Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to modify the UK Ancestry visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government values the UK’s close cultural and historical ties with its fellow Commonwealth countries. This is reflected in our immigration system by the UK Ancestry visa, which allows Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent to live and work in the UK.
The Home Office keeps all visa routes under regular review. While we have no current plans to reform the UK Ancestry route specifically, we have set out a number of proposed reforms to the wider immigration system in the Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May. On 20 November we launched a public consultation on our new earned settlement model, and we encourage interested parties to take part. Details of any changes will be set out in due course in the usual way.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to continue funding grant programmes operated by (a) Arts Council England, (b) National Lottery Project Grants and (c) National Portfolio Organisation.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Yes. DCMS plans to continue funding grant programmes operated by Arts Council England (which includes the National Portfolio). Arts Council England also continues to receive funding from the National Lottery, which goes towards supporting a range of programmes including National Lottery Project Grants.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will appoint a Minister for Rural Communities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministerial appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to secure an exemption to the EU Entry / Exit System for international road hauliers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) is being implemented by the EU to improve border security. EES does not introduce new restrictions but will replace the current manual system for border checks of the 90 in 180-day (90/180) limit on short stays in the Schengen area which apply to all UK nationals, with a digital version. The 90/180 limit has been in place for UK nationals since 2021, when the transition period following the UK’s exit from the EU ended.
EES is not a UK Government initiative. While the UK Government is making every effort to engage with the EU as it rolls out its implementation of EES, any exemptions or amendments to the Schengen immigration rules are a matter for Member States and the EU. The Government will continue to listen to concerns raised by sectors affected by these rules and will advocate for British citizens abroad.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including protections against unfair supermarket practices in the Farming Profitability Review.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Baroness Minette Batters was appointed to complete a review into barriers to profitability in English farming and present her report to the Defra Secretary of State.
The review has examined how farmers can embrace innovation, improve productivity and market access, how the supply chain can support a more profitable farming sector through greater transparency, collaboration and a fairer distribution of risk, rewards and responsibility.
As set out in the Terms of Reference, the recommendations of the Farming Profitability Review will inform Defra policy including the Farming Roadmap, Food Strategy and Land-use Framework.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support she is providing to protect residential estates that are on unadopted road in the event of inadequate residential management group maintenance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 80700 on 20 October 2025.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria her Department applies when assessing asylum claims from (a) people with a risk of persecution from the Taliban and (b) other Afghan rights defenders.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum and human rights claims from Afghan nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations.
Each individual assessment is made by considering any relevant extant caselaw, the latest available country information, and relevant Asylum Instruction(s), notably Assessing Credibility and Refugee Status.
Our assessment of the situation for individuals claiming a fear of the Taliban in Afghanistan is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which organisations fed into the development of the Best Start digital service.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Best Start in Life Parent Hub website launched on 1 September as the department’s first step in developing the Best Start digital service. The site has been designed based on insights from extensive user research with parents and brings together content from across government under the Best Start in Life banner, aligning with the campaign launch and Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life.
The department is ambitious for the digital service and as we move into the next stage, building new, rather than existing content, we will work with families and organisations such as local authorities, the Local Government Association, and the NHS to ensure the service fulfils parents’ needs.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing local housing allowance rates on levels of homelessness in (a) rural and (b) other areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex; they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We do however work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) on homelessness are considered.
The Secretary of State considers LHA rates annually at Autumn Budget. Decisions on LHA will be taken in the round considering a range of factors such as rental data, the Government’s missions, its goals on housing and the challenging fiscal context.
LHA rates were restored to the 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 for one year, costing £1.2bn in 2024/25 and £7bn over 5 years.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid by local authorities to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. DHPs include a ring-fenced pot for the most rural areas
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator will consider the feasibility of extending its remit to include (a) farmers supplying via intermediaries and (b) other indirect suppliers affected by retailer practices.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The public consultation to the fourth statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator asked whether there are unfair contractual practices in parts of the supply chain that are not covered by the Groceries Code or the Fair Dealing Regulations under the Agriculture Act 2020, but which are having a negative impact on grocery suppliers.
The government is currently considering responses to the consultation, alongside other evidence, and will publish a report on the findings of the review as soon as practicable.