Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist residential drug and alcohol treatment in (a) England and (b) the North East.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, including residential treatment, and commissioning services to meet these needs. The Department set an ambition that 2% of the drug and alcohol treatment population should be accessing residential treatment. We remain committed to this ambition and continue to work with the sector to achieve this.

Earlier this year, the Department launched the self-assessment toolkit to help local areas to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/residential-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-self-assessment-toolkit

The Department facilitates a residential treatment provider forum and engages in annual planning for local authorities and partners, including target-setting for residential episodes. The Department also maintains regular engagement with the English Substance Use Commissioners Group and holds joint meetings with the Ministry of Justice to explore improved pathways from the criminal justice system into residential treatment.

In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Government is providing the North East with £29,432,782 in further targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. This additional funding has provided opportunity for local authorities in the North East to enhance access to out of area facilities and bolster community models of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery support, including quasi residential rehabilitation and dayhab models.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG entitled Action on Alcohol Harm – Priorities for Policymakers, published on 10 July 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has noted the publication of the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG report, ‘Action on alcohol harm: prioritise for policymakers’.

The Government is committed to taking action to prevent the harms caused by alcohol and illicit drugs, and work is underway to progress several of the priorities highlighted.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful and dependent drinking, we will shortly publish the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment and inpatient detoxification. Our 10-Year Health Plan commits to continued expansion of Individual Placement and Support schemes for people with alcohol addiction to find good work.

The Government is also progressing plan to introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the release of the investment reserve fund of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Discussions continue with a view to reaching agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of potential implications for his policies on productivity of the report by the IPPR entitled Taking stock: Counting the economic costs of alcohol harm, published on 8 October 2025.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I welcome the IPPR's report and its contribution to understanding the economic and social impact of alcohol harm. Employers have a legal duty to protect employees' health, safety, and welfare.

'Keep Britain Working' is bringing together the expertise of leading UK businesses to help prevent ill health at work wherever possible, and to support those affected stay in work. In the '10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future', we have committed to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.

This Government will continue to monitor alcohol-related harm and its economic impact.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG entitled Action on Alcohol Harm – Priorities for Policymakers, published on 10 July 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has noted the publication of the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG report and with the Department for Health and Social Care will consider its findings. We are aware of the role alcohol can play in criminal behaviour and are working across Government to address alcohol related crime when it happens and to prevent it from happening in the first place.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful and dependent drinking, the government will shortly publish the first ever UK clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. In 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department of Health and Social Care is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment and inpatient detoxification. In ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’ commits to continued expansion of Individual Placement and Support schemes for people with alcohol addiction to find good work.

The government is also progressing plans to introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the 10 trial local authorities for the Kinship Allowance Pilot paid at an equivalent rate to the fostering National Minimum Allowance.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role of local authorities to support them.

The department recently closed the expression of interest process for local authorities to apply to deliver the Kinship Allowance Pilot in their areas. This will be for eligible kinship carers within the pilot areas to apply for via their local authorities. The department will announce the successful local authorities in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the adoption of alcohol interlock technology in other jurisdictions.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving. We intend to publish this by the end of the year.

In 2019 the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) was awarded a grant from the Department for Transport to undertake research into the feasibility of the using alcohol interlocks (“alcolocks”) as part of drink-drive offender rehabilitation programmes.

The research was published by PACTS and can be found at:

www.pacts.org.uk/new-pacts-research-project-alcohol-interlocks/

This research examined alcohol interlock usage in other countries.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will have discussions with her Israeli counterpart on the (a) safety and (b) protection of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 3 October 2025 to question 76551.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on ensuring the safety of Palestinian journalists.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 3 October 2025 to question 76551.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has held with her Israeli counterpart on securing international media access into Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 3 October 2025 to question 76551.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer to written question 85133 on 4 November 2025, if he will instruct the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to request that data from the Certifying Authorities.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As mentioned previously, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency do not hold this data directly, as inspections are delegated to Certifying Authorities. We will engage with the Certifying Authorities to request the relevant information and will provide an update once this data has been obtained.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of utilising alcohol interlock technology as part of judicial sentencing criteria.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We believe that the courts should have the flexibility they need to sentence offenders appropriately and, as part of a community or suspended sentence the courts have a range of robust powers to punish and rehabilitate offenders and protect the public. This includes the option for an Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) which imposes an alcohol ban for up to 120 days, with compliance electronically monitored using an alcohol tag.

Published statistics show a compliance rate with the ban of 97.2% for days monitored, since introduction: Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, June 2023 - GOV.UK. The courts also have powers to include treatment requirements as part of a sentence served in the community, with the aim of addressing the root causes of offending.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to continuous improvement and innovation, and we will continue to assess the capabilities and reliability of technology.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department’s estimate is of the number of seafarers employed in the workboat sector.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport, in collaboration with the Workboat Association and the Chamber of Shipping, is working to expand the Seafarer Employment Survey in 2025 to include Workboat Association vessel-owning members. The results of the expansion of the survey will be used to provide a more accurate picture of employment in this sector in the future.

At present, the Department does not have a published estimate of the number of seafarers employed in the workboat sector.

Higher education funding

Road Safety Week 2025

Supporting shopworkers

Professional integrity of BBC journalists

Habitat regulations

Strike action at the British Library

Five-year indefinite leave to remain pathway for Skilled Worker visa holders

Football Supporters’ Association’s Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign

Whitkirk Brownies and Rainbows

Israel’s use of cluster munitions

Recognising pets in domestic abuse protection orders

Safe and legal routes for Sudanese people to the UK

New private capital in the NHS in the Autumn Budget

Buying community energy locally