theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of public libraries on adult education. \p Chris Bryant: Public libraries are an important part of our local communities, providing people with knowledge to help with education, social skills, boosting employment and capturing the imagination of readers of all ages and backgrounds.

The DCMS Participation Survey 2023-24 found that 30% of adults had engaged with public libraries in England in the previous 12 months. This is a 6 percent point increase from the previous year.

Libraries are used as a venue for local authority adult learning provision funded through the Department for Education's Adult Skills Fund. Libraries enable providers to offer courses in local communities which are often targeted at learners with barriers to learning. The Department for Education does not collect data on the use of libraries or other venues for adult learning.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45662 on Tax Allowances: Mid Bedfordshire, whether the negotiations over central government support or subsidy for the Universal Studios development have now concluded; and whether the intention is for a legally binding agreement. \p Chris Bryant: Details of negotiations with private investors and Government are confidential. The proposals remain subject to a planning decision from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and as outlined when the Government announced the deal, further details on Government infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45688 on Holiday Accommodation and Second Homes: Registration, if she will ensure that homes subject to a second homes council tax premium by local authorities are not charged additional registration fees. \p Chris Bryant: The registration scheme for short-term lets legislated for in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 will require registration of specified properties that meet the definition of a short-term rental property. The detailed scope of the scheme is still being determined and will be shaped to meet the scheme’s overarching objectives to provide data that enables local authorities to better understand their visitor accommodation market, support tourism growth, and protect the spirit and fabric of communities.
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Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to reduce the cost of temporary accommodation for local authorities through the Spending Review. \p Rushanara Ali: At phase 1 of the Spending Review the Government announced a £233 million increase for homelessness services, taking total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes the largest-ever investment in prevention services, enabling councils to intervene earlier with targeted support, preventing homelessness before it happens and reducing reliance on expensive, ill-equipped temporary accommodation.

As part of this investment, the Government is working with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots. The £8 million programme will test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives to reduce the reliance upon the most expensive and least suitable forms of temporary accommodation.

Future funding for homelessness services is subject to the outcome of phase 2 of the Spending Review.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of new housing demand that is attributable to net migration since 2010. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government does not routinely publish assessments of the factors that influence housing demand.

Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to meet housing demand which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.

The government is determined to address the dire inheritance left by its predecessor and restore order to the asylum and immigration systems, delivering lower net migration.
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Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of methodological changes to the classification of certain types of accommodation between the 2011 and 2021 censuses by the Office for National Statistics on local authorities' Housing Delivery Test results. \p Matthew Pennycook: The established methodology for official statistics on housing supply utilises the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) census to improve the quality and reliability of these statistics. The census dwelling count is subject to intensive validation processes and address matching and provides the baseline for the net additional dwellings statistics.

A comparison of total dwelling stock counts between the 2021 and 2011 censuses led to adjustments to some of the net additional dwellings figures, which are used as the basis for the Housing Delivery Test (HDT).

This only affected the 2020/21 delivery year in the latest HDT 2023 statistics.

Following discussions with the ONS and with some relevant local authorities, we believe that in limited and specific cases these census adjusted figures are not appropriate to use for the purposes of the HDT. We are therefore in contact with relevant local authorities and have issued recalculations where needed.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of houses that will be built by the end of 2025. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36228 on 14 March 2025.
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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to return central funding to the fire and rescue service to pre-2010 levels. \p Alex Norris: I met with the FBU General Secretary in February 2025, in preparation of fire functions being transferred from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 1 April 2025. We briefly discussed future investment in the fire and rescue service and are due to meet again shortly for further discussion. I am also due to speak at the forthcoming FBU conference. I recently met with the FBU General Secretary on 15th May.

Standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5 million in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
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Ben Coleman:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase funding for local authorities to help reduce the number of (a) people and (b) families living in temporary accommodation; and if she will make more funding available to help local authorities tackle housing waiting lists. \p Rushanara Ali: The Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million this year, taking total investment to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of people and families in temporary accommodation.

Future funding for homelessness services is subject to the outcome of phase 2 of the Spending Review.

