Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the research commissioned by the 1001 Critical Days Foundation on screen use among babies and children under two.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The evidence available on the harms and benefits of screen use in under-five year olds is emerging and mixed. We welcome the research commissioned by the 1,001 Critical Days Foundation and its contribution to the evidence base.
The early years are a critical period for children’s development. Screens can play a role, but healthy development depends on sufficient sleep, play, real-world interaction, and responsive adult engagement. On 27 March, the Government published advice on screen use for children aged zero to five years old on the Best Start in Life website. Informed by a panel of experts, it offers practical, non-judgemental support to help families balance screen use with other activities. We will keep this under review as the area develops and will determine whether our current advice to parents should change.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment they have made of the adequacy of the existing membership fee threshold for participants in the CASC scheme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role that Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) play in supporting grassroots sport and promoting participation across the UK.
CASC rules, including the threshold for annual membership fees, are designed to ensure clubs that benefit from the scheme are accessible and affordable for people across all communities in the UK.
The current rules require that clubs membership fees must be set at a level that does not represent a significant barrier to participation.
The Government keeps the monetary thresholds for the CASC scheme under review. Any case for change must be weighed carefully against wider tax and spending priorities and support the scheme’s objectives to remain fair and inclusive. Currently, there are no plans to change thresholds in this area.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the CPS has guidance on whether and in what manner it should publicly comment on controversial public policy matters.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The CPS does not have any internal guidance relating to public commentary on public policy matters.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners in custody serving standard determinate sentences, both in total, and broken down by offence, on the latest date on which the data is available.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Data on prisoners serving determinate and indeterminate sentences are published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, which includes information on offenders by main custody type and offence group: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
The data used to produce the accredited official statistics does not allow us to easily identify standard determinate sentences from all determinate sentences in a robust way and therefore the information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to Government support for grassroots sports facilities; and what action it is taking to help increase the capital investment available for the development of new 3G pitches.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
The Government is also investing £85 million into grassroots sport facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme in 2026/27. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded artificial grass pitches (AGPs), multi-sport hubs and changing pavilions. At least 40% of funded projects will have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to access a wider variety of sports including rugby, cricket and basketball.
The MSGF Programme aims to promote health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.
Our delivery partner for the programme in England, the Football Foundation, are happy to discuss any queries relating to the funding application process. The Foundation also provide detailed guidance to applicants applying for both small and large projects, which can be found on the ‘What We Fund’ page on their website (https://footballfoundation.org.uk).
We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what grassroots sports facilities each community needs to inform future investment.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a long term, dedicated visa route for overseas shearers to ensure timely shearing and protect livestock welfare.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of safe and timely shearing to protect animal welfare. The sheep shearing concession has been operating for 15 years and it is reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to identify this workforce gap. Therefore, having considered the potential merits, and in line with the plans set out in the White Paper “Restoring Control over the Immigration System,” published in May 2025, the Government does not consider a long-term route is required.
The Government expects the sector to meet these needs through the domestic workforce and individuals with existing general work rights, including dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, who are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support the integration of geothermal heat into local heat networks.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In homes and buildings, a heat network is required to make use of deep geothermal heat. The Warm Homes Plan set out our support for low-carbon heat networks, including Heat Network Zoning and £1bn in investment over the course of this Parliament.
It is for heat network developers to select the heat sources for their network, and this may include deep geothermal where it can be proven to provide affordable low-carbon heat. There is limited evidence to indicate that deep geothermal heat could be delivered affordably across the UK.
The government is however supporting several new schemes and will monitor the progress of these schemes before taking any steps to change regulations for deep geothermal heat developments or support redeployment of skills.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what role deep geothermal heat will play in delivering the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In homes and buildings, a heat network is required to make use of deep geothermal heat. The Warm Homes Plan set out our support for low-carbon heat networks, including Heat Network Zoning and £1bn in investment over the course of this Parliament. It is for heat network developers to select the best heat sources for their network, and this may include deep geothermal where it can provide affordable low-carbon heat for consumers.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to streamline planning and regulatory processes for deep geothermal heat developments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In homes and buildings, a heat network is required to make use of deep geothermal heat. The Warm Homes Plan set out our support for low-carbon heat networks, including Heat Network Zoning and £1bn in investment over the course of this Parliament.
It is for heat network developers to select the heat sources for their network, and this may include deep geothermal where it can be proven to provide affordable low-carbon heat. There is limited evidence to indicate that deep geothermal heat could be delivered affordably across the UK.
The government is however supporting several new schemes and will monitor the progress of these schemes before taking any steps to change regulations for deep geothermal heat developments or support redeployment of skills.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of deep geothermal energy on economic growth in coastal and post industrial communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2023, the Department co-funded a study with the Northeast Local Enterprise Partnership on the UK’s deep geothermal potential. This outlines the opportunities and benefits of deep Geothermal energy in the UK, including how it can aid with the North Sea transition and levelling up on the North-East coast.