theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has for electricity market reform. \p Michael Shanks: The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) is considering a range of reforms to unlock renewable investment and pass through the benefits of cheaper renewables to consumers. REMA’s Autumn Update, published on 13 December, detailed the progress of policy development in the assessment of options. The Government is aiming to conclude the policy development phase of the REMA programme by mid-2025, after which the final decisions and timetable for implementation will be announced.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of (a) 31 July 2024 to Question 1331 and (b) 21 February 2025 to Question 29088 on Energy Performance Certificates: Housing, what his planned timetable is for publishing proposals on energy requirements on owner occupied housing. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government’s position on supporting owner occupiers remains as was set out in the Answer to Question 1331.
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support landlords to improve the EPC ratings of their properties. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is now consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030. The consultation sets out proposals on maximum spend required from landlords and the exemptions regime to manage the cost burden placed on landlords and the impact on the rental market, whilst still achieving our ambition to deliver significant bill savings for tenants and lift households out of fuel poverty. We are considering how we can best support landlords to meet the new standards and welcome responses from landlords to the consultation.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the zonal electricity pricing consultation on UK ceramic manufacturers. \p Michael Shanks: We are analysing the potential impact of zonal pricing options on Energy Intensive Industries, including ceramic manufacturers, working closely with the Department for Business and Trade. We recognise concerns that zonal pricing may introduce some uncertainty and variability in the cost of electricity, and are carefully considering a range of possible mitigations for Energy Intensive Industries should they be deemed necessary.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of being temporarily exempted from the UK emission trading scheme on UK ceramic manufacturers. \p Sarah Jones: The Government is committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, protecting thousands of jobs in regions across the UK and enabling growth and wealth creation.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) incentivises industries to find the most cost-effective solutions to decarbonise. UK ETS participants, including those in the ceramics sector, are provided with free allocations, to incentivise emissions reduction and protect energy intensive, trade exposed industries from the risk of carbon leakage.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using renewable liquid fuels to help oil-heated households decarbonise. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.

However, the Government recognises that RLHFs could play a limited role in decarbonising heat off the gas grid.
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Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the number of additional homes that will need to apply to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme as a result of delays to the implementation of the Future Homes Standard. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Future standards this year will ensure our new homes and buildings are fit for a net zero future. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is reviewing feedback from the Future Homes and Building Standards consultation and will publish the standard specification in due course.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a demand-led scheme, so uptake will depend on consumers' interest.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with the utility companies on offering off-peak electricity prices at the same hourly rate applicable for charging an electric vehicle for people with electric storage heaters. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is supportive of electricity suppliers offering tariffs which incentivise consumers, including electric vehicle owners, to consume energy at off peak times, as this benefits all consumers by reducing the need for additional grid capacity.

The Government continues to work with Ofgem to ensure that tariffs, such as Economy 7 tariffs used by households with storage heaters, are priced fairly. This includes ensuring there is an appropriate price cap for Economy 7 tariffs.
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Sir Desmond Swayne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will implement an energy debt relief scheme available to all customers. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: In December, Ofgem published an updated debt strategy which included two consultations; one of which proposed an energy debt relief scheme for consumers who accrued debt during the energy crisis. The second consulted on ways to improve debt standards, guaranteeing high standards of care and customer service for those in debt. Both of these consultations have now closed and Ofgem will carefully consider the feedback received. We stand ready to work closely with them on their findings.

On 25 February, we announced that we will be working to accelerate work with Ofgem on this potential energy debt scheme, helping consumers in significant debt to bring down their level of debt down and support them to pay for their energy moving forward.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support is available to retrofit homes in rural areas. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 February 2025 to Question 30705.
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Wera Hobhouse:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of treating biomethane in the same way as fossil gases under the UK Emissions trading scheme on (a) the anaerobic digestion and biogas sector and (b) the wider economy. \p Kerry McCarthy: Biomethane can play an important role in reducing reliance on imported gas, increasing our country’s energy security, and helping to deliver net zero.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) applies a zero emissions factor to biomethane combustion where it is supplied directly to ETS installations. Where biomethane is injected into the gas grid, there is not currently a mechanism to account for the use of biomethane.