The Government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation at Spring Statement. This investment follows £800 million of new in-year funding made available for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, supporting the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being for Social Rent.

In the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the Government will set out the full details of a new grant programme to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include provisions for prevention programmes for young people at risk of homelessness in her planned homelessness strategy. \p Rushanara Ali: Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. To reduce the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, we must stop people reaching crisis point by preventing homelessness before it happens.

Youth homelessness will be considered as part of our long-term, cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness for good.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national Supporting People programme. \p Rushanara Ali: Local authorities are best placed to decide how their funding is spent locally. The Government has a delivered a Settlement that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will meet with representatives from the youth homelessness sector to discuss a dedicated chapter on youth homelessness in the proposed policy paper on homelessness. \p Rushanara Ali: Homelessness levels are far too high, and I recognise the unique challenges young people face in securing stable housing. The Government has engaged with stakeholders within the youth homelessness sector to discuss the needs of this cohort as we work to develop a long-term, cross-Government homelessness strategy to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. I will be continuing this engagement with stakeholders to discuss what is needed to address youth homelessness.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Welsh Government on automatic electoral registration in Wales. \p Rushanara Ali: UK Government and Welsh Government officials are in regular contact on a range of electoral conduct and registration topics, including the Welsh Government’s pilots on automatic electoral registration.

We are exploring a wide range of options to deliver on the manifesto commitment to improve electoral registration including making greater use of public data and digital services. We are following the Welsh pilots with interest.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much the Oxford Growth Commission project will cost her Department in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29. \p Alex Norris: Economic growth is the number one priority for this Government and the Plan for Change. Oxford offers huge economic potential for the UK’s growth prospects which will not only benefit the wider region but also help drive growth in every corner of the country by creating jobs, boosting living standards, and putting more money into working people’s pockets.

The Oxford Growth Commission will support the delivery of infrastructure, housing and employment to unleash Oxford’s and Oxfordshire’s economic power and is a key part of government’s commitment to unlock growth in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and the high potential sectors within it.

The Commission is jointly supported by MHCLG, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council alongside the Universities and local business. Future departmental budgets will be set at the upcoming Spending Review.
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to maintain (a) community centres, (b) libraries and (c) other community assets in (i) Leicester East constituency and (ii) England. \p Alex Norris: The Government recognises the vital role of community spaces in Leicester and in England as a whole and wants to see them thrive. The Assets of Community Value (ACV) scheme provides communities with a route to nominate any building or land which furthers the social wellbeing or interests of the community and bid to buy the ACV to protect it for community use. Alongside this the Community Asset Transfer scheme, which supports the transfer of ownership and/or management of publicly owned land and assets from a local authority to a community organisation.

As part of the English Devolution Bill, we will legislate to introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will empower local people to bring community spaces back into community ownership.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much her Department has spent on homelessness and rough sleeping in each year since 2020. \p Rushanara Ali: The Department’s spending for each year is published through annual reports. You can find links to these here: 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. The 2024/25 annual report will be published in due course. The Government spent over £873 million on homelessness and rough sleeping in 2024/25.

You can find details of homelessness and rough sleeping allocations for 2025/26 here.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that mortgage lenders do not require EWS1 forms where there is no legal requirement; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of those requirements on leaseholders’ ability to sell their homes. \p Alex Norris: External Wall System (EWS1) forms are not a legal or regulatory requirement in any circumstance.

My Department works closely with the mortgage lending industry to understand the challenges in the market for flats affected by fire safety issues, and we are encouraging mortgage lenders (banks and building societies) to move away from the use of EWS1s as a valuation tool, as some mortgage lenders are already doing. I met major mortgage lenders last month to reiterate this, and ask that they accept alternative evidence, for example the building’s Fire Risk Assessment (which the Responsible Person for a building is legally required to conduct) or, Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall.

I welcome the recently updated joint statement on cladding, signed by 10 major mortgage lenders, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. An EWS1 form should not be required in these scenarios.
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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with (i) frontline fire fighters and (ii) the Fire Brigades Union on improving response times to incidents. \p Alex Norris: Firefighters play a vital role in keeping the public safe and we are grateful for the work undertaken by fire and rescue services across the country in support of their local communities.

