Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporating renewable energy generation forecasts into publicly available weather broadcasts.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

No assessment has been made. In any case, this would require the careful consideration of the Met Office.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue a formal apology to those affected by historic forced adoptions in England; and if she will set out a timetable for making such an apology.

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

The government recognises that historical forced adoption practices caused deep and lasting harm to many mothers, adoptees and families, and we take those experiences extremely seriously.

We accept that the state played a role in what happened, and the case for a formal apology is powerful. The government is actively considering this, alongside what meaningful action should accompany it.

We will soon respond to the recommendations made by the Education Select Committee, setting out how we ensure this issue is addressed with the care and respect it deserves.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of UK critical mineral imports in each of the last three years originated from a single country of origin for each listed mineral; and what assessment he has made of the risk of critical mineral supply being concentrated in a single country.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Please see table below, derived from HMRC’s Import data by preference bulk dataset, using trade codes as published in the technical annex of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy.

The Strategy recognises that supply chains are increasingly concentrated and sets out a clear ambition to diversify supply, including ensuring that no more than 60% of any critical mineral is sourced from a single country. This will be achieved by strengthening domestic production and recycling, building international partnerships to diversify supply, and leveraging finance and innovation to support more resilient global supply chains.

Single largest country of origin for UK imports of critical and growth minerals, by proportion of the total mass imported, 2023-2025.

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 proportion of residential planning permissions granted in England in each of the last five years that have not resulted in development commencing within two years of permission being granted.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 122315 on 1 April 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what volume of each mineral listed on the UK Critical Minerals List was imported in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025, broken down by country of origin.

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

Please see table below, derived from HMRC’s Import data by preference bulk dataset, using trade codes as published in the technical annex of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy. Countries of origin have been grouped into EU and non-EU for legibility.

Volumes of each critical and growth mineral imported into the UK, tonnes, 2023-25, broken down by those sourced from EU and non-EU countries.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what process is available to businesses that require steel grades not available from suppliers on the approved UK domestic supplier list under the UK Steel and Trade Measures.

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

The measure is designed to only cover steel requirements that can be made in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons, for example where single product codes contain different sizes of steel products.

Quotas aim to allow sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users.

We will monitor implementation of the measure and review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective, and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the notice period provided to businesses in the advanced manufacturing supply chain ahead of the introduction of tariffs on imported steel grades under the UK Steel and Trade Measures.

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

The Government held extensive engagement with both primary steel producers and downstream users to inform development of the trade measure, including a Call for Evidence in July 2025.

To ease short-term impacts, we are introducing a transitional arrangement under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.

We will continue engaging regularly with companies across the supply chain, including those in the advanced manufacturing sector, and will monitor implementation of the measure ahead of a full review of the measure after 12 months.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department's proposed underwriting of the 2027 Invictus Games is contingent on Invictus UK 2027 Ltd securing funding from other sources.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The 2024 Labour Party manifesto committed to delivery of the Invictus Games, recognising the Games' vital role in recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

The Invictus Games are delivered by a host nation entity under the Invictus Games Foundation, with funding models varying by country. To support the bid for the 2027 Games in Birmingham, a charitable entity, IUK27, was established, and the UK Government agreed to underwrite £26 million of the costs as a contingency, specifically to ensure delivery of the Games if sufficient commercial sponsorship was not secured. A proportion of this underwrite has been set aside over three grants to be released incrementally.

Officials meet regularly with the Invictus Games 2027 Ltd team to discuss the planning and delivery of the Games.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions her Department has had with Invictus UK 2027 Ltd on the projected (a) operating and (b) administrative costs of the 2027 Invictus Games.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The 2024 Labour Party manifesto committed to delivery of the Invictus Games, recognising the Games' vital role in recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

The Invictus Games are delivered by a host nation entity under the Invictus Games Foundation, with funding models varying by country. To support the bid for the 2027 Games in Birmingham, a charitable entity, IUK27, was established, and the UK Government agreed to underwrite £26 million of the costs as a contingency, specifically to ensure delivery of the Games if sufficient commercial sponsorship was not secured. A proportion of this underwrite has been set aside over three grants to be released incrementally.

