Cat Eccles

We want operators to use existing underground ducts and share infrastructure, wherever possible. There are requirements on operators to share apparatus and to use underground lines where practicable; and there are regulations in place to support this.

The Government also published the Street Works Toolkit, which contains practical guidance for telecoms companies and highway authorities who coordinate street works in their area on how to keep disruption to a minimum.

I recently met with broadband operators to ask them to share infrastructure wherever possible, and I have been clear I am prepared to regulate if providers do not take action.

A backlog in the provision of cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) to members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme has been caused by two issues. Initially, an embargo was placed on the provision of CETVs by the public service pension schemes from March 2023 to July 2023. This was a result of the need for new factors to be calculated following a change to the Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience (SCAPE) discount rate. Not all of those cases could be cleared by the scheme administrator before the Transitional Protection (McCloud) legislation took effect on 1 October 2023. For those members affected by Transitional Protection, further cross-scheme guidance was needed by the scheme administrator which created another significant period in which CETV cases could not be processed.

As of 20 November 2024, there are 1,952 CETV cases which have not been processed three months after the member applied.

The majority of these cases do not include scheme flexibilities and the scheme administrator currently estimates that such cases will all be cleared by the end of February 2025. The department is working with the scheme administrator to determine the likely timeframe for cases that involve flexibilities and the small cohort where guidance is being finalised. Consideration is being given to measures to reduce the timescales that members are waiting, including investigating the potential for any further automation of calculations, simplification of the CETV figures provided to the member and maximising the administrative resource available, for example through ongoing overtime.

The Government is working with stakeholders, including the horticulture sector, to monitor the implementation of biodiversity net gain to make sure it is working as intended.

The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its Manifesto. We intend to deliver on this and are currently considering the most effective way to do so.

Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, and boaters using navigable waterways are required to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The country’s largest navigation authority owning the majority of the canal network, the Canal and River Trust, has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters. Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible for ensuring they have access to education; the Trust provides reasonable adjustments for anyone who qualifies under the Equalities & Human Rights Act.

We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.

We have launched the 10-Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the NHS, and ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to build the transformed health service we will deliver over the next decade.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that the planning system should take full account of all climate impacts, including water scarcity and flood risk.

Planning should help to shape places in a way that minimises vulnerability and improves resilience to the effects of climate change though suitable adaptation measures, including through incorporating green infrastructure and sustainable drainage systems.

The government provides design guidance through the National Design Guide (NDG) and National Model Design Code (NDMC) which support the National Planning Policy Framework. The department intends to update this guidance in Spring 2025.

Natural England have also published The Green Infrastructure Framework and accompanying Design Guide in February 2023. This can be used to support local planning authorities and developers to design and create more nature-rich urban greenspaces.

The government recognises that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Renters’ Rights Bill empowers private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, with all rent increases taking place via an existing statutory process.

Tenants who receive a rent increase that they feel is not representative of the market value will be able to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. This will prevent unscrupulous landlords using rent increases as a backdoor means of eviction, while ensuring rents can be increased to reflect market rates.

The Bill also prohibits rental bidding practices and landlords demanding large amounts of rent in advance.

The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 30393 on 24 February 2025 for more detail on the steps we have already taken to increase social and affordable housebuilding.

We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.