theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure adequate provision of apprenticeships in Ashfield constituency. \p Janet Daby: This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across the country, including in Ashfield, and support the industrial strategy.

From August, the department will be introducing seven new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, including construction and the built environment, digital, and health and social care. We are also reducing the apprenticeship minimum duration to eight months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August. These flexibilities will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country.

To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18 years old, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 years old who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. We will also provide £2,000 payments to employers for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to 25 when they earn less than £50,270 a year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support the introduction of more vocational education pathways for students in Lincolnshire. \p Janet Daby: As announced in the Spending Review, the department is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29.

This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages, across the country including in Cambridgeshire. This includes:

We have also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Cat Eccles:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps is she taking to tackle misogyny against girls and young women. \p Seema Malhotra: Tackling misogyny is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year.

Education has an important role to play in reducing misogyny; statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education makes clear that schools must build a culture where issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, and gender stereotyping are not tolerated. The Department for Education is reviewing this guidance to ensure that it enables schools to tackle harmful behaviour, as this Government is determined to ensure that misogyny and sexual violence are stamped out.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to support the work of the House of Commons Table Office; and what assessment the Commission has made of the contribution of that Office in supporting hon. Members with parliamentary questions. \p Nick Smith: In addition to producing the Order Paper each day and receiving applications for adjournment debates in the House and Westminster Hall, since the beginning of this Parliament, the Table Office has processed nearly 74,000 Questions for Written Answer and over 1,600 Early Day Motions. The Office also carries out the daily “shuffle” for oral questions, and provides the secretariat to the Backbench Business Committee.

The Office is staffed by a team of 16 people, ten of whom process parliamentary questions as part of their wider duties, working on a rota system to provide continuous cover when the House is sitting.

The work of the Office has recently been improved by enhancements to the back end of the MemberHub system, making it easier to find similar or duplicate questions. Further enhancements to the Office’s digital platforms will be delivered later in the year.

Members are required to take responsibility for Questions tabled and I would encourage colleagues to visit the Lower Table Office, directly outside the Chamber, to discuss any queries.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure women have access to safe spaces when visiting Parliament. \p Nick Smith: Everyone is welcome at UK Parliament and should feel safe being here. We strive to be an organisation which treats all our visitors with respect.

All visitors are reminded of the Parliamentary Behaviour Code, which applies to everyone who visits and works in Parliament. The Behaviour Code requires users of the Estate to treat each other with respect. Visitors who behave in ways that constitute intimidation, bullying or harassment may be asked to leave the Estate.
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Carla Denyer:To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that (a) transgender and (b) non-binary people visiting Parliament are treated (i) inclusively and (ii) with respect. \p Nick Smith: Everyone is welcome at UK Parliament and should feel safe being here. We strive to be an organisation that treats all visitors with respect.

All visitors are reminded of the Parliamentary Behaviour Code, which applies to everyone who visits and works in Parliament. The Behaviour Code requires users of the Estate to treat each other with respect. Visitors who behave in ways that constitute intimidation, bullying or harassment may be asked to leave the Estate.

Parliament employs a Visitor Experience team whose role is to welcome and assist all visitors arriving via the main visitor entrances to the Palace. The team’s role is to ensure that Parliament is accessible to all.
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Seamus Logan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024. \p Torsten Bell: The Department has made no assessment.
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Seamus Logan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women. \p Torsten Bell: We have no such plans.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of (a) the Get Set Progress scheme and (b) paid internship programmes for disabled people; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues to (i) increase internships for disabled people and (ii) diversify the sources from which departments recruit. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Ministers have been encouraged by the briefing they have received on the ‘Get Set Progress’ scheme, but no assessment has been carried out by this department.

Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. All government departments and employers must consider the Equality Act when providing internships.

Civil Service internships are a matter for Government Skills, part of the Cabinet Office and supported internships are a matter for the Department for Education.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the review by the Minister for Social Security and Disability on PIP eligibility will incorporate (a) regional data and (b) stakeholder views from (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Upper Bann constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We have launched a review of the PIP assessment to make sure it is fair and fit for the future in a changing world and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.

We have published the Terms of Reference for this review and we will engage widely over the summer to design the process for its work. We are committed to co-producing the review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders, to ensure that a wide range of views and voices are heard.

