Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of trends in the level of regional income disparities for people applying for UK family visas.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The MIR was raised in April 2024 from £18,600 to £29,000. This was the first time it had been increased since its introduction.

To help ensure we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any further change, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) was commissioned to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules.

Conducting a full review of the financial requirements across the family routes will ensure we have a clear and consistent system. The MAC published their independent review of the financial requirements across the family routes and their report is now under review.

We will consider the recommendations made by the MAC and the Home Secretary will respond to the review in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of permitting low-impact rooftop solar installations in conservation areas on levels of energy costs for homeowners.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

To facilitate the take up of renewable energy, nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of solar equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings, including in conservation areas, without the need to submit a planning application.

There are no plans to undertake such assessments. We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding permitted development rights for rooftop solar installations in conservation areas.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

To facilitate the take up of renewable energy, nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of solar equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings, including in conservation areas, without the need to submit a planning application.

There are no plans to undertake such assessments. We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many employees were deployed in utility sectors to respond to red warnings issued as a result of Storm Goretti.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Electricity Network Operator, National Grid Electricity Distribution, deployed 900 engineers and field staff each day, from Friday 9th to Tuesday 13th January, when supplies were fully restored in the impacted regions.

We are unable to confirm how many employees were deployed in other utility sectors as the department does not hold this information and is held by relevant Government Departments.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to apply the findings of the 2025 Green Book Review to help ensure that transport schemes in rural areas like Cornwall receive adequate funding.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government is changing the Green Book and how it is used to make sure that every region is given a fair hearing when it comes to investment.

That is why a shorter, more streamlined version of the Green Book will be published soon.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the fiscal impacts of providing targeted Bellwin Scheme relief to Cornwall Council, in the context of the costs incurred by the Council following Storm Goretti.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I have great sympathy for all those affected by the impacts of Storm Goretti and I would like to thank Cornwall Council for the actions it took to protect its community.

Cornwall Council has not formally registered for Bellwin assistance in respect of the costs it incurred following Storm Goretti but I would be happy to consider an application.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Green Book cost benefit analysis accounts for (a) economic and (b) connectivity issues when assessing transport infrastructure proposals in rural areas like Cornwall.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) provides methods and advice for assessing the impacts of schemes on economic activity and connectivity. This is mainly from direct benefits to travel users from reductions in travel time, and service improvements such as increasing frequency and quality. TAG can also assess impacts for wider economic, social and environmental impacts. For example, better connectivity can lead to productivity gains to businesses taking advantage of access to new markets and opportunities, or better access to jobs for people. These methods are equally applicable to urban and non-urban areas.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Green Book appraisal framework for reflecting the value of transport infrastructure funding in rural areas like Cornwall.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) is a robust framework for assessing the cost and benefits of different transport schemes, across different parts of the UK. TAG builds on the foundations set by HM Treasury’s Green Book with specific guidance for transport schemes, but it does not deviate from the key principles set by the Green Book. The Department plans to update TAG in response to HM Treasury’s Green Book Review published last July, including supporting the development of place-based business cases.

The Department is developing an Appraisal, Modelling and Evaluation Strategy to identify updates to TAG to prioritise improvements to appraisal over the next five years, so investment decisions prioritise people and places are underpinned by high quality and accessible analysis. We listened to feedback from our extensive stakeholder engagement programme as part of this, and an emerging action is to consider developing the appraisal guidance for non-urban areas – including rural areas like Cornwall.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the i) effectiveness and ii) adequacy of the consistency of voluntary community benefits guidance for onshore wind developments.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

England and Scotland have established voluntary community benefits guidance for onshore wind, setting out best practice approaches with expectations that developers provide £5,000 per megawatt of capacity yearly over the project’s lifetime.

The quality and value of community benefits have increased over time in Scotland, with large scale projects commonly offering this figure or more. There is limited evidence in England given the de facto ban, however this will be monitored as deployment increases.

Government has sought views on the potential introduction of mandatory community benefits for low carbon energy infrastructure through our working paper, published May 2025.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impacts of making community benefit payments for onshore wind developments in England a statutory requirement.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The ‘Community benefits and shared ownership for low carbon energy infrastructure: working paper’ (published in May 2025) sought views on the level of contributions, calculation methods and the scope of technologies to help assess these impacts to ensure that any scheme delivers benefits that outweigh potential costs. We will publish a Government response shortly. Additionally, we note that community benefits provision is already well-established in the onshore wind sector on a voluntary basis, meaning many developers factor this into their existing project practices.

Any decision on mandating community benefits will be informed by stakeholder feedback and follow an impact assessment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 are kept under review and updated through primary legislation. We are currently seeking to make updates through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including in part II of the act, which makes provision for the employment of children in England and Wales.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to assess the compatibility of existing bilateral investment treaties containing Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions with the UK’s (a) net zero commitments and (b) climate policy objectives.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK draws on the full range of investment commitments and international best practice in our international investment agreements to promote growth, deliver our clean energy goals, and continue to uphold the UK’s right to regulate.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the potential economic impacts on (i) Cornwall, and (ii) the wider UK economy, arising from capacity constraints in the commercial laundry sector during peak seasonal demand in areas with high levels of tourism.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government Legal Department’s position statement, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the steps required to implement pension buy back for pre-2000 retained firefighter claimants.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.

My department does not issue operational instructions to administrators. However, we continue to work closely with the Government Actuary’s Department and the Local Government Association to provide the support and guidance scheme managers need to implement the remedy for retained firefighters correctly. We are aware of delays in some areas and are engaging with partners to help fire and rescue authorities resolve these as swiftly as possible.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects pension administrators to be given instructions to implement buy back for pre-2000 retained firefighter claimants.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.

My department does not issue operational instructions to administrators. However, we continue to work closely with the Government Actuary’s Department and the Local Government Association to provide the support and guidance scheme managers need to implement the remedy for retained firefighters correctly. We are aware of delays in some areas and are engaging with partners to help fire and rescue authorities resolve these as swiftly as possible.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the role of commercial laundries in the resilience of the hospitality supply chain, including the extent to which hotels and the wider hospitality sector depend on them for the supply of linen.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.

DCMS has not made a formal assessment of the role of commercial laundries in the resilience of the hospitality supply chain. However, officials maintain regular engagement with a wide range of business stakeholders and trade associations to monitor the health of the hospitality supply chain and to understand the interdependencies between service providers and the wider economy.

The Government remains committed to ensuring a resilient business environment and continues to keep the challenges facing these interconnected sectors under review.

Girlguiding Bristol and South Gloucestershire

1st Ram Hill Scout Group

New US sanctions on Cuba

Kendal Farmers Market

Review of the student loan system

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank

Radiotherapy in the National Cancer Plan

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

Leasehold reform (No. 2)

Residential estate management companies

Leasehold reform

Iran protests

Lessons in storm resilience

Role of the House of Lords in scrutinising legislation

World Cancer Day

90th anniversary of the Spitfire

Public toilet provision

St David’s Day (Dydd Gwyl Dewi)

Social media for under 16s

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Found: Q48 Ben Maguire: Thank you, Home Secretary, for coming in today.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Karen Bradley (Chair); Lewis Atkinson; Ben Maguire; Robbie Moore

Submit Evidence (by 20 Mar 2026)

The impacts of serious and organised crime (SOC) in local communities can make residents feel unsafe and affect confidence in policing.