Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop an anti-ballistic programme to protect the UK.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Ballistic Missiles are one of several threat categories that are managed through our Integrated Air and Missile Defence enterprise.

Integrated Air and Missile Defence investments will be prioritised appropriately against the threat as part of the future Integrated Force. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including of up to £1 billion on Homeland on Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be prioritised appropriately against the assessed threat picture as part of the future Integrated Force and will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether construction work is continuing on the cancelled routes of HS2; and if so, what is the cost of that work.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department is not continuing construction on the cancelled Phase 2a or Phase 2b routes of HS2.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to support consumers with energy price increases as a result of the war in Iran.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy bills. We continue to monitor the situation closely and we are looking at what further support may be needed. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor has announced £53m for low income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. This funding will be available to the Northern Ireland Executive, Wales, and Scotland. More information can be found here: Over £50 million to help families struggling with soaring heating oil costs - GOV.UK

At the Autumn Budget we committed to taking money off energy bills and we have. Ofgem has confirmed that the price cap will fall by 7% or £117 annually for the period covering April to June. The price cap for that period is fixed and will not change.

In addition to this, around 6 million families are benefitting from the expansion of the £150 Warm Home Discount, and through the Warm Homes Plan the Government is delivering the biggest investment in home upgrades in British history.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of replacing the BBC licence fee with a household tax.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As part of the BBC Charter Review, we are looking at a range of options to support the BBC with sustainable and fair funding, including how the BBC can operate more efficiently, generate more commercial revenue, and how the licence fee could be reformed including the scope of services for which a TV licence is required.

The BBC licence fee is a tried and tested public funding model, we have ruled out funding the BBC through general taxation or another form of public funding, such as a household tax.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimate in the Knight Frank report UK Multifamily Market Outlook, published in March, that there will be an additional 1.5 million individuals living in rental accommodation by 2050; and what plans, if any, they have to ensure sufficient rental housing is available for that estimated figure.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department has made no such assessment.

Our £3.5 billion Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme was reopened in March 2025 to new applicants for another three years and makes loan guarantees available for Build-to-Rent operators to support housebuilding.

We have also announced that the National Housing Bank, backed by up to £16 billion of finance, will be launched in April 2026. Its detailed investment approach will be outlined in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of John Lewis's decision not to build 1,000 build-to-rent homes, in particular the implications for the viability of the build-to-rent sector.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We do not comment on commercial decisions.

The government recognises the important role Build to Rent plays in the housing sector, delivering high quality homes for those who rent, and supporting the delivery of 1.5m homes in this Parliament. We are supporting the sector with changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and with financial support through our £3.5 billion Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme, £2 billion Home Building Fund, and the new £16 billion National Housing Bank.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the preparedness of (1) landlords, and (2) self-employed people, for making quarterly Making Tax Digital returns from April.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken a number of steps to help ensure those needing to use MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and can do so successfully. This includes media campaigns, awareness letters and extensive online help, such as webinars, recorded YouTube videos, e‑learning, and guidance on GOV.UK. A wide range of MTD‑compatible software products is available, including free options, and thousands of new taxpayers are signing up to the service every week.

MTD quarterly updates are not like making a tax return each quarter. Software will manage much of the process, creating simple summaries of income and expenses from the taxpayer’s digital records ready for submission. Information will be carried forward to the tax return, helping to reduce errors and make the end of year process faster and easier.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to expand the Bank of England's remit to include focusing on growth and the overall health of the economy, as well as bearing down on inflation.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has no plans to change the remit of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Subject to maintaining price stability, the MPC’s secondary objective is to support the economic policy of the Government, which is to “restore broad based and resilient growth built on strong and secure foundations”. The MPC regularly states that it sets monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target “in a way that helps to sustain growth and employment”.

Low and stable inflation is essential for long-term economic growth, so the MPC has the Government’s full support as it acts to return inflation to target sustainably.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to ensure that mobile phones can be blocked or made unsaleable after being stolen.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Mobile phone theft blights communities, and we are determined to do more to tackle it.

Law enforcement partners are delivering robust action to drive down the numbers of these thefts. In London, mobile phone theft has fallen by 10,000 offences in the past year – a reduction of 12.3%.

We also want to see further action aimed at breaking the business model that drives phone theft, by reducing the value of a stolen device. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is continuing to work closely with these partners on technical solutions aimed at achieving this. The Home Office is supporting these efforts. At present, our preferred approach remains allowing time for this collaborative work to continue, so that potential solutions to be developed and tested appropriately.

At the recent International Mobile Phone Crime Conference, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police set a deadline of 1 June for industry to bring forward further concrete commitments. If meaningful progress cannot be made, the Home Office will look to consider any necessary action.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase gas storage in the UK, in light of the current conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK benefits from diverse gas supply sources, including the UK Continental Shelf, pipeline imports from reliable partners such as Norway, and significant LNG import capability, which limits reliance on any single source.

We are confident this diverse portfolio will continue to meet the country’s energy needs, as it has during previous geopolitical events.

The Government does, however, recognise that the energy transition may change future infrastructure requirements, so we recently consulted on options to safeguard gas security, including measures to encourage storage investment. A response will follow in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a new Parking (Code of Practice) Bill.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

No. The government is committed to raising standards across the private parking sector through the introduction of a new Code of Practice as required under the Private Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. The government intends to lay the Code in autumn 2026.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to create strategic food stockpiles.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK does not have national food stockpiles or plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is equipped to deal with any potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.

Defra work closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing preparations, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce regulations to regulate property management and letting agencies.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

On forfeiture reform, I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement on 27 January 2026 (HLWS1278).

The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.

The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group Chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019. We are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report.

On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report.

The government’s recent home buying and selling reform consultation sought views on proposals to professionalise property agents, including introducing a code of practice setting out minimum standards for letting, estate and managing agents.

The government also proposed a future consultation on mandatory qualifications for letting and estate agents and, depending on the outcome, potential legislation in respect of this issue. The home buying and selling reform consultation closed on 29 December and we will publish a roadmap setting out further details later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include measures to replace forfeiture in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

On forfeiture reform, I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement on 27 January 2026 (HLWS1278).

The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.

The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group Chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019. We are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report.

On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report.

The government’s recent home buying and selling reform consultation sought views on proposals to professionalise property agents, including introducing a code of practice setting out minimum standards for letting, estate and managing agents.

The government also proposed a future consultation on mandatory qualifications for letting and estate agents and, depending on the outcome, potential legislation in respect of this issue. The home buying and selling reform consultation closed on 29 December and we will publish a roadmap setting out further details later this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reconsider the ban on new oil and gas production licences for the North Sea in the light of the conflict in Iran.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government set out details of how it will deliver on its commitment not to issue further oil and gas licences to explore new fields in the North Sea Future Plan. The government has no intention of reconsidering this.

It typically takes up to 10 years for new licences to explore new fields to lead to production. Any additional supply from such fields would make only a marginal difference to overall production. It would not change the UK’s status as a net importer of oil and gas. It would have no material impact on prices nor on security of supply.