Officials meet regularly with the Invictus Games 2027 Ltd team to discuss the planning and delivery of the Games.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department reviewed an itemised operating budget from Invictus UK 2027 Ltd before agreeing to underwrite the 2027 Invictus Games.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The 2024 Labour Party manifesto committed to delivery of the Invictus Games, recognising the Games' vital role in recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

The Invictus Games are delivered by a host nation entity under the Invictus Games Foundation, with funding models varying by country. To support the bid for the 2027 Games in Birmingham, a charitable entity, IUK27, was established, and the UK Government agreed to underwrite £26 million of the costs as a contingency, specifically to ensure delivery of the Games if sufficient commercial sponsorship was not secured. A proportion of this underwrite has been set aside over three grants to be released incrementally.

Officials meet regularly with the Invictus Games 2027 Ltd team to discuss the planning and delivery of the Games.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding is available to local authorities in England to develop (a) new and (b) restored outdoor public swimming facilities, including lidos; and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of that funding to meet public demand for safe, accessible and affordable outdoor swimming provision.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility for providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of glyphosate-based herbicides on wild pollinators and biodiversity in public spaces; and what criteria will inform the Government's decision on the renewal of the glyphosate product authorisation licence.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently undertaking a renewal assessment of the pesticide active substance glyphosate to determine whether it continues to meet the strict approval criteria for use in pesticide products in Great Britain. This renewal assessment includes a thorough and robust scientific assessment of the risks the use of glyphosate poses to the environment, including its impact on pollinators, and risks to both human and animal health.

To meet regulatory requirements, the assessment will be informed by all relevant evidence including, but not limited to, newly published literature; newly accepted regulatory guidelines and standards; newly generated studies or regulatory models; and regulatory assessments and decisions taken in other jurisdictions since the last assessment.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the funding allocated to victim support services for the three years from 2026 to 2029 has been apportioned to homicide of British Citizens abroad.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to ensuring that families bereaved by homicide, including those bereaved by homicide abroad, receive the support they need to build resilience and cope with the impact of these devastating crimes. This is why we commission the National Homicide Service, delivered by Victim Support, to provide free tailored support to families in England and Wales with funding of circa £5.5 million per year.

The service is delivered by dedicated caseworkers and provides a comprehensive offer of emotional, practical and advocacy support. The service also offers a peer support service and caseworkers can arrange access to specialist support such as access to counselling and therapy.

Funding for the National Homicide Service is allocated to deliver support to all eligible service users and is not apportioned by the location of the homicide. For those families bereaved by homicide abroad, additional support is available to aid with repatriation, travel to the country where the victim died, translation of documents and legal advice depending on the families’ needs. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides a funding contribution to the Service to support these costs.

Costs of delivering support vary depending on a range of factors, including the number of family members supported, the duration and intensity of support required and the specific needs of each case. It is therefore not possible to provide a meaningful breakdown of funding for cases involving British Nationals killed by homicide abroad.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility for disabled people of online information about the victims' services it funds.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice provides online information about the services available to victims and witnesses on the victim and witness website (victimandwitnessinformation.org.uk). Whilst some parts of the website are not fully accessible, for example some images and formatting, key information about support services can be adapted to meet accessibility requirements.

The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and organisations to commission and deliver support to victims. These organisations will provide online information about their service provision. All PCCs and service providers are required to ensure support for underrepresented groups, including disabled people. We would expect PCCs and providers to ensure that the provision of online information about their services, for example on websites and apps, is accessible to those with a disability.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish its response to the consultation on a new Victims' Code.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The consultation on a new Victims’ Code closed on the 30 April. We are now taking the time to consider nearly 200 responses, and we will issue a public response in due course, ahead of finalising the new Code and bringing it into force.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to increase the number of counselling sessions available to bereaved families through the Homicide Service.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to ensuring that families bereaved by homicide receive the support they need to help them build resilience to cope with the impact of these devastating crimes. That is why we commission a National Homicide Service, delivered by Victim Support, to provide a consistent level of support across England and Wales. This is a caseworker-led service which offers emotional, practical, specialist, advocacy, and peer support. The service is free of charge and support can be accessed no matter when the homicide occurred. In addition, service users can re-join the service at any time.

