theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the adequacy of support available for farmers and food producers. \p James Murray: HMT Ministers have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment Food, and Rural Affairs. Food security is national security and our commitment to farmers is steadfast. That is why, despite the fiscal constraints, we have prioritised £5 billion for the farming budget over the next two years. This includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history, and £60m to support farmers with the impacts of extreme wet weather.

At the Oxford Farming Conference, the Secretary of State set out the government’s long-term vision to make farming more profitable and put more money in the pockets of British farmers. This includes a set of reforms such as using the government’s purchasing power to buy British Food, planning reforms to speed up the delivery of farm buildings and other infrastructure which supports food production, and work to ensure supply chain fairness.
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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HMRC plans to respond to the email of 9 December 2024 from the office of the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth. \p James Murray: A response to the member for Brentford and Isleworth regarding their correspondence of 9 December 2024 is being prepared and will be provided by 24 January 2025. I apologise for the delay in responding to the Honourable Member.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 23717 on Income Tax: Tax Allowances, if she will make an estimate of the number of full time employees not paying income tax due to their salary being below £13,000 in April 2028. \p James Murray: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 January 2025 to Question 23717.
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Jake Richards:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's policy is on claiming back child benefit from parents who have lost a child in the year since the payment was made. \p James Murray: Entitlement to Child Benefit continues for eight weeks after the date of a child’s death. This recognises that the period following such a traumatic event is particularly difficult and avoids causing additional distress from the immediate removal of financial support. After this point, where a death of a child is not made known to HMRC, any overpayments of Child Benefit are ordinarily recoverable. However, HMRC has processes in place designed to limit overpayments in these circumstances. This includes using regular data from the registry of births marriages and deaths to sensitively contact customers where they have suffered the loss of a child. Similarly, where a customer informs DWP through their 'Tell Us Once Service', this information is passed to HMRC and used to end the Child Benefit claim.
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Noah Law:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the speed at which reforms are conducted to the business rates system. \p James Murray: We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.

The Non-Domestic Ratings Bill is currently passing through the House of Lords. The Bill will give Government the power to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The rates for these new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 in light of the outcomes of the revaluation.

At the Autumn Budget, we also published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and inviting stakeholders to co-design a fairer business rates system. Engagements are ongoing, and any further reforms will be phased over the course of the Parliament to minimise disruption for businesses.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will list the oil and gas fields that qualified for relief from corporation tax on decommissioning expenditure in the offshore oil and gas sector in each financial year between 2013-14 and 2024-25. \p James Murray: It is a long-standing convention that the government does not discuss individual taxpayers, and so the government cannot discuss the tax history of individual oil and gas fields.

Companies operating oil and gas fields in the UK and on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) are required to decommission the wells and infrastructure at the end of a field’s life. Tax relief is a normal part of a corporate tax system where there are genuine costs to companies, and so providing tax relief on decommissioning recognises the heavy “end of life” cost for oil and gas projects.

Estimates of the cost of tax reliefs used by oil and gas companies under the Ring Fence Corporation Tax (RFCT) and Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) regimes, including the costs of RFCT and PRT decommissioning tax reliefs, are published at tax relief statistics gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-relief-statistics). This publication contains non-disclosive estimates of number of claimants for each relief, where relevant data are available.
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Noah Law:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing progressive banding for National Insurance. \p James Murray: National Insurance contribution rates are part of an overall progressive system.

The personal allowance (PA) is set at £12,570 this year, meaning the first £12,570 an individual’s income is tax free. Above the PA, income tax is paid at 20 per cent, until the higher rate threshold of £50,270 above which income tax is paid at 40 per cent, and then 45 per cent for income above £125,140 per year (the additional rate threshold).

