Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in levels of charges incurred at ports due to customs procedures on small businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC and Border Force do not typically charge for any customs related processes or checks carried out at ports, and any costs levied at ports are a commercial matter for port operators. HMRC is committed to making customs processes as simple as possible while ensuring effective checks are in place at the border and to reducing trader burden related to complying with customs obligations.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to set up an independent body to process Disclosure and Barring Service checks with formalised processing time targets.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is already an operationally independent body. It also already operates to formalised service standards of completing 85% of Basic check applications within 2 days, 85% of Standard check applications within 3 days, and 80% of Enhanced check applications within 14 days.
Its latest performance against these service standards is available at DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of mobile phone signal in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom’s improved online mobile coverage checker went live on 26 June, which I would encourage the Hon Member to consult.
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. We continue to work with industry to deliver this and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a reduction on the savings limit on Individual Savings Accounts on savers.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.
The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide.
The impact of any changes to ISAs would be set out in a tax information impact note. The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of job opportunities for newly qualified nurses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the employment of newly qualified nurses are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts, which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
We are working closely with NHS England, employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification and transition into the workplace.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the rates for Extended Producer Responsibility fees for more recyclable materials.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The RAM has been used by producers to assess packaging recyclability from January 2025. The RAM is an important aspect of pEPR as it will determine the modulation sub-category, and therefore the level of fees applicable to that material, with higher fees applied to less sustainable packaging.
Fee modulation will begin from year two of the scheme for payments in the 2026/27 financial year, based on 2025 producer data.
We have made a full impact assessment of implementing packaging extended producer responsibility will have which we published when The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 were laid before parliament.
The Government will continue to monitor modulation to ensure fees reward improved recyclability.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waste in the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are a range of initiatives in the National Health Service to tackle waste, ranging from locally managed walking aid refurbishment schemes to innovative projects on the reuse of surgical textiles. NHS England has also been working to reduce the wastage of medicines, as recommended in the National Overprescribing Review in 2020.
In addition, in October 2024, the Department published the Design for Life roadmap, a new strategy to transition away from all avoidable single-use medical technology products towards a functioning circular system by 2045. The Design for life Roadmap is available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/679ca015a9ee53687470a2ed/design-for-life-roadmap.pdf
Single-use medical devices such as tourniquets and scissors, as well as high-tech electronic devices like harmonic shears, are often expensive and are thrown away after a single use. The programme is building on examples of where NHS organisations are already achieving cost, waste, and carbon savings.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of basing the calculation of Extended Producer Responsibility fees on volume.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is not considering the adoption of a units-based metric. In accordance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, Extender Producer Responsibility disposal fees for packaging are calculated in £ per tonne of household packaging placed on the market. Producers report the packaging they supply on a weight basis, and the costs for managing different material types, such as glass, are apportioned according to relevant cost drivers for their collection and management, including the volume of the container in bins and collection vehicles. This ensures the fair apportionment of costs between material types in line with the regulations.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 Written Ministerial Statement of 25 June 2025, HCWS736, on Simplified Local Leadership Structures, what her Department's planned timetable is for making those changes to local leadership structures.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils operating the committee system which are not part of local government reorganisation will be given one year from the date of the legislation coming into force to make the transition. Where a council which operates the committee system is to be dissolved under local government reorganisation it will be exempt from making the change. All new councils will be required to operate the leader and cabinet model of governance.
Legislation on this matter will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of appeal Tribunals in relation to (a) PIP, (b) DLA and (c) ESA has the Department not contested in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not contest appeals. Claimants have a legal right to dispute decisions made by the Secretary of State in relation to aspects of their Social Security entitlement. They do so by lodging appeals against those decisions with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), in most cases following a Mandatory Reconsideration.
There are no cases in the First-tier Tribunal where DWP would bring an appeal against a claimant. DWP acts as a respondent to the appeal, and will provide a written response in all cases clarifying the current decision and the legal and evidential basis on which it was made. HMCTS considers the available evidence, including evidence provided in the hearing by the appellant, and will determine whether to overturn or uphold the decision.
If the decision of the First-tier Tribunal contains a potential error in law, either party to the appeal may seek leave to challenge the tribunal’s decision. The decision may be set aside by a District Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, or go on to be considered by the Upper Tribunal.