theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase access to nature for young people. \p Mary Creagh: The Government is committed to increasing access to nature for all, especially young people. In 2024, Defra invested £4.45 million in a second phase of the Generation Green programme, enabling over 25,000 disadvantaged children and young people to experience the natural environment. While Environmental Land Management schemes don’t specifically target youth, a new three-year capital item supports educational access to farmland and woodland for school groups and care farming initiatives.

Defra also leads a cross-Government Children and Nature Working Group to share best practices on improving outcomes for young people through nature. The £16 million Access for All programme has funded inclusive facilities like pedal and play areas for young people.

Most of the 254,000-hectare public forest estate managed by Forestry England is open to the public, welcoming 313 million visits annually. England’s 15 Community Forests, supported by the Nature for Climate Fund, engage schools and community groups in tree planting and outdoor learning—53% of England’s population lives within 10 miles of one.

Additionally, on 15 May 2025, DCMS announced £4.7 million to increase access to outdoor learning. The competition for the Adventures Away from Home delivery partner is live and closes on 15 July 2025.
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Irene Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported non commercially under the PETS Directive in each month of 2024. \p Daniel Zeichner: In 2024, a total of 335451 dogs and 32804 cats were imported non-commercially through the PETS Directive. The table below shows the number of dogs and cats imported each month in 2024:

2024

Cats

Dogs

Total number of animals

January

3207

30358

33565

February

1860

15757

17617

March

2357

26879

29236

April

2700

30215

32915

May

2029

21536

23565

June

3015

26136

29151

July

2692

33145

35837

August

3828

50623

54451

September

2094

15426

17520

October

3154

29169

32323

November

2374

18546

20920

December

3494

37661

41155

Total

32804

335451

368255

The data provided is a summary of animals entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme via an approved route.

It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland as these movements do not need to follow an approved route.

Data on the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by pet checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals and cannot be separated into EU and Rest of the World. This data can be subject to change due to when the carriers provide the data.
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Irene Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported under commercial rules under the Ballai Directive in each month of 2024; and from which country. \p Daniel Zeichner: In 2024, a total of 32391 dogs and 6226 cats were imported commercially under the Balai directive.

The attached two tables show all commercial imports of dogs and cats by country of origin and month of import.

The EU data may include animals that have originated from a non-EU country but have travelled through an EU Border Control Post (BCP). The database records the EU BCP Country as the Country of Origin for these imports.

The Rest of the World data does not include animals that have arrived through an EU BCP.

This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department and is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to.

Commercial Imports of dogs/cats (pdf, 250.5KB)
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the size of the badger population in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands. \p Mary Creagh: The first major national badger population survey in a decade began in February, with the first round of fieldwork now concluded. Further surveying will resume later this year, to estimate badger abundance and population recovery.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce legally binding targets for the reduction of untreated sewage discharges into chalk streams. \p Emma Hardy: Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan targets improvements at 75% of high-priority sites, including chalk streams. This ensures that they are prioritised for improvement from the £11 billion investment to upgrade nearly 3,000 storm overflows across the country.

The Plan, alongside the Water (Special Measures) Act, strengthens enforcement by giving regulators greater powers to hold polluters accountable. This marks the biggest boost in enforcement in a decade, helping protect these iconic British habitats for future generations.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support his Department is providing for people struggling with water bills. \p Emma Hardy: The Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to this end.

We expect water companies to put robust support in place for vulnerable customers and keep current support schemes under review to ensure vulnerable customers are supported. These include bill discount schemes such as WaterSure and Social Tariffs as well as financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department monitors the time taken by the Environment Agency to (a) produce and (b) publish post-flood incident reports. \p Emma Hardy: On becoming aware of a flood in its area, a lead local flood authority (LLFA) must investigate to the extent it considers it necessary or appropriate. This duty comes under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When a LLFA undertakes an investigation, it must publish the results.

The Environment Agency (EA) supported Defra to produce their new national guidance for LLFAs on investigating a flood, published in April 2025. This includes guidance on:

· typical criteria for deciding whether to instigate an investigation

· engaging with communities and partner organisations

· understanding the event

· developing suitable recommendations

· timescales for publication

The EA may be asked to contribute evidence and information to support the investigation, but they are not responsible for instigating it or for its completion.

