Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to simplify the process by which disabled motorists in receipt of Personal Independence Payment are able to (a) apply for and (b) receive a vehicle tax reduction; and whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency plans to introduce an online system enabling eligible disabled drivers to (i) claim the 50 per cent vehicle tax discount and (ii) pay by direct debit.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Customers who receive the enhanced rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and whose vehicles are already licensed in the disabled taxation class can renew their vehicle excise duty (VED) exemption online.
Those customers who receive the standard rate mobility component of PIP which entitles them to a 50 per cent reduction in the rate of VED payable, must send their application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Facilitating online applications by disabled customers to claim reduced rates of VED requires the electronic exchange of data held by the Department for Work and Pensions with the DVLA. Officials are considering how to improve the ability for customers in receipt of PIP to transact with the DVLA.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the areas expected to be at risk of major flooding by 2050; and whether her Department plans to introduce measures to restrict future (a) residential, (b) infrastructure and (c) transport development in those areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In January 2025, the Environment Agency published the updated National Flood Risk Assessment. With climate change, it is estimated that the number of properties in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea will increase from 2.4 million to around 3.1 million between 2036 and 2069.
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk.
Where development (be it residential, infrastructure of transport) is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that every young person has access to sporting facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live. On 19 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs, including for children and young people, and will then set out further plans.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government is considering proposals to replace Vehicle Excise Duty with a pay-per-mile road pricing system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to abolish Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). VED applies to vehicles used or kept on public roads, which does not vary by miles driven. However, fuel duty applies to the petrol or diesel used by motorists driving internal combustion engine vehicles; the greater the miles driven, the more fuel duty incurred.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect vulnerable individuals from the potential harms caused by frequent charity advertising.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that it is never acceptable to use undue pressure in order to solicit a donation and that the public should be treated with respect at all times.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media (print, radio, TV) and online and is independent of the Government. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations to the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their Broadcast Advertising Code (BCAP Code) and UK Non-Broadcast Advertising Code (CAP Code).
The CAP and BCAP Codes contain specific rules specifying that advertising must not cause serious or widespread harm or offence. In addition, the BCAP Code has a dedicated section on charities, with rules intended to prevent the abuse of people’s charitable impulses. Charities must comply with all relevant sections of the Codes when advertising. A complaint can be made to the ASA if someone believes an advert breaks these rules.
The public can also make a complaint to the charity and to the Fundraising Regulator if they believe a charity has made misleading or excessive requests for donations.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce a national screening programme for prostate cancer; and what steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for people affected by the disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is guided on screening policy by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen test, lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.
However, the UK NSC has commissioned a university to carry out a high-quality review and cost effectiveness model of the evidence for a national prostate cancer screening programme. This includes targeted approaches to high-risk groups and an offer to all men defined by age. The UK NSC expects to receive the report later this year.
In addition, the Government has invested £16 million in the £42 million United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, led by Prostate Cancer UK, which aims to identify new ways of detecting prostate cancer at an earlier stage, including in men without symptoms. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are Black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.
The National Cancer Plan will include details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including for those living with prostate cancer.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve (a) safety and (b) regulation in the non-surgical cosmetics sector.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in our response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which we will publish as soon as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT for the hospitality sector.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
VAT is the UK’s third largest tax. It is forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26, which funds public services. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
HMRC estimates that the cost of a 12.5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £6.5 billion this financial year, or £8 billion if it were to include alcoholic beverages.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the sale of (a) unlicensed band merchandise and (b) other counterfeit goods on (i) TikTok and (ii) other social media platforms.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is committed to protecting IP rights for our businesses and protecting unsuspecting consumers from those who seek to profit from all forms of intellectual property infringement. Trading Standards are primarily responsible for enforcing Intellectual Property Rights and are working with platforms of all sizes to remove counterfeits from their online stores.
The Intellectual Property Office also regularly meets many of the major social media and e-commerce trading platforms in the UK and overseas to help ensure they have policies in place to remove goods identified as counterfeit, advertisements of counterfeit goods, and persistent sellers of counterfeit goods.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure greater compatibility between electric vehicle (EV) chargers, EV models, and electricity providers’ smart tariffs; and whether the Government plans to introduce regulations to prevent anti-competitive practices in the EV charging market that limit consumer access to cheaper overnight electricity rates.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring consumers can access any electricity tariff for use with their smart electric vehicle (EV) charger, enabling all consumers to benefit from cheaper off-peak electricity. In April 2025, the Government confirmed that it will require electricity suppliers to share tariff data with the consumer’s load controller in a standardised format to facilitate this.
In addition, the Government has committed to working with industry to develop and introduce interoperability standards that ensure that all EV chargepoints are operable by any load controller on behalf of the consumer Further detail can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/delivering-a-smart-and-secure-electricity-system-implementation.