Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of British Transport Police’s recent changes to its policies on responding to bicycle thefts at railway stations; and what steps she is taking to ensure that cycle security is prioritised for (a) promoting active travel and (b) supporting the her cycling and walking strategy.

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

Everyone should be confident in choosing active travel, including cycling, as part of their everyday journeys.

Ensuring the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, and creating a hostile environment for criminals on the network is a priority for both the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police (BTP). Decisions on the use of resource and deployment of officers across the railway are for the BTP, as an operationally independent police service.

I would like to reassure you that the BTP have not taken the decision to stop investigating bike theft that cannot be narrowed to a two-hour window, which was reported in the media. The BTP’s screening policy, introduced in August 2024, takes into account factors including the possible time window an incident could have taken place in, but also the availability of witnesses and CCTV, the realistic prospect of a successful outcome, and a range of other factors. In some instances this may mean that an investigation is not progressed, but there is no blanket ruling and each case is judged on its own merits.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will introduce secondary legislation under the Environment Act 2021 for due diligence rules for forest-risk commodities.

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

The Government recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is actively considering the best regulatory approach to address deforestation in UK supply chains; we will set out this approach in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of attacks on the Indigenous community of Cuahuayula, Mexico on 20 October 2025.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains committed to promoting and protecting human rights globally, including the rights of Indigenous communities. We are concerned by reports of violence against Indigenous communities in Mexico, including the recent attack in Coahuayula on 20 October. Any violence against Indigenous communities must be fully investigated. We regularly engage with the Mexican authorities and civil society on the issue of protection of civilians, as well as the UN in Mexico on the effective investigation of crimes against human rights defenders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to regulate the use of supply teacher agencies by schools, including (a) measures to ensure fair pay, (b) pension access, and (c) transparency in agency fees.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Schools are responsible for recruiting supply teachers, which includes deciding whether to use supply teacher agencies.

The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which will be transparent about the rates they charge.

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) Regulations 2014, which set out the rules for the TPS, determine that for teachers to be eligible, their employment must be with an accepted employer, usually a school. Where supply teachers are self-employed, or employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a contract for services, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS. This is because there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme.