Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Redfern, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Redfern has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Redfern has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Government is committed to tackling high industrial electricity prices in the UK. This is why Government has taken action to mitigate high electricity costs for energy intensive industries by continuing the Energy Intensive Industries compensation scheme and implementing the British Industry Supercharger.
The Plan for Steel, which will be published in Spring, will address electricity prices for steelmakers. We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn to rebuild steel industry which will be available through the National Wealth Fund and other routes.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is appointed by the Secretary of State and holds and vacates office as the Adjudicator in accordance with the terms of their appointment.
The government will undertake the fourth statutory review of the GCA in 2025. The review must consider how much the Adjudicator’s powers have been exercised and assess how effective the Adjudicator has been in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice over the review period. The government will give all interested parties the opportunity to contribute to this review.
On 9 June 2025, the Government made legislation to reintroduce onshore wind into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime. Government has concluded that low carbon infrastructure entering the NSIP regime, including renewables such as onshore wind, should be deemed as critical national priority infrastructure. Security arrangements for onshore wind farms are a matter for individual developers.
The deployment of rooftop solar is a top priority. Permitted development rights mean most rooftop projects do not require an application for planning permission, including non-domestic arrays of any size, and solar canopies on car parks. New buildings standards will ensure that all newly built houses and commercial buildings are fit for a net zero future. We expect these standards to encourage the installation of solar panels.
Ground mount solar is also needed to meet our 2030 clean power ambitions. Planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, projects should utilise previously developed land. Where the development of farmland is judged necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred.
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions.
The OCEJ is engaging widely with industry, experts, and trade unions for a clear assessment of the skills opportunities and challenges. It is working closely with Skills England to ensure that skills systems reforms support the clean energy transition.
The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy in 2025. In the interim, in 2025/26 we are increasing the total funding for other DCMS youth programmes, excluding the National Citizen Service programmes which we will be winding down from March 2025. Funding allocations for specific programmes will be communicated in due course.
This will include allocating over £85m of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, with the new Better Youth Spaces fund allocating at least £26m for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations. This capital funding also allows for the completion of the Youth Investment Fund programme.
We will also launch the Local Youth Transformation pilot, which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities, providing a package of support to assess, improve and invest in impactful local youth offers to build back lost capacity and sow the seeds for a much-needed rejuvenation of local youth services.
This Government is committed to delivering an orderly transition following the decision to wind down the NCS programme from March 2025 and close the NCS Trust when parliamentary time allows.
DCMS is currently working closely with the NCS Trust to agree the full costs of winding down the programme, and closing the NCS Trust.
The single unique identifier for children which the government promised in its manifesto is intended to apply to all children, including those in care, and is part of the solution to improve data sharing to stop children falling through the cracks. The legislation to enable its designation and use is currently before Parliament as part of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.
The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, the department estimates that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.
The government will also recruit 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support.
To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, such as a resource hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.
The government is committed to improving early literacy and ensuring children have the best start in life. Strong early foundations are essential for school readiness and long-term educational success. That is why we are focused on strengthening the home learning environment and supporting families from pregnancy through the early years, as part of our wider ambition under the Plan for Change. This includes the national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028.
Family Hubs are central to this ambition, providing joined-up support for families across health, education and early years services.
In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings that support early communication and confidence.
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme as part of the Spending Review 2025. Through our ‘Little Moments Together’ campaign and partnerships with the voluntary sector, we continue to support parents to chat, play and read with their children, simple, everyday actions that make a lasting difference to early literacy and school readiness.
The government is committed to improving early literacy and ensuring children have the best start in life. Strong early foundations are essential for school readiness and long-term educational success. That is why we are focused on strengthening the home learning environment and supporting families from pregnancy through the early years, as part of our wider ambition under the Plan for Change. This includes the national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028.
Family Hubs are central to this ambition, providing joined-up support for families across health, education and early years services.
In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings that support early communication and confidence.
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme as part of the Spending Review 2025. Through our ‘Little Moments Together’ campaign and partnerships with the voluntary sector, we continue to support parents to chat, play and read with their children, simple, everyday actions that make a lasting difference to early literacy and school readiness.
I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 52815.
I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 25143.
I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 25144.
An apprenticeship is a job with training. Through a combination of on and off the job training, an apprenticeship will enable an apprentice to be competent in a specific occupation. Not all apprenticeships will include a mandatory qualification, but some will, such as a degree or a professional accreditation.
This government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a new levy-funded growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and align with the industrial strategy. It will feature shorter duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted, growing sectors. These will help more people learn high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country. The department will take the time to work closely with employers and providers to design new training that offers young people a route into good, skilled work and meets the needs of the industrial strategy.
The department continues to pay additional funding to employers and training providers to support them to take on young apprentices, apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities, and care leavers.
The department is continuing outreach work in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme and targeting young people through the Skills for Life campaign.
