Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 mandating blunt-tipped kitchen knives for domestic use on rates of knife crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s mission to halve knife crime over a decade will be delivered through tougher enforcement and stronger prevention. However, we have been clear nothing is off the table when it comes to getting lethal blades off our streets and keeping people safe. We are actively exploring options and pursuing changes in this area, and I will be meeting with retailers and manufacturers to develop next steps on the promotion of rounded tipped knives.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
0.11% of cars rented by the department were electric vehicles over the past two years, which equated to a total of five.
The department will have a new vehicle hire contract in place from 2026 and, working with suppliers and other government departments, it is our intention to update our current vehicle hire policy to include a strategy of ‘electric first’. This will direct our drivers to seek electric vehicles as a first option, hybrids as a second option and finally combustion engine vehicles where there are no alternatives available.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department makes use of the Government Car service, which provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. MHCLG does not hold information on the number of electric vehicles utilised.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As of 19th May 2025, 2,588 of the Ministry of Defence's 11,572 vehicles leased through the Phoenix II contract are fully electric, representing 22.36% of the fleet. This does not include hybrid vehicles as the Department is moving towards 100% zero emission vehicles by 2027 in accordance with the Greening Government Commitment.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Department currently leases 705 vehicles; of which 57 are electric. This equates to 8% of total leased vehicles.
The Ministry of Justice is committed to transitioning towards full electrification of its fleet vehicles in line with the Government Greening Commitment 2027.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of implementing schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on the (a) number and (b) effectiveness of sustainable drainage systems in new developments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, offer reuse opportunities, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.
We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.
We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments are allocated a combination of electric and hybrid vehicles which are owned by the Government Car Service based on operational and security requirements. However, details of the specific vehicles allocated to individual Ministers are not disclosed. Sharing this information, particularly when combined with other publicly available details, could compromise the security of Ministers and their transport arrangements.
For travel by civil servants, the Cabinet Office does not rent a fleet of vehicles. It does have a contract in place for the provision of hire vehicles. These are for short term vehicle hire and used for official travel. In 24/25 (the latest period where information is available), the Cabinet Office had 1,504 individual hires, covering 3,175 days of hire. Of these, 14 vehicles were fully electric, with a hire period of 29 days.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In FY24-25, DESNZ had 149 hires, including 6 electric vehicles. The data for FY25-26 to date is not yet available.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was formed in February 2023, therefore there is no data for DESNZ prior to that date. Additionally, for FY23-24 the car hire contract used was still under DESNZ’s predecessor department, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and all bookings were assigned to BEIS cost centres. It is not possible to determine which of these hires related to DESNZ.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 impact of land-based fish farms which use indoor tanks instead of ocean- or lake-based pens on animal welfare.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, including fish, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of a protected animal, for which that person is responsible. The Farm Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish was also published in 2014.
The potential impact of land-based recirculating aquaculture systems on fish welfare is an issue we are considering.