Employee NICs also start to be paid for earnings above £12,570 at 8 per cent, with this rate decreasing to 2 per cent above £50,270 per year. Taking NICs and income tax together, this means an overall progressive rate structure for earnings of 28 per cent for basic rate taxpayers, 42 per cent for higher rate taxpayers, and 47 per cent for additional rate taxpayers.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with President-Elect Trump on comments made by Elon Musk via social media posts about the UK Government. \p Stephen Doughty: The Foreign Secretary is looking forward to meeting President-elect Trump again at the earliest opportunity. It would be wrong to pre-empt the detail of those conversations. The UK-US relationship is built on a foundation of our deep security, military and intelligence links, as well as our unique cultural and people-to-people ties. And this close relationship between the US and the UK means that where we disagree, we can have frank and open conversations. The Foreign Secretary has said he disagrees with Elon Musk's comments about Security Minister Jess Phillips. No one has done more to protect women and girls.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question HL2411 on FCDO: Flags, how much has been spent on lighting up his Department’s buildings in relevant colours since 5 July 2024; and on what (a) occasions and (b) dates. \p Catherine West: The FCDO's joint headquarters at King Charles Street in London and Abercrombie House in East Kilbride have been illuminated with coloured lighting on 3 occasions since 5 July 2024. These occasions were: in support of Southport victims (3-4 August, lit in pink); Red Wednesday (20 November, lit red); the state visit of the president of South Korea (21-22 November, lit red, white and blue). There is no direct cost to lighting our buildings, as they are programmed through existing lighting systems. Other FCDO buildings in the UK are not ordinarily illuminated, although our Hanslope Park site, near Milton Keynes, might occasionally be lit on the same dates as our headquarters.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with disabled people to help ensure that their views are represented at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin on 2-3 April 2025. \p Anneliese Dodds: The FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy was developed in extensive consultation with the disability movement, including Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The 2025 Global Disability Summit will be co-hosted by Germany, Jordan and the International Disability Alliance, which represents OPDs and works to amplify their voice around the world. FCDO officials have engaged with the Summit co-hosts to share the UK's experience of hosting the 2018 Global Disability Summit, reinforcing the importance of positioning the voice and rights of people with disabilities at its heart. I met the BOND Disability and Development Group in early January to discuss FCDO priorities and the Global Disability Summit. I also incorporated consultation with OPDs in my travel schedule, including meeting an organisation of women with disabilities in South Sudan.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will end aid spending to countries which have a space programme. \p Anneliese Dodds: We are committed to taking a modern approach to international development and to using our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to achieve better development outcomes as part of a coherent international approach, with a strong focus on poverty reduction and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Over the coming months, Ministers will decide 2025/26 ODA allocations to lay the foundations for our ODA spending in future years. These will be published in the next Annual Report and Accounts.

The next phase of the Spending Review will set departmental budgets from 2026/27 to 2029/30.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department plan to attend the Global Disability Summit in April 2025. \p Anneliese Dodds: The 2025 Global Disability Summit is an important moment for the UK to reinforce our commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion and launch the refresh of our FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy (2022-30), setting out new priorities. The Cabinet Office and FCDO are working closely together to draw up the UK's delegation and final decisions will be made soon.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his priorities are for the third Global Disability Summit in April 2025. \p Anneliese Dodds: The UK is committed to accelerating the pace of progress on disability inclusion globally. In a context of increased conflict and crises in which people with disabilities are disproportionally affected, disability must not fall down the political agenda. At the Global Disability Summit in April 2025, the FCDO will reinforce our commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion and launch the refresh of our FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy, setting out new priorities. The voice and rights of people with disabilities will remain a core focus of the strategy and our global work on disability inclusion, as guided by the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) a Minister in his Department plans to attend the Nutrition For Growth Summit in Paris in 2025. \p Anneliese Dodds: As Minister for Development I am planning to attend the summit and FCDO officials continue to work with French counterparts to build momentum in the lead up. Formal invitations have yet to be issued.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of the detention and subsequent release of María Corina Machado; and what representations he has made to the Venezuelan government on the right to free political expression. \p Catherine West: The reported arbitrary detention of Maria Corina Machado was unacceptable. The UK already strongly condemns the ongoing repression against civil society and members of the opposition in Venezuela. We regularly call this out in our public statements and we raised it recently at the UN Human Rights Council. We are confident the Venezuelan regime is aware of our position. Along with the UN and international allies, we remain deeply concerned about allegations of serious irregularities in the result of the July Presidential election. On 10 January, the same day that Maduro illegitimately asserted power once again, we sanctioned 15 new members of the regime responsible for undermining democracy and committing serious human rights violations.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart on (a) corruption in Bangladesh and (b) the laundering of money into the UK. \p Catherine West: The UK Government is supporting the Bangladesh Interim Government's work to create a pathway to an inclusive democratic future. We do not comment on any individual asset recovery cases. We are in discussions with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and the International Centre for Asset Recovery on how to support the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The NCA visited Dhaka in October and November 2024 as part of the UK's effort to support Bangladesh in this area as well as wider engagement on law enforcement issues. The UK and international partners continue to push for progress towards accountability and justice, and due process in Bangladesh, including through an impartial and independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews their Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published. \p Catherine West: This Government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones - across the missions - for this Parliament.

As the House would expect, Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer.

Headline findings from the Foreign Secretary's three reviews into Economic Diplomacy, Development and Global Impact will be available on Gov.uk as they are published.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Prime Minister has received an invitation to the US President's inauguration. \p Stephen Doughty: The Prime Minister congratulates President Trump on his inauguration and looks forward to working with him. The US is a dependable ally.

