Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the accessibility and affordability of Directory Enquiry Services for older and digitally excluded customers; and if she will discuss with Ofcom whether the current price cap of £3.65 for 90 seconds remains appropriate for elderly and digitally excluded customers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
In November 2018, Ofcom, as the independent regulator for telecoms, introduced a cap of £3.65 per 90 seconds for Directory Enquiry service charges, which has not increased with inflation. Prior to the cap, a two-minute call to the most-well-known provider cost £13.47, with some providers charging more than £20. The cap was introduced to protect consumer from bill shock and to mitigate the affordability issues identified at the time.
Under Ofcom rules, telecoms providers must ensure that people who are unable to easily use an online or printed directory due to disability can access free directory enquiries, with through-connection of the call on request.
It is for Ofcom as the independent regulator to determine the appropriate level of the price cap.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government supports the candidacy of Lana Nusseibeh for the role of United Nations Secretary General.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will not comment publicly on individual candidates or its position on them.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to section 4 of the MoJ Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026, for what reason 67% of Personal Independence Payment claims and mandatory reconsiderations that are refused by his Department later go on to be awarded at tribunal.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Tribunal Statistics Quarterly data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals is for all decisions that receive an outcome following a tribunal hearing. Not everyone who appeals their PIP decision is refused benefit - those numbers also include people who dispute the level of the award or its duration.
The main recorded reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence; or cogent oral evidence given by the appellant.
On PIP, 3.7 million initial decisions following an assessment were made between April 2021 and March 2026 - of which approximately 100,000 (3% of cases) decisions were changed by a tribunal following an appeal.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the Government response to the Green Paper entitled Future of the Post Office, published on 7 July 2026, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Post Office network geographical access criteria to take account of (a) journey times by public transport and (b) the age profile of the local population.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Green Paper Post Office consultation represented a once-in-a-decade opportunity to consider the Post Office's policy framework and future. The consultation covered a variety of network topics, including whether to retain the existing geographical Access Criteria, which are based on distance to the nearest Post Office branch. The majority of respondents supported keeping the current Criteria and the Government therefore confirmed that all six would remain in place. The Criteria provide clear, consistent safeguards for nationwide access. The Government also confirmed that the Post Office will continue to report annually on accessibility for specific user groups, including elderly people.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on (a) consumers, and (b) tackling breaches of consumer law at (i) national (ii) regional and (iii) cross-boundary levels.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 consolidated core consumer rights for goods, services and digital content into one framework, giving consumers clear remedies when things go wrong. It also consolidated enforcers’ investigatory powers and confirmed that Trading Standards can act across local authority boundaries.
No specific assessment has been made of its impact on consumers and tackling breaches of consumer law at a national, regional or cross boundary level.
However, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade funds National Trading Standards to tackle serious regional breaches, and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gave the Competition and Markets Authority direct powers to enforce consumer law nationally. We are also reviewing Trading Standards duties and the wider consumer protection landscape so enforcement is effective at every level.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the anticipated timeframe for improving the adequacy of proxy access within the NHS app, to allow carers and relatives to assist in the management of care recipient's healthcare, including amending repeat prescriptions, irrespective of their registered GP practice.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is developing the National Proxy Service to make proxy access safer, simpler and more consistent, including enabling proxy relationships to work across different GP practices. We expect this function to be available from the end of the 2027/28 financial year.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of unused prescription medication, including the cost of disposal; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waste of prescription medicine, including through (a) regular medicine reviews for those with several repeat prescriptions, and (b) improving proxy access within the NHS app to enable carers and relatives to assist in the management of repeat prescriptions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 20 January to Question 104366.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what domestic and international barriers to the phase out of fossil fuel incentives and subsidies in the maritime sector her Department has identified through the UK’s participation in the Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies; and what steps she is taking and plans to take to address those barriers.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s participation in the Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives, including Subsidies includes work to identify international barriers to fossil fuel subsidy reform. The UK is working with Coalition partners to identify and address these barriers, including through relevant international fora.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which fossil fuel incentives, subsidies, tax reliefs and any other support measures identified in her Department’s publication entitled Fossil fuel incentives and subsidies inventory, published on 23 April 2026, are under consideration for (a) reform, (b) phase out, and (c) withdrawal; and what timetable has been established for such changes.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is developing its national phase-out strategy, informed by engagement across government and international partners. The strategy will set out the UK's approach to meeting its commitments on fossil fuel subsidy reform and be published in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what definition of a (a) fossil fuel incentive and (b) fossil fuel subsidy her Department applies for the purposes of implementing the UK’s commitments under the Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK uses the International Energy Agency’s price-gap approach to define fossil fuel subsidies. Under this approach, a fossil fuel subsidy is a government measure or programme that reduces the effective cost of fossil fuels to consumers below world market prices, including transport, refining and distribution costs, or reduces the costs or increases the revenues of fossil-fuel producing companies.
The UK’s inventory goes beyond this definition in the interests of transparency, including relevant tax reliefs and other wider support measures that may incentivise the production or consumption of fossil fuels.