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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of outlawing the use of (a) Bixlozone, (b) Cinmethylin, (c) Isoflucypram and (d) Pydiflumetofen on farmers.

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

We are aware of concerns about the potential impact of the UK-EU SPS Agreement under negotiation on the availability of certain pesticides, including those containing the four active substances Bixlozone, (b) Cinmethylin, (c) Isoflucypram and (d) Pydiflumetofen which are currently approved in GB but not the EU.

Information from stakeholders, alongside expertise in HSE and Defra, is feeding into our analysis. Negotiations, which began at the end of 2025, are still underway.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the building safety regulator is (a) fully staffed and (b) working at full capacity.

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

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) on 27 January 2026 officially moved to become an arm’s length body of MHCLG. BSR increased their regulatory capacity throughout 2025 and now have a headcount across all functions approaching 500, an increase of over 40% since June 2025. BSR will continue to recruit throughout 2026 and has plans in place to drive greater efficiencies whilst ensuring resources are matched to the demand for its regulatory services.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on the proportion of cases to the building safety regulator that (i) currently and (ii) historically require an extension before being assessed.

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

Building Safety Regulator officials have provided the below data:

1. 66.4% of Live Gateway 2 applications have an extension in place (867 of 1,305)
2. 41.7% of closed Gateway 2 applications had an extension (1,374 of 3,286)
3. 48.7% of all Gateway 2 applications have/had an extension (2,238 of 4,591)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of the Valuation Office Agency's reclassification of flexible office spaces as single properties on (a) the level of business rates and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required to maintain accurate rating lists in England impartially and independently of central Government, and must consider developments in relevant caselaw.

As a result of case law developments, the VOA have concluded that, rather than each room within a serviced office being assessed separately, most serviced offices will need to be assessed as a single property, unless clear evidence demonstrates a need to have separate assessments. Each serviced office is looked at on a case-by-case basis, and the VOA are addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention. Reviewing a small number of cases will help clarify the application of legislation on serviced offices. At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The VOA will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.

A single rating assessment would mean occupying businesses will face no business rates bill at all. Instead, the serviced office provider will be liable for business rates on the entire assessment. It is for serviced office providers to decide if they will pass the cost on to their tenants, depending on contractual agreements.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her department plans to take to support small and medium-sized enterprises who no longer qualify for business rates relief due to the VOAs reclassification of flexible office spaces as single properties.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required to maintain accurate rating lists in England impartially and independently of central Government, and must consider developments in relevant caselaw.

As a result of case law developments, the VOA have concluded that, rather than each room within a serviced office being assessed separately, most serviced offices will need to be assessed as a single property, unless clear evidence demonstrates a need to have separate assessments. Each serviced office is looked at on a case-by-case basis, and the VOA are addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention. Reviewing a small number of cases will help clarify the application of legislation on serviced offices. At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The VOA will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.

A single rating assessment would mean occupying businesses will face no business rates bill at all. Instead, the serviced office provider will be liable for business rates on the entire assessment. It is for serviced office providers to decide if they will pass the cost on to their tenants, depending on contractual agreements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Housing Regulator in meeting its KPIs on i) Driving improvement, ii) Maintaining confidence, iii) Working with others and iv) building the organisation.

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

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

My Department has not itself assessed the adequacy of the RSH’s performance in meeting its KPIs.

The RSH publishes its performance framework and reports annually on key performance indicators through its Corporate Plan and Annual Report and Accounts.

My Department monitors the RSH’s performance through regular Accounting Officer meetings.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in implementing the Injury on Duty Award Scheme.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

I have met with those leading the campaign for a new award and I am working on proposals. Ultimately, any official award is a gift from the Government on behalf of His Majesty The King.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of bans on e-scooters and e-bikes riding in pedestrian areas.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police have a suite of powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize e-scooters and e‑bikes being used illegally or antisocially, including ‑for offences such as riding on the pavement and in pedestrian areas.

We are strengthening enforcement through the Crime and Policing Bill, by removing the requirement for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles used antisocially. We have also consulted on measures to allow police to dispose of seized vehicles, including e-scooters and e-bikes, more quickly, helping to tackle dangerous and anti-social behaviour impacting communities.

Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for Chief Officers, who decide how to deploy resources in line with local policing priorities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has his Department made of the potential impact of local government reorganisation on future recruitment and retention of Trading Standards Officers.

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

Trading standards is a statutory local authority function, and councils are responsible for ensuring they are able to discharge their duties. During local government reorganisation, the expectation is staff employed by existing local authorities, such as Trading Standards Officers, will transfer to a new unitary council set up for the area.

UK trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Homelessness

Found:

Found: , Richard Quigley MP and Zoe's Law campaigners To discuss 'Zoe's Law' Ashley Dalton 15/10/2025 Max Wilkinson