emma Hardy: Defra recognise that there have been changes in how and where people use bathing waters since the Bathing Water Regulations were introduced in 2013. That is why we are taking forward a programme of reforms to introduce the first overhaul of the rules governing the designation and monitoring of Bathing Waters since they were introduced. Reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 are part of a wider government effort to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment, and restore trust and accountability through root and branch reform. Further detail on the Government’s plans for water reform will be set out through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, marking the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.
wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_415
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_415

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to introduce mandatory method of production labelling on food. \p Dame Angela Eagle: We are considering the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare strategy.
wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_416
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_416

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the (a) Mayor of London, (b) Greater London Authority and (c) Metropolitan Police on the decision to cancel the farmers’ tractor protest in Westminster on 26 November 2025. \p Dame Angela Eagle: This is an operational matter for the police. Defra has had no discussions with them about it.
wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_417
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_417

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to provide full access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland via the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme from 1 January 2026. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme allows for products from Great Britain (GB), that are not vaccines, to be moved without the need for a Special Import Certificate, respecting Northern Ireland’s integral part in the UK’s internal market. The scheme will provide vets, who have a clinical need under the cascade, access to GB medicines without additional administrative burden.

Additionally, under the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme, vets do not need to wait for a medicine shortage to arise before they can source a product. Both vets and wholesalers may hold stock of medicines including products from GB, other than vaccines, that may need to be used in the future.

The Government’s current assessment does not expect any significant disruption to the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland; therefore, most medicines will continue to be supplied as they are now.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_418

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs during Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions on 13 November 2025, Hansard col 291, on what date does she plans to publish the animal welfare strategy. \p Dame Angela Eagle: As set out by the Prime Minister, we will publish our Animal Welfare Strategy this year which will set out our priorities for animal welfare.