The Department is considering stakeholder feedback from the 2024 Call for Evidence on the impacts of this to inform the next steps. The Department will provide an update in due course.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29155 on Energy Resilience, when the robust plans to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption were last updated. \p Michael Shanks: The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity was last updated in July 2023 and is expected to be updated again this year.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support low-income households with energy bills in the next 12 months. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. However, we recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030.

On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund in England by a further year until 31 March 2026 with an extra £742 million in support, with additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula.
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Rebecca Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of energy costs on businesses. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Many businesses secure their energy contracts through Third-Party Intermediaries, such as energy brokers. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of TPIs. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections including to prevent opaque contracting practices or mis-selling, particularly for non-domestic consumers. a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

From 19 December 2024 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees can now access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of means testing the Winter Fuel Payment on NHS services in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire. \p Torsten Bell: The Government has had to make difficult decisions in view of the state of the public finances that it inherited, including the decision to target the Winter Fuel Payment on those on the lowest incomes. The decisions mean we are able to provide additional investment in the NHS. This is to the benefit of everyone, including pensioners, who rely on its services. The Government is working to reform the NHS in England through the 10-year health plan, to build a health service that is fit for the future. As a first step, at the Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day health spending in England and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget over this year and next.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish information on success rates for (a) Mandatory Reconsideration of decisions on Child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) applications and (b) Tribunals relating to decisions on Child DLA applications. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is unable to provide the specific information requested on Mandatory Reconsiderations for Child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) applications. We hold data on Mandatory Reconsiderations, but only for the combined elements of those undertaken on "applications" (new claims) and those undertaken on changes in circumstance. The data does not split out the two to enable us to report to you the applications element only.

In regards to Tribunal outcomes, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service are responsible for publication of statistics.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that Mandatory Reconsiderations relating to decisions on Child Disability Living Allowance claims are dealt with within 28 days. \p Sir Stephen Timms: In law there is no time limit within which a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, they must give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct. The department is also recruiting decision makers to increase the resources available for DLA-C MR cases.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of in the unemployment rate in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Alison McGovern: The information requested is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
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Jade Botterill:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fraud in the welfare system by serious and organised criminal gangs. \p Andrew Western: DWP works collaboratively across Government Departments and Law Enforcement Agencies on investigations into benefit fraud carried out by organised crime gangs.

New powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will strengthen our capability to tackle organised crime by modernising and enhancing our investigation powers and ensuring those defrauding the public sector face appropriate consequences.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of food procured by her Department is sourced in the UK. \p Andrew Western: To date the Government has not held information on where publicly procured food is sourced from.

Starting right away, for the first time ever, this government will review the food currently bought in the public sector to determine the standards that it is meeting, where it is bought from and look to introduce monitoring for transparency and accountability within those supply chains to ultimately get the best food for the consumer.

This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies as we want to help make it an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support care leavers applying for Universal Credit for the first time. \p Andrew Western: We understand the challenges care leavers face and that is why the department works closely with Local Authorities’ Leaving Care teams and provides additional dedicated support through a series of safeguards and easements aimed at simplifying care leavers’ interaction with the benefit system.

This support includes care leaver’s Single Points of Contact in every jobcentre and an Advanced Claims Process where Local Authorities Leaving Care teams can assist care leavers to prepare their claim to Universal Credit up to 28 days before and including their 18th Birthday.

Although the claim can’t be submitted until the care leaver’s 18th birthday, they can be viewed and checked in advance of submission by making a pre-claim appointment with the Jobcentre to help ensure the care leaver has the required documents to make their claim and that all relevant support is in place as early as possible.

