Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to revise his Department’s autism strategy when the current one expires in July 2026, in the context of the provisions of section 1 of the Autism Act 2009.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 23 January 2026, we published our response to the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. We welcomed the committee’s report, and are carefully considering its recommendations, as well as our approach to developing a new national autism strategy, and we will set out a position, including our plans to engage with stakeholders, in due course.
We recognise that a large amount of evidence was gathered by the committee and we will consider this evidence, along with evidence from various other reviews, papers, and reports. We recognise that meaningful engagement will take time, so a balance will need to be struck as to what level of further engagement is required. The current strategy will remain in effect until a revised strategy is published.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways will record and publish standardised data on the causes of Penalty Fares.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government’s vision for the railways will see the creation of a unified and simplified rail system with a single public rail body, Great British Railways (GBR) focused on delivering for passengers. Under GBR, passengers will enjoy a consistent, reliable offer across the entire network.
The Department cannot confirm whether GBR will publish standardised data on the causes of Penalty Fares.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department collects on the reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Deliberate fare evasion reduces the revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. We are making fares easier to understand, so that passengers can buy tickets with confidence, knowing they are getting the right fare every time.
The Department does not collect data on reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network; however, Train Operating Companies are required to conduct surveys to determine the percentage of passengers carrying a valid ticket. This data enables the Department to understand revenue at risk.
The Department will shortly be publishing its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s review of revenue protection practices.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with his Australian counterpart on lessons learned from Australia’s introduction of a law to ban under-16s from social media platforms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK and Australia signed an Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding in February 2024 to share learnings and approaches to online safety.
The government is looking at what is happening in Australia. The Australian government plans to monitor the impact of their ban and we are engaging closely with them on this. Both the Secretary of State and the Minister for Online Safety hope to visit Australia soon.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Natural England has enacted byelaws under Section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the (a) protection and (b) management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England has not enacted any byelaws under section 28R since the provision’s introduction in 2001. A set of Model SSSI Byelaws for this purpose was agreed with Defra in 2020 and was published by Natural England at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-england/byelaws-for-sssis/.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will benefit from the Warm Homes Plan in (a) Central Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) England.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have invested £15 billion in the Warm Homes Plan, making it the biggest investment in home upgrades ever. We will reach 5 million homes by 2030, through direct support for those on low incomes and in fuel poverty, and innovative low-interest finance available to all. The Warm Homes Plan will help lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030 through public investment and new minimum energy standards for private landlords.
The Department will publish monitoring statistics and evaluation of policies announced in the Warm Homes Plan. DESNZ currently publishes statistics covering the uptake and impacts of energy efficiency measures here.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken an analysis of the potential impact of Single or Double British Summer Time on pubs during major international sporting tournaments.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government believes the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK. Since the government does not intend to make changes to the existing system, we have not conducted an assessment of the potential impact of Single or Double British Summer Time on pubs during major sporting tournaments.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with (a) FIFA and (b) the Football Association on the selection criteria for hosting future FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the rights holder for FIFA World Cup tournaments, FIFA publishes the criteria and associated timeline for prospective future host nations to meet in order to be deemed viable. The Football Association works closely with the UK Government and UK Sport when considering whether to bid for future major football events.
This occurred recently, with the UK-wide bid submitted to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035. Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 on home turf would be a monumental moment in our sporting history, driving growth and leaving a lasting legacy. The UK Government, alongside the four Home Nation Football Associations and Devolved Governments, are supporting FIFA as they evaluate the bid - prior to their decision on hosts in April 2026.
For the FIFA Men’s World Cup tournaments, FIFA has determined the host nations for the next three tournaments, until 2034. The government has not been part of discussions regarding future selection criteria at this time.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Network Rail’s progress on delivering the train control systems framework announced on 10 April 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail awarded its Train Control Systems Framework in April 2024 covering major signalling activities for the period 2024-2034.
Development contracts for digital signalling have been awarded are in delivery, with completion forecast in Financial Year 2027/28.
The ORR undertakes assurance of Network Rail’s signalling renewals delivery as part of its regulatory monitoring role.
Annual assessments of Network Rail | Office of Rail and Road
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data her Department holds on the volumes of imported single-life budget tyres in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 1 January to 1 August 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. However, due to classification codes, we are not able to distinguish between single-life budget tyres, and other kinds of tyres.
Car tyres are classified under commodity code 4011 1000 00. It is not possible to identify single-life budget tyres separately within this commodity code.
HMRC releases imports and exports information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk