Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing councils to take more rapid action to shut down shops repeatedly found to be trading illegally.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to taking further action against illicit activity on high streets. There has already been a significant crackdown on illegal working, raising enforcement activity to the highest levels in recorded history. The 2025 Budget provided £15 million per year for a range of additional interventions, including an uplift in funding for Trading Standards and a cross-government taskforce to better understand and disrupt criminality on our high streets.
Alongside this, our Pride in Place Programme will give local communities greater control to influence the make-up of their high streets, and support communities to take ownership of shops and key assets. These measures build on existing powers to ensure that high streets remain safe, vibrant, and welcoming for consumers and legitimate businesses.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered amending the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to allow county councils to issue closure notices and apply directly for closure orders.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils to quickly close premises which are causing or likely to cause nuisance or disorder.
County councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area.
This Goverment keeps all legislative options under review.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialist mental health support is available to children experiencing parental alienation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country and deliver timely, efficient care for children and young people, including children affected by parental alienation.
As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.
We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve coordination between NHS mental health services and criminal justice agencies.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Together with NHS England, we are committed to continuing to work in partnership to improve services to ensure that people in contact with the criminal justice system have access to timely and effective mental health care that is tailored to their needs. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in February 2023 and is supported by robust governance and regular ministerial engagement between Departments.
The National Partnership Agreement sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care that improves health outcomes for people in prison and those subject to supervision by the probation service in the community. This ensures a coordinated approach between health and justice partners to improve health outcomes for those in contact with the justice system.
To improve continuity of care and swift access to treatment on release, we have recruited over 67 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators who strengthen healthcare pathways and bolster support, including for those on Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs), by building partnerships between prison, probation and treatment providers. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with identified health needs, to engage with the right health services in the community. Services work with people up to 12 weeks before release, and 6 months post-release.
Our ongoing partnership with NHSE has achieved an increase in the number of MHTRs, with the number of people sentenced to MHTRs now more than five times higher than it was a decade ago, up from 960 in 2014 to 4,880 in 2024.
We are committed to continuing to work with our health partners to provide effective, coordinated services for those with a mental health need.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023, when he plans to launch the consultation on technical issues for the proposed renewable liquid heating fuel obligation.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has published a consultation on alternative heating solutions which seeks to gather evidence on the role that these technologies could play in ensuring that every household has a low-carbon option that is right for them. The consultation will run until 10 February and can be found here: Exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions - GOV.UK.
The government will consider the evidence from this consultation before making any decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating, including through an obligation.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Landfill Tax on the competitiveness and viability of the UK foundry sector; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that any changes do not disproportionately affect small and medium-sized foundries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of businesses in the foundry sector, which employ thousands of people across the UK and support critical supply chains.
The Government has listened to concerns from businesses and announced at Budget 2025 that it will not proceed with the plan to converge towards a single rate of Landfill Tax. Instead, the Government intends to prevent the gap between the two rates from widening further over the coming years.
The Government has also decided not to remove key exemptions to Landfill Tax including the water discounting scheme and Qualifying Fines regime, and is committed to continuing to work with businesses to develop new solutions that enable them to recycle more of the waste they produce.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Charity Commission on adopting a more proportionate approach to regulatory and audit requirements for small and medium-sized charities, to help reduce administrative burdens and additional compliance costs at lower income levels.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS is working closely with the Charity Commission to reduce administrative burdens for charities. On 31 October 2025 we published our response to the consultation on financial thresholds in charity law; setting out how we will reduce burdens for charities, while ensuring appropriate scrutiny and oversight. The changes, which should be implemented later this year, will save charities an estimated £47m per year.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, following the Expanding the Warm Home Discount Scheme, 2025 to 2026, consultation and the decision not to expand the Park Homes Warm Home Discount Scheme, (a) what support is being provided for people living on boats, and (b) what support is being planned.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Support may be available to houseboats dwellers via the Industry Initiative element of the Warm Home Discount Scheme. These are energy-related and financial measures that energy suppliers can deliver to their own customers or working with industry partners. These include energy efficiency measures, energy advice, boiler and central heating replacements, financial assistance payments and debt write-off,
Each participating supplier has a spending obligation towards Industry Initiatives. This allows them to help customers who are fuel poor or at risk of fuel poverty through a variety of activities and third parties. Households are encouraged to contact any participating supplier about the Industry Initiatives they offer, without the need to be an existing customer.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is considering changes to postgraduate research funding eligibility for older learners as part of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The lifelong learning entitlement (LLE) will deliver transformational change to the current student finance system by broadening access to high quality, flexible education and training.
From January 2027, all undergraduate higher education courses, including integrated master’s courses, will be funded through the LLE. Tuition fee loans will be available for people up to the age of 60.
The government will continue to provide a dedicated loan package for postgraduate study. The postgraduate master’s loan, administered by Student Finance England, currently provides up to £12,858 for tuition fees and living costs for eligible students.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made on whether current enforcement powers available to county council Trading Standards services are sufficient to tackle illegal and illicit trading linked to organised crime on high streets.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the crucial role Trading Standards services play in tackling illegal and illicit trading on our high streets, including activity linked to organised crime.
At the recent Budget, the Chancellor committed £30 million over the next three years to strengthen our response to high street criminality and ensure Trading Standards and partners have the tools and resources needed to identify and dismantle organised criminal networks operating on our high street. This includes establishing a cross-government taskforce to disrupt money laundering and related criminality, boosting Trading Standards capabilities, and funding at least 45 law enforcement officers.
The taskforce will design systemic interventions to disrupt the threat and consider whether further legislative or operational changes – including in relation to local authorities – are necessary to further protect consumers and legitimate businesses.