Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of firefighter numbers in Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service; and what estimate she has made of the number of additional firefighters required to meet current and projected operational demand in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Decisions on firefighter resourcing, including on the location, number and staffing model for fire stations, are a matter for each local fire and rescue authority and the Chief Fire Officer. These decisions will best manage and respond to demand based on risks identified within local Community Risk Management Plans.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 adequacy of Health and Safety Executive guidance on workplace uniform requirements during periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance to employers on measures they can take to protect workers during periods of extreme heat. This includes considering changes to working arrangements and relaxing formal dress codes, including staff uniform policies, where appropriate. However, employers must ensure that any personal protective equipment required for the work activity continues to be worn.
HSE will be launching a public consultation on proposed changes to the Approved Code of Practice for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, including those relating to workplace temperature and there will be an opportunity to respond in due course.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to issue guidance to employers on adapting staff uniform policies during heatwaves.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance to employers on measures they can take to protect workers during periods of extreme heat. This includes considering changes to working arrangements and relaxing formal dress codes, including staff uniform policies, where appropriate. However, employers must ensure that any personal protective equipment required for the work activity continues to be worn.
HSE will be launching a public consultation on proposed changes to the Approved Code of Practice for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, including those relating to workplace temperature and there will be an opportunity to respond in due course.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing (a) education, (b) training and (c) skills provision to support recruitment and retention in the food and farming supply chain.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises that access to a skilled workforce is essential to the resilience and long-term success of the food and farming supply chain. The Farming Roadmap 2050 sets out a long-term vision for a productive and resilient farming sector, including support for skills, workforce development and career pathways.
Employers across agriculture, food production and processing help shape technical qualifications and apprenticeship standards, helping to ensure training reflects workforce needs. Young people and adults can access a range of routes into these sectors, including apprenticeships, T Levels, technical qualifications, further education courses and higher technical qualifications, alongside provision delivered by specialist land-based colleges.
In 2025/26, the government is investing £154 million in programme funding for land-based colleges, supporting the specialist training and facilities needed to develop the skilled workforce the food and farming sectors require.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote participation in technical, vocational and apprenticeship pathways relevant to careers in the food and farming supply chain.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools must provide pupils with at least six opportunities during years 8 to 13 to hear directly from providers of apprenticeships and technical education, helping them understand the full range of pathways available.
We fund the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to work with employers and sector bodies to help young people understand and access technical, vocational and apprenticeship pathways in the food and farming supply chain. CEC is partnering with the Institute of Grocery Distribution through Feeding Britain’s Future to help young people learn about careers and pathways across the food system. It also works with agricultural organisations to bring employer insight into education.
Careers hubs across England support locally led employer engagement, work experience and mentoring in agriculture and agri-tech. This helps young people understand the pathways available while supporting employers to develop future talent.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 16 September 2025 to UIN 74237 on Animal Experiments: Animal Breeding, whether she plans to report, in the forthcoming publication of the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2025, the number of animals bred for and not used in scientific research.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will resume the collection and annual publication of additional statistics relating to animals used in science. The first publication is planned for 2028 and will report on data collected during 2027.
The additional statistics will include:
These statistics will be published alongside the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals published by the Home Office, which are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 prepare for the launch of applications to the next phase of the Better Youth Spaces Fund, and when those applications are expected to open.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We have been focused on how we can streamline our departmental funding to ensure young people are shaping our priorities and decisions. With this in mind, we are currently merging our major youth funds which includes Better Youth Spaces and Richer Young Lives.
Our vision is to establish a much more straightforward funding system, focusing on providing opportunities to young people when and where they need them, and ensuring we remain responsive to the views front line delivery organisations and young people have shared. Further details on when it will open to applicants, along with guidance on the application process and eligibility criteria, will be announced later in the year.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when guidance on eligibility criteria and application processes for the next phase of the Better Youth Spaces Fund will be published.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We have been focused on how we can streamline our departmental funding to ensure young people are shaping our priorities and decisions. With this in mind, we are currently merging our major youth funds which includes Better Youth Spaces and Richer Young Lives.
Our vision is to establish a much more straightforward funding system, focusing on providing opportunities to young people when and where they need them, and ensuring we remain responsive to the views front line delivery organisations and young people have shared. Further details on when it will open to applicants, along with guidance on the application process and eligibility criteria, will be announced later in the year.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what proportion of rail‑related criminal investigations CCTV footage was requested but could not be used due to issues including image quality, equipment failure and insufficient coverage.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police made 9,986 requests to rail operators for CCTV in 2025/26 but they are unable to provide a breakdown of whether the footage was usable or not as it would require extensive manual searching of data records and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Department has provided Network Rail with £17 million to connect station CCTV to BTP systems, enabling greater real-time access to footage across the network and reducing the need for requests made direct to rail operators.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of welfare conditions for dogs bred at establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides robust protections for animals, including dogs, bred for use in scientific procedures. Establishments licensed under ASPA must comply with the Act and the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes (www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-housing-and-care-of-animals-bred-supplied-or-used-for-scientific-purposes) which sets standards for the accommodation, care, monitoring and veterinary oversight of the animals.
Licensed establishments are also required to have key named individuals in place, including veterinary surgeons and animal welfare officers, who are responsible for the health, care and welfare of animals and for advising on their use before and during regulated procedures. Establishments must operate local ethical review processes to provide ongoing oversight of animal welfare, review care and housing arrangements, and ensure that licence conditions are met.
Compliance is assured through a programme of announced and unannounced audits from the Regulator (the Animals in Science Regulation Unit – ASRU). Any instances of non-compliance are taken seriously and addressed in accordance with ASRU’s published compliance policy, which provides for a range of regulatory responses, including enforcement action where appropriate.
In 2025, ASRU implemented organisational reforms to strengthen delivery of its regulatory functions including increasing the size of its inspectorate, further enhancing oversight of animal protections across licensed establishments.
The Government has no current plans to conduct a separate review of licensing conditions for commercial breeders, as these are already set and enforced within this robust regulatory framework.