The EA is also investigating a flooding event at Ryde that occurred in October 2023, but this is not a Section 19 investigation. This report was sent to stakeholders, including the hon. member for Isle of Wight East, on Tuesday 08 July 2025.

A summary of significant flood events is published in the Environment Agency’s Flood and coastal erosion risk management annual report.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has provided for rail electrification in the (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 2027-28 financial years. \p Lilian Greenwood: Funding for rail enhancements is provided at portfolio level and allocated to individual schemes rather than to types and categories of works. Electrification is included in the scope of a number of schemes included within the £10.2bn funding for rail enhancements confirmed at the Spending Review for 2026/27-2029/30, including within the £3.5bn for Transpennine Route Upgrade, and £2.5bn for East West Rail, both of which feature electrification as part of their scope.
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Sarah Owen:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made with (a) Network Rail and (b) Govia Thameslink on the provision of lifts at Leagrave Station. \p Simon Lightwood: This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This included Leagrave railway station. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders during the summer.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of bridleways on supporting active travel nationally. \p Simon Lightwood: Bridleways have an important role to play in enabling active travel across the country. To support local authorities seeking to deliver active travel schemes outside of towns and cities, Active Travel England is developing specific guidance for good practice application in rural contexts and expects to publish this later this year. The guidance will explore how best bridleways (and other elements of the Public Rights of Way network) can be incorporated and integrated into existing and proposed active travel networks to expand their reach and connectivity. This will potentially have benefits for a range of different path users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has allocated to reducing the number of rail replacement services required on Thameslink services in the 2025-26 financial year. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department requires its train operators to use reasonable endeavours to provide alternative means of transport where they cannot provide their planned train service. Rail replacement bus services are typically provided when parts of the railway are closed for planned maintenance and upgrade work or unplanned maintenance and repair work. The Department does not specifically allocate funding for the purpose of reducing the number of rail replacement services.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Persons with Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice, published in December 2017, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Appendix B. \p Simon Lightwood: We recently published the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice (NTSN), replacing the Persons with Reduced Mobility NTSN. The Accessibility NTSN preserves many specifications inherited from EU law while updating ones that did not have a clear case for change. This update was published following an extensive review and public consultation facilitated by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

During our review and public consultation, we did not receive any feedback on the adequacy of Annex B. However, we keep all NTSN content under regular review and will consider any further feedback as part of our continuing monitoring.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based. \p Mike Kane: We have provided a response based on the number of accepted requests via the Departments Working Remotely Overseas policy. This does not include staff working overseas on official business postings, with the Departments Working Remotely Overseas policy focusing on staff who are assigned to offices within the UK but have sought permission to temporarily work remotely overseas for exceptional reasons. The response to this question also only refers to DfT core, rather than wider group DfT.

On 3rd July 2025, DfTc had 4 members of staff with permission through our Working Remotely Overseas Policy to temporarily work outside of the UK. These members of staff are working from the Netherlands, India, Malawi and the United States of America.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that the recommendations of the Motor Insurance Taskforce are implemented equitably in all regions; and how she plans to monitor this. \p Lilian Greenwood: The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce remains a priority, with active policy development underway. Further details, including the Taskforce’s conclusions, will be set out in due course.

The Taskforce is comprised of Ministers from relevant government departments, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority. It is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sectors.

We continue to engage with interested parties, including consumer groups. A meeting of the stakeholder panel was held on 2 July.

We are also aware of the unique features of the motor insurance market in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State met with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Minister for the Economy and officials from the Department for Infrastructure on 6 May, to hear their perspective on the market and relevant policy options. I met with the Minister of Finance and Minister for Infrastructure on 8 July to discuss motor insurance.
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Calum Miller:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) serious and (b) fatal incidents have occurred at level crossings in each of the last five years. \p Lilian Greenwood: The number of fatalities and serious injuries at level crossings in Great Britain in each of the last five years is set out in the table below. This covers each reporting year and available data from April 2020 to March 2025.

