Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 trends in the level of variation between local authorities in the provision of parent–infant relationship support as part of the Healthy Child Programme and Family Hubs.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
We understand the importance of parent-infant relationships on a baby’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development. That is why we are committed to improving parent-infant relationship support.
Health visiting services provide parenting support to all families through the national Healthy Child Programme, funded through the Public Health Grant. This includes advice on parent-infant relationships as well as responsive parenting, infant behaviour, and wider support as needed. The Department is collecting the number of local authorities that provide parenting and behaviour services, with publication planned for Autumn 2026.
Through Healthy Babies, we are investing £109 million to provide enhanced parent-infant relationship support in 75 local authorities areas with high levels of deprivation. Through our management information data, we know that in March 2025, there were 520 fully or partially funded parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health services across the funded local authorities. Further information is available at the following link:
We are working to expand our data collection, and, from April 2026, we have been asking all 153 local authorities to report on services delivered through the Best Start Family Hub network.
We are also investing in independent evaluation of Healthy Babies to understand which interventions and delivery elements have an impact, for whom, and in what contexts.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to implement the policy recommendations of the Animal Welfare Committee's independent report into the carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs, published on 16 October 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to introduce an offline application process for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency recognises the importance of ensuring that farmers and land managers can access environmental land management schemes.
Applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier are made through the digital rural payments service. This remains the quickest route to apply and access funding, as upfront checks help to support efficient processing and confirm eligibility and land information.
The Agency offers an assisted digital route for applicants who find it difficult to use digital services, providing additional support to help them access schemes. They also recognise system limitations affecting common land applications and are actively engaging with the sector to develop routes for common land applicants to apply.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure those managing common land will be eligible to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Scheme in 2027.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra understands the importance of Commons and recognises the importance of bringing them under these schemes. For technical reasons, commons groups will not be able to apply for SFI on common land when the application window opens later this month or apply for a CSHT agreement on common land at this stage. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is working on a solution to this issue, assessing how common land applications can be made in the schemes, and actively exploring both off and on system options for CSHT, testing feasibility. Once this assessment is complete, the RPA will communicate its planned approach, including any implications for SFI to stakeholders and potential agreement holders with common land.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what criteria she will use to designate social media platforms included in a ban for those under 16 years of age; and whether she will regularly review the criteria for inclusion.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. That is why the Secretary of State announced a ban on social media platforms offering their services to under-16s.
We aim to use the same model as Australia. This means capturing user to user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, which allow users to post material alongside algorithms. A narrowly defined list of exemptions, including messaging and educational services, will also be set out and kept under review.
The Secretary of State will set out the final criteria in regulations that she brings forward before the end of 2026.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of guidance on the treatment of established mould in homes; and whether he has had discussions with industry bodies in the housing, surveying and remediation sectors on developing more consistent technical standards for mould remediation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department publishes guidance on ‘Damp and mould: understanding and addressing the health risks for rented housing providers’ which can be found on gov.uk here. This guidance was developed with an advisory group consisting of academics and experts as well as contractors involved in remedial and preventative work.
The guidance is clear that simply treating surface mould will not prevent it from reappearing, and that its underlying causes, including building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation and condensation, should be identified and tackled.
On 23 June we brought into force the review to Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the tool used to assess health and safety hazards including damp and mould in homes. Over 1000 specialists with experience and relevance to the HHSRS and the housing sector contributed to the review, which includes detailed technical guidance covering how to assess damp and mould hazards.