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 potential impact of climate change and changes in upland grazing practices on the risk of wildfires in Cumbria; and what steps she is taking to increase prevention and resilience in high‑risk areas.

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

The Government is committed to setting stronger adaptation objectives to improve preparedness for climate impacts, supporting an ambitious fourth National Adaptation Programme in 2028. These objectives will be underpinned by evidence in the Climate Change Committee’s independent assessment of climate risk and the Well Adapted UK Report.

Wetter, healthy-functioning peatlands are more resilient to the impacts of wildfire. That is why, in September 2025, we amended the Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021, restricting unnecessary burning on all upland deep peat without a licence, to enhance protection and improve the resilience of our moorlands.

Defra is encouraging landowners and land managers to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable methods to manage habitat and restore their peatland.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will publish the number of second homes, and any other relevant statistical assumptions, that the Department has used for each of the next three financial years (2026/27 to 2028/29) in calculating the council tax base for (a) Westmorland and Furness Council and (b) Cumberland Council as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not identify the number of second homes in forecasts of council tax base, or calculations of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Council tax base figures are used in the calculation of local authorities’ Fair Funding Allocations within the Local Government Finance Settlement, and the calculation of Core Spending Power.

Fair Funding Allocations use council tax base data from 2024, prior to the introduction of the second homes premium, meaning they are unaffected by local decisions to implement the premium. The tax base for each authority is published on gov.uk here.

The methodology note for calculating Core Spending Power, which is the government’s longstanding presentational measure of the resources available to local authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement, is available on gov.uk here. The published statistical tables are available on GOV.UK: 2021-22 Council Tax Levels Statistics Table 9; Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2025 to 2026 (revised). The government believes it is right to continue to calculate Core Spending Power in line with the approach used at previous Settlements.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to bring forward legislation to regulate third‑party intermediaries in the business energy market.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government intends to protect business and household consumers by appointing Ofgem to regulate third‑party intermediaries as part of the Energy Independence Bill. The Energy Independence Bill has now been announced in the King’s Speech and will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

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 impact of recent increases in electricity standing charges for business customers in Cumbria on businesses; and what steps he is taking to ensure charges are proportionate.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers, who typically set their prices based on network charge differences, leading to regional variations in electricity standing charges.

Nonetheless, the Government understands that for too many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges and is committed to lowering the cost of standing charges. Ofgem have recently launched a Cost Allocation Recovery Review to review how ‘fixed’ costs should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether costs could be recovered from consumers, including businesses in more progressive and fairer ways.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress his Department has made in reducing the influence of gas prices on wholesale electricity prices.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government is accelerating the deployment of low-cost renewable electricity technologies to reduce our reliance on international fossil fuel markets.

The existing Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been successful in bringing forth new renewable assets at fixed, competitive prices. These CfDs are already beginning to decouple electricity and gas markets, protecting consumers from higher electricity bills when gas prices increase.

In April, Government announced plans to offer legacy low-carbon generators – which provide around 30% of our power today – the option of a fixed price CfD. These contracts will build on the success of existing CfDs, further delinking electricity generation from volatile gas prices.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rising electricity costs on the financial resilience of small businesses in Cumbria.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government recognises that volatile energy prices remain a concern for small businesses in Cumbria and across the country. We are monitoring the impact of international energy markets on businesses and stand ready to respond.

The Chancellor recently announced the government would cut energy bills by up to 25% for over 10,000 manufacturers from April 2027 through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS). BICS will be expanded by 40%, with one-off additional payment in 2027 rolled out to an extra 3,000 businesses, from 7,000 to 10,000 businesses.

Government is also working with Ofgem to reform the non‑domestic energy market, improving transparency and complaint handling.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which minister has overall responsibility for search and rescue policy across government.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

The term ‘Search and Rescue’ covers a broad range of capabilities provided by civilian, military, and voluntary responders in the urban, rural, mountain, and maritime domains. As such, individual departments sponsoring these various services are responsible for policy in those areas. These departments include MHCLG, Home Office, DfT, and MOD, alongside relevant departments in devolved governments.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether additional funding is being considered for fire and rescue authorities facing heightened wildfire risk.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 9 February 2026, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue.

(a) In 2026/27, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £32.71 million, an increase of 3.8% compared to 2025/26.

(b) The Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 12.75% increase in core spending power compared to 2025/26.

Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire risk, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of the capacity of fire and rescue services to respond to increased wildfire risk in the upland areas of Cumbria.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), and having regard to the views of other key local responders.  This includes a local assessment of response capacity.

Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, what progress has been made on implementing the updated November 2024 NICE guideline on endometriosis diagnosis and management across primary and secondary care.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England encourages adherence to guidance publications by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, healthcare professionals and practitioners are expected to take NICE guidelines into account alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.

NHS England is currently developing a pelvic pain pathway for systems which will provide a framework for managing pelvic pain and endometriosis across the healthcare system. This will be aligned with NICE guidance and will enable women to get care either in primary care, neighbourhood services, or specialist secondary care services in line with their needs.

NHS England is working with regions to encourage and support implementation of these pathways and a neighbourhood approach to care, which will help to support early recognition and diagnosis, reducing waiting times for women.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, what progress NHS England has made in developing metrics to assess timely access to care and outcomes for women with suspected endometriosis; and when those metrics are expected to be finalised.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is progressing work to collect metrics on endometriosis through its wider women’s health data improvement and reporting programme. As a starting point, NHS England is establishing which measures can be collected in a consistent and quantifiable way across the system. This includes investigating whether diagnosis is the optimum measure of timely access for women with suspected endometriosis or whether an alternative metric based on data that is or can be reliably and consistently collected would give a more accurate picture of access and outcomes. This work will inform how endometriosis is reflected in national reporting as the data improvement programme develops.

Women who receive a hospital diagnosis of endometriosis will have this coded accordingly, and this data can in principle be extracted, but it is not routinely reported. A diagnosis of endometriosis does not currently link to time to referral, and referral reasons for gynaecological conditions are not routinely reported.

NHS England is working to improve the reportability and data capture of pelvic pain diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, which includes endometriosis. Before any metrics or outcome measures can be implemented, it is necessary to ensure that data is being captured consistently and in a reportable way across the country.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

Women with endometriosis also will benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, when his Department plans to respond to the Office for National Statistics’ findings published in February 2025 on the impact of an endometriosis diagnosis on women’s labour market outcomes; and what assessment he has made of those findings.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The publication from the Office of National Statistics in February 2025 on the labour market impacts of endometriosis provided the first robust national evidence in England quantifying its impact on earnings and employment. The analysis provides evidence that endometriosis is associated with persistent reductions in earnings and employment following diagnosis, which likely reflects movement into lower paid roles, reduced working hours, and ongoing health-related productivity constraints.

The Government does not currently have plans to respond to the Office for National Statistics’ findings directly. The findings from this analysis have fed into the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April 2026, and helped inform the actions committed to in it.

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions, including endometriosis, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

Women with endometriosis will also benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.

Fireworks anti-social behaviour and regulation

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Simon Hoare (Chair); Richard Baker; Markus Campbell- Savours; Charlotte

Found: Hoare (Conservative; North Dorset) (Chair) Richard Baker (Labour; Glenrothes and Mid Fife) Markus Campbell-Savours

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Simon Hoare (Chair); Richard Baker; Markus Campbell- Savours; Charlotte

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Alan Campbell (Chair); Mr Alex Barros-Curtis; Markus Campbell-Savours