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, with reference to the report by Citizens Advice entitled Stepping Up: Reforming protections in the retrofit market, published on 17 October 2025, and to the report by the National Audit Office entitled Energy efficiency installations under the Energy Company Obligation, published on 14 October 2025, HC 1334, whether she plans to accept the recommendations in those reports to publish a timeline for the reform of protections as part of the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is reviewing and considering the NAO recommendations in full and will publish a response in due course.
The results of the independent audits published by the Department demonstrate systemic failures in the consumer protection regime, which is why we are conducting a sweeping overhaul, with details to be brought forward in the Warm Homes Plan.
The Government welcomes Citizens Advice’s report and is committed to working with them and other stakeholders to ensure reforms deliver for both customers and installers.
The Government is planning to consult on proposals early next year.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the River Wye Diffuse Water Pollution Plan.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Diffuse Water Pollution Plans are not published by Defra. The River Wye Diffuse Water Pollution Plan is being prepared by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA will be sharing it with the partners and stakeholders who are working together to achieve improvements of water quality in the Wye Catchment. This plan is part of a broader programme of work to manage nutrient levels and improve water quality in the Wye catchment.
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 assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' report entitled Green Maternity Report 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to supporting the National Health Service in delivering high-quality, equitable, and sustainable maternity services. This includes investing in digital transformation, supporting workforce development, and embedding sustainability into all aspects of care, as set out in 2020’s Delivering a Net Zero NHS report. For instance, reducing nitrous oxide waste through leaner supply and stock management has led to cost savings of over £2.3 million annually and emissions reductions of around 90 kilo-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent since 2019/20.
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the implications of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Green Maternity Report 2025.
We continue, however, to work with NHS England, the Royal Colleges, and local partners to ensure that best practice is adopted across the system, and that the environmental impact of maternity care is monitored and reduced in line with our 10-Year Health Plan commitment to prioritise delivery of the NHS’s net zero targets.
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 steps he is taking to ensure capital investment in NHS (a) estate and (b) infrastructure supports improvements in climate resilience.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of increasing the climate resilience of the National Health Service estate. NHS trusts are responsible for maintaining their estate, including adapting premises to reduce risks associated with climate change and severe weather, as set out in the NHS Standard Contract.
The Department is supporting the improvement of NHS sites by investing £30 billion over the next five years in day-to-day maintenance and repair, with £5 billion allocated specifically to address the most critical building issues. Additionally, the Department is making sure all new hospitals are fit for the future. Our New Hospital Programme requires schemes to achieve a minimum rating of ‘Excellent’ for new builds and ‘Very Good’ for refurbishments, under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. In addition, all NHS investments in new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities that are subject to HM Treasury business case approval process must align with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, which includes a focus on overheating risks.
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, for what reason the UK opposed advancing discussions on a new optional protocol on free education at the Intergovernmental Working Group on Free Education in September 2025; and whether she plans to review that decision.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to investing in children and promoting equal access to education. The UK already provides free primary and secondary education and has been supporting partners globally to deliver education for all. We challenged the need for a new optional protocol as free secondary education is already provided for under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. States Parties to these treaties should already be providing free education.
We do not believe the resources required to develop a new treaty solely on free pre-primary education are justified when they could otherwise be used to implement existing international obligations.
This position is in line with several UN entities, including United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the leading actor on child rights with a global presence and understanding of lived realities.
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, whether he plans to take steps to help protect tenants from (a) eviction and (b) rent increases following government-funded low-carbon improvement works carried out by landlords.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government is committed to protecting and improving the rights of tenants through improving the quality of their homes, resulting in reduced energy costs.
We have engaged and consulted with landlord and tenant representative groups in developing policy. We set out proposals in the consultation on maximum spend from landlords and the exemptions regime. These changes do not require landlords to increase rents.
The new Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce protections for tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases and stop landlords using large rent increases to force tenants out. Landlords will be able to increase rents to market rates once per year, with tenants able to challenge this at the Tribunal if it is unreasonable.
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, whether consumers will be exempt from paying for remediation costs to fix faulty insulation installations under the (a) ECO4 and (b) GBIS schemes if the costs exceed £20,000.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The remediation costs sit with the original installer. We expect remediation for solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 or GBIS to cost between £250 and £6,000 for IWI and £5,000 and £18,000 for EWI. This should be covered by the guarantee should the installer no longer be trading.
There have been some instances where costs are greater than £20,000 (complex cases), we are working with the sector to find solutions and for these faulty installations to be fixed.
Wider consumer protection reform will ensure that financial protections are clearly accessible and fully protect the consumer.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the number of people who have been unable to verify their identity using the Gov.uk One Login service due to mismatches with third-party data; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that legitimate (a) company directors and (b) Persons of Significant Control are not required to pay private verification providers when Government systems fail to recognise them.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
GOV.UK One Login applies high standards for identity verification to prevent fraud and ensure the security of users and government services. GOV.UK One Login must ensure users meet these high standards before accessing a government service to fulfil its role.
Services onboarded to GOV.UK One Login are required to provide an alternative route for users unable or unwilling to verify their identity through the service. The alternative route is determined by the individual service. The Companies House alternative route is via Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPS). Companies House do not regulate ACSPs and fees are set at the discretion of individual ACSPs.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) (a) licensing and (b) training requirements in ensuring that private security staff are appropriately (i) qualified and (ii) competent to manage safety and security risks; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that SIA-approved training providers are effectively monitored to (A) prevent malpractice and (B) uphold training standards.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The private security industry plays a crucial role in keeping the public safe and it is critical that there is a high standard of regulatory oversight of the industry. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) provides such oversight by operating the regulatory regime set up by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA).
This includes setting minimum standards for, and ensuring individuals seeking to work in designated roles have completed, mandatory training, as well as running criminal record and other checks. This aims to ensure that SIA licence holders are ‘fit and proper’ individuals who have the relevant skills and knowledge needed to perform their role. The SIA is currently conducting a 5 year review of training standards to ensure skills keep pace with emerging threats, and will be working closely with experts and the industry on this.
Training providers and qualification awarding bodies are regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and its partner organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The SIA is working closely with these partners to share intelligence, conduct more inspections and improve systems in order to uphold the integrity of qualifications.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Ofcom’s financial penalties in improving Royal Mail’s ability to meet its performance targets; and if he will take steps to ensure that future fines are reinvested to increase (a) staffing levels and (b) service quality within Royal Mail rather than being paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom’s financial penalties are regulatory decisions in which the government does not have a role. The government expects Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service.
Financial penalties are designed to incentivise compliance and deter future breaches, rather than to fund specific operational improvements. As with other regulatory fines, any sums collected are paid into the Consolidated fund in accordance with standard Treasury practice, unless explicit statutory provision or a Treasury-approved agreement allows otherwise.
It is for Royal Mail, as an independent company to determine its staffing levels and improve its performance to ensure it meets its Universal Service Obligation. It is clear that Royal Mail’s improvements have not been good enough. As such, Ofcom has told Royal Mail it must publish and deliver a credible improvement plan.