Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to give powers to councils to reject applications for new betting shops, vapes stores and fake barbers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is taking action to give local authorities and communities the power greater control over the mix of uses on their high streets. Later this year Government will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, backed by at least £150 million of support, to tackle the challenges care about most.
When parliamentary time allows, we will introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing, enabling councils to better manage the concentration of gambling premises in vulnerable areas. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also provide powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products. Alongside this, the 2025 Budget committed £15 million per year to tackle illegal activity on the high street.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Education on aligning skills funding with workforce requirements for the UK nuclear programme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government is committed to ensuring that the UK has the skilled workforce required to deliver the civil and defence nuclear programmes through the Nuclear Skills Plan – a collaborative effort between government, industry, and academia – delivering targeted action to address skills gaps and secure the UK’s nuclear workforce.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on ensuring sufficient skilled labour supply for the UK nuclear new-build programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP works closely with DESNZ on a range of clean energy and net zero workforce priorities including nuclear. This includes contributing labour market insight and employer engagement expertise to DESNZ’s work on the Clean Jobs Employer Handbook, which is being developed to help employers recruit into green and net zero roles. This partnership is underpinned by a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on 8 December 2025, which sets out shared commitments to improve access to clean energy careers, strengthen inclusive recruitment pathways and support workforce growth across key green sectors.
DWP also supports wider cross government activity on clean energy skills, providing input to DESNZ led workshops and discussions on future workforce needs linked to growth in the clean energy sector which includes nuclear. In addition, DWP responds to DESNZ policy write rounds, ensuring departmental alignment on emerging energy and regulatory issues. Together, this joint working strengthens understanding of future skills demand and ensures employment support and employer engagement activity is closely aligned with the UK’s clean energy and net zero ambitions.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
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 support the development of regional nuclear skills pipelines in areas hosting nuclear new-build projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is supporting delivery of the Nuclear Skills Plan, including through Nuclear Skills Hubs which tailor national initiatives to meet regional needs.
Nuclear Skills Hubs have been established in the North West, the South West, the Midlands and Scotland.
Last week (13 March 2026) the government announced a £65.6m investment to train over 500 doctoral students at universities across the country over 4 cohorts starting next academic year, quadrupling today’s intake.
Individual projects are making important contributions to local and national skills bases. Sizewell C has plans to create 1500 apprentices during construction – including 540 from the local area – and to build a new College on the Coast in Leiston. EDF reports that Hinkley Point C has trained 1700 apprentices to date, with the majority of these coming from the South West, and has invested £24m in education, skills and employment.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that workforce training provision aligns with the needs of major industrial investments, including the battery gigafactory by Agratas under construction in Somerset.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan sets out how government is supporting industry to develop a highly skilled workforce for the future. Measures include the £182 million Engineering Skills Package which will fund Technical Excellence Colleges including four in Advanced Manufacturing, £47 million to fund engineering skills for adults and £2 million to increase the number of engineering T Levels.
Through the Battery Innovation Programme, the Department directly supports skills centres in the Northeast, Midlands and the South West to develop a pipeline of skilled technicians for the UK’s battery electric vehicle supply chain.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on whether an external assurance review is taking place in each of the six councils being provided with Exceptional Financial Support for 2026-27.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.
On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU on Scotland's fishing sector.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The agreement to establish a common SPS Zone will bring a number of benefits for the Scottish seafood sector, with 65% of all UK seafood by value exported to the EU.
The removal of the need for Export Health Certificates and border checks, for example, saves both time and money. This could save UK businesses up to £200 per consignment and is vital for fresh and live fish that needs to reach markets quickly.
We are determined that this will be a good deal for the Scottish fishing industry.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress she has made on establishing the future entity for open banking.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government committed has committed to bring forward a statutory instrument this year to support the delivery of a long-term regulatory framework for Open Banking, ensuring continued growth and innovation in the sector.
The Future Entity will be an important part of this framework and act as the standards-setting body for UK open banking. The FCA has commissioned a consultancy to assess proposals from organisations proposing to lead the establishment a body that is capable of becoming the Future Entity. The process will finish in April.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress has been made in the statutory review into the right to time off work for special constables established under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is continuing to progress the review into the right to time off work for public duties. The main evidence-gathering and analysis stages of the review have been completed. I will consider findings of the review, including that of special constables, in the first half of this year and subsequently publish before 18 December 2026. We are grateful to officials from across government for providing evidence in support of this review and we will continue to engage as the review and any subsequent steps progress.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when the Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom will be published.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The updated Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecoms, the management of radio spectrum and postal services will be laid before Parliament in the coming weeks and will be designated 40 days later.