Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on coordinating the work of the Co-operative Development Unit across Government.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My department is working across Government to deliver our manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, following the commitment to establish a Co-operatives Development Unit in the Pride in Place Strategy.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of co-operative models on international development.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is modernising its approach to development, moving from donors to investors, from delivering services to supporting systems, from providing grants to utilising our expertise, and from international interventions to supporting local solutions.
Country-led and community-led partnerships are at the heart of this approach, and we recognise the important contribution that cooperatives make to the prosperity of local communities, such as those in Zambia and Nepal working to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets, with the support of the UK.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation in Harlow constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We must tackle the root causes of homelessness and move away from a crisis response towards preventing homelessness in the first place to reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation.
That’s why our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will build more homes, including for social rent, end Section 21 evictions and reduce poverty.
We’ve already made a record investment in prevention services with more than £1 billion funding for homelessness services in England this year, including £1.3 million for Harlow District Council.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress the Defending Democracy Taskforce has made on protecting democratic institutions.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Taskforce is driving forward a whole of government response to the threats to our democratic institutions.
Recent progress includes developing new legislation to address the abhorrent harassment and intimidation experienced by elected representatives, provision of personal cyber security advice and the roll out of new National Protective Security Authority security guidance to help protect those working in our democracy.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of households affected by the two child limit policy that are (a) two earner couple households and (b) two earner couple households in which both earners are in full time work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
a) This information is available as part of routinely released statistical series: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
b) In April 2025, 3,700 couple households where both parents were earning at least the equivalent of 36.5 hours at the national living wage were affected by the two child limit
Notes for part b
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce inequalities experienced by children in poverty.
Answered by Bridget Phillipson - Minister for Women and Equalities
Tackling child poverty is a moral mission for this Government. Your background should not determine what you can go onto achieve in life
Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy sets out the steps we are taking to reduce child poverty in the short term, as well as putting in place the building blocks we need to change the course we’re on and create long-term change
The Government is investing in the future of our children and introducing a fundamental change by removing the two child limit on Universal Credit. This will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the relocation of the UK Health Security Agency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Government is conscious of the need for a decision on the future site of the UK Health Security Agency’s high-containment facilities, to ensure the nation’s health is protected long-term. The Government is currently deciding which location is best suited, and a site in Harlow is one of the options being considered. This decision will be taken as part of the ongoing Spending Review process, which is due to conclude on 11 June.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Kickstarting economic growth is at the heart of our Plan for Change. Since coming into government, I have worked with UK and Welsh Government colleagues to drive over £1.5 billion in private investment from the likes of Eren Holding and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners into Wales, creating hundreds of jobs and laying the ground for thousands more.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase economic growth through new technologies.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
New technologies will drive growth across our economy.
The Government has committed to taking forward all 50 recommendations from the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
We also launched the Tech Adoption review to ensure that the Industrial Strategy’s high growth sectors are unlocking the full potential of tech.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing online publications to be used to advertise public planning notifications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise planning applications through various means, including site notices, advertisements in local newspapers, and publishing information on their website. We are exploring ways to enhance community engagement in the planning system, including by leveraging digital platforms.