theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of prohibiting the use of weed killers such as glyphosate. \p Emma Hardy: The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides, including weed killers, is to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. Pesticides are only authorised following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met.

We recently held a useful and informative roundtable event with some local authorities to discuss the work they had done to reduce the use of glyphosate and other weed killers in the urban environment.

Active substances used in pesticides are periodically reviewed to ensure they still meet safety standards and requirements set out in legislation. We will consider the GB position on glyphosate when its approval is next due for renewal.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to provide mental health support to farmers. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.

The Government continue to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds four charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by the Farmer Network, operates in Lancashire. Their ‘Keep Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign is delivering workshops, training, events, networking, 1:1 advice and the provision of additional Field Nurse services in the region.

Furthermore, the Government is paying out £60m through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by this unprecedented extreme wet weather.

Finally, the Government announced in their 2024 manifesto 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on business confidence in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency. \p James Murray: Recent surveys from EY, PwC and Lloyds Bank show overall business and investor confidence is rising.

The Government has taken significant steps to support rural businesses. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas.

We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 38944, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of people aged over 66 years old working (a) part time and (b) full time who paid income tax in the last financial year. \p James Murray: The information is not available. HMRC does not hold complete information on hours worked in an employment.
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Noah Law:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she hold discussions with HMRC on the potential merits of extending terms for the collection of taxes from businesses; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on working capital for businesses. \p James Murray: HMRC takes its responsibility seriously to make sure that individuals and businesses who can pay, do so on time. Where taxpayers need additional support, they can enter into payment arrangements with HMRC, allowing taxpayers to pay their tax, including VAT and PAYE, via instalments.

Companies pay Corporation Tax nine months and one day after the end of the accounting period, or in quarterly payments if they are a large company.

At the Spring Statement the Government announced further measures to close the tax gap, to ensure more taxpayers pay the tax they owe.
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Claire Hanna:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the National Wealth Fund investment in Northern Ireland. \p Darren Jones: HM Treasury ministers and officials engage regularly with the Northern Ireland Executive. The Chancellor met the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on 12 September 2024 and discussed how to deliver economic growth in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Executive were consulted at official level on the Statement of Strategic Priorities to the National Wealth Fund, issued on 19 March 2025, which commits to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that the benefits of investment are felt in all four nations of the UK.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on financial support for disabled people. \p Darren Jones: I regularly engage with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including support for disabled people. The Secretary of State recently launched the Pathways to Work Green Paper which set out government plans to support disabled people into work through a significant investment in employment support, and reform the health and disability benefits to make the system more pro work.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 631-634, if she will provide a breakdown of the funding sources for the proposed increase in defence spending. \p Darren Jones: The Prime Minister’s announcement in February is fully funded - we are reducing ODA to the equivalent of 0.3% of GNI to fund the additional spend required to ensure we reach 2.5% of GDP on defence spending in 2027-28.
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Kirsteen Sullivan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to engage with the public to explain the (a) need and (b) sources of funding for large infrastructure projects near local communities to grow the economy. \p Darren Jones: National Policy Statements set out the need for the development of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and the Government's policy for meeting that need. NPSs provide clarity, certainty and transparency on Government policy for scheme promoters, the planning inspectorate, decision makers and the wider public.

As part of this government’s growth agenda, we will publish a cross-cutting 10-year infrastructure strategy, which will communicate to the public our approach to housing, economic and social infrastructure. The government has committed to delivering an infrastructure pipeline to provide a clear sense of the government’s long-term infrastructure priorities.
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Noah Law:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered introducing a small levy on imported sugar; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such a levy on (a) tariff revenues following the suspension of Ukrainian sugar tariffs and (b) incentives in the food and beverage industry to transition to sweeteners. \p James Murray: The UK already has significant tariffs on UK sugar imports which are imported via the Most Favoured Nation route. These are £280 per tonne for cane sugar for refining and £350 per tonne for other types of sugar. They are, other than in exceptional circumstances, effectively prohibitive to imports via this route and instead imports come from jurisdictions with preferential access. The government has no plans to introduce tariffs on imports from countries which have preferential access into the UK market.