Whilst the plastic component of filters is of concern, the chemicals, toxins and heavy metals contained within a littered cigarette butt also pose a danger to the environment. For this reason, Defra does not support a move to plastic-free or biodegradable filters which would likely contain the same pollutants and have not been shown to break down quicker if littered in the environment.
Tobacco litter remains a concern for Defra, with cigarette filters consistently scoring as the most littered item in surveys. Local authorities already have powers to punish those who litter them including through prosecution. They can also create smoke free areas through the use of Public Space Protection Orders.
Defra believes the best way to tackle littering of filters is through reductions in smoking rates. We therefore continue to support all initiatives designed to encourage people to quit smoking or prevent them from starting smoking. Indeed, through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the Government is committed to creating a smoke-free generation, gradually ending the sale of tobacco products across the country and breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.
We will continue to monitor the available evidence on the prevalence of littered cigarette filters before considering further action.
The Government recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy, providing direct and indirect employment. It also appreciates that many people hold strong views on the issue of grouse shooting and there is evidence to suggest a link between it and crimes against birds of prey. While Defra has not yet made any formal assessment of the potential merits of the licensing of grouse shooting in England, it will continue to work to ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between grouse shooting and conservation.
We have moved away from the EU’s approach to subsidies to a ‘public money for public goods’ system.
We currently have a record 50,000 farm businesses and half of all farmed land now managed under our schemes – with more money being spent through these schemes than at any point.
Going forward we’ve committed an average of £2.3 billion a year to directly benefit tens of thousands of farmers, including small farmers, supporting farm profitability through investment in research and technology and sustainable food production, at the same time as improving the quality of the water in our rivers, the air we breathe and our spaces for wildlife.
Defra Ministers support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England. The hare is a much-loved species, and we fail to give it the protection we should. England and Wales stand out as being among the few European countries not to have a close season for their hares. A close season should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, which runs from February to October, meaning that fewer leverets (infant hares) are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation. A close season is also consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports farmers to improve their animals’ health and welfare through funded vet visits as well as targeted grants. We continue to work with the industry on how the Pathway can encourage improvements in indoor pigs’ welfare.
The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector.
Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
The food and farming sector is operating in an increasingly complex environment. Climate change is causing weather variability leading to more floods, droughts and other extreme events. These challenges are contributing to declining biodiversity, soil degradation, water quality pressures and increasing risks to land productivity.
The Farming Roadmap will be a long-term strategy setting out this Government’s vision for a thriving sector that delivers for the economy, nature, food security and the environment. It will provide a vision for our farming sector and set the direction for how we get there, with a focus on delivering our food security and environmental objectives, whilst supporting farms to be resilient and profitable. The roadmap will be published later this year.
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. The consultation sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling and was accompanied by an impact assessment which assessed the potential costs and benefits. Research was also commissioned to explore animal welfare considerations in consumer purchasing decisions, which will be published in due course.
We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Defra is monitoring the Sustainable Farming Incentive and tracking contributions to outcomes. We recently published statistics on the area within agri-environment schemes, which showed that 64% of England’s farmed area is in a scheme. 3.3 million hectares are in SFI 2023 and over 380,000 hectares are in the SFI expanded offer.
The National Biosecurity Centre is the new name for the facility delivered at APHA Weybridge, previously known as the Science Capability in Animal Health programme. This funding has not been previously committed to other purposes.
The Government was elected on a mandate to improve animal welfare.
The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It’s too early to discuss any specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.
As announced at the National Farmers Union Conference, the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for public procurement, came into effect alongside the Procurement Act on 24 February. The NPPS underscores the Government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, including catering contracts. Defra officials are currently exploring the options for any future changes to public sector food and catering policy.
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Since October 2022 Natural England has issued 13 beaver enclosure licences, 1 genetic reinforcement licence, and 1 wild release licence.
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The use of cages and other closed confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
For Price Review 24, which runs from 2025 – 2030, water companies are investing almost £12 billion to improve 2,800 storm overflows. This expenditure has a price control deliverable (PCD), which sets out Ofwat’s expectations for delivery.
Ofwat also sets specific performance targets for water companies. Ofwat is expanding these performance commitments for Price Review 24 to include an ambitious storm spill reduction target. If achieved, this would see average spills per storm overflow reducing by 45% by 2029 compared to 2021 levels across the industry.
Where required outcomes are not met, companies must reimburse customers, thereby holding water companies to account to deliver the investment.
Beyond storm overflows, £6 billion will be invested to reduce harmful nutrients, including phosphorous, by 28% over 2025-30, through upgrading treatment works and promoting sustainable farming.
We acknowledge that more can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage.
Conversations with industry have suggested that a potentially significant cause of food waste on farm are unfair business practices at the point of first sale, where the specification requirements can lead to produce being left unharvested or rotting in the field.
We have taken powers to clamp down on these kinds of unfair contractual practices through the ‘fair dealings’ powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 and intend to work with stakeholders to explore how these powers could be exercised to address such concerns.
Total UK food waste arisings are 10.7 million tonnes with approximately 1.6 million tonnes (15%) occurring on farm.