The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 3 February by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG), sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. Standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5m in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

Decisions on how resources, including staff, are best deployed to meet their core functions, including meeting response times, is a matter for each Fire and Rescue Authority, based on risks identified within local Community Risk Management Plans. This includes ensuring that their Fire and Rescue Service has sufficiently trained, qualified and competent persons to meet their legislated functional requirements.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken to support mayors in cities in the North of England to (a) increase economic growth and (b) improve local infrastructure. \p Alex Norris: Economic growth is the number one mission of this Government. We are giving local leaders, including mayors in cities in the North of England, the tools they need to improve local infrastructure and increase economic growth in their areas by devolving power and money from central government. We are investing in programmes which drive growth and will set out our refreshed vision for local growth funding at the multi-year Spending Review.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that fire and rescue services have the (a) personnel and (b) life saving equipment they need to safely respond to incidents of (i) flooding, (ii) wildfires and (iii) other extreme weather events. \p Alex Norris: The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 3 February by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG), sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. Standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5m in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each Fire and Rescue Authority.

MHCLG also supports fire and rescue authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capability comprising 45 HVPs.

Additionally, since 2024 the government has funded a national resilience wildfire advisor to consider whether additional national wildfire capabilities might be needed within the Fire and Rescue Services and to increase the coordination approaches across the sector.

The Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure Fire and Rescue Services have the resources they need to protect communities.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 2.1 of her Department's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, what progress she has made on the development of the model to support the sustainable funding of statutory consultees. \p Matthew Pennycook: A new clause (NC39) was tabled by my Department as an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and has been incorporated into it in PBL Committee.

This will allow the government to set a surcharge on planning fees to fund the costs incurred by key statutory consultees in England of advising on planning applications.

Details of its operation will be set out in regulations, following consultation.
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Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help increase social housing supply through the Spending Review. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Court of Appeal ruling of Mead Realisations Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWCA Civ 32 on the status of (a) planning practice guidance and (b) planning policy. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government has noted the view of the Court of Appeal in Mead Realisations Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWCA Civ 32 that the Planning Practice Guidance can in principle amend national policy. It remains the case that Planning Practice Guidance will continue to be used in a supporting role to, and consistent with, national policy. The government did not appeal this decision within the applicable time period.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will have access to the unredacted plans for the proposed Chinese Embassy when the Planning Inspector’s report is submitted. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45663 on 29 April 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) MI5, (b) GCHQ or (c) MI6 are able to make representations to (i) the planning inspector and (ii) her as part of the planning inquiry on the proposed Chinese Embassy without such representations being made available to the applicant. \p Matthew Pennycook: Representations on planning applications will be dealt with in accordance with paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions found on gov.uk here.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department monitors levels of furniture poverty. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department engages actively with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.

People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.

The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.

The government will consult later this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what topics her Department has produced an environmental principles assessment since 4 July 2024. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Environment Act 2021 requires Ministers to have ‘due regard’ to the policy statement on environmental principles when making policy. This is to ensure that environmental considerations are at the heart of policymaking across government.

Since this duty came into force in November 2023, my Department has produced environmental principles assessments on a range of different topics.

While the Department does not maintain a running list of environmental principles assessments it has undertaken, assessments have included those for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the December 2024 update to the National Planning Policy Framework.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2025 to Question 47709 on Permitted Development Rights, whether her Department has issued guidance to local planning authorities on making Article 4 directions publicly accessible. \p Matthew Pennycook: The regulations require local planning authorities to publicise all Article 4 directions made.

My Department has not issued any guidance on this.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals under the Electronic Government Act 2000 to reduce the time taken in relation to administration relating to (a) planning applications and decisions and (b) buying and selling homes. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not intending to bring forward legislative proposals under the Electronic Government Act (2000).

The Department is, however, undertaking a Digital Planning programme which aims to enable a modern and efficient planning system in England. This includes modern development management software delivering time savings relating to planning applications. Increased availability of high-quality, standardised data is essential for ensuring the smooth flow of information between systems.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act includes planning data powers and MHCLG will be introducing data standards for planning applications via secondary legislation.

