Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of introducing mandatory minimum cyber resilience standards for strategically important firms and supply chains.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 provides the UK’s only cross-sector cyber legislation, focused on protecting the security and resilience of essential services. The regulations impose security duties on Operators of Essential Services (OES) and relevant digital service providers (RDSPs) to take "appropriate and proportionate technical and organisational measures" to manage risk and prevent and minimise the impact of cyber incidents.

The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, introduced in November 2025, updates these regulations to ensure it is fit for today, and the future. It will cover a wider range of critically important entities, including data centres and large load controllers and relevant managed service providers (RMSPs). The Bill will also allow, through secondary legislation, for security and resilience requirements to be set for regulated entities. Our proposals for this legislation will be linked to existing, high level security duties and be consistent with the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework.

Regulators will also have the power under the Bill to designate certain suppliers as “critical” if a compromise or outage in their systems can cause a disruption to their services that would have serious, cascading impacts for our society and economy. Proportionate cyber security and resilience duties and requirements to applying to those designated suppliers, with associated requirements will be developed through secondary legislation and guidance. This will ensure that these critical suppliers have the appropriate cyber security and resilience measures in place, helping to protect the UK’s critical infrastructure from disruption.

The Bill sits alongside other regulatory regimes, such as for public telecoms providers and financial services, and a range of other tools to help organisations actively improve their cyber resilience. For example, the government offers the Cyber Essentials certification scheme to prevent the most common cyber attacks. Organisations with Cyber Essentials are 92% less likely to make a claim on their cyber insurance than those without it.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the value for money of recent Government-backed support to companies affected by cyberattacks.

Answered by James Murray - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) works round the clock to counter attacks, support victims and empower organisations to protect themselves from online threats. The NCSC makes its advice and guidance to organisations freely available.

Where businesses do face disruption, and there is a risk of significant economic or social impacts, the government is prepared to act. In 2025, the government agreed to back JLR with a loan guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF). This decisive action helped JLR continue to support 154,000 UK jobs and protected a critical part of our automotive supply chain. JLR employs 34,000 people directly in the UK and supports 120,000 more jobs through its supply chain, many in small and medium-sized enterprises.

The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. As with any government intervention to support businesses in distress, the government sets a high bar and keeps value for money under constant review to ensure taxpayer funds are spent wisely.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that autonomous vehicles use does not adversely affect bus reliability, active travel and access to essential services.

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

The Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme will facilitate the rollout of small-scale commercial pilot deployments.

For an APS permit to be granted, local consent is required from the relevant licensing authority or franchising body. My department has recently published guidance on the consenting process, setting out a range of considerations for applicants and consenting authorities. These include, but are not limited to, the extent to which proposed services align with local transport plans and wider strategic priorities. As a result, issues such as bus reliability, active travel, and access to essential services may appropriately form part of early engagement with the consent authority.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration she has made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential merits of piloting targeted road user charging schemes for autonomous vehicles to manage demand.

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

No such considerations have been made. Early deployments of automated vehicles are likely to be relatively small-scale. Impacts on the transport network will be kept under review as the regulations for automated vehicles are implemented.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of autonomous vehicles on trends in the level of congestion in the next five years.

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

The introduction of the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme will facilitate small-scale pilots of commercial deployments.

For an APS permit to be granted, local consent is required from the relevant licensing authority or franchising body. My department has recently published guidance on the consenting process, setting out a range of potential considerations for applicants and consenting authorities. These include, but are not limited to, the extent to which proposed services align with local transport plans, environmental strategies and wider strategic priorities. As a result, issues such as congestion may appropriately form part of early engagement with the consent authority.

The Government’s consultation on the Automated Passenger Services permitting scheme included questions relevant to congestion impacts. The Government response will be published in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration he has given to the potential merits of introducing a national framework with clear criteria for intervention in major cyber incidents to strengthen economic resilience.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact; they are slowing the UK’s economic growth and damaging our national security. The UK Government has an existing national process to manage the response to major cyber incidents: the national cyber incident categorisation system is published on NCSC.GOV.UK.

The Government, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre, engages with regulators and critical national infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will also support this, by boosting UK cyber defences and improving the cyber security of our essential public and digital services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what cross-government contingency planning is in place for major cyber incidents affecting critical supply chains.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact; they are slowing the UK’s economic growth and damaging our national security. The UK Government has an existing national process to manage the response to major cyber incidents: the national cyber incident categorisation system is published on NCSC.GOV.UK.

