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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of enclosing motorway systems in noise barriers on the suitability of land for housebuilding.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department has no current plans to make such an assessment.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by preventing new and existing development from contributing to, being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of noise pollution.

Planning policies and decisions should avoid noise giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and the quality of life.

It is up to individual local planning authorities to determine what contributions should be sought to assist in mitigating the impact of unacceptable development to make it acceptable in planning terms.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring developers to ensure that the area of vegetation in developments is at least equal to the area of the site of (a) greenfield, (b) brownfield and (c) open space deficiency sites.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space and should make sufficient provision for and maintain and enhance networks of green infrastructure, which includes areas of vegetation.

Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework helps to define what good green infrastructure ‘looks like’ for local planners, developers, and communities. The Green Infrastructure Framework includes a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity and quality.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF, including a new requirement for local plans to set out standards for green infrastructure, drawing upon Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Standards. These include a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity, and quality. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of the target for additional renewable energy will be met by the erection of 1800 hectares of solar panels on vertical surfaces.

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

We are not aware of any project in development that plans to install large numbers of solar panels on vertical surfaces. However, we are looking to increase deployment of all types of solar, including through applications such as plug-in solar which can be installed on the walls of buildings.

Plug-in solar can provide opportunities for households to adopt solar more cheaply. Currently, UK regulations do not allow plug-in solar to be used in the UK, but the government has commenced a safety study with the aim of unlocking opportunities for its deployment over the next few years.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that schools have an active travel plan to increase the number of children who walk or cycle to school (including those who walk the last half-mile).

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to promote sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. Sustainable travel in this context is that which improves the physical wellbeing of users, the environmental wellbeing of the area, or both.

On 12 December, Active Travel England announced £626 million of funding for local authorities from 2026/27 to 2029/30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. This will enable more children to walk and cycle to school. It is in addition to almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 announced in February. This includes £30 million to provide Bikeability cycle training to children and £8.5 million for Cycling UK, Living Streets and Modeshift to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling initiatives in schools and communities. The Modeshift STARS Education scheme supports schools and local authorities to develop and monitor school travel plans.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and leaders of local authorities, to increase tram services in towns and cities.

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

Government recognises the valuable role that tramways and mass transit networks can play as part of a truly integrated transport system, in the right circumstances, in our cities.

Responsibility for mass transit systems (including tramways) is devolved in England, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its own system.

The Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of strategic projects which include mass transit proposals, such as those being explored by the Cambridge Growth Company. This partnership helps ensure transport and housing priorities are considered together to support sustainable development.

Government has confirmed £15.6 billion in funding through Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for our largest city regions to deliver their local transport priorities, which may include mass transit.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide updated guidance to police forces on the enforcement of speed limits, in the context of the number of deaths caused by drivers exceeding the speed limit.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Excess speed remains a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads. Anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanction.

Current National Police Chiefs’ Council National Guidance on Speeding Enforcement advocates proportionality in applying the law and discretion to take account of the individual circumstances of each speeding offence and take the action they consider appropriate.

Enforcement measures range from informal advice, the offer of a speed awareness course or fixed penalty, and where speeding results in a fatality to court prosecution.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing transitional arrangements for current applicants when changing the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Found: Secretary of State for Work & Pensions Caxton House Tothill Street London, SW1H 9AJ Debbie Abrahams

Found: for Work and Pensions Caxton House Tothill Street London, SW1H 9NA 3 June 2025 Debbie Abrahams

Found: Best wishes Debbie Abrahams MP Chair, Work and Pensions Committee

Submit Evidence (by 12 Feb 2026)

Nearly one million young people aged 16–24 are not in employment, education or training (NEET). This is a worrying statistic given the harm that being NEET can do to young people’s prospects and wellbeing. To tackle this problem, the Government has recently transferred the skills remit to DWP and announced measures such as the Youth Guarantee and apprenticeship reforms. The Work and Pensions Committee’s inquiry, which seeks to complement the independent Milburn Review into Young People and Work, will explore the causes of economic inactivity and how to help young people into work, education or training, and scrutinise the Government’s plans.

Members of the Education and Work and Pensions Select Committees have decided to undertake an inquiry that will consider how the Government can ensure it will deliver a successful Child Poverty Strategy.