Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of automatically releasing funds in unclaimed adult-owned Child Trust Funds through the (a) benefit, (b) payroll and (c) student loan systems.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is aware of suggestions that a system could be developed for paying out the savings held in matured Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts that have not been accessed by the account owners by the age of 21.

The savings in these accounts belong to the account owners, and are held by private sector CTF providers. The Government does not have the authority to close these accounts, or to access and transfer the savings in them. Neither does the infrastructure that would be needed across government departments and CTF providers to implement the proposal, exist.

The Government is committed to reuniting all young adults with their CTFs.

HMRC works with CTF providers, industry representatives and others such as the University and Colleges Admissions service to explore ways of enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) all plastic bottles sold in the UK are fully recyclable and (b) 100 per cent of such bottles are recycled by 2030.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is coming to England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027 and will focus on increasing recycling and reducing littering.

A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).

Once the DRS is introduced, the Deposit Management Organisation will be required to reach a return rate of 90% in year 3 of the scheme.

International DRSs have seen recycling rates increase to over 95%.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers to be implemented across the UK; and what assessment he has made of its expected impact on plastic bottle recycling rates.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is coming to England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027 and will focus on increasing recycling and reducing littering.

A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).

Once the DRS is introduced, the Deposit Management Organisation will be required to reach a return rate of 90% in year 3 of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing match-funding for incentive payments to Stepladder PLUS.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department wants to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and are engaged in education, employment and training.

We recognise the importance of financial skills, such as those provided through the Stepladder Plus programme, in achieving this aim. The department currently supports the use of this programme through its contract, for the provision of Junior ISA savings accounts to children in care, with the Share Foundation. We do not currently have any plans to assess the merits of match-funding.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made provisions for the recovery of public funds from contractors who fail to deliver on Building Digital UK contracts.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Payments to suppliers for delivery under Project Gigabit contracts are made once a gigabit capable connection is available to the premises. Where a supplier fails, the supplier is required to repay any public money paid through the contracts for premises which do not reach this point.

In May 2025, Building Digital UK (BDUK) and Full Fibre mutually agreed to terminate the Project Gigabit contract for the Peak District, which included some premises in the Derbyshire Dales constituency. This contract did not reach a stage where gigabit-capable connections were being delivered and therefore there was no requirement for any funding to be repaid by the supplier.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of potential challenges to decarbonise (a) homes and (b) businesses that (i) use alternative energy sources and (ii) are off the main gas grid.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism is focused on developing the market and supply chain for upgrading homes with hydronic heat pumps – a core technology for the UK’s transition to cleaner heating since around 90% of UK homes have water-based central heating systems. The Government will keep the scope of the scheme under regular review.

The Government has published a response to the consultation on proposed Boiler Upgrade Scheme changes, confirming grants of £2,500 for air-to-air heat pumps in domestic properties, starting in 2026. This will increase consumer choice and support the UK’s transition towards low carbon heating systems.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 2017 Electronic Communications Code reforms on the time taken for the roll out of 5G masts in rural communities.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The aim of the 2017 reforms was to encourage investment in digital networks and improve coverage and connectivity across the UK.

Our ambition is that all populated areas will have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to removing barriers to the digital infrastructure, including reviewing where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of 5G.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of the 2017 Electronic Communications Code reforms on the time taken for the roll out of 5G lasts in rural communities. However, analysis from the EU Commission showed 5G households' coverage in the UK at the end of 2024 (95%) was on par with India, China and ahead of France (94%) and the EU (94.3%), but behind South Korea (100%), Japan (99.2%), Norway, Iceland and Germany (all 99%) as well as USA (97.0%). Since this assessment, UK 5G coverage outside premises has increased to 96%.

Volumetric Concrete Mobile Plants and Vehicle Weight Restrictions

Habitat regulations

Thanking postal workers

25th Anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Government review into Volumetric Concrete Mobile plants

New private capital in the NHS in the Autumn Budget

Buying community energy locally

Found: Buckley; Carla Denyer; Barry Gardiner; Chris Hinchliff; Sarah Gibson; Martin Rhodes; Dr Roz Savage; John Whitby

Found: Buckley; Carla Denyer; Barry Gardiner; Chris Hinchliff; Sarah Gibson; Martin Rhodes; Dr Roz Savage; John Whitby