The precedent is that only Ambassadors based in Washington DC are invited to attend the inauguration ceremony as representatives of foreign governments. Individual MPs or notable figures from the UK and other countries may attend at the invitation of individual members of congress, or Party officials, but they will be attending in a personal capacity.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote the protection of religious freedom in (a) Brunei, (b) Laos, (c) the Maldives, (d) Malaysia, (e) Myanmar and (f) Indonesia. \p Catherine West: The UK champions, and remains strongly committed to, Freedom of Religious Belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral organisations, our bilateral work, and our programme funding. The UK continues to hold countries to account on their FoRB commitments and obligations, including Southeast Asian nations, through our engagement with the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and at the UN Human Rights Council. This work is mutually reinforcing of our wider human rights efforts, underpinning our belief that human rights are universal.
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Josh MacAlister:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies offers employees who are foster carers (i) flexible working, (ii) paid time off for (A) training and (B) settling a new child into their home and (iii) other support. \p Catherine West: Employees have a statutory right to request flexible working which applies from the first day of employment. Employees can make two statutory requests for flexible working in any 12-month period. This will include requests to support employees who undertake foster caring outside of their employment. In addition, foster carers may apply for flexible working when settling a new child into their home. Foster carers can also receive an additional 5 days of paid or unpaid leave in a 12-month period at the discretion of their line manager. This leave can be used for meetings, training, unforeseen emergencies related to their fostering role, or to accommodate emergency placement. At the start of a planned permanent placement, foster carers can receive up to 10 days of discretionary special paid leave in a 12-month period. If both parents are employed, one parent would receive up to 10 days and the other up to 5 days. Foster carers are also eligible to claim pre-school and school-age child support for childcare. These provisions are designed to support foster carers in balancing their professional responsibilities with their fostering duties. Employees also have a statutory right to take unpaid time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the autonomous region of Tibet following the earthquake on 7 January 2025. \p Catherine West: Following the earthquake, I issued a statement offering our condolences to the people affected by the devastating loss of life in Shigatse, Tibet. Due to travel restrictions and lack of media freedom in Tibet it is difficult to get up to date, independent reports of the situation on the ground. Chinese state reporting has detailed a significant humanitarian response internally, with no request for international support. We received no requests for consular support for UK nationals in Tibet, but received calls regarding several UK nationals in Nepal, who have subsequently all been reported safe.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Vietnamese counterpart on the case of Greta Marie Otteson. \p Catherine West: FCDO Ministers are aware of Ms Otteson's case. FCDO officials are providing support to the family and are in contact with the Vietnamese authorities regarding the case. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the reported persecution of Christians in Southeast Asia, particularly in (a) Brunei, (b) Laos, (c) the Maldives, (d) Malaysia, (e) Myanmar, and (f) Indonesia. \p Catherine West: The UK champions and remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We continue to highlight FoRB violations and abuses globally including in Southeast Asia.

We also use our skilled global diplomatic network to engage directly with governments. Ministers and FCDO officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, such as limitations on freedom of expression and other human rights issues, including freedom of religion or belief, both publicly and in private.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department notified the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the resubmission of the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets; and whether that notification included material planning grounds for requesting that the Secretary of State exercise powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to determine the planning application. \p Catherine West: In the anticipation of press interest in the application, FCDO officials notified colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) of the resubmission of the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets. This notification did not express any views on the exercise of the powers that the Secretary of State, MHCLG, has under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to call in and determine the planning application. The decision to call in the planning application was a decision of the Deputy Prime Minister in her capacity as Secretary of State, MHCLG, and was made in line with current policy on call-in.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department took to support the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in August 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the non-attendance of the UK ambassador on relations between the UK and Japan. \p Catherine West: We have consistently been represented at the Nagasaki peace ceremony by our Ambassador or a senior diplomat since 2010. Last year was no different: the British Embassy's Minister Counsellor Political, our second most senior diplomat in Japan at the time, attended the ceremony in Nagasaki on 9 August 2024. Our Ambassador attended a separate Buddhist ceremony to mark the anniversary on the same day at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo. The UK-Japan relationship is the strongest it has been for decades. The Prime Minister and I have affirmed the UK's continued commitment to the UK-Japan Global Strategic Partnership.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of violence by armed groups and militias such as M23 armed group in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and what steps he is taking to help reduce this. \p Anneliese Dodds: The UK condemns the use of violence by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including M23, and is committed to encouraging continued engagement and delivery on commitments by all parties under the Luanda peace process. In August and September 2024, the Minister for Africa visited Angola, DRC and Rwanda where he met with their respective presidents and urged de-escalation. He has subsequently spoken on a number of occasions with foreign ministers in the region. The UK is delivering a three-year £208 million humanitarian programme in the east of DRC, providing life-saving emergency assistance and increasing the resilience of crisis-affected communities.
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Jessica Morden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC on the funding model for the BBC World Service. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government is committed to determining a long-term sustainable funding model for the World Service. This will be done through Charter Review.