The government recognises the harms caused by high sugar intake and took steps at Autumn Budget 2024 to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) remains effective and fit-for-purpose. The levy will be increased, over the next five years to reflect inflation since 2018.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of farmers which will be affected by upcoming changes to (a) Agriculture Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief. \p James Murray: I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced UIN 29306 published on 5th February 2025 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-05/29306
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much compensation was provided for (a) childcare, (b) other care, (c) food and drink, (d) travel and (e) parking costs to people on jury duty in real terms in each of the last five years. \p Sarah Sackman: Jurors can claim an amount towards loss of earnings and other costs incurred as a direct result of jury service, subject to a daily maximum. They can also claim travel costs and a contribution towards their refreshments.

HMCTS does not collect or collate data specifically on all categories of expenses requested here but can disaggregate certain payments made. Parking charges are incorporated into the travel costs and all types of additional care (e.g. childcare and care of vulnerable adults) are amalgamated. The information available is set out in the following table.

Costs in 2024 prices (using CPI data)

Year

Travel

Food & Drink

Additional Care

2020

£ 3,395,508

£ 2,437,651

£ 199,625

2021

£ 6,906,633

£ 4,468,960

£ 347,862

2022

£ 6,175,245

£ 4,433,536

£ 345,551

2023

£ 6,932,989

£ 5,177,718

£ 361,356

2024

£ 7,170,537

£ 5,227,048

£ 353,180

The expenses covered in the table above represent only a proportion of total expenses paid to jurors each year. For example, in 2024, a total of £36.5 million was paid in juror allowance, including the £12,750,765 set out under the categories requested in the question asked.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Business and Property Courts. \p Sarah Sackman: The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.

As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce personal injury claims being block listed in the County Courts. \p Sarah Sackman: Listing decisions, including whether a claim is suitable for a block list, are a matter for the independent judiciary.
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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 36655, on Sexual Offences: Crown Court, what further action her Department plans to take after 28 May 2025, when the pilot scheme will have operated for one year. \p Sarah Sackman: Since May 2024, the Ministry of Justice has been running a one-year pilot to enable victims of rape and sexual offences, whose cases were heard at the Crown Court, to request a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks free of charge.

The Ministry of Justice is currently assessing the impacts of this pilot to inform decisions on future provision. This includes considering the value of these transcripts to victims based on victim survey (or feedback from victims), impacts on the judiciary and the cost implications of the policy.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support legal professionals reliant on legal aid fees. \p Sarah Sackman: This Government is committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of both the civil and criminal legal aid sectors and we are keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies to look at how best we can address this.

Regarding criminal legal aid, in November 2024 we announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation. We confirmed an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introduced a new Youth Court fee scheme, and subsidised for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes amount to a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.

In addition, in December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. The precise allocation of this funding is subject to consultation. We are committed to continuing to work with the criminal legal aid profession on further opportunities for reform this Parliament and to support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.

In respect of civil legal aid, the Ministry of Justice has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which will inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year once fully implemented. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish our response. We will continue to consider the fees paid in other categories of civil legal aid, and the wider themes from the Review, in order to support the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid sector.
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to set a target date to achieve a representative (a) judiciary and (b) magistracy. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government is strongly committed to achieving a judiciary which better represents the diversity of the population. This comprises of judges, non-legal members and magistrates.

We continue to work closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the legal professions, magistrates’ representatives and employers to improve the diversity of the judiciary.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using (a) anti-drone technologies and (b) Radio Frequency Effector technology in prisons. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones delivering contraband into prisons.

The Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021 authorises the use of counter-drone technology and enables the police to stop and search anyone suspected of committing drone-related offences.

HMPPS uses a variety of countermeasures and intelligence tools to stop drones delivering contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons. Owing to operational sensitives, we are not able to discuss in detail the tactics used by HMPPS to disrupt drones, as that would aid serious and organised criminals.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, in the context of average times taken to extradite foreign national offenders. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: This Government is deporting eligible Foreign National Offenders as fast as possible. We have removed 21% more foreign national offenders during the period July 2024 to January 2025 compared with the equivalent period in 2023-24, under the previous Government.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prison places have been created since July 2024. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: As outlined in the 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aims to do so by 2031. Since July 2024, c.700 additional prison places have been created through new, modern houseblocks, essential refurbishments and the re-role of HMP Cookham Wood. HMP Millsike is due to open in the coming weeks and will provide an additional c.1,500 places.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the provision of speech and language therapy in youth justice services in Wales. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: This Government recognises the vital role that Speech and Language Therapists play in supporting young people within the justice system.