On 9 February, we announced action to take forward plans to digitalise the home buying and selling sector.

In collaboration with HM Land Registry, we are working with local authorities to digitise property data, introduce common data standards, and enable digital identity services for the property sector.

More information can be found on gov.uk here.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how often the inter-ministerial group on homelessness meets. \p Rushanara Ali: The Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness meets as often as is required to develop the Government’s long-term homelessness strategy. The most recent meeting took place on Tuesday 13 May 2025.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of homelessness since July 2024. \p Rushanara Ali: Local housing authorities report their homelessness activities under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by completing the quarterly Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) statistical return. You can find a link to the latest data, commentary and technical notes on collections here Research and statistics - GOV.UK.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress he has made on the implementation of City and Growth Deals in Northern Ireland. \p Hilary Benn: The UK Government is investing £617m through the four City and Growth Deals which cover the whole of Northern Ireland.

My officials meet regularly with their counterparts from the Northern Ireland Department of Finance to discuss delivery of each of the four Northern Ireland growth deals and ensure that each is progressing.

As part of the Government’s efforts to help drive forward implementation of the deals I have met with a range of stakeholders and delivery partners, including the First Minister, deputy First Minister and Minister of Finance to discuss the City and Growth Deals. Last year, I was delighted to sign the Derry-Londonderry and Strabane City Full Deal at the Guildhall and the Mid South West Growth Deal’s Heads of Terms Document in Cookstown.

Both signings highlighted the collective efforts of the local councils involved and a demonstration of what can be achieved when we work together.

In Belfast, delivery is progressing. This year we will have the opening of Studio Ulster, and in 2026 we will see the opening of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) in Newtonabbey which will support innovation excellence in Northern Ireland and provide over 1,500 permanent jobs, supporting this Government's Economic Growth Mission.
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Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made on the publication of the Government’s conversion practices legislation. \p Dame Nia Griffith: Conversion practices are abuse. Such practices have no place in society and must be stopped.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, this Government is committed to bringing forward a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices.

We continue to work cross government on this important issue with a view to publishing our draft Bill later this session.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether his Department plans to establish the new Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement as an arm’s length body. \p Dame Nia Griffith: The government is committed to strengthening equal pay and ending pay discrimination. As part of this, we will establish an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit.

In April, we launched a call for evidence on a number of areas of equality policy, including this commitment. We will consider the views from the call for evidence to understand the challenges and find the appropriate solutions to equal pay enforcement.

We are holding this call for evidence (which closes on 30 June 2025) while policy is at a formative stage in order to enable businesses, trade unions, civil society and others to share their knowledge and experiences. Officials in the Office for Equality and Opportunity will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as this policy develops.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prevent the Rural Payments Agency's planned cancellation of payments under the SAM3: herbal leys scheme . \p Daniel Zeichner: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) have identified that a number of customers have included actions within their Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement that may not be allowed under the scheme rules and as clearly set out in the customer guidance. These cases have been identified through eligibility checks carried out and the RPA are working through these.

The RPA is conscious of the impact delay to payments may have and are contacting affected customers as required to resolve this and ensure any payments due can be made as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 47228 on Sustainable Farming Incentive, whether the (a) launch and (b) rollout of the replacement Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme will be in 2025. \p Daniel Zeichner: We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_308

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to change the level of funding for farms in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire. \p Daniel Zeichner: At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies that will put money in the pockets of farmers in Fylde, Lancashire, and across the country.

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years, and are on track to do so.

We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

We are investing £208 million in biosecurity protections and extending the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years. We are backing British produce in Government catering contracts and ensuring fair competition across the supply chain through contractual reform.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_309

Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers enrolled in the SFI scheme to transition to the forthcoming replacement programme. \p Daniel Zeichner: We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_310

Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to include a ban on the importation of product where antibiotics have been used as growth promoters in all future international trade deals. \p Daniel Zeichner: We have been clear that we will only ever sign trade agreements which align with the UK’s national interests, and we will always uphold our high food standards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_311

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that appropriate biosecurity checks are conducted on (a) vehicles and (b) goods arriving in the UK from France, following the introduction of restrictions on personal imports of meat and dairy products. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a further confirmed case in Hungary, close to the Austrian border.

