Jayne Kirkham

Most people use fireworks in a responsible, safe, and appropriate manner and there are laws in place to address situations where fireworks are misused. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property.

To inform any future decisions the Government intends to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks.

Changes to improve the energy efficiency of a listed building need to be sensitive to the character, appearance and specific characteristics of the building depending on individual circumstances. Listed buildings are generally exempt from energy efficiency requirements where compliance would unacceptably alter the character or appearance of the existing building.

Further guidance on improving the energy efficiency of windows of listed buildings can be found on the Historic England website.

Accompanying link: https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/retrofit-and-energy-efficiency-in-historic-buildings/modifying-windows-and-doors-in-historic-buildings/

As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.

However, the Government recognises that RLHFs could play a limited role in decarbonising heat off the gas grid.

The Government is aware that the expiration of Renewables Obligation accreditation may affect the commercial viability of generators from a range of technologies, including landfill gas generators.

Officials are continuing to assess the impact that the end of Renewables Obligation support will have on security of supply, clean power 2030 and the environment, and we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to consider options.

No decisions have been made on future support for landfill gas generators.

Although heat policy is a devolved matter, policies relating to the supply of fuels (including renewable liquid heating fuels) are reserved. Officials work closely with the Devolved Governments when developing UK Government policies and will be considering these nations’, and the Republic of Ireland’s, decarbonisation strategies’ impact on future policies.

The cross-government review of the barriers to adapt and retrofit listed buildings and homes in conservation areas (www.gov.uk/government/publications/adapting-historic-homes-for-energy-efficiency-a-review-of-the-barriers) was published in January 2024. This sets out the core challenges faced by homeowners and the actions government is taking to overcome barriers.

Changes to Permitted Development Rights in England, announced recently, will enable more air source heat pumps to be installed in homes, including those in conservation areas.

The Government has committed an initial £3.4bn over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency as part of the Warm Homes Plan. Further details will be set out in due course.

The current contract between the UK Space Agency and Goonhilly Earth Station is worth up to £2 million this financial year (24/25) which includes £1.4million of funding towards the Deep Space Monitoring contract for Goonhilly to work with twelve unique missions operated by international partners. This is already delivering on the benefits of expanding existing UK capabilities, unlocking new and emerging markets and supporting the growing lunar economy. Decisions on future spend for Goonhilly Earth Station for its bilateral pilot with the US are being considered as part of the 2025 spending review.

During the current spending period, the Government has invested over £6.9 million to support the Cornwall region to develop its local space capabilities, enabling Spaceport Cornwall to conduct the first ever orbital launch attempt from UK soil and supporting Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd to deliver deep space commercial services. The cluster is also being supported to attract investment from international space companies, and progress Cornwall’s strategic ambitions to become a global leader in satellite operations and communications and the testing and development of spaceflight systems.

The Museum Renewal Fund, delivered by Arts Council England, will invest an additional £20m in our treasured civic museums across England, and is now open to applicants.

Museums run by independent charities are eligible to apply, where they have links to Local Authorities, which can be evidenced in a number of ways, as set out in the guidance: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-open-funds/museum-renewal-fund-2025-26.

This government is committed to supporting museums to continue doing what they do best: serving communities, caring for and sharing Collections, and telling our national story at a local level. The government operates several tax and grant schemes for museums, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, Museums VAT Refund Scheme, and Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax relief, to support large numbers of museums all over the country.

The British Council supports a number of programmes that support cultural exchange between the UK and African music sector. Events such as The Great Escape and the Worldwide Music Expo connect African music professionals with UK platforms, promoters, and festivals such as Africa Oye. The British Council also supports talent development in sub-Saharan Africa, with programmes including Scripts and Bars in Zimbabwe.

Arts Council England (ACE) supports a number of organisations that promote African artists. The ACE National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) Africa Oye Limited receives £217,456 per annum, and delivers an annual festival in Liverpool’s Sefton Park that celebrates and champions African music and culture. Over the past 5 years the festival has brought many high profile African artists to the UK to perform. Yaram Arts Community Interest Company (CIC), another ACE NPO receiving £81,370 per annum, has promoted, presented and supported touring for hundreds of African and world music artists in the UK, Europe and Africa.