I discussed matters relating to youth justice in Wales when I met with Welsh Government Minister Janet Hutt earlier this month.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish a timetable for a data sharing agreement between the (a) Crown Prosecution Service, (b) courts, (c) police and (d) other criminal justice agencies; and if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of not having such an agreement. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: There are several data sharing agreements that exist between Criminal Justice System (CJS) agencies for specific purposes, and we are working with CJS agencies to further improve how data is shared. For example, we have run a pilot to link data between probation, prisons and police to enhance data driven decision-making by probation practitioners and are developing a cross-CJS dataset that brings together data from the Crown Prosecution Service, courts, police, prisons and probation services to better inform policy decisions.

We know there are several economic benefits to improving the flow of data across the CJS. The Ministry of Justice is currently working with Home Office and AGO/CPS on joint proposals to improve the flow of data across the system.
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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving imprisonment for public protection sentences were in Category (a) B, (b) C and (c) D prisons as of 31 December 2024. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Table 1 shows the number of prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences(1) held in predominant function Category B, C and D establishments(2), in England and Wales, as at 31 December 2024.

Prison Category(2)

Number of IPP Prisoners(1)

Category B

252

Category C

1,737

Category D (Open)

196

Notes:

1.The figures presented in these tables include both unreleased and recalled IPP prisoners.

2. A number of prisons have multiple functions (e.g. a prison could have both "Reception" and "Category C" functions). For these prisons, the predominant function has been used.

3. For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.

4. Data sources and quality: The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Source: Prison NOMIS.

It is right that the IPP sentence was abolished, and this Government is determined that those serving the sentence get all the support and opportunities they need to make further progress towards a safe and sustainable release, but not in a way that impacts public protection.

On 15 November 2024, the Government published the updated IPP Action Plan, which puts a stronger emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons. It will ensure that prisoners serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans, which they are actively engaging with, and that they are in the correct prison to access the right interventions and rehabilitative services.

The IPP Action Plan and the commitment to deliver it have contributed to the overall reduction in the IPP population. The unreleased prison population fell from 1,227 in December 2023, to 1,045 in December 2024.

The Government also acted swiftly to commence the IPP measures in the Victims and Prisoners Act, which led to the automatic termination of licence for 1,742 cases on 1 November 2024. We also commenced the new power to re-release recalled IPP offenders executively through Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR).
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the document entitled The number of prison places built and closed (2010-2024), published on 25 October 2024, if she will publish the number of prison places lost as a result of (a) prison closures, (b) dilapidation and (c) other changes to capacity between 1 May 2010 and 30 April 2024, broken down by region. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: As set out in the quoted document in October 2024, the previous Government only managed to increase prison capacity by c.500 places between May 2010 and April 2024. A regional breakdown of the number of prison places removed during this period has been provided as an Excel document alongside this response. The ‘other’ category in the table includes all other changes to operational capacity such as places temporarily out of use for maintenance.

Last year, this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk earlier this month, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners.

PQ_table_40505 (xlsx, 17.2KB)
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of child trafficking by (a) nationality and (b) arresting police force in each year since 2010. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including human trafficking up to and including June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

These include all human trafficking offences convicted, not just those against children. It is not possible to separately identify all such convictions that relate to children as the information on the victim age is not recorded in the Court Proceedings Database held by the Ministry of Justice.

Data held centrally does not include the nationality of the offender. The police force recorded in the Court Proceedings Database relates to the police force area associated with the court where the case was heard and not the arresting police force. The arresting police force is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, What the average prison sentence is for cannabis possession offences. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the average sentence for cannabis possession offences, from 2010 to 2024, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2024.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The delivery of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) activity and staffing requirements is decided by Departments as the employer.

Civil Service Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Expenditure guidance, published under the previous Government in May 2024, states:

Internal Efficiency Measures

18. Internal measures are important to promote efficient and effective EDI practice, which aligns to Government priorities. To ensure EDI spend in the Civil Service is commensurate with agreed organisational priorities the following measures must be considered:

c. Incorporate standalone EDI staffing roles into broader HR: The responsibility for EDI delivery should be embedded into HR professionals’ broader accountabilities. The CS D&I Strategy frames an approach where diversity and inclusion is not an end in itself, but an integral means of delivering better outcomes for our citizens.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of (a) a legal code of conduct for and (b) mandatory inspections of the premises of funeral directors. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Government is thoroughly evaluating all potential next steps to ensure that the high standards upheld by many within the funeral director sector are consistently reflected throughout the entire industry. This includes assessing the potential merits of a legal code of conduct for funeral directors and mandatory inspections of their premises. Further updates on the next steps will be provided in due course.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department provides support for prisoners to help them continue improving their literacy skills after release. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: A key aim of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) prison education service is to support prisoners to develop their functional literacy skills so that they can be fully rehabilitated into society upon release. Prisoners have access to local further education colleges in the community, and prison libraries can work with local libraries to ensure prisoners can register for services upon release.