Person type

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

2024/2025

Fatalities (excluding suicide)

Pedestrian

7

7

4

0

5

Road Vehicle Occupant

0

0

1

1

0

Train Occupant

0

0

0

0

0

Total

7

7

5

1

5

Serious injuries

Pedestrian

4

1

9

3

4

Road Vehicle Occupant

1

0

0

1

0

Train Occupant

0

0

0

0

0

Total

5

1

9

4

4
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Katie Lam:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Minister for Rail's letter to the hon. Member for Weald of Kent on rail, dated 14 April 2025, whether (a) the Minister for Rail and (b) officials in her Department had met with the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership before 14 April 2025 to discuss their public interest case for rail investment. \p Simon Lightwood: DfT officials met with Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) representatives on 10 October to discuss the issue of international rail services serving Kent stations. Following this, DfT officials have maintained a dialogue with KMEP, including providing feedback on their public interest case.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what process her Department took to appoint Chiltern Railways as the operator of East-West Rail from Oxford-Milton Keynes. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department conducted a review to assess train operating companies’ level of capability and the degree of integration with the first stage of East–West Rail.

Chiltern Railways was assessed as providing the best fit and following a negotiation of commercial terms, a Deed of Amendment was signed enacting this in and it is now working on delivering the new, twice-hourly rail service between Oxford and Milton Keynes as early as possible.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, what her plans are for operators who fail to meet the standard required to become part of Great British Railways. \p Simon Lightwood: Great British Railways will set a clear quality standard for our railways, so a world class public service can be rebuilt. Ministers intend to recover performance to acceptable levels at all operators, ensuring their leadership has a relentless focus on performance and rigorous standards, held to account by Ministers. The focus is on supporting and challenging train operating companies to reach the tough standards that we will set.
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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help improve rail (a) reliability and (b) performance to ensure people are able to access (i) work and (ii) educational opportunities. \p Simon Lightwood: We are starting to see train performance stabilise, following a decade of decline. We are working with the rail industry on a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during disruptive events.

The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Oxfordshire County Council on its planned introduction of traffic filters by Oxford in 2026. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has not had discussions with Oxfordshire County Council on its planned introduction of traffic filters by Oxford in 2026. Local authorities are responsible for managing their roads and are accountable to their communities.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's policy position is on 15 minute cities. \p Simon Lightwood: Local Government is at the heart of our transport ambitions. Traffic management schemes to promote walking cycling and public transport are a matter for Local Authorities because they know their areas best. Such schemes should always be developed through engagement with local communities. This is a long-standing policy and there are no plans to change it.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54870 on Parking: Fines, if she will publish the research provided by the (a) Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London, (b) British Parking Association and (c) Local Government Association. \p Lilian Greenwood: The publication or otherwise of this research is a matter for the organisations that undertook it. It would not be appropriate for the Department to publish it.
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Calum Miller:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the criteria used to assess applications for transport Development Consent Order projects. \p Mike Kane: The Secretary of State sets out her considerations in her decision letters for each Development Consent Order. This will take into account relevant legislation, national policy statements and other relevant policy as well as national carbon budget commitments. She also follows public law considerations relating to good decision making and procedural fairness to ensure that interested parties have the opportunity to be heard. The Secretary of State takes account of the evidence before her, only considering relevant matters, and provides appropriate reasoning to support her decision making. Information about the Development Consent Order process and its requirements are available on gov.uk: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/decision-making-process-guide.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide additional funding for pothole repair in South Holland and the Deepings constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads. In 2025-26, we provided an additional £16 million to invest a total of £60 million in improving the condition of Lincolnshire County Council’s local highways. The Spending Review announced that the Government will provide £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve roads across the country. This funding increase will significantly improve the long-term condition of England’s road network. Future funding allocations for local authorities and their highways, including Lincolnshire, will be announced in due course.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey Report 2025, published on 18 March 2025. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is determined to help local authorities fix our local road network and has drawn on a range of evidence to develop policy and determine funding for local highway maintenance, including the ALARM survey that is commissioned annually by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).