DCMS is keen to hear the views of and work with all parts of the visitor economy, including the cruise sector. Details of how Ministers will engage in this Parliament with stakeholders across what is a diverse and broad sector will be published shortly.

Parliament has legislated for a registration scheme for short-term lets in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. We are committed to the introduction of such a scheme as soon as possible.

The details of how the scheme will operate and who it will be administered by will be confirmed in our full consultation response. This includes how costs for the service will be established and maintained through the recovery of fees charged to the property owner or provider(s) of the short-term let(s). It is not intended that the scheme would raise revenue above and beyond cost recovery (including for set-up and delivery).

The registration scheme will be designed to ensure that all providers of short-term lets are aware of their legal responsibilities to ensure health and safety standards, including fire and relevant safety checks, are met in their properties.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 is already in place. This will enable us to reap the benefits of a thriving visitor economy whilst protecting the spirit and fabric of communities, including by giving local authorities valuable data on short-term lets in their area to help address possible housing impacts. We will set out further detail on how the scheme will work as soon as practicable.

​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear in her commitment to early years. Despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, this government has increased investment in the early years sector to drive forward progress towards our Plan for Change target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn.

In the 2025/26 financial year alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. The department has also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, raising it to the equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.

On top of this the department is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector to provide the additional places and workforce needed by September 2025.

The department is also providing £25 million through the Employer National Insurance Contributions Grant for public sector employers in early years, which includes maintained nursery schools (MNS).

As part of the overall early years budget, the department expects to spend £92.6 million in MNS supplementary funding in the 2025/26 financial year, in recognition of the additional costs MNS face. The national average hourly rate for MNS supplementary funding will increase from £5.27 in the 2024/25 financial year to £5.90 in the 2025/26 financial year.

The department has introduced a minimum and maximum hourly rate that a local authority can receive for their MNS to create a fairer distribution of funding. For 2025/26, the supplementary funding minimum hourly rate for MNS will be set at £5.27.

MNS supplementary funding is just as secure over the long term as all the other early years funding streams.

While the department has not made an assessment of the impact of learning about menstrual wellbeing as part of statutory health education, it is beneficial for pupils to understand the features of a healthy menstrual cycle, be able to recognise when things are not right and know when to seek help.

The department is currently reviewing the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance and is looking carefully at the consultation responses, considering the relevant evidence and engaging with stakeholders before setting out next steps. This includes considering whether any additional content is needed, including on menstrual wellbeing and endometriosis.

The government does not require schools to request information from parents about whether their child was born prematurely. It does, however, expect them to put the right support in place for each child, taking account of their individual needs and schools may wish to seek this information in order to do so.

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’, which includes achievement rates, are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2023-24.

The department does not hold information on apprenticeship achievement rates for apprenticeships with specific functional skills qualifications requirements.

In November 2024, indicative achievement rates for apprenticeships where an English and/or mathematics component aim was present were published here: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/bfd06312-7732-41bc-97e7-94a6d85d2400/files/ffbc3754-8edb-4110-96af-1c1558f185bf. There was an indicative achievement rate of 42% for apprenticeship standards where an English and/or mathematics aim was taken alongside an apprenticeship in the 2022/23 year.

Please note:

(1) The 42% figure is not directly comparable with those published in the National achievement rate tables and is indicative only. For all apprenticeship standards for 2022/23 the achievement rate was 54%.

(2) English/mathematics aims include some that are not Functional Skills Qualifications.

(3) The department cannot differentiate between English/mathematics aims that are taken as a mandatory requirement of the apprenticeship and those that are not.

(4) Wider functional skills qualifications (i.e. Digital Functional Skills) are not included in these figures.

(5) 2022/23 is the Hybrid End Year. The Hybrid End Year is the later of the Achievement Year, Expected End Year, Actual End Year or Reporting Year of a programme.

The department recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers, including special guardians, play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The government is committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.

Statutory guidance issued to local authorities makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide.

Financial support is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.