The Government, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre, engages with regulators and critical national infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will also support this, by boosting UK cyber defences and improving the cyber security of our essential public and digital services.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of moving gas-fired power stations onto a regulated asset base model.

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

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction, clean energy.

By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on energy bills, whilst retaining sufficient unabated gas capacity for security of supply.

As part of this, officials have considered proposals to move gas-fired power stations onto a regulated asset base model. Whilst this option may have merits in the long-term, it also has some challenges and would take considerable time to develop and implement. No decisions have been taken at this stage.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what consideration he has given to the potential merits of decoupling regulated electricity prices from gas prices.

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

Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements.

The Government is determined to increase the share of renewables on the system so that the electricity price is set by cheaper clean power sources rather than gas. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps push gas off as the price setter.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what consideration he has given to the potential merits of establishing a formal framework for financial intervention to support businesses affected by major cyber incidents, including to protect supply chains, businesses and workers, in the context of the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Cyber security of the UK is a key priority for this government and DSIT and NCSC have been taking significant action to help protect businesses against cyber attacks. This includes providing businesses with the tools, advice and support to protect themselves from cyber threats, including free training for boards and staff. We have also put in place:

• The Cyber Governance Code of Practice, which shows boards and directors how to effectively manage the digital risks to their organisation
• The highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme to prevent common attacks – reducing the likelihood of a cyber insurance claim by 92%. The certification scheme includes automatic cyber liability insurance for any UK organisation who certifies their whole organisation and has less than £20m annual turnover.

In cases of acute and exogenous disruption, including in the context of the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover, requests for support are assessed on a case‑by‑case basis. The support for JLR. The government agreed to back JLR with a loan guarantee through UK Export Finance, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. This loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and protects a critical part of our automotive supply chain.

The Government will continue to prioritise its support and encouragement for cyber resilience across the economy, to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents such as cyber attacks, while retaining the ability to respond flexibly using existing frameworks where this is justified.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure public transport and private hire vehicles service levels are not impacted by fuel price increases.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department for Transport recognises growing concerns around rising fuel and transport costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The Department fully recognises the need to maintain the continuity of public transport services and are actively monitoring any potential impacts.

The Department will continue to work with industry to understand the pressures and the options to mitigate any risks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of road user charging mechanisms for new vehicle technologies, including autonomous vehicles.

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

No assessment of road user charging mechanisms for new vehicle technologies has been made.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to help support the safe deployment of artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles.

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

Safety is central to the implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, with a requirement that the introduction of self-driving vehicles to Great Britain’s roads must seek to contribute to an overall improvement road safety. The regulatory approach is outcome-focussed and technology neutral, ensuring that where AI is used, it contributes to rigorous safety standards.

The UK co-chairs a group at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), looking at AI use-cases in vehicle technology and how any associated risks can be managed or mitigated. This is in addition to mandating international vehicle cyber-security requirements that the UK helped develop.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will set out what support is available to small businesses to strengthen cybersecurity to prevent economic disruption.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Improving the cyber security of our nation's small businesses is critical to the resilience of our wider economy. We recognise many small businesses lack the resources to invest in their cyber security. As such, the government has developed a wide range of free tools, guidance and training to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) implement cyber security measures, including the Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice on protecting their business.

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)-certified Cyber Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance on commercial terms and SMEs are eligible for a free 30- minute consultation. Additionally, the government's Cyber Essentials scheme helps all organisations, including SMEs, implement critical cyber security controls, protecting them from most common cyber attacks and provides them with free insurance. All of this information is available on the NCSC website.

More broadly across government, the Home Office funds a network of Cyber Resilience Centres which provide free resources, guidance and training to SMEs to strengthen their cyber security.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of autonomous vehicle use on journey times for emergency services and buses, and the level of congestion on hospital access routes.

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

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) has regular meetings with the National Police Chiefs Council, Association for Ambulance Chief Executives and the National Fire Chiefs Council alongside frontline officers. This work aims to support the development of processes and protocols to ensure emergency services interacting with automated vehicles are able to perform their duties safely and effectively.

Any impact on local bus or hospital access routes would be a consideration during an application for an Automated Passenger Service (APS) permit and assessed on a case-by-case basis by the local traffic authority.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of marginal electricity pricing on the Consumer Prices Index since July 2024.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions on inflation, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR has not published a specific estimate of the impact of marginal electricity pricing on Consumer Price Index inflation.