At the Spending Review the Chancellor announced we will provide £24 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to include the safety of road workers in its Road Safety strategy. \p Lilian Greenwood: This Government takes the safety of all road users seriously, including those who work on our roads. We are developing a Road Safety Strategy and further details will be shared in due course.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56829 on Speed Limits, whether her Department has plans to update 20mph zone guidance for England. \p Lilian Greenwood: We believe that traffic authorities are best placed to decide where lower limits will be effective on the roads for which they are responsible, and that consultation and community support should be at the heart of the process.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the document entitled Economic appraisal for investing in local highways maintenance, published on 26 September 2024, what progress her Department has made on publishing its response to the recommendations in that report. \p Lilian Greenwood: The report entitled Economic appraisal for investing in local highways maintenance referenced was commissioned by the Department for Transport and was published on Gov.uk in November 2024. Alongside other research and evidence, it has informed policy development and funding decisions, and a formal response is not required.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects the West Midlands Rail Hub to be completed. \p Simon Lightwood: The first phase of Midlands Rail Hub, which enables additional trains between Birmingham and South Wales, and the South West, and on Birmingham’s Cross City Line is expected to enter service in the early 2030s.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact of the Parthenon Marbles on the economic value of tourism. \p Chris Bryant: No.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support libraries in Eastbourne. \p Chris Bryant: Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.

The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires the Secretary of State to “superintend and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in England”. To assist this function the department regularly monitors local authority library service provision.

I understand that as at 31 December 2023 the statutory library provision delivered by East Sussex County Council was 17 local authority-run static libraries. Two of these static libraries are located in the Eastbourne constituency: Eastbourne and Hampden Park.

We are committed to ensuring that funding is targeted effectively at the places and services that need it most and allocated in a way that empowers local leaders to deliver against local priorities. Recent decisions taken at the Spending Review result in an average real terms increase in local authority core spending power of 2.6% per year between 2026-27 to 2028-29.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential conflict between the impact of exemptions to copyright law for AI development on the creative sector and the creative sector being listed as an area growth in the Industrial Strategy. \p Chris Bryant: The government’s Industrial Strategy identifies eight growth-driving sectors with the greatest growth potential over the next decade including the Creative Industries, with more detail in the Creative Industries Sector Plan.

As part of this, we have said it is important to ensure that the copyright regime values and protects human creativity, can be trusted and unlocks new opportunities for innovation. The government has committed to set out a detailed economic impact assessment on all options under consideration following its consultation on Copyright and AI.
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Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Ofcom’s proposals to remove the prohibitions on (a) matching rights and (b) bundling. \p Stephanie Peacock: As we set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government wants a healthy and mixed TV ecology. This includes public service broadcasters providing an engine room of creativity whilst our independent production sector continues to create more intellectual property and British content that can be exported globally.

Ofcom, as the independent media regulator, is responsible for the guidance to public service broadcasters on commissioning codes of practice and has consulted on their proposals and will be carefully considering all of the responses they have received.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of dormant assets funds will be allocated to youth services. \p Stephanie Peacock: In November 2024, the government announced an even split of £350m between the four Dormant Assets causes. Since then an additional £90m has been split between Youth and Financial Inclusion.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support local media in(a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Eastbourne and East Sussex. Government understands the important work that local news does across the UK, including outlets such as the Argus, the Eastbourne Reporter and the Eastbourne Herald. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people from lower socioeconomic groups to be more physically active. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone. Sport England, the Government’s Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for all underserved communities, including disabled people, and those from lower socioeconomic groups.

Sport England's Movement Fund invests over £20 million of Lottery and Exchequer funding every year to help people play sport and take part in physical activity. The Movement Fund prioritises projects that give opportunities to least active groups, including disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. Sport England also has partnerships with organisations such as Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, and Sense, to help more disabled people get active.