The Government has already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products, from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in those countries.

We recognise the risk posed by illegal imports via personal imports. Border force officers are responsible for detention and seizure of any illegal Products of Animal Origin (POAO) goods at points of entry and Defra is working closely with authorities at points of entry to help control the illegal movement of POAO into Great Britain in personal imports.

Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_312

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has raised concerns with his French counterpart on the lack of visible (a) controls and (b) public information at French ports of departure on the new import restrictions. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government communicated the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries introduced on 12 April 2025, via a press release and information on social media and on GOV.UK. It has also published updated posters for operational partners to display.

As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, Defra has written to ports, airports and travel operators requesting that they take further steps in communicating the new rules to travellers as a matter of urgency.

Defra has also written to Ministers from the Department for Transport, Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers asking for their help with making travellers aware of the new rules.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_313

Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of changes in farm investment since the Autumn Budget 2024; and if he will provide detailed analysis and findings for (a) the agricultural sector overall and (b) specific farm types including (i) poultry, (ii) dairy, (iii) livestock, (iv) arable, (v) mixed, (vi) hill, (vii) croft, (viii) owner-occupied and (ix) tenanted farms.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ \p Daniel Zeichner: Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England. These tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england-data-sets#:~:text=Table%205.

The Farming Business Survey does not have data for Autumn 2024. We are currently collecting the 2024/25 data. Data on farm investment income for 2024/25 will be published in December.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_314

Noah Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using technology to encourage consumers to buy British produce. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Great Britain and Northern Ireland has access to nutritious and fairly priced food. Defra also regularly engages with supermarkets and food producers about a number of issues, including their partnership with British farmers in producing food for the nation, but the sourcing of food within supply chains is ultimately a commercial decision.

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. Making the most of technological innovations will be key to this. We will not be starting from scratch but will be building on analysis and work that already exists, including the Dimbleby report as we work together to develop a food strategy that delivers for everyone, and insights from leading organisations from across the food supply chain.

The food sector is seen as a world leader in quality, productivity and innovation and is an attractive destination for investment. We will join up work on food across government Missions on Health and Growth, and Industrial Strategy and the Child Poverty Taskforce. This will ensure policy coherence, amplify impacts, and create the conditions for partnership with industry.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_315

Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made on the potential impact of solar radiation modification on the environment. \p Kerry McCarthy: The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification. Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.

The Department works closely with the research community to evaluate the latest research on the potential impact of solar radiation modification on the environment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_316

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help reduce levels of fuel poverty in Newcastle-under-Lyme; and if he will meet with the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency to discuss those steps. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: There are multiple targeted schemes to deliver energy efficiency measures to low-income and fuel poor households. The Warm Home Discount schemes also provide a £150 rebate off bills to eligible low-income households across Great Britain, and we have recently consulted on expanding this scheme to an extra 2.7 million households from next winter. We published a Review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy which closed in April, and we are currently considering the responses received.

The Government has also kickstarted delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years, helping around 225,000 households reduce their energy bills by around £200.

We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term.

Invitations to meet should be sent in the normal way by post or by email.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_317

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to continue the Energy Company Obligation after April 2026. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: We are committed to meeting fuel poverty and Net Zero targets, and we are currently considering what policy mix will best achieve that, including what role energy company obligations should play post-2026. We will ensure that lessons learned from the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) form part of these considerations and that any successor schemes are confirmed once decisions have been made.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_318

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of energy efficiency measures were funded by the (a) Energy Company Obligation, (b) Great British Insulation Scheme, (c) Home Upgrade Grant, (d) Warm Homes: Local Grant and (e) Warm Homes: Social Grant in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Department publishes Household Energy Efficiency Statistics reports which provide detailed breakdowns of measures installed under various government support schemes.

Statistics for 2023 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2023

Statistics for 2024 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2024

The Warm Homes: Local Grant has started delivery this year.