Alongside the caseworker support, caseworkers can also arrange access to specialist support such as trauma therapy and bereavement counselling. Therapy offered through the National Homicide Service is designed to be a short-term intervention to help stabilise the service user and manage the immediate trauma. The number of sessions provided is informed by established clinical guidance including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Where more sustained or specialist support is required, the Service works with bereaved families to plan next steps, including facilitating access to longer term support for example through a referral to NHS services, whilst continuing to provide emotional and practical support throughout.

We are currently procuring a new Homicide Service contract, due to commence in April 2027. This sets out a minimum requirement of twelve therapy sessions but also stipulates that the Service should carefully consider requests for additional sessions to ensure it is responsive to individual circumstances.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to SEND tribunal powers on the ability of parents and carers to secure named school placements for children with education, health and care plans.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform proposals, education, health and care plans will be underpinned by clear evidence-based Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs). All providers approved to deliver SPPs will be required to meet standards necessary to deliver the full range of provision specified by the SPP. Local authorities will have to provide parents with a list of suitable schools, approved to deliver the relevant SPP, and parents can select a school from this list or request an alternative school. If the latter, the local authority will take account of parents’ preference alongside evidence of effectiveness, good value, and the needs of other children when offering a place.

If parents disagree with the placement, they would have to consider early resolution through mediation and can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The Tribunal would consider if the local authority’s decision is reasonable. If it upholds the appeal, the Tribunal could order the decision to be retaken but would not name the placement.

This is intended to ensure placement decisions are made in a more consistent and fair way, with preferences made less in isolation and more holistically, focusing on quality and naming a suitable placement closer to home.

After a 12-week consultation period including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation “SEND reform: putting children and young people first” has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what financial contribution her Department has made to the Victim Support Homicide Service in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring that families bereaved by homicide abroad receive the support they need. As part of this, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office provides a contribution towards the overall £5.5 million funding of the National Homicide Service, proportionate to the number of bereaved families supported by the service whose loved ones are victims of homicide overseas.

Adequacy of early years funding in Hampshire

Wokingham's Best Pub Competition

Domestic abuse and the FIFA World Cup

Close season for hare shooting

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

Camberley men's breakfast club

English Wine Week 2026

Lelia Gardner achieving the King's Scout Award

Infill of former mineral extraction sites in floodplains

Deaths of humanitarian de-miners from Norwegian People's Aid

A new growth and defence partnership with Europe

Armed Forces Week

Protections for UK egg producers

Volunteer Centre West Berkshire

Benson Community Shed

55 Years of the Misuse of Drugs Act

Enhertu for metastatic breast cancer patients

Independent businesses in Fleet

Support for pubs

Russian bombing of the monastery at Kyiv Pecherska Lavra

Wellbeing support for fire and rescue services

Free court transcripts

Infected Blood Inquiry compensation

Right to work

Reform of the asylum system

Indefinite Leave to Remain changes

British citizens' right to a family life with spouses in the UK

Dual nationals without British passports

UK trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Drug education in independent schools

South Western Railway and zero waste to landfill

Future of children’s palliative care

Public disorder in Southampton and Belfast

Risk of AI chatbots to children

Touring artists mobility arrangements

Social Care and Community Integrated Care’s Unfair to Care Report 2026

National Fish and Chip Day

Cardiac risk in the young

Palestinian children in Israeli military detention

Mutual recognition of professional qualifications

Reducing trade and mobility barriers between the UK and EU

Found: Madders (Labour; Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat; Witney) Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: ; Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Leigh Ingham; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds