Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the Answer to Question UIN 79041 on 20 October 2025, if he will provide an update on the Department’s investigation into the decline in road adoption rates across England; and when he expects the findings of that investigation to be published.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently investigating the decline in road adoption rates through an ongoing research project. This project seeks to develop a clearer understanding of the road adoption landscape in England and identify ways to improve the process to reverse the declining trend. We will aim to publish the findings of the project as soon as possible this year.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that the needs of patients with severe and very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis are fully addressed within future NHS service provision.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most of the actions included in the final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which we published in July, will benefit all patients with ME/CFS, irrespective of condition severity. However, we are taking specific steps to ensure that patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS are not overlooked. For instance, the ME/CFS final delivery plan includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, the Department has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. All three sessions of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288
The 10-Year Health Plan for the National Health Service also sets out a plan to shift healthcare from hospitals to the community, enabling people to feel supported managing their long-term conditions, including ME/CFS, closer to home. The Neighbourhood Health Service, delivered by new multidisciplinary teams of professionals, will support more services being delivered in the community, helping to create capacity within secondary services for those patients that need it. This will aim to help ensure that those who suffer from ME/CFS are able to live as independently as possible.
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 steps he is taking to ensure that tenure reform supports continued long-term investment in housing-with-care schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87630 on 11 November 2025.
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 plans his Department has to provide more flood resilient new homes in Leigh and Atherton constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or in the future). Where development is necessary in such areas, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.
The government is consulting on changes to the NPPF, including a dedicated chapter on planning for flood risk and coastal change. The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
If it is found to be necessary to build homes in areas of flood risk, statutory guidance accompanying the Building Regulations promotes flood resilient building work in flood-prone areas, through Approved Document C which can be found on gov.uk here. This may include adequate sub-soil drainage; use of non-return valves and anti-flooding devices on sewers and drains; water resistant construction; and provision for inspection and clearance of sub-floor voids.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 implications for his Department’s policies of the reports by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government welcomes the inquiry’s investigations, including the recent Module 2 report. The Government thanks Baroness Hallett and her team for their thorough work on these serious issues. We will consider the findings and recommendations in detail and respond in due course. The Government remains committed to learning the lessons needed from the COVID-19 Inquiry to protect and prepare us for the future.
The Government will also provide regular progress updates on commitments made following reports. The first progress update, on the Inquiry’s Module 1 report on resilience and preparedness, was published 8 July 2025, and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-response-to-the-covid-19-inquiry-module-1-report/uk-government-uk-covid-19-inquiry-response-module-1-implementation-update
It included an update on the Department’s commitments, such as the intention to publish a health and care pandemic preparedness strategy. The next update is scheduled for January 2026.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry are incorporated into future pandemic planning and preparedness exercises.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring the United Kingdom is prepared for a future pandemic is a top priority for the Government, and we are embedding lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic within our pandemic preparedness. We aim to have flexible, adaptable, and scalable capabilities that can respond to any infectious disease or other threat, along all routes of transmission, rather than relying on plans for specific threats.
The Government is committed to learning the lessons from the United Kingdom COVID-19 Inquiry to protect and prepare us for the future. On 16 January 2025, the Government published its response to the inquiry’s module one report on resilience and preparedness. The Department has committed, as part of this response, to publishing a new pandemic preparedness strategy that will show how we are embedding our new approach to pandemic preparedness. The response is published online and is available at the following link:
In Autumn 2025, the Department and the UK Health Security Agency conducted Exercise PEGASUS, a national exercise on the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic, which concluded live participation on 5 November. It aimed to test our ability to respond to a pandemic, involving all regions and nations of the UK, as well as thousands of participants. The exercise has provided valuable experience which is being used to inform our strategy and planning.
Exercises like this are an essential and valuable tool to test our preparedness, capabilities, and response arrangements in the context of a pandemic. Future domestic and international exercises to test our preparedness and defences to biological threats, including pandemics, should factor in findings and lessons from a variety of sources to inform their design. This was an important part of the design of Exercise PEGASUS, the tier one pandemic preparedness exercise, where a variety of lessons, including from previous pandemic exercises such as Exercise CYGNUS, as well as recommendations from the COVID-19 Inquiry, were factored into the exercise’s design and planning.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will consider extending the proposed alignment of the personal allowance for pensioners with the new State Pension rate.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of amending the Computer Misuse Act 1990 on (a) coordination between law enforcement agencies and (b) effectiveness of the cybersecurity industry in disrupting cybercrime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is conducting an ongoing review of the Computer Misuse Act. As part of the review, we are scoping several proposals to update the Act, including how we can better support legitimate cybersecurity researchers so they can operate within a clear and supportive legal framework, while maintaining robust safeguards.
Engagement, including with the cyber security industry, is underway to refine the approach and an update will be provided in due course.
We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure any changes to the Act protect their ability to successfully investigate cybercrime.
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 he plans to introduce a National Development Management Policy for older people’s housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 69042 on 24 July 2025.
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 support the continued inclusion of UK (a) film and (b) television content within the definition of European works in the forthcoming revision of the EU’s Audio-visual Media Services Directive.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the UK is no longer an EU Member State, it is not formally involved in the review of the EU’s Audiovisual & Media Services Directive. However, the Government routinely engages with European partners (EU institutions, EU Member States and non-EU countries) – for example, through DCMS Minister of State Ian Murray’s attendance at an EU Informal Council in Copenhagen of culture and media ministers on 3 and 4 November.
It is clear from this engagement that there is a solid understanding in Europe of the valuable contribution that the UK makes to the European audiovisual ecosystem and the benefits of working together. Through this engagement, we collaborate with our partners on shared policy challenges, celebrate our cultural diversity, drive growth in our respective sectors, and make the case for continued European works status for UK content.