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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 69834 on Water Charges, whether households can request that the smart element of smart water meters is deinstalled.

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

Smart water meters provide an increased regularity of data, in comparison to standard meters, which enables water companies to identify leaks in the property and can help incentivise more water efficient behaviours assisting in reducing overall water consumption. If customers are concerned about their bills increasing, many companies offer the option to switch to the lowest tariff if they find that their metered bill is more expensive.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 73318 on Diplomatic Service: Political Impartiality, whether any members of his Department or the Diplomatic Service have been given permissioned to attend the Labour Party Conference 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

No such permissions have been issued within the reporting period.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2025 to Question 70574 on Diplomatic Service: Political Impartiality, whether the political restrictions on ambassadors extend to a prohibition on (a) speaking in public in favour of a political party and (b) fundraising for a political party.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to question 70574.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the terms and conditions for non-executive board member appointments agreed to by Alan Milburn.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We will not be publishing personal appointment letters, which include terms and conditions of appointment, sent to Departmental non-executive board members. The terms and conditions are in line with those for other public appointments made by the Department and include the need to abide by Cabinet Office’s Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies.

The role of board members, their salary, time commitment and political activity are all already in the public domain.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has a definition of a second home.

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

There is not a single statutory definition of a second home.

For data collection purposes, the English Housing Survey defines a second home as a property that is primarily used as a holiday home (either by the owner or let to others) or a property occupied by the owner while working away from home.

For the purposes of council tax, a second home is considered a dwelling which is no one’s sole or main residence but is substantially furnished and occupied periodically.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason his Department pays council tax on Ministerial residences which are deemed to be second homes.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It has been long-standing government policy, in place for successive administrations, including for the previous government the Hon member served in, that where a minister occupies an official residence on a second home basis, the government pays the council tax.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) ban on controlled heather burning on deep peat and (b) definition of deep peat on the risk of wildfires.

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

Evidence shows that burning is damaging to peatlands and can increase their long-term vulnerability to wildfires. The amendments to The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 significantly increase the area of peatland protected, helping to reduce the impacts of wildfire in the future.

The Government’s full response to the public consultation, which includes sections on wildfire and peat depth, can be found here - Summary of responses and government response - GOV.UK.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57228 on Diplomatic Service: Public Appointments, whether the British Ambassador to the United States' Developed Vetting was undertaken by (a) the Cabinet Office, (b) United Kingdom Security Vetting, (c) his Department and (d) an independent body.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

All national security vetting is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what due diligence was undertaken for the appointment of the UK ambassador to the US.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Normal pre-employment processes, including vetting, are routinely carried out prior to all senior civil service appointments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Benjamin Wegg-Prosser visited the US Embassy in Washington during the tenure of Lord Mandelson.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It is a long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private meetings.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to introduce higher council tax premiums on periodically occupied homes.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Since April this year, councils in England have had the discretionary power to charge a council tax premium of up to 100% on dwellings occupied periodically (often referred to as second homes premium). The premium is not a mandatory requirement. It is for individual councils to decide whether to implement the premium, and if so, at what level up to the maximum 100%. The government will continue to keep this policy under review.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has for the recruitment process for the next permanent US Ambassador.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The process for the appointment of our Ambassador to the United States of America will be determined in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will place in the Library a copy of the presentation materials for the Guilt of Being British seminar given by her Department's race network.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is focused on its three priorities as set by the government: improving day-to-day performance and the customer experience, closing the tax gap, and reforming and modernising the tax and customs system.

The question refers to a planned departmental staff network event which we can confirm was cancelled. Therefore, no materials will be placed in the Library.

The Cabinet Office recently published its Staff Network guidance on 23 September and HMRC’s Staff Networks will adhere to this.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had recent discussions with the British Ambassador to the United States on his relationship with Jeffery Epstein.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In light of additional information in emails written by Lord Mandelson, the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as Ambassador to the United States.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Internship Scheme To Get More Working Class Students Into Civil Service, published on 1 August 2025, whether children of asylum seekers that (a) are permitted to work and (b) have a parent that is also an asylum seeker would be classified as working class for these purposes.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As we set out in August, we will be opening our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme exclusively for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. We will determine eligibility based on parental occupation at age 14 in line with guidance from the Social Mobility Commission and the Office for National Statistics definition.

Regardless of whether or not a person is eligible under the social mobility criteria all applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality rules (CSNR). Under this, asylum seekers are not permitted to work unless they have been waiting for a decision on their claim for 12 months or more and the delay is through no fault of their own. If granted permission to work, they are able to take up employment in jobs included on the Shortage Occupation List (replaced by the Immigration Salary List in April 2024). We do not consider roles offered on the Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme to be included on the ‘Immigration Salary List’.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 53898 on Senior Civil Servants: Pay, whether that list will be published in 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The ‘high earner’ list will be published after departments and their partner organisations have implemented the 2025/26 senior pay award and they have fully quality assured the personal data being published about individuals. Departments also publish salary information for all their Senior Civil Service (SCS) roles in quarterly organograms on data.gov.uk and for all SCS operating at Board level in their Annual Accounts.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who attended the reception for content creators at 10 Downing Street on 31 July 2025; and what the cost was of the event.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As under previous administrations, details of official receptions are published in quarterly transparency returns on gov.uk.