Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on the park homes commission review.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10581 on 25 June 2026.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department plans to issue to developers and local planning authorities on the transitional arrangements for the revised Biodiversity Net Gain rules expected on 31 July 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh
They will apply from the date of determination. So, applications after the date will be subject to amended regulations.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the revised Biodiversity Net Gain rules expected to come into effect on 31 July 2026 will apply to planning applications based on the date of submission or the date of determination.
Answered by Mary Creagh
They will apply from the date of determination. So, applications after the date will be subject to amended regulations.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support the security of Hindu temples and events.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is committed to ensuring that Hindu communities, and all faith communities, are able to worship and gather in safety.
Hindu temples are eligible to apply to the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme, which provides funded protective security measures for places of worship and associated faith community centres in England and Wales that are at risk of hate crime. The scheme supports successful applicants who demonstrate vulnerability to hate crime by providing funded security measures including CCTV, alarms, secure doors and windows, fencing, lighting and entry systems. The scheme opens on an annual basis and will be open again later this year.
The Government also provides Faith Security Training, a free security awareness training course available to all faith communities, including Hindu communities, across England and Wales. It is designed to help faith communities strengthen security knowledge, improve preparedness and reduce the risk and impact of hate crime and other serious incidents at their places of worship. The training includes both multi-faith content and faith-specific modules, including bespoke Hindu content.
Where Hindu temples or event organisers have specific concerns regarding events, they should continue to engage with local police and local authorities, who can provide advice and support on safety and security planning.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government will be able to provide an update on waiting times for compensation for those affected by the infected blood scandal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). The IBCA Framework Document, published in March 2025, sets out the timelines agreed between IBCA and Cabinet Office; namely for the bulk of infected people to be paid no later than the end of next year and the bulk of affected people to be paid no later than the end of 2029. The claims of infected people include the estates of infected people who have sadly passed away.
The Government has been clear these dates should not be viewed as targets for delivery, but rather ‘backstops’. These timescales have been agreed with IBCA, to ensure that the door is kept open for those who have not yet identified themselves as being infected or affected.
IBCA has now opened the service for the first claims from infected people who were never compensated, for deceased infected people, and for living affected people. As with the first cohort of people making a claim, IBCA must now build a service for each of these cohorts which allows them to confirm an infection before a claim begins, check the identity of each person claiming, and ensure all the necessary legal and financial support is in place for anyone who wishes to use it. This approach means that the numbers will initially be lower, but the Government expects that, as with the first group, those numbers will rise exponentially as progress is made.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has assessed the effectiveness of the academy trust governance framework in ensuring that community and family engagement is prioritised by academy trusts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Academy trusts should have reserved places for parents, carers or other individuals with parental responsibility within their governance structure. Single academy trusts should have at least two such places on the trust board. Multi-academy trusts should have at least two such places on the board or on each local committee, where they are established. Trusts should hold elections to fill these places as appropriate.
The department has not issued guidance allowing for the removal of parents from trust governance arrangements where a school is underperforming. Trusts are expected to maintain the governance arrangements that are set out in their articles of association, funding agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook.
Expectations for high-quality governance are set out in the Trust Quality Descriptions, which identify effective engagement with parents, carers and local communities as a feature of high-quality trusts. These expectations will be renewed through new Trust Standards. In addition, the department has committed to publishing minimum expectations on parental engagement for schools, which trust boards will oversee.
As set out in the Schools White Paper, the government intends to consult on requiring academy trusts to have local governance structures covering all their schools, helping to ensure that trust boards hear directly from parents and school communities. We will also be introducing Ofsted inspection of trusts.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance on the length of time parental representation can be excluded within academy trusts where a school is underperforming.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Academy trusts should have reserved places for parents, carers or other individuals with parental responsibility within their governance structure. Single academy trusts should have at least two such places on the trust board. Multi-academy trusts should have at least two such places on the board or on each local committee, where they are established. Trusts should hold elections to fill these places as appropriate.
The department has not issued guidance allowing for the removal of parents from trust governance arrangements where a school is underperforming. Trusts are expected to maintain the governance arrangements that are set out in their articles of association, funding agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook.
Expectations for high-quality governance are set out in the Trust Quality Descriptions, which identify effective engagement with parents, carers and local communities as a feature of high-quality trusts. These expectations will be renewed through new Trust Standards. In addition, the department has committed to publishing minimum expectations on parental engagement for schools, which trust boards will oversee.
As set out in the Schools White Paper, the government intends to consult on requiring academy trusts to have local governance structures covering all their schools, helping to ensure that trust boards hear directly from parents and school communities. We will also be introducing Ofsted inspection of trusts.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of parental representation and involvement in governance arrangements within academy trusts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Academy trusts should have reserved places for parents, carers or other individuals with parental responsibility within their governance structure. Single academy trusts should have at least two such places on the trust board. Multi-academy trusts should have at least two such places on the board or on each local committee, where they are established. Trusts should hold elections to fill these places as appropriate.
The department has not issued guidance allowing for the removal of parents from trust governance arrangements where a school is underperforming. Trusts are expected to maintain the governance arrangements that are set out in their articles of association, funding agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook.
Expectations for high-quality governance are set out in the Trust Quality Descriptions, which identify effective engagement with parents, carers and local communities as a feature of high-quality trusts. These expectations will be renewed through new Trust Standards. In addition, the department has committed to publishing minimum expectations on parental engagement for schools, which trust boards will oversee.
As set out in the Schools White Paper, the government intends to consult on requiring academy trusts to have local governance structures covering all their schools, helping to ensure that trust boards hear directly from parents and school communities. We will also be introducing Ofsted inspection of trusts.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people who suffered significant harm as a result of interferon treatment through contaminated blood products are compensated under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Government accepted the Inquiry’s recommendation to introduce a new, higher level of award for infected people who were treated with interferon. The new Level 2B infection severity band will provide more core compensation through the Financial Loss and Care awards for the full two years after treatment. This uplifted award will be available to anyone treated with interferon who would otherwise be receiving a Level 2 award. Following the public consultation on the infected blood compensation scheme, we will also ensure that people who received more than one round of interferon treatment will be properly compensated for each of these rounds.
The Technical Expert Group advised that where people do experience longer term impacts of interferon treatment, the scheme should compensate for the impact on a person’s life. That is why, if someone has experienced long-term impacts following interferon treatment that have affected their ability to work or their need for care, they may be eligible for additional compensation through the Special Category Mechanism Severe Health Condition award. This approach ensures that those with long term side effects receive additional financial support.
The Government has now laid the required legislation to enact these changes, and these are subject to Parliamentary approval.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on responding to the recommendations of the Law Commission's review of disabled children's social care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations within six months of publication. This will be followed by a full response within 12 months, which will set out how government will address the issues raised by the Law Commission.