Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish their response to the consultation on the high value council tax surcharge, which closed on 14 July.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is considering responses to this consultation and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely health impacts of the requirement under the NHS net zero supplier roadmap for suppliers to report all relevant scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from April 2027.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap was originally published in 2021 under the previous administration and stipulated that: "All suppliers will be required to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target, for all of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions."
The guidance was updated in June 2026 to operate in a much less rigid and more common-sense way, stating that: "The NHS will implement new proportionate requirements for suppliers to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for all of their relevant global scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions."
This new approach follows extensive stakeholder engagement, allowing a more flexible approach to be taken in respect of different suppliers. For example, recognising that, where there are limited suppliers of certain goods, equipment, or services, or where those supplies are critical to patient care, it may not be appropriate to apply net zero procurement requirements.
In addition to progressing the supplier roadmap milestones, NHS England continues to support high-quality lower carbon respiratory care which improves clinical outcomes whilst reducing carbon emissions from inhalers, and has saved hundreds of millions of pounds in energy costs which have been channelled back into frontline care. The updated guidance will continue to drive those savings for the taxpayer, while operating in a much more proportionate and less burdensome way.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether requirements of the NHS net zero supplier roadmap to report all relevant Scope 3 emissions from April 2027 is a requirement under the Climate Change Act 2008.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap was originally published in 2021 under the previous administration and stipulated that: "All suppliers will be required to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target, for all of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions."
The guidance was updated in June 2026 to operate in a much less rigid and more common-sense way, stating that: "The NHS will implement new proportionate requirements for suppliers to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for all of their relevant global scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions."
This new approach follows extensive stakeholder engagement, allowing a more flexible approach to be taken in respect of different suppliers. For example, recognising that, where there are limited suppliers of certain goods, equipment, or services, or where those supplies are critical to patient care, it may not be appropriate to apply net zero procurement requirements.
In addition to progressing the supplier roadmap milestones, NHS England continues to support high-quality lower carbon respiratory care which improves clinical outcomes whilst reducing carbon emissions from inhalers, and has saved hundreds of millions of pounds in energy costs which have been channelled back into frontline care. The updated guidance will continue to drive those savings for the taxpayer, while operating in a much more proportionate and less burdensome way.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the regime of no penalties for late submissions for the 2027–28 entrants to Making Tax Digital, as was the case for the first year of implementation.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government introduced a temporary easement so that taxpayers joining Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2026 will not receive penalty points for late quarterly updates during 2026/27.
Any decision on future penalty easements will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many listed properties have benefitted from energy efficiency support under each of the (1) Warm Homes: Local Grant, (2) Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and (3) Boiler Upgrade Scheme; and if they do not collect this data, what plans they have to do so in the future.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not collect information on whether properties supported through these schemes are listed buildings.
To the end of July 2026, Grant Recipients reported 11,250 measures installed in 5,470 households through the Local Grant and 25,770 measures in 12,900 households through the Social Housing Fund (Wave 3).
Since launch in May 2022, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has supported the installation of low-carbon heating in over 93,300 properties across England and Wales.
The Department has no plans to collect data on listed buildings through these schemes but keeps data collection requirements under review.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have written to each local planning authority in England in the last 12 months to remind them that charges for pre-application advice under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 must relate only to cost recovery; and, if not, whether they plan to do so.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not written to each local planning authority in the last 12 months to remind them that charges for pre-application advice should not exceed cost-recovery and has no plans to do so.
Planning Practice Guidance already makes clear that local planning authorities may charge for discretionary services, including pre-application advice, under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003, but that such charges should not exceed the cost of providing the service.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they support the creation of a permanent group bringing together the Department of Health, academia, and industry on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance to accelerate the development of life-saving solutions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.
The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.
The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve awareness of the early signs of sepsis, particularly in high-risk populations; and how they plan to disseminate awareness resources.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.
The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.
The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to release their implementation plan for the Sepsis Modern Service Framework; and how they will fund the necessary improvements.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.
The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.
The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office of 21 July, New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills to give breathing space on cost of living, what assessment they have made of how cutting VAT on electricity bills will be funded after this financial year.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced a cut in VAT on electricity bills to give millions of households breathing space on the cost of living.
These changes to VAT apply and are funded for this winter (from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027).
Any further decisions will be taken at the Budget alongside an OBR forecast, and will be consistent with the Government’s fiscal rules.