The electricity market operates on the principle of marginal cost pricing, where gas-fired generation frequently sets the wholesale price, meaning electricity prices have closely tracked gas prices. This is link is already weakening as more renewable energy comes online. The Government is taking further steps to reduce this link: we will set out plans for legacy low-carbon generators to move onto fixed-price arrangements from 2027, and the Electricity Generator Levy's rate has been increased, and it will be extended beyond its scheduled end date. Further details on these measures will be provided in due course. As reliance on gas falls, electricity prices are expected to be set increasingly by lower-cost generation, including renewables.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the marginal pricing mechanism on the revenues of renewable and nuclear electricity generators.

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

We will bring forward plans later this year to offer legacy low carbon generators the option of fixed price arrangements, with an intention to run an allocation process in 2027. Government will only offer contracts to electricity generators where it represents clear value for money for consumers. Further details will be set out in due course, with plans to consult later this year.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 25% administration reduction target set out in the Regulation Action Plan on the baseline annual compliance costs of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We have established a baseline of the annual administrative burden of regulation on UK businesses, including SMEs. As set out in the technical annex to the policy paper ‘A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth’, we used a pragmatic, top-down approach, building on the previous Administrative Burden Reduction Programme (2005-10), which was based on detailed feedback from businesses, including SMEs, in individual sectors.

Our approach was also informed by DBT’s Business Perceptions Survey, which draws from a large, representative sample of businesses across sectors and sizes to ensure our reforms are targeted effectively.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sector-specific administrative cost baselines on measuring the 25% reduction in business compliance costs targeted under the Regulation Action Plan.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We have established a baseline of the annual administrative burden of regulation on UK businesses, including SMEs. As set out in the technical annex to the policy paper ‘A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth’, we used a pragmatic, top-down approach, building on the previous Administrative Burden Reduction Programme (2005-10), which was based on detailed feedback from businesses, including SMEs, in individual sectors.

Our approach was also informed by DBT’s Business Perceptions Survey, which draws from a large, representative sample of businesses across sectors and sizes to ensure our reforms are targeted effectively.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking through the Regulation Action Plan to align regulatory frameworks with the Modern Industrial Strategy.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Industrial Strategy sets out how targeted regulatory reform will support key sectors to unlock investment and increase productivity. This is reinforced by the Regulation Action Plan which aims to tackle the regulatory burden and complexity; reduce uncertainty and challenge risk aversion to drive growth.

This is supported by targeted regulatory reviews in growth-driving sectors. For example, DBT is working with Defra and the Regulatory Innovation Office on a regulatory review of agri-tech as a frontier industry, to help SMEs navigate the regulatory landscape and support farmer adoption. This approach ensures regulation supports innovation and investment while maintaining essential protections.

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 identify alternative financing models for flexible gas generation that ensure price stability for households and businesses as the grid decarbonises.

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

It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Contracts for Difference scheme in decoupling wholesale electricity prices from gas price volatility for household consumers.

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

It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impacts of different market models on decoupling wholesale electricity prices from gas price volatility.

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

It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

England men's football team

Pyjamas for PanCan 2026 and pancreatic cancer awareness

Falkland Islands

International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026

Found: Current membership Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour; Gower) (Chair) Chris Bloore (Labour; Redditch) Sorcha Eastwood

Found: (Chair) Dan Aldridge (Labour; Weston-super-Mare) Antonia Bance (Labour; Tipton and Wednesbury) Chris Bloore

Found: (Chair) Dan Aldridge (Labour; Weston-super-Mare) Antonia Bance (Labour; Tipton and Wednesbury) Chris Bloore

Found: The following Members made oral representations: Bayo Alaba: Cultural heritage of market towns Chris Bloore

Found: Weston-super-Mare) (added 27 Oct 2025) Antonia Bance (Labour, Tipton and Wednesbury) (added 5 Mar 2025) Chris Bloore

Found: 78.9%) Antonia Bance (Labour, Tipton and Wednesbury) (added 21 Oct 2024) 41 of 48 (85.4%) Chris Bloore

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Chris Bloore; Sorcha Eastwood; Claire Hanna

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Chris Bloore; Sorcha Eastwood; Claire Hanna

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John

Reconciliation remains central to the vision of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, whose multi‑party negotiators affirmed that lasting peace in Northern Ireland depended not only on strong political structures but on honouring those who suffered “the tragedies of the past” by “dedicating ourselves to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust, and to the protection and vindication of the human rights of all. (The Belfast Agreement - GOV.UK, p.1)