Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support (a) LGBTQ+ clergy and (b) people considering entering ministry.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to support efforts to create a Special Rapporteur for Women and Girls Living Under Occupation at the United Nations.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In our discussions with the United Nations and other international bodies, the UK continues to push for greater priority to be given to the risks facing women and girls in conflict, as set out in the Foreign Secretary's speech on 24 November, available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/twenty-five-years-of-women-peace-and-security.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with Church of England academies with admission processes that exclude potential pupils of another faith or none.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
In a voluntary aided (VA) school or former VA school that has converted to become an academy, school admissions are the responsibility of the governing body or trust directors. Church of England schools, as Church Schools, have to consult with the Diocesan Board of Education as they set their admissions policy and oversubscription criteria. In doing so they will be mindful of the need to be true to their foundation principles and respond to parental preference, whilst meeting their desire to serve the community for which the school was established.
The Church of England Vision for Education sets out our aspiration to be ‘deeply Christian, serving the common good’, and schools, in consultation with their dioceses, will consider how best to achieve this at a local level.
Schools cannot and do not exclude pupils on the basis of faith, but when a school is oversubscribed, they apply oversubscription criteria which have to be fair, clear and objective. It is right for such policies to be set locally (following regular consultation) because each local context varies enormously. For example, a school which is the only school serving a particular community is likely to take a different approach to admissions compared to a context where there are several schools available and where parental demand for the ethos and type of education offered by a Church of England school is more pronounced.
The National Church Institutions can only comment on best practice, I would suggest that if the Hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre has a specific school in mind, the local diocese education team would be best placed to discuss the matter with her. The details of Blackburn Diocese’s Education team can be found here: https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/schools/
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to rebuild trust with survivors of abuse within the Church of England.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England recognises that trust among victims and survivors varies greatly, as each survivor is on a different journey. We engage with a high number of people with lived experience, and we are committed to learning with those with lived experience and rebuilding trust, relationships, and steps to healing and recovery.
Some survivors are rebuilding trust through support services such as the Interim Support Service, and diocesan support provision, while others actively shape safeguarding improvements by co-developing policies and practices. We recognise that for many survivors developing trust is hard to do, and we acknowledge that reality and seek a victim-led approach.
In recent years the Church has created multiple opportunities for survivors to speak out and influence change, through survivor participation opportunities, feedback forms, questionnaires, and involvement in interview panels, project boards, and audits, including the National Safeguarding Team audit last summer.
We regularly update the survivor participation webpage and send a monthly newsletter to maintain open communication and transparency.
Last year, we co-developed a National Survivor Participation Framework with victims and survivors, which now guides engagement across the Church, and we achieved a milestone of having the Redress Scheme – also co-designed with survivors at the heart of it- to be approved by the General Synod.
Looking ahead, we plan to activate a framework tailored to listening to children and young people, create a national system to capture the impact of survivor engagement, and embed the Framework across dioceses and cathedrals. Building trust is a long-term commitment, and we continue to work with victims and survivors, and external agencies, to build on the work we have started.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether registered social workers will be eligible for the 5 year pathway to settlement for skilled frontline public service workers.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In May 2025, the Immigration White Paper set out an increase in the baseline qualification period for settlement from five years to ten, which was collectively agreed across government.
A Fairer Pathway to Settlement sets out the Government’s proposed model for earned settlement and accompanies the current public consultation on settlement reform, which is open until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those working in vital public services, particularly where earnings are based on national pay scales and may not meet the proposed threshold for an income-based reduction in the qualifying period. This might include, for example, medical and teaching professionals working in public services. However, it is envisaged that the above reduction in the qualifying period for public service roles would apply only to those working in skilled occupations (at RQF Level 6 or above).
Full details on earned settlement will be finalised following the conclusion of the public consultation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her department holds on the number of road traffic collisions involving both electric vehicles and pedestrians.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The number of road traffic collisions involving both battery electric vehicles and pedestrians in Great Britain, for the last 5 years is shown in the table below:
Year | Collisions |
2020 | 59 |
2021 | 139 |
2022 | 292 |
2023 | 448 |
2024 | 591 |
Data and statistics on personal injury road collisions and casualties in Great Britain are based on data reported to the Department by police forces via the STATS19 data collection system. Data on vehicle propulsion are sourced from DVLA vehicle registration figures.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what analysis his department has undertaken about the potential effects of fracking on house prices and home insurance costs across the North of England and the United Kingdom.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There has been no hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction (“fracking”) since the effective moratorium was put in place in England in 2019. Similar restrictions are in place across other parts of the UK. Prior to the moratorium, only three wells have been hydraulically fractured for shale gas. The Department has not undertaken any analysis of the impact of fracking operations on house prices and home insurance costs. The Government has stated its intention to ban fracking for good.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 21 July 2025 and re-sent on 7 October 2025 from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre and nine other hon. Members on Sodium Valproate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 21 July 2025 and responded on 20 November 2025.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Committee has made an assessment of the (a) public's perception of the independence of the Commission and (b) potential impact of the Electoral Commission strategy and policy statement, published on 29 February 2024, on the public's perception of the Commission's independence.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Commission publishes annual research on public attitudes to elections and democracy. In the latest study, published in April 2025, 52% of respondents said they trust the Commission to be an independent regulator. Historical data is available on the Commission's website.
The Commission strives to foster public trust in its independence and ensure it is clear for voters and campaigners to see. It remains opposed to the principle of a strategy and policy statement, by which a government can guide its work, because it could be used in ways that might damage political party or public trust.
In February 2025, the Commission reported to the Speaker's Committee on how it had had regard to the Strategy and Policy Statement, designated by the then-UK Government in Febrary 2024. The Commission balanced its duties and responsibilities as they related to the statement with the regard it gives to other factors, particularly the will, priorities and legislative agendas of the UK's three parliaments, and its statutory duties.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the recommendations in his Department's policy paper entitled Licensing policy sprint: joint industry and HM government taskforce report, published on 31 July 2025, on the (a) ill health to prevention workstream of the Health Mission Board and (b) specific priority of tackling alcohol harm within the Health Mission Board.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the Licensing Taskforce, which was jointly let by the Department for Business and Trade and industry, the Government is considering which recommendations to take forward. As part of this, the Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate, and enabling licensing system, including public health considerations. This work is being led by the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office with support from other departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system
Public health considerations will be kept under review. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation, and parliamentary scrutiny.
We will continue to work across Government to consider what other measures might be needed to reduce the negative impact that excessive alcohol consumption is having on health, crime, and the economy.