Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, when she plans to update the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation to provide guidance on the environmental principles duty in section 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021.

Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Guide to Making Legislation will be updated shortly and will include references to environmental principles. Leading up to the commencement of the statutory duties contained within the Environment Act 2021, guidance was circulated to all Whitehall departments. This guidance related to both sections 19 and 20 of that Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) templates and (b) guidance for (i) ministerial submissions, (ii) the write round process, (iii) post implementation reviews of legislation and (iv) the preparation of departmental business cases have been updated to refer to the environmental principles duty in section 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 on Question 16304, how many pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who have been identified as being potentially entitled to, but not claiming, Pension Credit her Department has targeted in North Herefordshire constituency; and how many of (a) those pensioner households and (b) the 120,000 pensioner households directly targeted by her Department overall have since claimed Pension Credit.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

151 pensioner households were targeted in the North Herefordshire constituency as part of the Invitation to Claim initiative. The letters sent to these households encourage them to claim Pension Credit by 21 December which is the latest date for making a successful backdated claim and still receive a Winter Fuel payment.

Data on the number of claims received from the households targeted as part of the initiative, and the number of awards made will be established once the Department has completed processing all those applications and the necessary analysis is completed.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to update guidance for the Better Regulation Framework to include section 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Consistent with section 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021, the new template for regulatory impact assessments, published under the reformed Better Regulation Framework, states, “All policies, where relevant, must have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement, and demonstrate how the policy will affect the achievement of the legally binding Environment Targets set out in the Environment Act.”

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the standard of accommodation provided to seasonal agricultural workers on UK farms in line with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

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

The government appreciates the importance of all seasonal workers living in safe accommodation.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provides a framework for identifying hazardous condition in residential premises. Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty to keep the housing conditions in their area under review and have enforcement powers if they identify a hazard through an HHSRS assessment. This applies to accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers that is within scope of the HHSRS. However, as the HHSRS is a system designed for buildings, it does not apply to caravans or other non-building accommodation types.

Guidance for sponsors of seasonal agricultural workers on a Seasonal Worker visa, which can be found on gov.uk here, is also issued. It sets a requirement that scheme operators must ensure that safe and hygienic accommodation is in place, that complies with all relevant UK laws.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with local authorities to ensure that tied accommodation provided to seasonal agricultural workers meets the Housing Health and Safety Rating System standards.

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

The government appreciates the importance of all seasonal workers living in safe accommodation.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provides a framework for identifying hazardous condition in residential premises. Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty to keep the housing conditions in their area under review and have enforcement powers if they identify a hazard through an HHSRS assessment. This applies to accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers that is within scope of the HHSRS. However, as the HHSRS is a system designed for buildings, it does not apply to caravans or other non-building accommodation types.

Guidance for sponsors of seasonal agricultural workers on a Seasonal Worker visa, which can be found on gov.uk here, is also issued. It sets a requirement that scheme operators must ensure that safe and hygienic accommodation is in place, that complies with all relevant UK laws.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions of the UK/Colombia: Bilateral Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments on the (a) natural environment and (b) rights of indigenous peoples.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I refer the Hon. Member for North Herefordshire to my response to Question 12968 on 12^th November 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of social housing available for families in need of housing support who need four or more bedrooms.

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

Data is collected on the number of households on local authority housing registers requiring three or more bedrooms. This stood at 69,434 as of 31 March 2024. Data on households requiring four or more bedrooms is not collected but will be a subset of this number (Source: Section C, Local Authority Housing Statistics 2023-24. Please note the data in the table covers both general needs and supported housing lettings).

