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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending planning legislation on digital advertising screens.

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

The advertisement control regime seeks to control the impact of advertisements by reference to their effect on amenity and public safety. Responsibility for the application of the legislation rests with local planning authorities and they are best placed to consider the impact of specific advertisements.

My Department has not made any assessment of the impact of digital advertising screens and we have no current plans to issue guidance to local planning authorities on the cumulative impact of such installations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timeline is for waiving visa fees for spouses and children of current and former serving personnel who are of non-UK nationality.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains committed to supporting current and former serving personnel and their families; ensuring that they do not face any disadvantage due to their service.

The Home Office is actively working with the Ministry of Defence on the manifesto commitment to scrap visa fees for veterans and their dependants and will keep stakeholders updated on progress.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of fully funding the specialist palliative (a) care, (b) advice and (c) assessment provided by hospices.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, as well as their loved ones.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area. It is important to note that hospices, like the NHS, provide both specialist and generalist palliative care and end of life care. Not all patients will require specialist palliative care.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has prepared an impact assessment on the decision to freeze the local housing allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Secretary of State considers a range of factors when reviewing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. This includes the impact of the current rental market, the Government’s goals on housing, and the wider fiscal context. In April 2024, LHA rates were increased to the 30^th percentile of local market rents costing £1.2bn in 2024/25 and £7bn over 5 years. LHA rates have been maintained at 2024/25 levels for 2025/26. The impacts of this are described in the explanatory memorandum for the legislation:

The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Modification) Order 2025 - Explanatory Memorandum

The Secretary of State considers LHA rates annually in the Autumn. Autumn Budget decisions will be taken in the round, considering the Government’s missions and the challenging fiscal context.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department of providing additional resource for local authorities to enforce 12 month relet bans on landlords who do not adhere to incoming legislation within the Renters Rights Bill.

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

In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities created by the Renters’ Rights Bill are fully funded.

Found: Maguire (Liberal Democrat; North Cornwall) Robbie Moore (Conservative; Keighley and Ilkley) Margaret Mullane

Found: Maguire (Liberal Democrat; North Cornwall) Robbie Moore (Conservative; Keighley and Ilkley) Margaret Mullane

Submit Evidence (by 2 Dec 2025)

The Government has announced major changes to eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also known as settlement, and is planning to consult on the proposed changes later this year.