Post-release, male ex-prisoners with education needs are signposted towards existing services including Creating Future Opportunities, which supports prisoners to address barriers to accessing opportunities, such as low levels of literacy, Department for Work and Pensions, and other local provisions. For women on probation, the Women’s Services contracts deliver holistic wraparound support that in addition to the specific ETE pathway, offers other support services to women that increase their ability to progress in education.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of literacy programs in prisons. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: We have robust evidence on the positive benefits of education to reducing reoffending, however, we don’t have specific evidence for the link between literacy levels and reoffending. We are currently improving our understanding of factors influencing participation in different prison education types, including literacy courses, through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme.

This learning will continue to support our evolving understanding of what more we can do to improve literacy in prisons. We are also investing in an evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service which will include the delivery of functional English skills.

The success of formal literacy education is primarily measured by prisoners ‘achieving’ and getting an accredited qualification. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23, across public prisons in England
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to prison staff to support literacy education. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Improving literacy education, including reading, is a priority for His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS has established a panel of experts to provide advice on effective approaches for teaching reading in prisons. This expert panel includes representatives from the Department for Education with whom we work closely to ensure that prison education is well-aligned with community education.

HMPPS has also worked to improve literacy rates for prisoners through core literacy education and whole prison reading strategies. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills across public prisons in England, and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23. Heads of Education, Skills and Work are now in every prison, bringing expertise from the education sector directly to prison education. New core contracts will be launched later this year which will deliver enhanced screening and assessment in English, reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), as well as screening for additional learning needs. HMPPS is piloting two reading and literacy projects across 15 prisons to test approaches to reading and literacy. Reading screening has been introduced to identify prisoners reading support levels, enabling the development of prison reading strategies and effective commissioning through the Core Education Contracts.

All prison officers undergo training in their roles and responsibilities with supporting education, including literacy education and reading. At the launch of the National Reading Framework, HMPPS provided dedicated training to key HMPPS staff. The National Reading Framework provides guidance for prisons to develop and assess the impact of tailored reading support for prisoners as well as promoting a culture where prisoners are encouraged to read for pleasure.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of effectiveness of her Department's programmes for supporting offenders in returning to employment in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: We know that finding employment after release reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. That is why the Government’s manifesto commits to break the cycle of reoffending by better supporting prisons to link up with employers to get more people with convictions into work.

We have launched regional Employment Councils, including for the region Kent, Surrey & Sussex. For the first time, they bring businesses together with probation and the Department of Work and Pensions to support offenders in the community.

In addition, Prison Employment Leads, Employment Hubs, ID and Banking Administrators and Employment Advisory Boards are in every resettlement prison, including at HMP Coldingley in Surrey Heath. They play a key role in getting offenders work-ready, matching them to jobs on release and linking prisons with local businesses.

The proportion of ex-offenders in employment within six months of release in Kent, Surrey and Sussex was 29.5% in the year to March 2024, an increase of 4.7 percentage points from the previous reporting year to March 2023.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Leigh Ingham:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the access to (a) sport and (b) physical education for (i) primary and (ii) secondary school-aged children. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is committed to providing all children and young people with more opportunities to be physically active. This government has set out its intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

To further support children to be active, the government has committed £320 million for the primary PE and sport premium in the 2024/25 academic year, benefiting over 18,000 schools and around 3.9 million pupils in England.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the country-wide network of 450 School Games Organisers, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), provided 2.3 million opportunities for school children to engage in local and inclusive sporting competitions across 40 different sports and activities.

We have also launched an open procurement for a new grant programme from spring 2025, of up to £300,000 a year. This will focus on improving and increasing PE, school sports and physical activity opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

The department is working with DHSC and DCMS when considering future investment into PE and school sport, to ensure this provides children and young people with as many opportunities as possible to be physically active.

The department also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in 2024 which will seek to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, so that children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama, as well as vocational subjects. The Review’s interim report was published on 18 March 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of local authority powers to ensure that vacant rental properties are made available for new tenancies. \p Matthew Pennycook: Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.

Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found here.