Under the new Youth Guarantee, all young people aged 18-21 years in England will be able to access support to enter employment, education and training opportunities. This includes care leavers who may benefit from more tailored support to ensure a smoother transition to independence as they leave the care provided by their Local Authority.
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Richard Burgon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposals for reform of health and disability benefits on child poverty. \p Alison McGovern: Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As part of the Strategy's development, the Taskforce is considering the potential impact of policies across government on child poverty.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the press notice entitled Government bolsters employment support to unlock work for sick and disabled people, published on 6 March 2025, how this policy will relate to the Additional Work Coach Time programme. \p Alison McGovern: DWP announced on the 6th March that we will deploy 1000 work coaches to help people with health conditions and disabled people towards and into work. This will build and expand on existing measures like additional work coach support that delivers personalised support for some customers on the health journey.
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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Disability Confident policy team in her Department has had concerning a Disability Confident employer failing to comply with the Disability Confident criteria in the last three years. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Disability Confident scheme has over 19,000 members and they report over 12 million employees working in their organisations. The scheme is designed as a learning journey with all employers starting at Level 1 and encouraged to progress through the scheme to Levels 2 and 3. As they progress on their learning journey, we expect they will continue to increase and share their understanding with employees and put in place effective and inclusive policies and procedures in support of disability employment.

The range of suitable validators of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or renewal of that status is explained in the scheme guidance. Most validations are undertaken by existing Disability Confident Leaders, although the full list is:

The scheme encourages businesses to choose an organisation suited to their business size, that can provide a proportionate level of challenge based on their own knowledge, lived experience, skills and expertise.

Disability Confident Leaders have had their own self-assessment independently validated and demonstrated a high level of commitment and success in creating inclusive workplaces. This experience equips them to be able to support others through the process sharing their knowledge and skills, to assess and validate other organisations effectively.

Other organisations able to validate businesses seeking to become or renew Disability Confident Leader status have specific expert knowledge of disability related issues in the workplace and / or have lived experience of disability.

As part of the work, we have begun to strengthen the scheme, we are considering options to make the validation process more robust, including improving the guidance for validators and reviewing the types of bodies permitted to undertake validations.

The overall number of complaints received by the Disability Confident policy team in the period 2022 to 2024 is approximately 220. Where the Department is made aware of any complaint raised against a Disability Confident employer for not meeting the scheme criteria, we would apply the process described in the Disability Complaints procedure. If after further examination, we consider the employer is failing to comply with any of the scheme criteria, the Department will give the employer an opportunity to remedy the situation. There have been no instances where an employer was given the opportunity to remedy the situation and failed to respond.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of means testing the Winter Fuel Payment on levels of pensioner poverty in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Torsten Bell: On 19 November 2024, the Secretary of State wrote to the Work and Pensions Select Committee to share internal government modelling produced by the Department outlining the number of pensioners in the UK estimated to move into poverty as a result of the policy change. This letter is available here Winter Fuel Payments eligibility change - Letter from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

It is not possible to provide poverty breakdowns at a constituency or county level.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department’s policy to stop (a) Universal Credit, (b) New Style Jobseeker's Allowance and (c) income-based Jobseeker's Allowance claims of people who refuse to (i) engage with a Jobcentre and (ii) accept a job offer. \p Alison McGovern: Apart from those with exceptions, all customers must accept a Claimant Commitment as a condition of entitlement. The requirements any customer is asked to meet will be clearly set out in their Claimant Commitment, including attending appointments and undertaking work-related activities.

Where the Department has evidence that a customer has failed to undertake their agreed work-related requirements without good reason, we will look into whether a sanction – which is a reduction in the amount of benefit paid – is applicable.

Where a customer in receipt of income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance fails to attend their Work Search Review and fails to make contact within 5 working days, their entitlement to benefit will also cease.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claims for Child Disability Living Allowance were decided within the target timeframe of 45 working days in (a) 2024 and (b) so far in 2025. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The most recent information on processing times for Disability Living Allowance for children was published in the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (ARA) on 22nd July 2024. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 3.5% of Disability Living Allowance for children claims within the planned 40 working day timescale. The next publication of the ARA will include the percentage of claims processed in the Financial Year 2024 to 2025, which is due for publication in the summer.

Although, DWP has seen improvements in processing times across many service lines during 2023-24, continued high demand has meant that the Department’s ability to process claims consistently in a timely manner across all its services has come under considerable pressure, with performance remaining below standard in some areas including in Child DLA where demand has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes. During 2020-21 DWP deferred reviewing existing cases to focus on processing new claims. Since then, the high volumes of both new claims and the deferred renewal work has resulted in longer processing times. Additional resources have been deployed and cases are being cleared in date order to ensure fair customer service.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her have been permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours. \p Andrew Western: Currently 7 National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Networks are given pro rata time allocation annually to support respective network activity. Each Committee has 2 Co-Chairs and up to 10 Committee members.

