Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 36404, when his Department intends to next meet with Royal Mail to discuss the NHS barcode option.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Ministers meet with Royal Mail regularly in its capacity as the universal service provider and I have been frank in my conversations with the company’s leadership, and with my statements to the House in recent debates, that service performance has been unacceptable for too long and that the pace of improvement must increase including in relation to concerns about the NHS barcode system.
The Secretary of State and I met with Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union on 3 November 2026, and we stressed the importance of management and the workforce working together constructively to improve service going forward.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 36401, answered on 27th October 2026, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on encouraging schools to apply for funding ahead of the roll-out.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme (RRP) will improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so that buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures in the 2026/27 academic year. There was no application process and projects are currently being selected. The department is working with responsible bodies for those projects, including local authorities for maintained schools.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects while considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The department will set out further details in due course on how schools and colleges can join the programme when it is expanded from 2027.
The department presented the details of the RRP programme with a group of local authorities at the Education Estates conference in October.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 28015, answered on 15 September 2026, whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost of installing an adequate air conditioning system in a school.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Air conditioning is one option for mitigating the impact of overheating in schools, alongside other measures such as external shading or improved ventilation.
The cost of installing an air conditioning system in a school will vary based on the size, age and condition of the school, as well the type of system being installed.
The department provides guidance to schools and colleges to help them plan, prioritise and deliver estate improvements that address condition, suitability, resilience and decarbonisation. This may include the installation of air conditioning. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improve-and-renew-developing-your-long-term-estates-plan/improve-and-renew-your-long-term-estates-plan.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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 establishing an independent car parking regulator.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published an Options Assessment on 20 October 2026 which considered a range of options for reforming regulation of the private parking sector, including establishing a statutory parking regulator. The assessment concluded that the parliamentary time, departmental resources and capital expenditure required to establish a regulator would be disproportionate. It identified a statutory Private Parking Code of Practice supported by a compliance framework comprising a Certification Scheme and a Scrutiny and Oversight Board, as the preferred option.
The Options Assessment is available on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring Government publications to disclose how AI contributed.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to the responsible use of artificial intelligence and maintaining public trust. The AI Playbook for the UK Government provides guidance on the responsible adoption of AI, including appropriate transparency and accountability. As AI use continues to evolve, the Government keeps under review how best to provide transparency about the use of AI in government publications.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding take-up of the NHS option for correspondence.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I have heard the concerns of some Honourable Members about the take-up of the NHS barcode in recent debates in the House, and I will raise this in my engagement with Royal Mail. As an independent business, responsibility for managing the NHS barcode system rests with Royal Mail’s management and they are best placed to provide details of the take-up and success of the NHS barcode option.
The government also encourages NHS bodies to work with their Royal Mail account manager to find practical solutions that suit their needs.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 27512, answered on 17 September 2026, what assessment his Department has made of the number of medical appointments missed where Royal Mail's NHS option has been used.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I have heard the concerns of some Honourable Members about the take-up of the NHS barcode in recent debates in the House, and I will raise this in my engagement with Royal Mail. As an independent business, responsibility for managing the NHS barcode system rests with Royal Mail’s management and they are best placed to provide details of the take-up and success of the NHS barcode option.
The government also encourages NHS bodies to work with their Royal Mail account manager to find practical solutions that suit their needs.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 17788, answered on 16 July 2026, what steps the Department is taking to raise awareness amongst schools of this funding.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In February 2026, the department published the Education Estates Strategy to support and provide guidance for those responsible for managing school and college estates. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-estates-strategy/education-estates-strategy-a-decade-of-national-renewal.
Alongside this, the department also launched a new digital service, ‘Manage your education estate’, to bring together our estates guidance, data, tools, programmes and funding in one place to provide easier access for responsible bodies and a clear route to share information and communicate with the department. This service available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-education-estate.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether all reports commissioned by the Government are required to use the AI Playbook for the UK Government.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
It is not a requirement that all reports commissioned by the Government use the AI Playbook for the UK Government. The Government provides a range of guidance, resources and standards to support the responsible use of AI across the public sector.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Department's Answer to Question 107484 on the 28th of January 2026, whether he intends to review the Government's decision regarding legislation to require private creditors to participate in sovereign debt relief arrangements on comparable terms to official lenders.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has no current plans to pursue a legislative approach which would force private sector participation in restructurings. Overall, we have seen private creditors’ willingness to engage and provide debt treatments on comparable terms where needed – though we continue keep this under review.
The Economic Secretary co-chairs the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', which brings together government and private sector stakeholders to find innovative solutions to more sustainable sovereign debt financing in developing economies. With a focus on private debt, the Coalition will continue to drive improvements in debt transparency, resolve challenges with private sector creditor coordination, and champion the uptake of UK-led contractual innovations in private lending, namely debt pause clauses, which allow countries hit by major shocks to temporarily defer debt payments in a clear and a time-bound manner.