The government expects social housing landlords to manage their stock efficiently, ensuring that vacant properties are made available where possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the guidance entitled Green Belt, published on 27 February 2025, will apply to (a) planning applications for authorised, (b) retrospective planning permission for unauthorised, (c) planning enforcement (i) decisions and (ii) appeals in relation to unauthorised and (d) plan-making for traveller sites on the Green Belt. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to UIN 39868 answered on 26 March 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Chris Hinchliff:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of overseas voters who did not receive a ballot in time to vote at the general election in 2024; and whether her Department plans to take steps to increase the proportion of overseas voters who receive a ballot in time. \p Rushanara Ali: The Department does not hold information on the number of overseas voters that did not receive a ballot in time to vote at the general election in 2024.

As set out in our response to the Electoral Commission’s evaluation of the 2024 general election, published last month (Electoral Commission’s reports on the 2024 elections: government response - GOV.UK), the Government recognises the Commission’s findings with regards to the difficulties faced by British citizens living overseas when trying to participate in UK elections.

As part of our review of electoral registration and conduct, the government, in partnership with electoral practitioners and the Electoral Commission, is examining several aspects of the system for overseas electors, with a view to identifying practical solutions to some of the challenges faced.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the proposed (a) combined authorities and (b) combined county authorities will operate in shadow form before they are vested. \p Jim McMahon: The establishment of a Combined County Authority or a Combined Authority is done via implementing secondary legislation. It is for the local authorities who are to become constituent councils in the area to determine whether to set up shadow or transition arrangements prior to the combined authority’s establishment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.1.1 of her Department's English devolution white paper published on 16 December 2024, whether she will designate Surrey as a Foundation Strategic Authority. \p Jim McMahon: The government confirmed we would progress with a non-mayoral single local authority agreement for Surrey in September 2024. Future designation is subject to wider timelines on the passage of the English Devolution Bill as well as next steps on local government reorganisation and to deepen devolution for the area.

Surrey are on the Local Government Reorganisation fast track to unlock devolution to the fastest possible timeline, to deepen and widen their existing devolution agreement and take strides towards mayoral devolution.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what figures her Department uses for the population of (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough; and if she will publish those figures. \p Jim McMahon: The Department uses a range of statistics that have already been published by the Office for National Statistics. These published statistics include the national and subnational Estimates of the Population for England and Wales (available on gov.uk here), which are routinely published by the Office for National Statistics and include figures on the populations of both Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

For some of our analysis that require figures at household-level, such as our homelessness and rough sleeping analysis, we make use of the Office for National Statistics’ published 2018-Based Household Projections (available on gov.uk here).

Finally, we also make use of the Office for National Statistics’ census data (available on gov.uk here).

The Department does not use unpublished population figures generally or for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough specifically.
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Yuan Yang:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome document entitled Provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 2026 consultation: summary of responses, published 3 February 2025, for how long will the multi-year settlements from financial year 2026-27 last. \p Jim McMahon: The government is pursuing a comprehensive set of reforms for public services to return the local government sector to a sustainable position. We know that the sector has long called for long-term certainty on its budgets. That is why the government is committed to providing a multi-year funding settlement starting in 2026-27. This will be the first multi-year settlement since 2016 and will provide local authorities with the certainty they need to focus on their priorities. The timings of the Local Government Finance Settlement are bound by the Spending Review cycle. We will set out further information in due course after the conclusion of the Spending Review on 11 June 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will issue guidance to local authorities on allowing homeless people with pets into sheltered accommodation. \p Rushanara Ali: If a household is in Temporary Accommodation, local authorities must ensure it is suitable in relation to the applicant and to all members of their household who normally reside with them, or who might reasonably be expected to reside with them and there is a right of appeal. Although it will not always be possible to make provision for pets in temporary accommodation, housing authorities should give careful consideration to this aspect when making provision for applicants who wish to retain their pet.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will overhaul the private rented sector, giving tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords will be able to request insurance to cover potential damage from pets if needed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has she made in implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. \p Rushanara Ali: Future spending on specific programmes in 2025-26, including for the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP), is yet to be determined. SHIP local authorities will be notified as soon as possible.

The government is currently consulting on proposals for implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. The consultation closes on 15 May. Following this, the responses will be analysed before regulations are drafted and consulted on. We are continuing to engage closely with the sector as we work to implement the Act.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department has made available to residents facing increases in management fees by (a) landlords and (b) management companies. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).