Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the role heritage-led regeneration can play in supporting the renewal of town centres and local economic growth.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy is clear about the positive contribution that the conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities, including their economic viability.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to the conservation of the historic environment. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
The government’s Pride in Place programme will support projects across the country, including celebrating the heritage of local areas.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to support embodied carbon reduction through the reuse and retrofit of existing buildings.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National design planning practice guidance highlights that reusing and adapting buildings can reduce embodied carbon emissions and waste, and lower resource consumption while improving energy performance.
Through the Warm Homes Plan, we are investing £15 billion to upgrade up to 5 million homes, helping to cut bills, lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030, and create good jobs across the country.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to climate change mitigation, including taking opportunities to re-use existing structures and materials. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to promote guidance on material selection within retrofit policy, particularly regarding (a) durability, (b) compatibility and (c) whole-life performance.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Regulations set functional performance requirements for new building work; they may apply when somebody is putting up a new building, making material changes to a building, extending an existing building or altering building services. They are supported by statutory guidance called Approved Documents which help ensure that minimum standards for size, space and materials are incorporated into the design.
The Government requires energy efficiency measures installed under its schemes to comply with the Publicly Available Specification PAS 2035/2030, which sets out best practice guidance for domestic retrofit. PAS 2035 requires a whole‑house approach, ensuring interactions between measures are considered and reducing the risk of unintended consequences such as condensation, damp and mould. The standard includes requirements to assess and, where necessary, improve ventilation to mitigate moisture risks and protect indoor air quality. Together, these requirements support the protection of building fabric, ensure compatibility between measures, and promote durable, long‑term performance of retrofit installations.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of VAT reform to support repair, maintenance and retrofit projects over demolition and rebuild within the built environment sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including most construction work.
To support the Government’s housing delivery targets, the Government currently maintains a zero rate of VAT on new-build residential buildings. There are also several VAT reliefs supporting renovation and retrofit, including a zero rate of VAT for installations of qualifying Energy Saving Materials until April 2027, a zero rate of VAT for conversions of non-residential buildings into a residential use and reduced rates of VAT for renovating residential buildings that have been empty for at least two years and for converting buildings from one residential use to another.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of variation between local authorities in the provision of SEND support for children from Armed Forces families.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of family mobility on the continuity of SEND provision for children from Armed Forces families.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the outcomes of Service children with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has made on developing a national Cultural Infrastructure Map; and whether it will identify (a) areas of under-provision and (b) existing cultural assets.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is not currently developing a national Cultural Infrastructure Map. However, extensive work has been undertaken by Arts Council England and Historic England to effectively map the cultural and heritage infrastructure of England. The Arts Council's Culture and Place Data Explorer maps the currently available datasets related to cultural services across the country, including the location of Theatres, Libraries, ACE accredited museums and charitable organisations delivering culture, heritage and science related activities. Additionally Historic England publishes data relating to assets such as heritage sites, heritage at risk and conservation areas. This data can be found on their website. In addition to this the department has undertaken work to map areas of low engagement and underprovision to help in selecting Culture Priority Places. The methodology will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that grassroots artists and cultural organisations in post-industrial towns can access funding streams to support creative economy growth.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to supporting grassroots cultural organisations and spurring local creative economy growth.
We launched the Creative Foundations Fund in February 2025, as part of our £1.5bn Arts Everywhere investment. This will invest up to £425m in arts and cultural organisations in England over five years.
The Creative Places Growth Fund will provide £150m of devolved funding across six Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England to turbocharge local creative industries.
Moreover, places across the UK, including many post-industrial towns, have had the opportunity to bid into the UK City of Culture and UK Town of Culture competitions. Notably, both competitions have guaranteed funding to the winners of £10m and £3m respectively.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of neurodivergent workers on the creative industries; and what steps she is taking to improve data collection, access, progression and workplace support for those workers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The continued success of the creative industries is dependent on the diverse people who work within them, and we value and support the potential of neurodivergent workers and their impact on the creative industries. Whilst we already publish employment data broken down by disability status in the creative industries, the Creative Industries Sector Plan committed DCMS to tackling barriers to data collection. We will continue to work with industry to develop new data and evidence and improve access to official statistics, evidence and data, both of which are important to understand representation of neurodiverse people in our creative sectors.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we work closely with the Disability and Access Ambassador for the creative industries to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the industry for disabled people. We also committed in our Sector Plan to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service, to raise awareness of creative careers and support young people from all backgrounds. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, ensuring inclusive access for young people outside major urban centres, including those with SEND or other access considerations. Our Creative Careers Programme work experience pilot successfully engaged a diverse and inclusive group of young people, with 81% of the young people who completed a placement in the last year having identified access or additional needs.
The government can't achieve our goals alone, which is why we work closely with the sector to improve inclusivity, through the Creative Industries Council, and our continued support for the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA). We have been pleased to see vital industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity, such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve diversity and representation, and create career opportunities for all.