Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help reduce the delays in decisions on Disability Living Allowance claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have seen unprecedented demand in new claims to the DLA Child service line. Additional resources have been deployed, and cases are cleared in date order to ensure fair customer service. As a result, we are seeing improvements in our processing times for new claims. As of the 30th December 2024, The Actual Average Clearance Time was 97.8 days and has since reduced to 57.3 days as of 25th of August 2025, a reduction of 40.5 days.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the processing times of (a) applications for and (b) mandatory reconsiderations of Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From April 2025 to August 2025, the actual average clearance times (AACT) for new Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims is 77 days. Over the same period, the AACT for DLA Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR) is 125 days. These figures are averages, and are for child DLA claims only, as new claims for DLA are only open to children under the age of 16.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 help improve the provision of healthy food options in hospital vending machines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service hospitals are required to meet the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services through the NHS Standard Contract. They are also required to develop and maintain a food and drink strategy which focuses on healthier eating across the whole hospital community, including for their vending machines.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 considered the potential merits of applying the same land access arrangements for distribution network operators as currently apply for other utilities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ published a consultation on consents, land access and rights for electricity network infrastructure on 8 July. It sets out a package of reforms intended to reduce delays to essential works and support the upgrade and maintenance of electricity infrastructure. The proposals include clarifying access rights for both distribution and transmission operators, ensuring they have appropriate powers to access land, including adjacent third-party land, and aligning rights for distribution network operators to install infrastructure in private streets with other utilities, such as telecoms.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to increase police powers to help tackle anti-social behaviour linked to drone use.
Answered by Mike Kane
There are a range of existing powers to tackle anti-social drone behaviour, this includes the police powers under the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021 to require a person to land a drone and to carry out stop and search for certain drone-related offences; and under the Air Navigation Order 2016, it is an offence to endanger an aircraft through non-compliant drone use, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
We work closely with the police and home office to keep the need for powers under review, and from 1 January 2026, Direct Remote ID requirements will come into force for some types of drones (UK1, UK2, UK3, UK5 and UK6 UAS), enabling the police to access location information during flight to support more effective enforcement and deterrence. Remote ID will also increase operator accountability by allowing the unique ID of a drone to be reported and linked to a registered individual, supporting police investigations into misuse.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending National Insurance Contributions relief to town or parish councils that undertake functions typically carried out by principal authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government recognises the important role town and parish councils have in improving the quality of life and wellbeing of their communities but has no direct role in funding parish and town councils, and therefore has not provided compensation for the increase in the rate of employer’s National Insurance Contributions, consistent with the approach taken by the previous government.
We recognise that the increase in the rate of employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will lead to increased costs for some parish councils, which may require them to increase their precept. We recognise that decisions to increase precepts are not taken lightly by parish councils.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department collects on how children travel to school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The National Travel Survey, conducted by the Department for Transport, includes data about how children travel to school and is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts03-modal-comparisons.
In February 2025, the department launched a data collection about the home to school travel arrangements local authorities make for eligible children. We are currently analysing the data. Information about home to school travel for eligible children is available in the statutory guidance for local authorities, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including cycle training in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools are best placed and have the flexibility to decide on the activities they provide to deliver a rounded and enriching education to suit their pupils’ needs. This includes cycling training programmes such as Bikeability. Physical education (PE) is a foundation subject in the national curriculum and compulsory at all four key stages.
The department welcomes the opportunity for continued collaboration with Bikeability to create sustainable improvements in physical activity for young people, including through active travel and promoting the overall wellbeing benefits of physical activity, such as through cycling.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to adopt national (a) standards, (b) timescales and (c) charges for (i) roads on new housing estates and (ii) other public amenities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November (HCWS244).
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of aligning building regulations in England with those in Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with my Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of matters. I also recently met with the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, to discuss the Welsh Government’s plans for legislation on building safety in Wales.
Although buildings policy is a devolved matter, officials at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Building Safety Regulator and the Welsh Government maintain close working relationships. Representatives from all devolved nations attend the Building Advisory Committee Working Group on Fire Safety, which provides an authoritative view to the Building Safety Regulator how the functional requirements of Part B of the Building Regulations are implemented.