The amount of food we waste is a stain on our country. This Government will work with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need.
We continue to support WRAP and their work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. This includes work to ensure surplus food is redistributed to charities and other organisations who can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.
We thank food producers, charities and retailers in the sector for tackling the problem of food waste.
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will publish a response to this consultation in due course.
The government committed in its manifesto to banning the import of hunting trophies.
Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in due course, including the consultation on the Fur Market in Great Britain. Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and this Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The use of farrowing crates for pigs is an issue we will want to fully consider in due course.
At the heart of our reforms is the principle that those who can work should work. If you need help into work the government should support you and those who can’t work should be supported to live with dignity.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out reforms to both benefits and employment support. Underpinning the changes to benefits, such as rebalancing Universal Credit rates, is our new guarantee of Pathways to Work employment, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions. This brings our total investment for this group to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.
We understand that welfare, employment and health are connected – and that is why we are taking a cross-government approach as we deliver and develop our Plan for Change.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, by setting out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
We will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside other departments, as we develop our package of reforms in further detail and to ensure policies are aligned.
Integrated care boards are responsible for determining and meeting the mental health needs of the young people in their local populations, and there are no plans to publish statutory guidance in this area. The Department expects integrated care boards to continue to improve access to community-based mental health support for children and young people under our plans to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, under the 10-Year Health Plan.
We are committed to rebuilding the pharmacy sector and have increased the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.1 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service in 2025/26, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This funding is available to be earned by both brick-and-mortar pharmacies and distance selling pharmacies.
There are more brick-and-mortar pharmacies in the most deprived areas of the country. Patients across the country can choose to access NHS pharmaceutical services from their local pharmacy or remotely through distance selling pharmacies. All pharmacy contractors must provide NHS essential services such as dispensing and can choose to provide NHS advanced services such as Pharmacy First. Most services can be provided face-to-face or remotely.
We are committed to ensuring fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease. That is why we have set an ambition to reduce premature death from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade. Community pharmacies make an important contribution to achieving this ambition including by providing NHS blood pressure checks and the NHS New Medicine Service through which pharmacists provide extra support to patients newly prescribed medicines including for cardiovascular disease. Whilst blood pressure checks can only be provided face-to-face, the New Medicine Service can also be delivered remotely.
The National NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme was first established as part of the COVID-19 response and then adapted to respond to other organisational pressures. However, a model that worked well in a national crisis is no longer the most cost-effective way of facilitating the important contribution of our much-valued volunteers.
National Health Service staff are incredibly dedicated. However, if healthcare staff are to provide excellent care to patients, they need to receive excellent support themselves. Work is underway to modernise NHS working culture and to make the NHS the best place to work, and this includes a much stronger focus on staff health and wellbeing.
The Practitioner Health mental health treatment service is currently funded up until 31 March 2026. NHS England is reviewing the future provision of services to support staff health in the workplace.
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of health misinformation on public health decision making, but recognises the importance of accurate health information being available to the public and of preventing misinformation.
The Department regularly rebuts factual inaccuracies when they appear in traditional media and undertakes extensive planning, engagement, and strategic work to ensure accurate public health information is available on social media channels, to mitigate misinformation. In addition, the Department strives to ensure that all of the information it publishes is accurate, clear, and accessible to a variety of audiences, including using easy read versions.
NHS England has recently extended the NHS Practitioner Health service to the end of March 2026. Discussions around the mental health and wellbeing provision for future staff, including this service, are ongoing.
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service fit through the future through our 10-Year Health Plan. The first step in the process was Lord Darzi’s independent review of the NHS in England, which highlighted the undercapitalisation across the NHS. We are committed to reversing this trend and are due to publish an updated Capital Strategy in Autumn 2025.
The updated strategy will include clear funding assumptions for the NHS estate, accounting for the Government’s 10-Year National Infrastructure Strategy and the outcome of the 10-Year Health Plan.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 provides the legislative framework for regulating fertility treatments, and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the United Kingdom’s independent regulator of fertility treatments.
The HFEA published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which outlines 15 recommendations under four key themes to reform the current fertility legislative framework. Additional analysis has been requested from the HFEA and will inform the Government’s position on how we might move forwards to improve the regulatory regime. Any law reform will need to be considered within the context of the Government’s broader legislative programme.
NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work is nearing completion and will be published at the earliest opportunity.
The Department has regular performance discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). These discussions include, but are not limited to, the CQC’s ratings of general practices and the CQC’s registration process.
The CQC has experienced significant delays in registering providers and publishing updated ratings. Between 2023 and March 2024, the CQC rolled out a new IT system. The delays are partially the result of an increase in registration applications and failures in the CQC’s IT system. The CQC is undertaking rapid changes to increase the number of assessments, provide updated ratings, and speed up its registration process for timely onboarding of new providers, with 25,230 completed since April 2024. It has recently reported that the 500 assessments stuck in its IT system have now reduced to 301 and will gradually result in updated ratings.