Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support communities with high levels of housing growth where necessary infrastructure is not in place; and if she will have discussions with Lewes District Council on the impact of house building targets in Ringmer.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.

Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.

The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

The changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced on 12 December will support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.

The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.

Due to the quasi-judicial role of ministers in the planning system, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the specific details of planning issues in Lewes District, but council officers may wish to contact officials at my department to discuss the general issues raised.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with local authorities on parish and town councils, in the context of her Department's proposals to reorganise local government structures.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The English Devolution White Paper was clear that “We know people value the role of governance at the community scale and that can be a concern when local government is reorganised. We will therefore want to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level. We will also rewire the relationship between town and parish councils and principal Local Authorities, strengthening expectations on engagement and community voice”.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20386 on Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, when she will publish the outcomes of the departmental business planning process on the future of the scheme.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026 with a budget of £23m. Further details can be found here in the Written Statement.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the (a) number, (b) name, (c) value and (d) duration of consultancy contracts awarded by HMRC on the Northern Ireland Protocol since 31 January 2020.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The information requested can be found at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/dfa702cb-97dc-427a-a0bd-a7bece4af9f9?origin=SearchResults&p=1

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many contracts related to the Northern Ireland Protocol have been (a) awarded and (b) extended without competitive tender since 4 July 2024; what the reason was; and what the total expenditure on those contracts was.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

No such contracts have been awarded or extended by HM Treasury.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost of consultancy to (a) negotiate and (b) implement new cross-border transport arrangements with the EU since January 2020 by (i) consultancy firm, (ii) contract value and (iii) month of contract award; and what scrutiny mechanisms exist for those consultants.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No estimate has been made of the cost of consultancy by my department used during negotiation and implementation of new cross-border transport arrangements with the EU since January 2020.

Since the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement came into effect on 31st January 2020, and subsequent application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement from 1 January 2021, there has been an extensive programme of work across numerous government departments to facilitate implementation of our new relationship with the EU and ensure the continued flow of people and goods.

Most cross-border impacts of EU Exit for transport relate to border checks such as immigration controls, checks on goods and security arrangements on which other departments lead. The National Audit Office has produced a number of reports on EU Exit preparations including one on borders last year: The UK border: Implementing an effective trade border - NAO report.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of total government expenditure on external consultants to assist with EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement implementation since 5 July 2024, broken down by (a) department, (b) consultancy firm, and (c) area of work.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office does not hold a central estimate of the total government expenditure on external consultants to assist with EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement implementation. This is due to the responsibility for implementing the agreement sitting across multiple departments. All departments are individually responsible for their consultancy spend. Further information on government specific contracts is available at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on its target to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government’s Plan for Change includes an ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.

Progress will be measured through the number of net additional dwellings.

The department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’. This includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 on gov.uk here.

We will continue to update Parliament in the usual manner.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the (a) fair treatment and (b) legal representation of British citizens detained abroad.

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

In cases where a British national is detained overseas, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can provide information about the local legal system to help individuals understand what to expect and their rights, including any right to a state-appointed lawyer. Consular staff can also provide a list of local English-speaking lawyers. If fair trial concerns are raised, wherever possible, FCDO consular staff will discuss with the individual and their legal representative and agree appropriate action. This can include raising concerns with local authorities. Consular support in arrest and detention cases is set out online: [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/arrested-or-detained-abroad]

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many consultants were employed by UK missions to the EU to manage (a) trade and (b) regulatory issues in the financial year (i) 2022–23 and (ii) 2023–24; what the cost of those consultants was; and how how many permanent civil servants were employed for the same reason.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Mission to the EU has approximately 67 Full Time Equivalent staff working on economic diplomacy: these are primarily related to managing regulatory issues and promoting trade. Resources of other missions supporting the devolved administrations are the responsibility of the relevant devolved administration. Spend on consultants is the responsibility of individual missions. This information is not centrally held.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in improving road safety on rural roads; and if she will take steps with East Sussex County Council to help improve road safety on the C7 road between Newhaven and Lewes.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department recognises that the majority of road fatalities (according to the latest statistics) occurred on rural roads (60%) with fewer fatalities on urban roads (35%) and motorways (5%).

We have awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 through the Safer Roads Fund to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of rural roads which make up 62.4% of all funded routes.

My Government is developing a road safety strategy, the first in over ten years, and we will set out more details in due course.

East Sussex County Council is responsible for making decisions about roads in their area and as such, is best placed to bring forward proposals to improve safety on the C7 road.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on students' education of the ending of the Latin Excellence Programme mid-GCSE year; and whether funding for the programme will continue until the end of the current academic year.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The Centre for Latin Excellence has contacted all the schools involved in the Latin Excellence Programme and has received assurances that all pupils due to take Latin GCSE this summer will continue to do so.

​The department is working closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources once the programme ends supporting them in the continue delivery of Latin teaching.

The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure the department delivers on our priorities. Given this, we have taken the difficult decision not to extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the current contract on 28 February 2025.

​

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of gambling advertising on (a) mental health, (b) wider public health, (c) family relationships and (d) financial wellbeing; and whether she plans to introduce restrictions on gambling advertising.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

There are a range of robust rules in place to ensure that gambling adverts, wherever they appear, are socially responsible and do not exacerbate harm.

The Gambling Commission is further strengthening protections on marketing to improve customer control over the marketing they receive and the tightening rules on the design of incentives such as free bets.

However, as the Gambling Minister set out in her speech at the GambleAware conference on 4 December, the government recognises that more needs to be done to improve protections. The industry now has a clear task to further raise standards to ensure that levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm, and this work will be monitored closely.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support community-led developments; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the funding available for such schemes.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits, including additional housing supply, empowering communities, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.

A range of funding sources are available to support the development of community-led housing, although eligibility will depend on the nature of specific developments. This includes the Levelling-Up Home Building Fund, which provides affordable loan finance for the development of sites of five units or more, and the Affordable Homes Programme, which provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing in England.

Beyond funding, the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.

As part of the development of our Long Term Housing Strategy, we are considering how the government may further support the growth of the community-led housing sector and I recently met with the Chief Executive of the Community Land Trust Network and other stakeholders to discuss options in that regard.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) community information websites, (b) hobbyist forums and (c) other small (i) websites and (ii) discussion forums are not disproportionately affected by the regulatory requirements of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope user-to-user and search services must assess for risks of illegal content and harm to children. Ofcom is the independent regulator for this regime. It sets out what steps small low-risk providers need to take to fulfil their duties following their risk assessment. When implementing these duties, Ofcom is legally required to ensure burdens on providers are proportionate to their risk factors, size, and capacity. Ofcom recently launched an online digital toolkit, aimed at helping SMEs with compliance (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/ofcom-launches-digital-safety-toolkit-for-online-services/).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has commissioned opinion polling on public attitudes towards (a) Brexit, (b) the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, (c) the Windsor Framework and (d) the UK's relationship with the EU.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government Communication Service is not commissioning opinion polling on these topics.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication shortages

Heathrow airport third runway expansion

Injury on Duty Award Scheme

US proposals for Gaza

Israeli Knesset decision to ban UNRWA

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