Ellie Chowns

The Government welcomes steps some retailers are taking to introduce sensory friendly hours for customers who may find busy or loud shopping environments overwhelming.

In educational settings, guidance on ambient noise levels may be found in Building Bulletin 93 and in DfE standards and guidance documentation found at: School and Further Education College Design and Construction on GOV.UK.

An update will be provided in due course.

ISC reports, including the Russia report, contain highly classified material which would damage the operational capabilities of UK intelligence agencies if published unredacted. All ISC reports go through a number of administrative stages and processes before publication. This includes security checks to make sure there is nothing in the report that would be prejudicial to the continued discharge of the functions of the security and intelligence services. Redactions to the Russia report were made on grounds of national security and still apply.

We are committed to ensuring we have robust systems in place to defend the UK from all forms of malign state interference in UK democratic processes.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce brings together Ministers from across Government, along with representatives from law enforcement and the intelligence community, to coordinate a programme of work that aims to protect UK political parties, elected officials and core electoral infrastructure.

As part of this, the Cabinet Office, together with MHCLG, runs the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit, which leads on coordinating cross-government preparedness on election security, including running an extensive exercising programme.

A range of guidance is available to civil servants when preparing legislation, including on section 19 of the Environment Act 2021.

Ahead of the duty coming into force on 1 November 2023, guidance was issued to civil servants working on legislation. In January 2024, the Guide to Preparing Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) to Statutory Instruments was published and included information on this duty. The next update to The Guide to Making Legislation, which will be published shortly, will include guidance on the policy statement.

Each Government department is responsible for its own ministerial submission templates and guidance. Departments have been advised to amend their submission templates to reflect the EPPS duty through the Defra-led Environmental Principles Working Group.

Ministers may seek collective agreement from the Cabinet or its committees through correspondence, or the ‘write round process’. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, including through correspondence, is not normally shared publicly.

In May 2024, the Department for Business & Trade published revised guidance, Producing post-implementation reviews: principles of best practice, which provides advice on the consideration of environmental impacts and specifies that departments should have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement when completing a post-implementation review of legislation.

It is mandatory for government departments to make proportionate use of the Green Book, and its supplementary business case guidance, when they develop spending proposals. Where the EPPS duty applies, it is relevant for appraisals that are conducted in line with the Green Book. This is made clear on the Green Book webpage and will be reflected in the Green Book when the document is next updated.

Following the closure of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products, the CMA does not currently have any open investigations into misleading environmental claims.

The CMA remains interested in the issue and may take further enforcement action where this is warranted and appropriate, based on intelligence and its published prioritisation criteria.

In January 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced a compliance review into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector – these include essential everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products. Over the period following that announcement, the CMA carried out an initial review of hundreds of products.

Following its compliance review into environmental claims, in December 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) opened an investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products.

In November 2024 the CMA announced its decision to close the investigation. In making this decision, the CMA took into account a range of factors, including changes Unilever had made to claims on some of its products and the wider impact of the CMA’s programme of work tackling misleading green claims.

The Department for Business and Trade published the UK's Strategic Approach for the UK-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement ahead of launching negotiations. The Strategic Approach was based on public consultation with stakeholders and has informed the approach to negotiations since launch.

Economic growth is the priority of this government and drives our trade agenda. The objectives of our Free Trade Agreement programme support delivery of this government's growth priorities.

The government will continue to update parliament as negotiations progress and will publish further information on the GCC Free Trade Agreement following the conclusion of negotiations.

The UK is a global leader on climate action, and we have been discussing a range of environment and climate issues with GCC partners under the trade agreement negotiations.

The UK - GCC Strategic Approach published on 22^nd June 2022 on GOV.UK contains a chapter that covers the potential environmental impacts of the deal.

Embracing the opportunities that AI can provide to drive growth and productivity in the economy is a government objective. Building the low carbon economy of the future will lead to significant increases in electricity demand across many sectors. These projected increases were a key part of the analysis that underpinned the department’s Clean Power Action Plan, consistent with our net zero targets. This set out how, by unlocking new low carbon electricity generation, improving access to the electricity grid and efficient use and operation of the energy system - which can be supported by new technologies such as AI - we will achieve Clean Power by 2030 and maintain secure, resilient energy supplies.

The Government believes that heat networks are an essential part of a decarbonised future energy system. In high density urban areas, they are often the lowest cost, low carbon heating option, and can use a range of low carbon energy sources such as waste heat from industry. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and strengthens the Uk’s energy resilience.

The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050. We are implementing heat network zoning and funding low carbon heat networks to get to this scale.

Planning decisions in Brazil are a matter for the Brazilian government.

Brazil has commitment to achieve zero deforestation by 2030 and we welcome the focus on forests set out by the incoming COP30 President in his letter of 10 March. We will continue to work closely with the COP President and others to drive forward efforts to halt and reverse deforestation globally by 2030, and to support their preparations for the important COP30 conference in Belem.

We have noted the changes bp is making to its strategy. Such decisions are a commercial matter for the company.