FCDO Ministers engage routinely with the BBC on a range of issues, including the World Service funding model.
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Jessica Morden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on funding for the BBC World Service beyond the 2025-26 financial year. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Government funding for the World Service beyond 2025/26 will be determined through Phase 2 of Spending Review 2025.

FCDO Ministers have and continue to engage relevant departments on matters affecting the BBC World Service including funding and will continue to do this through the Spending Review process.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to ratify the UN Global Ocean Treaty. \p Anneliese Dodds: The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Oceans Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify.
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Joy Morrissey:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to provide funding for the ongoing (a) preservation and (a) repair of listed places of worship. \p Chris Bryant: There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports places of worship. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who have committed to investing around £100m between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship; the Churches Conservation Trust, which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026 with a budget of £23m. Further details can be found in this Written Statement.
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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20386 on Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, when she will publish the outcomes of the departmental business planning process on the future of the scheme. \p Chris Bryant: On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026 with a budget of £23m. Further details can be found here in the Written Statement.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received representations on the collapse of Football Index. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Secretary of State has received letters and emails from members of the public and Members of Parliament on the collapse of BetIndex Ltd, the operator of the novel gambling product Football Index. The collapse had a significant impact on former customers, and we recognise that many people were affected, and that for some people financial losses were significant. The previous Government commissioned an Independent Review in June 2021, conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC and which reported in September 2021. The review looked at how the company had been regulated, and identified areas for improvement for the Financial Conduct Authority and the Gambling Commission. All recommendations of the report have since been implemented.
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Josh MacAlister:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) her Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies offers employees who are foster carers (i) flexible working, (ii) paid time off for (A) training and (B) settling a new child into their home and (iii) other support. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a number of policies which support employees who are foster carers and, subject to line manager approval, include:

A dedicated fostering employee policy where employees may be granted 5 days paid leave and up to 15 days unpaid leave. This overall entitlement can be taken as followed:

Up to 5 days paid leave during assessment for approval processes;

Up to 5 days unpaid leave during the approval process or when a child is in placement (including training and settling in);

Up to 10 days unpaid leave at the start of a planned permanent placement.

Note: staff who are fostering to adopt also have a statutory right to request up to 5 days paid special leave to attend pre-adoption appointments.

Flexible Working arrangements, such as flexi-time or compressed hours. All employees have a statutory right to request flexible working which applies from the first day of employment. Employees have a statutory right to make two flexible working requests in a 12 month period.

Unpaid and/or paid special leave, including 5 days paid leave for both a domestic emergency and for emergency dependent leave.

Our arm’s length bodies are independent employers and are responsible for implementing their own internal employee policies for foster carers, in addition to the statutory right for employees who meet qualifying criteria to request flexible working arrangements and emergency leave related to a dependent.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of formally recognising (a) nightclubs and (b) music venues as cultural, heritage and community assets. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is working closely with the live music industry to support the music and nightclub sectors.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. Cultural venues, like nightclubs and music venues, provide enjoyment to many thousands of people as the opportunity to hear live music up close is an essential part of our cultural life.

We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26, which provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music. ACE continues to engage with industry through targeted webinars and events to promote the Fund to the club sector and encourage applications.

The government recognises the role of night time economy businesses in supporting resilient high streets, and we are focused on our five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets, to ensure they are great places for businesses, and economic growth across the UK.

To deliver the manifesto pledge to protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Josh MacAlister:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) her Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies offers employees who are foster carers (i) flexible working, (ii) paid time off for (A) training and (B) settling a new child into their home and (iii) other support. \p Mike Kane: The Department for Transport does not have a specific policy to support foster carers (except where staff are fostering to adopt and may be eligible for adoption leave). It has policies to support carers, including parental leave, paid and unpaid special leave, and flexible working, which will support employees who are fostering children. This applies to the department and executive agencies.

East West Rail, High Speed Rail 2, and London and Continental Rail (which are Arms Length Bodies sponsored by DfT) have policies specifically allowing paid leave for settling fostered children. Other Arms Length Bodies apply policies to support carers in a similar way to DfT.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) recruiting new driving instructors and (b) opening new test centres in the Surrey Heath constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: On the 18 December, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

As part of driving test centres (DTC) that serve the Surrey Heath constituency, Guildford DTC and Farnborough DTC form a recruitment cluster that newer driving examiners (DE) move between.