The Government also recognises that the barriers which disabled people face around improving their physical and mental health are often compounded by socioeconomic factors. To address this, the Government is investing £100 million in 2024-25 through the Multi Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to build and upgrade high-quality grassroots sports pitches and facilities in the communities across the UK that need it most. The Multi Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme’s aims include regular, weekly use by under-represented groups, including disabled people, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, so that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to ensure disabled people from lower socioeconomic groups are at the heart of plans to help more people get physically active.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_317

Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the leisure facilities available for disabled people in Stockport constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country. Sport England, the Government’s Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people and improving their access to sport facilities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_318

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to promote timebanking to support social inclusion. \p Stephanie Peacock: Although government does not currently promote a specific form of social action such as timebanking, we are strongly committed to supporting social action in all its forms and recognise its role in supporting social inclusion in local communities. Timebanking can be a fantastic way to encourage more people to get involved and make a difference in their local area and help to foster social connections. It is hugely positive to see just how many organisations offer some form of timebanking or time credits to incentivise people to give their time freely for social good.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_319

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to continue funding tennis facilities following the conclusion of the Park Tennis Project. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed at least £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_320

Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support creative industries in Leeds North West constituency. \p Chris Bryant: The Creative Industries Sector Plan, published 23rd June, contains ambitious proposals to bolster growth in the creative industries across the UK, and spotlights West Yorkshire along with 11 other high-potential clusters for CI growth and their unique investment offer.

The plan also announces the new Creative Places Growth Fund, which will provide £150m of devolved funding across six Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England, including Leeds North West, West Yorkshire, empowering local leaders to turbocharge the creative industries in their places.

Further support outlined in the Sector Plan includes increased support from the British Business Bank, with debt and equity finance to help creative businesses scale up; almost £150m funding for key sub-sectors, a £9 million creative careers service, £100 million via UKRI for an ambitious new wave of clusters across the UK to accelerate R&D, and a £25 million DCMS-funded Creative Futures Programme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_321

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the safe return of British nationals from countries impacted by airspace closures in the Middle East. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Support to British nationals remains our top priority and we have worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave left safely. Consular teams have worked round the clock to support British nationals in the region. As soon as Israeli airspace re-opened UK government charter flights left Israel carrying more than 380 people on six flights. In allocating seats, we prioritised those who were most vulnerable, including those with medical needs, children, and the elderly. Commercial flights are now available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_322

Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the (a) annual spending allocation profile and (b) planned timeline is for the £1.25 funding pledge to Gavi. \p Stephen Doughty: We are currently working with Gavi and the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIM) Fund Manager to determine the proportion of our £1.25 billion pledge that will be provided through existing and new IFFIM pledges and the annual profile of contributions. Details will be determined and published on Dev Tracker in time for the commencement of the UK's 2026/27 financial year in April 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_323

Sammy Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of recent reports of the (a) detention and (b) deportation of members of the Baha'i community in Qatar; what representations he has made to his Qatari counterpart on the protection of religious minorities in that country; and what steps he is taking to support international efforts to (i) promote religious freedom and (ii) protect minority communities in the region. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK is a strong advocate for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. As part of the UN Universal Periodic Review in November 2024, the UK called on Qatar to adopt legislation to ensure non-discrimination on the grounds of disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or belief.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_324

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62580 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, whether he has budgeted for the first payment to Mauritius to be in financial year 2025-26; and if he will make it his policy to announce the budget lines each element of the payments to Mauritius will come from prior to the publication of the annual accounts. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Rt Hon member to the answer to her previous questions 57197 and 62580.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_325

Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Israeli government on the prevention of aid entering Gaza from the sea. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government of Israel has halted the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza for over four months. We have repeatedly called on the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under International Humanitarian Law to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.

We are clear, the only way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale is via full use of overland routes. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his recent calls with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_326

Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the Overseas Territories introduce public registers of beneficial ownership. \p Stephen Doughty: Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers. I have recently discussed this issue with a range of Overseas Territory leaders and will continue to do so.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_327

Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on people responsible for religious persecution in (a) Iran, (b) Eritrea and (c) Pakistan. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime can be used to impose sanctions for serious human rights violations or abuses, including; i) an individual's right to life; ii) right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and iii) right to be free from slavery, not to be held in servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sanctions complement other tools as part of a wider strategy. It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future designations as to do so could reduce their impact.