We will of course engage with the Devolved Governments as part of this process, recognising their interest in the review and potential implications for the benefits and services they administer.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) Universal Credit and (b) PIP awards in Northern Ireland will remain indexed to inflation until 2029-30 under proposed welfare reforms. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Social security is a transferred matter in NI, but there is a long-standing principle of parity between the social security systems of the Northern Ireland Executive and that of the UK Government. In line with this principle, the Universal Credit Bill makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to that for Great Britain

The Government is committed to protecting the benefit awards of the most vulnerable and addressing the basic adequacy of Universal Credit. The Universal Credit Bill will make the first ever, sustained, above inflation increase to the standard allowance of Universal. For example, the standard allowance for a single 25 year old is expected to rise from £96 per week, to £106 per week in 2029/30.

For customers already in receipt of the Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) element of Universal Credit, the combined rate of the Universal Credit standard allowance and LCWRA will rise at least in line with inflation every year for the next four years. Those who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria or where Special Rules for End of Life apply will also receive this protection, no matter when they start claiming the benefit. From 6 April 2026, the LCWRA rate will be reduced and frozen until 2029/30 for those newly defined as LCWRA.

The Universal Credit Bill does not make any changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. PIP is transferred in Northern Ireland and decisions about indexation are a matter for the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to (a) PIP and (b) Universal Credit on (i) community cohesion and (ii) equitable access to benefits in Northern Ireland. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) are administered in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for producing analysis on how proposed reforms would impact claimants in Northern Ireland.
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Liz Saville Roberts:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of disregarding military compensation as income across the social security system. \p Sir Stephen Timms: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 8 July 2025 to question UIN 63814
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Law Officers have met with (a) Dominic Grieve and (b) the members of the Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia to discuss the working group and the definition of Islamophobia. \p Lucy Rigby: The Law Officers have not met with Dominic Grieve or the members of the Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, to discuss the Working Group or the definition of Islamophobia.

The Law Officers have previously met with Dominic Grieve on matters unrelated to the Working Group.
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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons relating to their sexuality have applied to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme since December 2024; whether the allocated funds will be adequate to deal with the numbers anticipated; how many of the applicants have already received awards; and what priority is given to applicants on grounds of (a) advanced age and (b) serious infirmity. \p Al Carns: As of 7 July 2025, 856 Veterans had applied for the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) Dismissed or Discharged Payment, and 84 payments had been made.

The FRS rules specify that priority is given to applicants who are over 80 years of age, have a terminal illness, or are experiencing severe financial hardship. This is to ensure these prioritised groups receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the scheme going live. Some cases are more complex and require additional time due to the unique and individual circumstances involved. All other applications are processed in the order in which they are received.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason records of Service personnel previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons of sexual orientation were ordered to be destroyed in 2010; how fully that policy of destruction was implemented; and whether such reasons for dismissal would routinely be included in the Record of Service which each veteran would normally have received on leaving the Armed Forces. \p Al Carns: In 2010 and 2011, most remaining investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences were destroyed in line with Ministry of Defence policy and data protection legislation. These records were deemed to have no further investigative value, and there was therefore no basis for further retaining them, particularly where records contain sensitive personal information.

The destruction was implemented as a general policy. It is not possible to establish an accurate statistic on the completeness of implementation. However, is it recognised that some relevant records were not destroyed.

Personnel Service records were not affected by the destruction of investigative records and remain intact. Whether reasons for dismissal were routinely included in the Record of Service provided to Veterans would depend on the specific practices at the time and may require further investigation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of in-service helicopters' exhaust emissions that have been tested in the last five years. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence has previously conducted multiple sampling surveys on the, now out of service, Sea King helicopter between 1999 and 2015. These previous surveys found no conclusive evidence to suggest that aircrew were subject to exposure levels above UK and international safety standards.

In response to recent concerns regarding the emissions of out of service helicopters, including the Sea King and Wessex, the Ministry of Defence has commenced a programme a programme of exhaust emission substance sampling for its in-service helicopter fleet.

Modern helicopters and their engines are developed and certified to recognised standards with stringent emissions requirements and there is no current evidence to suggest personnel are at risk from current in-service helicopters. We are proactively conducting this work to ensure we are meeting our legal duty of care to our people. It is vital we can reassure them of their safety while at work.

The testing programme commenced in February 2025 and is ongoing. Throughout, we are balancing the need to conduct testing with the operational requirements and availability of the aircraft.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62858 on HMS Protector: Atlantic Ocean, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the modernisation of the Russian submarine fleet on national security. \p Luke Pollard: As stated in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), there is a persistent and growing underwater threat to the UK and NATO from a modernising Russian submarine force. We cannot disclose further details for operational security reasons.