As part of recent recruitment, two new DEs were recruited last year at Guildford DTC. DVSA has also made offers to two more potential new entrants from its most recent recruitment campaign and is currently planning for the next campaign beginning later this year.

The DVSA is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient. It currently has no plans for any additional driving test centres.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to publish its report into the loss of a crew member on the Liberian flagged drill rig jack up vessel Valaris 121 on 22 January 2023. \p Mike Kane: The Liberian registered Valaris 121, a mobile drilling rig, was under tow outside United Kingdom territorial waters when the accident took place. In line with the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code (the Code), as the flag State of the vessel, the Liberian Registry’s Marine Investigations Department has commenced an investigation.

As this accident involved a UK national, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has declared itself a substantially interested state under the Code and has provided assistance to the Liberian investigation where required. Once their investigation is complete the Liberian authorities will publish a report into the accident.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential advantages of TransXChange over the GTFS Plus format for bus Real Time Information provision. \p Simon Lightwood: The Bus Open Data Service (BODS) was launched in 2020 and requires all bus operators of local services in England to provide passengers with high-quality, accurate and up-to-date passenger information including timetables, fares, tickets and vehicle location information.

The Department for Transport ran a public consultation on Bus Open Data policy prior to the launch of BODS, which included consideration of the use of different data formats, including TransXChange and GTFS. The response to this consultation can be found on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ca4b38d40f0b625eb19dba5/bus-open-data-consultation-response.pdf.
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Dan Tomlinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of rodents on soy-based wiring and insulation used in vehicles. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has made no assessment of the impact of rodents on automotive wiring using a soy-based insulation material. Although rodents have a propensity to chew both domestic and automotive wiring, there is little evidence beyond the anecdotal to suggest that this is increased for soy-based products.

Individuals experiencing such an occurrence with their vehicle wiring should raise the matter with the manufacturer or report the matter to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency if it is considered a serious safety defect.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will hold discussions with Southeastern Rail on the (a) flexibility and (b) affordability of its fares. \p Simon Lightwood: With the expansion of Pay as You Go with contactless, we will give passengers simpler, easier and more flexible ways to travel, and deliver a Transport for London-style “best price guarantee” for most passengers on the day of travel. Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway. Through future legislation, we will set out the role Great British Railways will have in fares, ticketing, and other operational aspects of the Railway. Fares and ticketing will continue to be the responsibility of train operators until Great British Railways is established.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 27 March 2023 to Question xx-xxxx-xxxx on Public Transport, when her Department plans to publish the final report on the Rural Mobility Fund. \p Simon Lightwood: The Rural Mobility Fund evaluation consists of two elements – a first stage including monitoring data collection and a process evaluation and a second stage including impact and value for money evaluation.

An interim monitoring data collection and process evaluation report was published in September 2023 and a second concluding process evaluation report will be published later this year.

The impact and value for money evaluation will be published in 2026.
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Jenny Riddell-Carpenter:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to the consultation entitled Pavement parking: options for change, published on 31 August 2020. \p Lilian Greenwood: We are currently considering the consultation outcome and the options for change. As soon as we have reached conclusions, we will publish a formal response to the consultation, summarising the views received and announcing the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds data produced by WRAP on the number of containers required for waste and recycling collections by each waste collection authority. \p Mary Creagh: No, Defra does not hold this data. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) collect local authority-reported data on dry recyclable and organic waste stream collection models, which is publicly available on WRAP’s local authority data portal.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has commissioned modelling on the reduction in residual waste collection frequency as a consequence of the Simpler Recycling programme. \p Mary Creagh: For too long, households in England have been presented with a muddled and confusing patchwork of approaches to bin collections.

This Government inherited legislation that could have required households to have up to 7 bins, placing an unnecessary burden on people and businesses. We are simplifying the rules to make recycling easier for people in England, while stimulating growth and maximising environmental benefits.

Through Simpler Recycling, all householders will receive a comprehensive and consistent set of waste and recycling services. This will enable householders to recycle as much waste as possible and to frequently dispose of bad-smelling food waste, which will be collected from all households at least weekly.

Defra recognises that as recycling services are expanded and improved, local authorities may want to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The Government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now. Building on existing and new legal duties, Defra has published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-23)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 20290 on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, whether his Department has undertaken an (a) equality impact and (b) environmental principles assessment in relation to the Simpler Recycling policy. \p Mary Creagh: Yes.