In 2023/24 there were 41,159 new general needs social housing lettings with three or more bedrooms, of which 4,163 were lettings with 4 or more bedrooms. (Source: Table 2c (Social_housing_lettings_in_England_tenancies_summary_tables_April_2023_to_March_2024.ods. Please note the data in the table only covers general need lettings as the number of bedrooms is not collected for supported housing lettings).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to (a) end funding for the Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement for oil and gas companies and (b) redirect any savings to international climate finance.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement (RFES) maintains the time value of oil and gas exploration, appraisal and development costs. This recognises that oil and gas projects have high costs before production begins, but no production income to set these costs against. By maintaining the time value of these costs when they are used against production income in future years, RFES supports investment in the sector by ensuring companies receive an appropriate deduction for their expenditure. The government currently has no plans to change this aspect of the tax system, but keeps all of its taxes under review as a matter of course.

This Government is engaged in international discussions regarding ways to mobilise finance at the scale needed to respond to the climate crisis. This includes mobilising funding from non-traditional donors, the private sector, philanthropies and through innovative financing.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of joining the School Meals Coalition.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is assessing the latest evidence on the impact of school feeding interventions on nutrition, education and social protection and continues to track developments in the evidence base for school feeding interventions. We note, for example, the World Bank's Investment Framework for Nutrition from October 2024 which states that investing in the first 1000 days of a child's life is more effective and cost-effective for preventing and reducing malnutrition. We are not a member of the School Meals Coalition but actively engage in global dialogue on school feeding through other processes, such as the World Food Programme's Executive Board, the G7 and the G20.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the issuing of licenses to export endangered European eels.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The international trade in eels is regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Because the European eel is critically endangered, any international movements are subject to rigorous scrutiny, including through assessments of legal acquisition and non-detriment. The UK’s approach to international trade of any endangered species is kept under constant review to ensure legality, sustainability, and alignment with global conservation efforts.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including priority grassland habitats in the list of Irreplaceable Habitats for biodiversity net gain.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.

The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.

In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to include ice age ponds in the list of Irreplaceable Habitats for biodiversity net gain.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.

The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.

In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish his Department's consultation on a broader definition of irreplaceable habitat.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.

The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.

In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.

UK support for the global effort to feed children at school

Interstitial Lung Disease

Female football cards and consumer products

Sexual harassment in the workplace

Right to protest outside the BBC

Afghan women and girls

Import and sale of real fur

Protecting children from sexual abuse

Pesticides in public spaces

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Detainment of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya

England men's cricket team's upcoming fixture against Afghanistan

Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s new memorial in South Africa

Israel’s military action in Syria

Public toilets

Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell

The EU and the arms trade, human rights, and the Israel-Gaza conflict

Renewal of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Prison maintenance insourcing

Chris McCausland Strictly success

International Human Rights Day

Sexual violence in Sudan

Syrian self-determination

Environmental impact of Israel’s bombing

Financial redress for 1950s-born women

Violence against women in Northern Ireland

Reform of electoral law

Healthy lunches

Flood recovery framework

Cuckooing awareness

Democracy and human rights in Myanmar

Ofwat price review

British Nuclear Testing Programme veterans

Peace, democracy and accountability in Syria

25th anniversary of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust

Army Benevolent Fund

Attack on Adass Israel Synagogue, Melbourne

Medicinal cannabis

ICC arrest warrant for General Min Aung Hlaing

Institutes of Technology

Impact of the Work Capability Assessment on disabled people

Domestic Abuse Offences

Review into breast cancer screening

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Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner; Anna Gelderd

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner; Anna Gelderd

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Found: Byrne Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Richard Burgon Kate Osborne Paula Barker Apsana Begum Ellie Chowns

Found: Byrne Nadia Whittome John McDonnell Richard Burgon Kate Osborne Paula Barker Apsana Begum Ellie Chowns

The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking an inquiry on flood resilience in England, focusing on how flood resilience can be strengthened in response to increasing risks from extreme weather, rising sea levels, and evolving flood hazards.

The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking an inquiry on governing the marine environment, which will focus on the UK's environmental obligations under marine treaties and how the UK is delivering on them, as well as the Government's strategy for marine planning and protection in its domestic waters.