The SDR endorsed Atlantic Bastion, which is the Royal Navy's plan to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO against this threat. All capability requirements to deliver the SDR vision are being considered as part of the Defence Investment Plan, to be published in autumn 2025.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces recruits have received a conditional offer letter within 10 days from the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force since 1 January 2025. \p Luke Pollard: Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Defence in September 2024 of the ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days if they desire it, the Armed Forces have been focused on implementing this initiative into their recruitment pipelines. Significant work to expedite basic eligibility checks has been required to ensure an appropriate level of candidate checks is completed before conditional offers are issued, and they are working to expedite checks. I will make further announcements on progress in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a high altitude nuclear explosion on the UK. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually works across government to understand, deter, and where possible mitigate, the impact of a nuclear attack on the UK. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the Cabinet Office led Home Defence Programme will consider the impact of a range of threats to the UK and how they could be mitigated.

The MOD routinely tests the nuclear survivability, including Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse survivability, of its critical capabilities to understand the ability of our armed forces to operate in a nuclear environment. Due to operational security, we can not provide details on the outcomes of these tests.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a replacement to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. \p Luke Pollard: Since ARAP launched in 2021, the Government has relocated over 34,000 individuals under the Afghan Resettlement Programme. As over 95% of all ARAP applications considered so far have been found ineligible, ARAP is considered to have fulfilled its original objectives. The Government closed the ARAP and ACRS schemes to new applicants on 1 July 2025. There are currently no plans to develop a replacement for ARAP.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-11)

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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what payments to Mauritius under the UK-Mauritius Treaty will be included in the UK’s calculation of the (a) 3.5% core defence spending and (b) defence-related investments. \p Luke Pollard: The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to issue an Urgent Capability Requirement to procure security enhancements for RAF bases. \p Luke Pollard: The review of security across Defence is ongoing and includes looking at all options to deliver appropriate and robust security solutions. I will report updates to the House in due course.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many volunteer reservists received an annual bounty in the last five financial years by (a) service and (b) rank. \p Al Carns: It will take time to collate the information needed to answer the hon. Member’s questions. I will write to him shortly and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reserve service days were completed by the Volunteer Reserves in the last five financial years by rank. \p Al Carns: It will take time to collate the information needed to answer the hon. Member’s questions. I will write to him shortly and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to provide electronic warfare equipment to the army for use in training exercises. \p Luke Pollard: The Army currently provides specialist Electronic Warfare equipment for use on operations and training exercises. I am unable to provide any further detail relating to this provision for reasons of operational security.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made by the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine. \p Luke Pollard: Since the Coalition of the Willing Summit in London in March 2025, the UK and France have co-led military planning efforts and brought together over 30 countries at four leader level events including one in Kyiv.

The Prime Minister and President Macron convened a Leader Level Coalition of the Willing meeting on 10 July 2025, confirming the development of mature operational plans to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, to help secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and to regenerate Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
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Sojan Joseph:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) the Nepalese Government and (b) Gurkha veteran representatives on bringing pensions for Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997 in line with the standard British Army pension. \p Al Carns: The UK Government greatly values the Gurkhas’ long and distinguished history of service in our Armed Forces and remains committed to supporting the welfare of Gurkha Veterans and their families in both the UK and Nepal.

In March 2025, I met with the Nepali Ambassador H.E. Chandra Ghimire for a productive discussion that reflected our shared commitment to strengthening cooperation and addressing key concerns between Nepal and the UK. Additionally, in June 2025, Ministry of Defence officials met with representatives of the Nepali Government and Gurkha Veterans as part of the Bilateral Gurkha Veteran Welfare Committee’s Working Group, which continues to serve as a platform for constructive dialogue and collaboration.

The 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme is different to other Armed Forces Pension Schemes, but these differences are objectively and reasonably justified. The legal basis for the Scheme has been upheld by three Judicial Reviews since 2003, including the European Court of Human Rights in 2017.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Electronic Counter Measure kits he plans to procure for the Army in this financial year. \p Maria Eagle: For reasons of operational security, I am unable to provide further details relating to Electronic Counter Measures.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how much of the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent on drones for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army and (c) Royal Air Force. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that British SMEs can participate in future procurement contracts relating to the security of UK RAF bases. \p Maria Eagle: The Department will continue to utilise Defence commercial processes to deliver an appropriate and robust security solution. All Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurements must comply with specific legal obligations regarding the fair treatment of all suppliers.

