Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making number plate cloning a criminal offence.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is already a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £1000, to supply a number plate without checking if the purchaser is entitled to use the registration number. It is also an offence to use a cloned number plate on a vehicle which on conviction, can lead to an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to review the guidance on the display of flags to ensure it remains aligned with (a) current practices and (b) community expectations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no current plans to amend the guidance in question.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the plant health inspection regime.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Plant Health inspection uses a risk-based approach to understand global plant health threats and the Department carries out horizon scanning for new and emerging risks to the UK.
The Department undertakes systematic, proactive screening of new and emerging plant health risks, which are listed in the UK Risk Register. The register contains details of over 1400 plant pests and pathogens which have been screened for their potential to be damaging in the UK.
Risks are reviewed monthly by an expert groups and Ministers, and prioritised for actions such as surveillance, enhanced inspection, regulation, national measures, import controls, research and awareness raising.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support horticulture businesses in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to our horticulture sector and the vital role it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce.
Underlining this commitment to our growers is our farming roadmap which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing public expenditure on schools in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Across the spending review, core schools funding, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) investment, will increase from £65.3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year (including the additional funding announced in May 2025) to £69.5 billion by the 2028/29 financial year. Taken together, this grows per-pupil spending over this spending review period by 2.7% in real terms. Decisions on how that funding will be allocated across mainstream schools and high needs will be taken in due course.
The national funding formula (NFF) allocates funding for schools to local authorities based on school and pupil characteristics. The government will be reviewing the operation of the schools NFF for 2026/27 and future years. The funding impact on individual local authorities will therefore also depend on the outcome of this review. This will be announced later in the year.
Surrey is the local authority responsible for allocating funding in Surrey Heath constituency. Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Surrey is receiving £895.8 million for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year. This represents an increase of 2.2% per pupil compared to the 2024/25 financial year, excluding growth and falling rolls funding. On top of that, schools are also receiving additional funding for National Insurance contributions increases, as well as to support with staff pay rises.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his expected timeline is for the ratification of the UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All parties are committed to finalising the text of the UK-EU Treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible. The final text will be brought before the House for scrutiny in the normal way pursuant to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of housing investment announced in the Spending Review 2025 on (a) the protection of Green Belt land and (b) new housing starts in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not made any such assessment.
The allocation of housing investment announced at the Spending Review will depend on the bids received from registered providers.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to address variation between local authorities in the application of discretionary business rates relief for not-for-profit organisations.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 provides billing authorities with discretionary powers to award business rates reliefs to properties within their area. This is a local decision for individual billing authorities.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of high annual ground rents on the ability of leaseholders to sell their properties in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department is aware that some leaseholders may be experiencing problems with mortgaging or selling a property because of their ground rent terms.
The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of transport infrastructure investment announced in the Spending Review 2025 on Surrey.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are yet to announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. This will be announced in due course. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.