Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether banking hubs are obliged to accept cheque deposits.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cheques remain an important payment method for some people. Decisions on whether cheque deposits are accepted and processed through Post Office counters in banking hubs are commercial matters for individual banks, based on their arrangements with the Post Office and Cash Access UK, which operates banking hubs.

Most retail banks currently accept cheque deposits at banking hubs and the Government expects firms to ensure that customers can continue to access the services they need.

Where this service is not available at a banking hub counter, customers continue to have alternative options to pay in cheques, including at bank branches and by post, or digitally via mobile banking apps using cheque imaging technology.

Any customers affected by changes to cheque depositing services offered through banking hubs are encouraged to contact their bank directly to request information about the bank’s plans to support them.

The Government continues to engage with the banking industry banking industry, the Post Office and Cash Access UK to improve the consistency and level of services provided through banking hubs, so that they meet the needs of communities across the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022 in preventing unlicenced use of glue traps.

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

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

No formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022 in preventing unlicensed use of glue traps has been made.

The Act aims to improve animal welfare by reducing the use of glue traps in England. Since 2022, market-leading suppliers have been removing glue traps from sale and promoting more humane alternatives; and since 2024, professional pest controllers have only been able to use glue traps in exceptional circumstances under licence. Defra has confidence that the number of these devices deployed across England has been significantly reducing.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to policy S5 of the draft National Planning Policy Statement, if he will consider the potential merits of including bus interchanges in that policy.

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

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, set out a number of proposals to support development in sustainable locations, including a “default yes” for suitable proposals that develop land around rail stations within existing settlements, and around ‘well-connected’ train stations outside settlements, including on Green Belt land.

It makes clear that such development should be limited to land physically well-related to the station and within reasonable walking distance of it.

Reasonable walking distance is not quantified in the consultation document itself but following the Oral Statement I made on 16 December 2025 I referenced 800 metres (approximately 10 minutes at moderate walking speed) as the government’s working assumption of how it might be defined.

The consultation sought views on all aspects of the policy, including how reasonable walking distance should be defined.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to policy S5 of the draft National Planning Policy Statement, how he will define reasonable walking distance.

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

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, set out a number of proposals to support development in sustainable locations, including a “default yes” for suitable proposals that develop land around rail stations within existing settlements, and around ‘well-connected’ train stations outside settlements, including on Green Belt land.

It makes clear that such development should be limited to land physically well-related to the station and within reasonable walking distance of it.

Reasonable walking distance is not quantified in the consultation document itself but following the Oral Statement I made on 16 December 2025 I referenced 800 metres (approximately 10 minutes at moderate walking speed) as the government’s working assumption of how it might be defined.

The consultation sought views on all aspects of the policy, including how reasonable walking distance should be defined.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Glenart Castle Mess in Longbridge, Birmingham will reopen.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Glenart Castle Mess is anticipated to reopen in Summer 2026.

The closure of the Mess has no impact on Defence’s ability to meet its contractual obligations with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where the majority of personnel based at Glenart Castle routinely work.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the levels of public awareness of the 29 January 2022 revisions to the Highway Code.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding.

The Department has assessed public understanding of the 2022 Highway Code changes through survey research which tracks levels of awareness and self‑reported understanding and compliance over time.

· The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to over 50% in August 2022 and up to 70% in September 2023, with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by that time.

· Understanding of pedestrian priority at junctions increased from 52% to 72%, and cyclists riding 2 abreast rising from 30% to 46%.

· Following the second phase of the campaign in summer 2023, 81% of drivers claimed to leave a gap of 1.5metres when passing a cyclist all or most of the time. 79% of drivers claimed to pass horse riders and horse drawn vehicles with at least 2metres distance and at under 10mph all or most of the time.

·Of the respondents that recognised the campaign advert, nine in ten said they had taken action as a result.

· More recent figures show a sustained increase in those saying it is unacceptable to not leave enough space for cyclists and horse riders, from 60% in March 2024 to 68% in April 2025.

However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety.

Although failure to comply with the advisory rules of the Highway Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, contraventions of these rules may be used as evidence in court to establish liability for a road traffic offence. Advisory rules include those which begin ‘should/should not’ and ‘do/do not’.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the maximum penalty for railway trespass was set at £1,000; and what the maximum penalty was previously.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The maximum penalty of £1,000 for railway trespass was set with effect from 1 October 1992, following amendments to the standard scale of fines made under the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Prior to October 1992, the maximum penalty at level 3 on the standard scale was £400.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of railway trespass in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Prosecution and Conviction data are held by the Ministry of Justice from court records collected by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The Department for Transport does not hold this data separately for railway trespass and it is not always recorded as its own offence category in national data sets.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the sum of penalties for railway trespass has been in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Information on the number of financial penalties imposed by the courts is held by the Ministry of Justice, from sentencing data recorded by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The Department for Transport does not record the sum of penalties for railway trespass.

Found: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Rebecca Smith; Laurence Turner

Found: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Rebecca Smith; Laurence Turner

Found: ; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Baggy Shanker; Rebecca Smith; Laurence Turner