It is recognised that small medium enterprises seeking to work in Defence face unique challenges. However, the Department is committed to removing unnecessary barriers to participation in our supply-chain and improving the way that MOD ad its major suppliers engage and support them.

Substantial additional support for defence SMEs was recently unveiled by the Government to help address these barriers. This includes tailored guidance on how to access the defence supply chain and an ambitious but achievable target that we will spend £7.5 billion with SMEs by 2028.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a list of the total number of civil service personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence in each financial year since 1995. \p Al Carns: The following table shows the Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servant strength by Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Headcount for periods from 1 April 1995 to 1 April 2025.

Date

FTE (Total)

Headcount (Total)

01/04/1995

121,654

123,776

01/04/1996

116,093

118,183

01/04/1997

115,260

117,379

01/04/1998

108,772

110,804

01/04/1999

108,143

110,254

01/04/2000

106,430

108,622

01/04/2001

104,823

107,083

01/04/2002

95,976

98,242

01/04/2003

93,737

96,002

01/04/2004

93,619

95,647

01/04/2005

92,812

94,815

01/04/2006

88,832

91,007

01/04/2007

83,843

86,289

01/04/2008

78,260

80,589

01/04/2009

76,072

78,357

01/04/2010

75,651

77,986

01/04/2011

72,486

74,782

01/04/2012

61,621

63,445

01/04/2013

57,148

58,772

01/04/2014

55,509

57,134

01/04/2015

53,143

54,749

01/04/2016

51,896

53,455

01/04/2017

52,430

54,065

01/04/2018

52,641

54,345

01/04/2019

53,509

55,324

01/04/2020

54,665

56,579

01/04/2021

56,291

58,234

01/04/2022

56,123

58,021

01/04/2023

56,849

58,770

01/04/2024

57,875

59,859

01/04/2025

55,802

57,854

These figures show MOD civil servants, including personnel in Executive Agencies and their predecessor organisations, dating back to 1995.

The table includes personnel employed in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) in support of Naval operations. These personnel are classified as civil servants for contractual purposes but exclude locally engaged civilians (LECs), who are employed under alternate terms and conditions. Please note that RFA data was not recorded in personnel numbers until 1 April 1999. RFA personnel are classified as Headcount personnel.
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Valerie Vaz:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it his policy that people with tattoos are able to join the Army. \p Luke Pollard: Individuals with tattoos are able to join the Army, subject to some restrictions. There have been some recent changes made to the Army’s visible tattoo policy following a review this year. I can confirm that, moving forwards, only tattoos on the face and front of the ear will be a bar to entry, in addition to tattoos that are deemed as offensive, obscene or racist.

Further information and guidance for prospective candidates can be found online: https://jobs.army.mod.uk/how-to-join/can-i-apply/tattoos-and-piercings/
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits when sewage is released by water companies that poses a risk to human health of requiring (a) a physical warning system and (b) the flying of warning flags for a minimum time duration at (i) beaches and (ii) waterways. \p Emma Hardy: Under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, local authorities with a designated bathing water must actively disseminate and promptly make available to the public, in the near vicinity of the bathing water, a warning whenever short-term pollution is predicted or present.
wrans/answers2025-04-17 conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 35439 on Forests and Rivers: Access, what plans he has considered for other national forests. \p Mary Creagh: Defra launched the Western Forest on 21 March 2025 and is considering its approach to the creation of further national forests.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting businesses in the hospitality sector from charges under Extended Producer Responsibility. \p Mary Creagh: Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. Therefore, no assessment has been made of the merits of exempting all businesses in the hospitality sector.

This is because a wide range of hospitality businesses operate take away business models, where food, and primarily non-alcoholic drinks, are taken away by consumers and disposed of off premises. There is also packaging used in the hospitality sector which can be evidenced as not ending up in household bins. Under the current regulations producers can exempt this packaging from being classed as household packaging.

Since autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders to make an assessment of whether amendments to the regulations or the guidance can be made to further help producers in exempting packaging.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, what the range of sensitives are. \p Mary Creagh: The Forestry Commission provides guidance on the common constraints and designations that might be relevant to tree planning – this is available at Forestry project checks: constraints - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, if he will publish county level statistics. \p Mary Creagh: The Government has no plans to publish county level statistics.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the number of deaths of dogs in greyhound racing. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra works with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) to ensure greyhound racing is a safe as possible. Each year since 2018 GBGB has published data for the deaths of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/

Defra monitors the figures published by GBGB for any identifiable trends.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support homegrown produce following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce remains steadfast.

