Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to address delays in importing elevator parts to the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is working with border and customs authorities to ensure import processes for elevator components operate as efficiently as possible, including through clear guidance and the use of simplified and digital customs procedures.
If a company’s goods are delayed at customs, they should first contact their courier (e.g., DHL, FedEx, UPS) or customs broker, as they usually have the most direct information on the status. They can contact the HMRC Customs and International Trade Helpline on 0300 322 9434, or HMRC imports and exports enquiries for assistance.
We have taken further steps to make it easier for businesses to import products, including extending importer labelling easements and continuing the recognition of some EU rules including CE marking. These measures reduce duplicative regulatory requirements and administrative burdens for manufactured goods. In practice, this supports smoother, faster market access and helps minimise delays in supplying critical components, including lift components, into the market.
The Government maintains strong relationships with industry and international partners and is always looking at ways to reduce burdens and support supply chains.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report entitled Invisible Women "Made Visible": Learning from the Femicides of Black, Minoritised and Migrant Women published by Killed Women in October 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government, and we are treating it as the national emergency it is. The recently published ‘Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy’ sets out the steps we are taking to drive system-wide change, so that no life is lost to violence and abuse that could have been prevented. All victims, including Black and other minoritised ethnic groups, are integrated into our response, and every commitment set out in the Strategy will consider Black and other minoritised ethnic groups.
The report illustrates the stark picture of the risk of fatal violence faced by Black and ethnic minority women. The Government is absolutely committed to improving the response to all forms of violence, and femicide as part of that. I wholeheartedly thank the Killed Women network for their work to raise awareness of these appalling crimes and have written to them in response to this report.
The Home Office continues to build the evidence base on all domestic abuse related deaths through funding the Domestic Homicide Project, to capture information on these deaths from all 43 police forces in England and Wales and identify how the response can be improved. We are also exploring the possibility of expanding the project’s scope in future years to encompass all deaths that occur in the context of VAWG. This will enable a more comprehensive understanding of every death resulting from VAWG to improve our response and prevent further loss of life.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 prevent the advertising of vapes and tobacco products alongside items such as toys and sweets in retail settings; and what assessment he has made of the potential steps of further restricting advertisements to ensure such products are not marketed in a way that could appeal to children.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Evidence shows that comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising have had a significant impact on reducing consumption, but partial bans have had no significant effect. This is why most forms of advertising and promotion of tobacco products are already banned under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002. These products are also hidden from display in most retail settings to protect children and young people from the harms of tobacco.
We know that vapes and other nicotine products are being deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children, and it is concerning that youth vaping has more than doubled over the past five years.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children and will extend current tobacco advertising restrictions to vaping products and nicotine products. The bill also gives us the powers to make regulations to restrict the display of these products in stores. We will consult on display proposals later this year.
The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the bill, including on the prohibition on the advertising of vaping and nicotine products. The Government will monitor the impact of these restrictions following their implementation.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to increase the number of qualified lift engineers in the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out reforms to the skills system to ensure skills provision is aligned to the needs of the Industrial Strategy and supports people to train in sectors which support growth and meet priority skills needs.
The government has launched an engineering skills package which will provide £182 million over three years to support engineering skills in England, working with Skills England to determine how this can increase the pipeline of skills such as those needed for lift engineers.
We are also launching Technical Excellence Colleges to address shortages in engineering, which is critical to the skills needed in priority sectors.
Skills England supports occupational standards specialising in the installation, maintenance and repair of lifts, escalators and related systems. It also has a range of generic standards at different levels covering technologies and occupations that are relevant to employers working on those systems. It will continue to work with employers to ensure that content is relevant and up to date.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve elevator part manufacturing levels in the UK.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Manufacturing is crucial for the UK's economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and boosting national security and resilience. Last year this government published our 10-year Modern Industrial Strategy, setting out our long-term approach to strengthening domestic capability. Alongside it we published the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, which outlines both sector-specific and cross-cutting measures aimed at boosting manufacturing overall, including for component manufacturers. Our focus is on delivering against these strategies to make the UK the best place to start and grow a manufacturing business.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether non-British spouses of British nationals in Middle Eastern countries affected by Iranian strikes will be included in emergency evacuation and repatriation programmes.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The spouses and partners of British nationals who are not British nationals themselves may be registered to travel on any available government-chartered flights but will require a valid visa or permission to enter or remain that was granted for more than six months.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help support the spending power of those who are on the national minimum wage.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage will increase by 4.1% to £12.71 per hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over. This represents an increase of £900 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage, and is expected to directly benefit the spending power of around 2.4m low-paid workers.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have paid back their full Exceptional Financial Support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The recent Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. Our reforms are delivering a fairer Settlement which puts funding where it is needed most. Before our reforms, only around a third of councils were given the funding that broadly matched their assessed need. Our reforms bring that up to nine in ten councils by 2028-29.
However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system. On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. In line with approaches taken by previous governments, this support is provided through in-principle agreement to capitalisation directions. These provide councils with flexibility to manage some budgetary pressures either using capital receipts or using contributions from the revenue budget over time, supported by borrowing where necessary.
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, including funding any expenditure under the Exceptional Financial Support framework. When agreeing support, government has been clear that councils should aim to avoid or minimise additional borrowing by looking to use capital receipts to fund capitalised expenditure where possible, subject to appropriate value for money considerations and protection of community and heritage assets.
Government has also been clear that any support provided should be a time-limited and temporary measure, and local authorities should have clear plans to deliver the improvements and service transformation required to help them to return to financial stability over the multi-year Settlement.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 help reduce colonoscopy waiting times in East Sussex.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is aware of the impact that waiting for diagnostic tests, like colonoscopies, has on patients and is committed to reducing waiting times through transforming diagnostic services in acute hospitals and community diagnostic centres (CDCs). Earlier access to diagnostic tests is key to supporting earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment if needed.
A colonoscopy is a type of an endoscopic procedure. The strategy for endoscopy across Sussex is for new treatments, such as cyto-sponge and colon capsule endoscopy, to be developed and delivered through its CDCs in 2026/27, offering less invasive alternatives to endoscopy for the many patients for whom they are suitable. This will reduce the demand on endoscopy services in hospitals which will be able to be more effectively used for those patients who require them.
We are pleased to say that a new endoscopy centre on the Eastbourne Hospital site is due to start taking patients in March 2026, which will further improve the capacity and environment for patients.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school-based nurseries were created under the school-based nursery capital grant for 2024-25 that replaced an existing private nursery in the same location.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High-quality early years education is central to our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life, and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school led-provision and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers and childminders operating from school sites. There is no available data on any replacement of provision.
27 of the 300 successful schools in Phase 1 are working in partnership with a private, voluntary or independent provider, and schools can continue to partner with them and childminders for future phases. For Phase 1 of the programme, local authorities had to confirm childcare need for the proposed projects. In further phases, we have strengthened their role, asking them to confirm that any new nursery will enhance the local offer and not displace quality provision already in place.
We have already made a real impact, delivering a reported 5,000 new nursery places through Phase 1, and are due to announce successful projects for Phase 2 soon.