Defra has engaged with and sought to learn from a range of schemes in Europe and further afield in the design of our pEPR scheme, both in the development of policy and implementation of the scheme. As a result, our approach limits producers’ costs to those of efficient and effective collection systems and apportions these between materials based on the costs of their management using appropriate weight and volume-based metrics. This is in line with international good practice.

We have considered feedback from all material sectors, which has included including feedback from the glass sector on the risks of material switching towards plastic and fibre-based composite packaging. We have received limited evidence of decisions to investigate or implement switching. The evidence received indicates expected lead time for major products of at least one to two years to implement any decisions. We continue to engage with the glass sector on reuse which will bring environmental benefits and a reduction in EPR liabilities.

We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) are developed and owned by the local councils and coastal protection authorities. These provide long-term strategic plans which identify approaches for managing the flood and coastal erosion risks at every stretch of coastline.

SMPs have recently been refreshed with updated action plans. This follows several years of collaborative work between the Environment Agency and coastal groups.

The recently updated National Coastal Erosion Risk Map for England (NCERM) provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England. This is based on a further ten years of coastal monitoring data, the latest climate change evidence and technical input from coastal local authorities. It will support and inform local decision making.

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which reform the UK’s producer responsibility system for packaging came into force on 1 January 2025. Extended Producer Responsibility is a major reform that will be iterated over several years to incentivise packaging producers to reduce their material footprint and use more recyclable packaging. We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems for packaging that is commonly collected by Local Authorities, and my officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset for closed loop recycling systems at the earliest opportunity.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 23 December 2024, PQ 20692.

Moving traffic contraventions, including entry into a designated pedestrian zone, may be civilly enforced by designated local authorities using CCTV prescribed by regulations made under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

By using these cameras local authorities are able to capture not just the number plate and location, but the wider context, to establish whether a contravention has occurred.

In the Department’s view, ANPR technology could not in isolation provide the functionality needed for fair and effective civil enforcement.

The Bus Services Act 2017 already requires an authority to make a statement on how they will facilitate SMEs in service provision as part of the franchising process.

On 9 September 2024, the Department consulted on updates to bus franchising guidance, these updates aim to reduce the technical barriers to franchising and support safer, more accessible services. The Department is currently reviewing the feedback received, including valuable insights from bus operators and organisations representing small-to-medium-sized operators, and will respond shortly.

The Department will continue working with local authorities to develop different franchising models that could be smaller scale, require less financial commitment and support SME participation.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring it delivers a safe service which is sensitive to the needs of all customers that use it.

We recognise that some customers may face difficult circumstances particularly at a time of separation and the need to handle customer cases sensitively and accurately, particularly around calculations.

We introduced a Customer Experience Strategy and an Implementation Plan which aims to fully equip caseworkers with the tools, skills and support required to deliver service excellence. We are well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if we become aware that the mental health and wellbeing of any customer is at risk. Caseworkers have received extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps, support tools and procedures to support vulnerable parents experiencing financial or emotional crisis. This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK.

To ensure calculations are accurate the department continues to build on its already proportionate and cost-effective controls, such as:

• use of verified income from HMRC and benefit systems as outlined in legislation and a principal part of service design.
• use of child benefit systems to verify qualifying child(ren).
• procedures and policy to request additional verification.
• a dedicated Financial Investigation Unit which addresses allegations of misrepresentation and fraud.
• a robust mandatory reconsideration and appeals process.

Where a single accidental error relating to the maintenance calculation is made, a challenge can be raised by a parent or their representative within time, and corrections can be applied by a caseworker without the need for a mandatory reconsideration (MR).

We have introduced a robust 3 Tier Quality Framework to rigorously monitor accuracy as part of our service ambition to further reduce error and increase our accuracy levels. The National Audit Office set a target of monetary value errors under 1%. CMS accuracy consistently meets this, remaining above 99% accuracy.

The government has also committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aim to complete each Mandatory Reconsideration within 28 days (20 working days).

The average clearance time for a Mandatory Reconsiderations is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Table 9: Mandatory Reconsiderations, Great Britain, April 2015 to September 2024 is available in the latest CMS published statistics, and it shows that between July and September 2024, 79% of CMS Mandatory Reconsiderations were cleared within 28 days of receipt.