Underlining this commitment to our growers is our farming roadmap which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable.

Furthermore, we have now confirmed a 5-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route which will provide the sector the certainty they need to plan-ahead, having the labour needed to bring their high-quality homegrown produce to market.

We are also continuing support for crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) investing in R&D for breeding to improve crop varieties supporting crop resilience and efficiency.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what the Environment Agency purchased in the 95 transactions to Calders in January 2025. \p Emma Hardy: In January 2025 the 95 transactions to Calders by the Environment Agency relate to its corporate contract for the provision of external meeting rooms and conference facilities. The dates in January relate to payment date and the provision of meeting rooms in these cases covered dates in October, November and December 2024.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here: Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing (a) Huddersfield and (b) other towns to create (i) cleaner and (ii) more attractive public areas. \p Mary Creagh: Local councils have a range of enforcement powers to tackle issues such as fly-tipping and littering. These include fixed penalty notices, prosecution and vehicle seizure. We are seeking powers to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping powers.

Councils are also responsible for keeping public land clear of litter. We are targeting some of the most commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.

Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage at: National Fly-tipping Prevention Group | Keep Britain Tidy.

National design guidance supports local authorities to bring forward well-designed new development, including attractive, inclusive, and safe public spaces.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the use of AI in their Department on security. \p Dan Jarvis: The UK government is dedicated to leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance public services safely and securely. The AI Playbook for the UK Government security section (p. 74) includes an assessment of the risks coming from the use of AI. The Playbook includes worked scenarios for AI use which detail potential impacts for the different types of risk. All AI services must adhere to Secure by Design principles and conduct risk assessments, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).

All use of AI in the department is considered carefully. We conduct assurance of AI tools in line with industry guidance and regulatory standards for AI, including HMG AI frameworks.

The department has completed a range of assessments against various AI solutions based on a robust risk and assurance process. Where risks have been identified, the department has put appropriate adjustments in place to minimise those risks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Andy MacNae:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changing viewing habits on the relevance of the Listed Events regime as a means of ensuring (a) the wide and (b) free availability of key national sporting moments. \p Stephanie Peacock: As viewing increasingly shifts from traditional broadcasting to a variety of online and on-demand formats, the Government is keen to ensure that key sporting events remain available for people to watch for free in years to come.

The current ‘Listed Events’ regime only covers linear coverage rights. While we are fortunate that on-demand and linear rights continue to be sold together, and therefore jointly benefit from the protections afforded by the regime, the Government is conscious that this may not always remain the case.

The Government will set out its position on the inclusion of on-demand (or “digital”) rights in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of categorising the Tour de France as a Category A sporting event. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring access to sporting events, including the Tour de France (both men’s and women’s Tours), so that they can be enjoyed by a wide audience. However, this must also be balanced with the ability of sports national governing bodies, including British Cycling, to generate essential broadcast revenue to invest in their sports at all levels.

The Government believes that the current list of events works well and that it strikes an appropriate balance between access to sporting events and allowing sports to maximise broadcasting revenue.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure local authorities have sufficient funds for youth services. \p Stephanie Peacock: Local authorities hold the statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Settlement in line with local need, and this was increased to more than £69 billion in 2025/26 - a 6.8% increase in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

We will be launching the Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support select local authorities to build back capability to improve local youth offers. We will share more information in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to involve young people in the development of the National Youth Strategy in the Manchester Rusholme constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: The National Youth Strategy will be co-produced in partnership with young people and the youth sector.

We have launched a national survey to ask young people about their issues and priorities.

We have shared an engagement toolkit so MPs can run their own workshops and discussions with young people, or share this toolkit with organisations in their constituencies who work with young people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-17)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has issued guidance to hospital trusts on reducing waiting lists for elective care through demand management. \p Karin Smyth: The Government has committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025 and sent to all NHS trusts, details the necessary reform efforts and includes several actions to reduce unnecessary elective referrals. This includes stepping up volumes of Advice and Guidance (A&G) through the introduction of a new £20 payment for general practitioners, per A&G request, and rolling out clinical triage more consistently to ensure patients receive care in the correct setting, including in primary or community services where this is in the patient’s best interests.

The NHS Get it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme also has detailed national guidance for NHS trusts to help reduce their elective waits, including specialty-level guides with specific advice on demand management. GIRFT is proactively supporting trusts to implement this.