Two members of staff also have 5% pro-rata time allocation to lead a Civil Service staff Network.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to support park home residents with the cost of utilities. \p Matthew Pennycook: Park home residents on low incomes are eligible for support with their household bills. The government has extended the Household Support Fund in England until 31 March 2026 with an extra £742 million in support, with additional funding for the Devolved Governments.

Park home residents are also eligible for a one-off £150 discount off electricity bills under the Warm Home Discount scheme. The payment is in addition to other payments such as the Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment.

Any park home resident who is struggling with their energy bills contracts can contact their local authority to see what support they can receive.

The government’s mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently, including park home residents. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run, is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.
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Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she is having with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure new towns are developed with (a) public transport networks and (b) a mode share pathway promoting a sustainable transport mix. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.

As set out in its Terms of Reference, which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will work in partnership with local leaders and communities, but its selection of sites will be made in the national interest.

Not least because construction of the next generation of new towns will only begin toward the end of this Parliament, the government has been clear that they will deliver over and above the targets produced by the standard method. However, we will make sure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward and will keep under review how the Taskforce’s forthcoming recommendations on new towns interact with housing targets across England.

New towns will be well-connected, well-designed, environmentally sustainable, and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities, including a gold standard aim of 40% affordable and social housing, with an emphasis on social rent.
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Rachel Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to accept the recommendations on hidden event fees in retirement properties in the report by the Law Commission entitled Event Fees in Retirement Properties, published on 31 March 2017. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year.

We are giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce, including its recommendation that government should implement the Law Commission’s 2017 recommendations to regulate event fees.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to allow heritage-appropriate alternative materials to be used for listed properties in instances where traditional materials are (a) unavailable and (b) prohibitively expensive. \p Matthew Pennycook: It is for local planning authorities to determine applications for proposed works to listed buildings, including what materials should be used. Each case will be different and needs to be considered on its own merits. As such, the government does not intend to make changes to national policy in this area.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which housing and community development projects have received Government funding in Gloucestershire in financial year 2024-25. \p Alex Norris: These projects received funding from HMG through 2024/25 to develop housing and communities in Gloucestershire:
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Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years. \p Alex Norris: a) MHCLG Communications operate four social media accounts for MHCLG. Comms do not hold any subscriptions for these accounts

b) The MHCLG Communications costs to date (excluding VAT) of advertising on each social media platform over the last 3 years:

2022/23:

Meta - £591,780.28

LinkedIn - £215,043.04

Twitter - £150,037.83

NextDoor - £35,132.37

2023/24:

Meta - £508,648.87

LinkedIn - £199,990.22

Reddit - £160,410.28

Nextdoor - £38,999.29

2024/25:

Meta: £220,533.63

LinkedIn - £493.83

Reddit - £92,056.91

NextDoor - £32,271.44

The total cost of the LinkedIn for recruitment for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25 was £42,034.80 (excluding VAT) per year. The cost includes a recruiter licence, 21 job slots, MHCLG LinkedIn Careers page and dashboard manager seats
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_271

Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Housing Ombudsman suggesting in January 2025 that there should be a pilot study to test and sample properties for levels of lead. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 27855 on 6 February.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of Planning Inspectorate appeals related to Tree Protection Orders that have been overdue in financial year 2024-25. \p Matthew Pennycook: Between 1 April 2024 and 31 December 2024, 177 decisions were made on Tree Preservation Order works appeals that missed the ministerial target. This does not include cases due between these dates - but were still awaiting a decision.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_273

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers the Government has to enforce breaches of planning conditions by foreign embassies. \p Matthew Pennycook: Responsibility for planning enforcement rests with local planning authorities. It is for them to decide how and when to use their enforcement powers depending on the particular circumstances of each case.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_274

Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure areas with higher levels of deprivation receive adequate funding. \p Jim McMahon: The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government in England, which is a cash-terms increase of 6.8% in Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The most relatively deprived areas of England will receive 23% more per dwelling in Settlement funding than the least deprived areas.

