Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of introducing routine audio recording of Work Capability Assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in Pathways to Work, we will be introducing audio recording as standard for all health assessments. If, for whatever reason, a customer does not want their assessment recorded, they are able to opt out at any time.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help reduce global emissions.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have restored UK international leadership through ambitious domestic action and global engagement: committing to reduce emissions by at least 81% by 2035 and deliver clean power by 2030, launching the Global Clean Power Alliance at the G20, working at COP30 with partners to cut methane, phase out coal, scale clean energy investment and protect forests among other areas.
We will continue this work at COP31.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether financial penalties have been levied against electric vehicle charge point operators who do not comply with the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the enforcement authority for the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with these requirements, including determining any financial penalties that are levied.
The OPSS take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to enforcement in line with the Regulators’ Code. Where an operator is found not to be compliant, the OPSS will seek to engage with the operator where possible to agree a route to compliance. However, where necessary, they will consider the full range of enforcement powers available to them and make final determinations on any financial penalties to be imposed.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the electricity output of electric vehicle charge points relative to their advertised speeds.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not routinely monitor electric vehicle charge points to verify their output speeds. While the advertised rate is the maximum charging speed of the charge point, the real-world rate at which a vehicle charges will vary depending on a range of factors, including a vehicle’s battery and charging systems, and wider demand at a site at the time of charging.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of electric vehicle charge point operators that comply with Regulation (a) 5 and (b) 7 of the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the enforcement authority for the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with these requirements. As of 31st May 2026, the OPSS reported that 94% of the operators of public charge points that had been inspected were compliant with Regulation (5), relating to the provision of contactless payments. The OPSS continue to engage with operators to complete their compliance assessments relating to Regulation (7) on reliability.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help young people buy their first property in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2705 on 27 May 2026.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activities and Food programme to include all children living in poverty.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is specifically targeted at children and families facing the greatest levels of disadvantage. We are spending more than £200 million a year to provide free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children during school holidays. This benefits their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn, with more than 500,000 children benefitting from HAF over the last year.
To ensure HAF reaches as many children who need it as possible, local authorities may also use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places to children who do not meet the eligibility criteria but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF.
HAF sits alongside wider support for low-income families, including the expansion of free school meals, free breakfast clubs, and broader action through the child poverty strategy.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory reporting of food waste in large retailer supply chains.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. The Government knows action needs to be taken across the supply chain and in households to address food waste and support WRAP and its work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. Government continues to work with industry to identify opportunities that can drive both reductions in food waste and associated economic and environmental savings for businesses, this includes technological opportunities such as the use of artificial intelligence and continued consideration of the merit of mandatory food waste reporting.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on writing to households who are eligible but not registered for the NHS Healthy Start programme; and what his Department's planned timeline is for completing that communication.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), who delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department, has created a public toolkit specifically for retailers, inclusive of independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff, to help them promote the scheme to shoppers.
The toolkit is regularly updated and contains a range of materials, including point of sale stickers, posters, banners, digital screens, and social media content featuring “shop with your NHS Healthy Start card here” messaging, and has so far received more than 2,000 views. Retailers can also find out more about the scheme and how it works on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
Retailers can also sign up for regular stakeholder newsletters.
The Department continues to work with the NHSBSA on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS Business Services Authority is taking to ensure independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff (a) are aware of NHS Healthy Start cards and (b) enable all eligible families to use their cards in these stores.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), who delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department, has created a public toolkit specifically for retailers, inclusive of independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff, to help them promote the scheme to shoppers.
The toolkit is regularly updated and contains a range of materials, including point of sale stickers, posters, banners, digital screens, and social media content featuring “shop with your NHS Healthy Start card here” messaging, and has so far received more than 2,000 views. Retailers can also find out more about the scheme and how it works on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
Retailers can also sign up for regular stakeholder newsletters.
The Department continues to work with the NHSBSA on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.