The Government is unable to assess the potential future impact of the new strategy on the UK as it relates to the company’s global business rather than being focused on activities in this country. However we welcome the significant investment bp is continuing to plan to make in low carbon projects in the UK, including in the East Coast Cluster.

Existing regulation of emissions from bp’s activities in the UK remain unchanged.

The Department has made no such assessment.

The Gambling Commission is continuing its investigation into potential criminal offences of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election. Responsibility for specific timings related to this investigation are a matter for the Gambling Commission and it would be inappropriate to comment whilst the matter is ongoing.

The Gambling Commission is continuing its investigation into potential criminal offences of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election. It would be inappropriate to comment whilst this investigation is ongoing.

The government is committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the impact it has on children, young people and families. We are very pleased that the overall funding for the HAF programme in 2025/26 is again more than £200 million, with delivery across England taking place at Easter, summer and Christmas.

Funding beyond March 2026 is subject to the multi-year Spending Review and any decisions will be made as part of the Review taking place later this year.

In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. More details on the consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.

Comparing the previous threshold of £28,470 under Plan 2 with the new threshold of £25,000 under Plan 5, the monthly repayments under the new repayment plan would result in an individual who was previously earning £28,470 and not repaying their loan, to now repaying approximately £26 per month.

From 1 April 2025, the National Minimum Wage has increased to £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. If working a standard 37.5 hours per week, a minimum wage worker will earn £23,809.50, which is below the annual threshold for both Plans 2 and 5. This calculation is based on the average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers.

The department is taking a number of steps to ensure that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting the people who care for them.

From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

In addition, the department is providing over £3 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.

Some children in kinship care will be able to access the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.

Children in kinship care will also benefit from this government’s commitment to improving mental health support for all children and young people. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

The steps the government is taking to improve support for kinship carers will also improve the support children living in kinship care receive. In October, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. This pilot will test whether paying an allowance will help support more children to live and thrive with a kinship carer.

In addition, the government has provided over 140 peer support groups and a package of training and support for all kinship carers to access across England. The increased financial support, emotional support and training kinship carers receive should help them in their role as carers and enhance the support they give the children in their care.

This government recognises the importance of providing all children and young people with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to understand and develop a connection to the natural world, access green careers, and thrive in life and work in a world with a changing climate.

The government is therefore pleased to confirm that we will be moving ahead with a new GCSE in natural history. The GCSE will enable more young people to benefit from the opportunity to learn about the natural world in more depth at key stage 4. It will equip them to understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.

The content of the new natural history GCSE will need to build on the curriculum content that pupils learn earlier in their schooling related to the natural world in subjects like science, geography and citizenship. We therefore plan to finalise and consult on proposed subject content for the new GCSE after the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review has concluded. The Review Group is expecting to publish its final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

I refer the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

The Government supports species reintroductions including keystone species, where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment.

All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conversations Translocations. The Code states that, while it is specific to England, cross-border co-operation and engagement with relevant authorities and stakeholders is essential where releases occur close to England’s neighbours or involve a reintroduction of a species to Great Britain. We would therefore expect any reintroduction project to carry out cross-border coordination as part of the planning phase of their reintroduction project.

The Government supports species reintroductions, where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. Taking each species in turn:

A) We are not aware of any active proposals for the reintroduction of elk.

B) The conservation and recovery of water voles has been supported by a range of projects. The Environment Agency has carried out 279 projects over the last three years, including habitat works, reintroduction or translocation, research and monitoring. Forestry England has also reintroduced water voles to Kielder forest with Northumberland Wildlife Trust and have further plans to reintroduce water voles into Wild Ennerdale in the Lake District. In addition, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme has invested in three reintroduction projects of captive bred water voles.

C) Defra has no current plans to support restocking of eels.

D) Forestry England works closely with both active and potential pine marten reintroduction projects across the country and are also partners on the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, and the South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project, both of which released animals last autumn.

We are investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. This funding is available to all farmers, includes this in river catchments.

We have more farmers than ever in nature friendly farming schemes and are reforming SFI to target funds fairly and effectively towards food, farming and nature priorities. We will announce further details later this year.

The UK poultry sector is highly resilient and adaptable and continues to supply healthy and affordable products in spite of the many challenges it has faced in recent years.

Compensation is paid by Defra for animals culled the by HM Government for disease control purposes, as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. In addition to the financial support offered to producers directly affected by outbreaks through compensation, producers can insure privately for losses not covered by Defra’s compensation scheme, this may include consequential losses including business interruption caused by control measures.

Following difficult avian influenza seasons in 2021/22 and 2022/23, poultry and egg producers made the department aware of the challenges that some faced in both obtaining suitable insurance products and the increased cost of such insurance. However, we understand that renewal rates have remained high for producers with existing policies, including those companies operating intensive poultry units.

Defra continues to monitor the situation and to remind producers that they are responsible for the on-farm management of their flocks. Having strong biosecurity measures in place, and maintaining them year-round, significantly reduces the risk of infection on site.

I refer the Member for North Herefordshire to the Minister’s written statement of 6 May 2025.