The government is directly accounting for deprivation in the way it allocates funding, such as through the new one-off ‘Recovery Grant’, worth £600 million. The Recovery Grant will start to correct the unfairness of the current system by putting councils in the areas with greater need and demand for services on a more stable footing. This will lay the foundations for more fundamental funding reform, including an updated assessment of need, from 2026/27.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_275

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to restructure London Boroughs. \p Jim McMahon: On 5 February 2025 the Government formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. No London Boroughs were included in this invitation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_276

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 31882 on Local Government: Reorganisation, what the threshold is for her to submit a formal request for a structural review to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. \p Jim McMahon: As part of the process for changing from two tiers to a single tier of local government, where the Secretary of State receives a proposal in response to an invitation, the Secretary of State may, under section 4 of the 2007 Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act, request the Local Government Boundary Commission England to advise on any matter that relates to the proposal and is specified in the request.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will arrange local referenda before proceeding with local government reorganisation in Lancashire. \p Jim McMahon: There are no plans to require local referendums on proposed local government reorganisations. Proposals for local government must meet local needs and be informed by local views. It is for councils to decide how best to engage locally in a meaningful and constructive way and this engagement activity should be evidenced in a proposal.

Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_278

Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to require minimum levels of (a) rooftop solar and (b) other renewable generation on new buildings. \p Alex Norris: The Government understands the urgency of introducing new energy efficiency standards so that as many homes as possible are built to be zero-carbon ready. We are committed to implementing the Future Homes Standard this year, and we are taking the time to set the technical requirements at a level which is ambitious and keeps us on track to achieve our net zero ambitions, while also being achievable across all sites.

In the meantime, please rest assured that an uplift to the energy efficiency standards in 2021, which came into effect in June 2022, set high standards for home energy efficiency. New homes built between now and the Future Homes Standard coming into force will likely be built to these 2021 standards. They should therefore have excellent fabric quality, including insulation, and are likely to include low-carbon technologies, such as solar panels or heat pumps.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage public participation in Devolution Priority Programme consultations. \p Jim McMahon: On 17th February, the government launched six consultations, one for each area on Devolution Priority Programme. The government is encouraging everyone who lives and works within these areas to participate and make their voices heard. The government has brought the consultation to the attention of a variety of local stakeholders, including local councils, community groups, and businesses, to ensure the consultation reaches the widest possible audience. We are utilising a range of communication methods, including social media and physical promotional materials to publicise this activity, which is also being reported by local media. Engagement is being actively monitored and we are putting in place plans to encourage maximum participation across all communities in these areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he plans to publish the Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Governance consultation. \p Feryal Clark: The Government published its consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 17 December 2024. This closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure copyright protections remain (a) robust and (b) fit for purpose from artificial intelligence. \p Feryal Clark: Copying protected material in the UK will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.

The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including seeking views on a range of approaches to clarify copyright law for both the creative industries and AI innovators.

This consultation closed on 25th February.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 34051 on Antarctic: Finance, how much funding his Department has provided to the British Antarctic Survey in the latest period for which data is available. \p Feryal Clark: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5th March to Question UIN 33658.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that small AI startups in the UK receive adequate support and resources to compete effectively. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to supporting the digital economy, removing barriers to inclusive economic growth, and ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world for our great tech businesses to start, scale and stay.

Programmes such as the SEIS/EIS schemes and R&D Tax Credits demonstrate the UK’s commitment to supporting tech companies in thriving in the UK.

The AI Action Plan sets out our intention to support the growth ambitions of businesses across the AI sector. Initiatives include opening the AI Research Resource to a wider pool of SMEs to drive forward new AI-enabled innovations, fostering national champions within the UK startup ecosystem, and unlocking data assets for startups to access.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support AI startup businesses outside of London and the South East with investments and funding. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to removing barriers to growth for SMEs and ensuring that they have access to resources and expertise needed to develop and scale. Over the last 2 years, Innovate UK has awarded £5.2 billion funding to more than 7,000 businesses across the UK, of which 86% were SMEs.

We are supporting UK tech startups by harnessing the benefits of AI, investment, skills, regulation, data and procurement.

The AI Action Plan sets out our intention to encourage AI development across the UK. We are already working with devolved administrations and local authorities on AI Growth Zones, to ensure all parts of the UK benefit from the investment in critical AI infrastructure.