Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Public Order Act and the proposed designation of “life sciences” as key national infrastructure, what evidence was used to conclude that existing police powers are inadequate to address disruptive protest activity affecting life sciences sites, including animal research and testing facilities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On Thursday 27 November 2025, the Home Office laid an affirmative Statutory Instrument in Parliament to amend Section 7 and Section 8 of the Public Order Act 2023. This will amend the list of key national infrastructure within Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, to add the Life Sciences sector and define the Life Sciences sector in Section 8 of the Act.
To ensure these powers are workable and proportionate, the Home Office undertook targeted engagement with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Office for Life Sciences as the relevant government unit between the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and authorities with executive responsibility in their respective fields. This engagement provided a broad and comprehensive understanding of the challenges being managed by the Life Sciences Sector.
The government remains committed to safeguarding the right to peaceful protest while ensuring that public order and safety are maintained. The amendments to the Public Order Act 2023 reflect the balance between these priorities, responding directly to the evidence gathered from those responsible for maintaining public safety and order.
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, with reference to the planned measures in chapter 3 of Part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on preventing rental discrimination of people in receipt of welfare benefits, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) insurance companies and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority on the (i) availability and (ii) price of (A) landlord, (B) buildings and (C) contents insurance policies for properties rented to people claiming welfare benefits; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the home insurance market on the ability of people in receipt of welfare benefits to rent property in accordance with that Act.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 44561 on 22 April 2025.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to protect the tax relief available to childminders under the current HMRC expenses agreement in light of the move Making Tax Digital, including the wear-and-tear allowance; and whether prior consultation will be issued before any changes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders who are mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD). We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with the MTD income thresholds.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
HMRC engaged with stakeholders, including Coram PACEY, on these changes before the Budget, and are actively working with them to help childminders with the transition, answer any queries they may have, and produce updated guidance in early 2026.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure United States' military aircraft operating from UK military sites are operating in line with international law.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Any United States' operation from a base in the UK is considered on a case-by-case basis, and this includes appropriate consideration of the legal basis for any proposed activity.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 26922 on Waste Disposal: Monitoring, what progress she has made on the introduction of the Digital Waste Tracking Service.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has made good progress on implementing Digital Waste Tracking.
As announced in July 2025 Defra is implementing digital waste tracking through a phased approach beginning with a service for permitted waste receiving site operators.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that 16 to 18-year-olds leave school with access to employment, apprenticeships or training opportunities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are supporting young people to stay on and succeed in education and training until at least age 18, and ensure they can take up opportunities to move into work and/or further study. For example, eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, backed by £90 million, are helping young people access support for training, apprenticeships or work.
We have introduced foundation apprenticeships and are expanding them into more sectors, like hospitality and retail.
We will ensure that a post-16 destination is identified for every year 11 pupil, and those most at risk of becoming NEET receive personalised transition support
We are piloting the automatic allocation of a place at a further education (FE) provider for anyone aged 16-17 who doesn’t already have one.
We are also investing in improved Risk of NEET Indicator tools and attendance tracking in FE, so that young people at risk of falling out of education are identified and supported.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of careers advice and post-16 employment support provided by secondary schools to pupils who do not intend to follow a further education or college route.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through our commitments to improve careers advice in schools and to deliver two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person, we are bridging the gap between the curriculum and the world of work.
The updated Gatsby Benchmarks have been adopted into statutory guidance. The benchmarks provide a framework for good career guidance, tailored to meet each pupil’s needs, with insights into a broad range of career pathways.
Our ambition for a minimum of two week’s worth of work experience by year 11 will further improve employability. Pupils from all backgrounds will be given access to progressive, high quality workplace experiences throughout their education journey.
Evidence shows that these measures will support pupils to make successful transitions from education into training or employment. There is an established link between schools that achieve higher Gatsby Benchmark scores and improved education, employment and training rates for their pupils at post-16 and post-18.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the enforcement of child maintenance obligations in cases where non-resident parents repeatedly change employment or sources of income in order to evade their child maintenance liabilities.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent changes jobs, The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.
People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.
Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the parent can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).
Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service is given.
If paying parents fail to meet their financial obligation to their children, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers including deduction from earnings orders and bank accounts, removing a parent’s passport or driving license and commitment to prison. These require time to be deployed effectively; this is obviously frustrating for parents, but is necessary to ensure that, as far as possible, the right person pays the right amount without imposing an excessive burden on employers, the banks, or the court system.
The government is working to introduce administrative liability orders which will replace the current requirement for the CMS to apply to the court for a liability order. Introducing a simpler administrative process will enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and will get money to children more quickly.
Once the system is in place, wee expect the new liability order process in the majority of cases to take around 6 weeks. Changes will mean the CMS can use its strong enforcement powers more quickly to go after those who wilfully avoid their financial obligations to their children.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding his Department has allocated for the maintenance and improvement of buildings and other infrastructure used by the cadet forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
As part of our plan to increase the cadets by 30% by 2030 we are looking at the cadet estate. Investment in the defence estate is long overdue and investment decisions more broadly on the defence estate will be made as part of the Defence Investment Plan.
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, if he will take steps to help ensure that local elections take place in Devon in May 2027.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We received final proposals from the Devon, Plymouth and Torbay invitation area on 28 November 2025. Government will consult in the new year on proposals that meet the terms of the invitation letter of 5 February 2025 before deciding which, if any, to implement.
The government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. Our expectation is that elections will be held to new councils in May 2027 ahead of “go live” for the new structures in 2028.