Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to end the use of hotels in Runcorn and Helsby constituency to house people and families seeking asylum.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.

We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.

Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Government has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. This is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was just a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed. The number of hotels in use at present is 218. Since the General Election, there has been a net increase of six hotels in use; however, nine are scheduled for closure by the end of March 2025.

It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in office.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of halting changes to the threshold for agricultural property relief and business property relief.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

In 2021-22, the most recent year for which data is available, the median value of assets qualifying for agricultural property relief was £486,000 and three-quarters of estates claimed for agricultural property below £1 million. The data also shows that a very small number of claimants each year claim a very significant amount of relief – 40 per cent of the total Exchequer cost of the relief went to the top seven per cent of claims. It is not fair to maintain such a significant relief for a very small number of claimants, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of pet insurance premiums in the last 12 months.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Pet insurance providers are private businesses and are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of bottom trawling on marine protected areas.

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

It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. Fisheries regulators make detailed assessments of the impact of all fishing activities on the protected species and habitats in our MPAs and develop byelaws to restrict fishing when it has been assessed as damaging. These site-by-site assessments help to ensure fishing is not unduly restricted. Recent examples of these assessments can be found at Stage_2_MPA_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf and Dogger_Bank_SAC_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf.

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 merits of banning bottom trawling in marine protected areas.

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

It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. Fisheries regulators make detailed assessments of the impact of all fishing activities on the protected species and habitats in our MPAs and develop byelaws to restrict fishing when it has been assessed as damaging. These site-by-site assessments help to ensure fishing is not unduly restricted. Recent examples of these assessments can be found at Stage_2_MPA_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf and Dogger_Bank_SAC_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of peer age passenger restrictions for newly qualified drivers aged under 21.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driver Licensing, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic collisions on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing support to volunteer directors of (a) Resident Management Companies and (b) Right to Manage Companies in the event of enforcement action being taken.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20026 on the 23 December 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, what her planned timetable is to have discussions with insurers on support to reduce fire related liabilities for leaseholders during remediation programmes.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 19763 from 19 December 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take if local authorities do not meet their local housing targets.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 19892 on 17 December 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2h of her Department's policy paper entitled Joint plan to accelerate developer-led remediation and improve resident experience, published on 2 December 2024, what the target date is for the draft guidance on Alternative Dispute Resolution to be published in final form, and whether it will be optional for developers and building owners to participate in ADR.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20707 on 20 December 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3d of her Department's policy paper entitled Joint plan to accelerate developer-led remediation and improve resident experience, published on 02 December 2024, when her Department will begin publishing developer performance against audits; and if the Department will report retrospectively on audits carried out since the commencement of the Developer Remediation Contract in April 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon Member to the answer give to Question UIN 20246 on 20 December 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying carers allowance beyond State Pension age.

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

I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to question UIN 6904.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking into account Carers allowance in the calculation of state pensions.

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

The new State Pension was introduced in 2016 and improves State Pension outcomes for many people, including carers. When in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, a person also receives a National Insurance credit, which counts towards a person's State Pension entitlement.

Carers who do not get Carer's Allowance are able to apply for Carer's Credits if they are caring for one or more disabled people for at least 20 hours a week. Carer’s Credits also count towards a person’s State Pension entitlement.

Under the new State Pension, National Insurance Contributions and National Insurance Credits have equal value, providing access to the same level of entitlement for all.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a default housing first model in the Government's long-term housing plan.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG funded pilots to test, at scale, if this type of intervention can be successful in supporting our most entrenched rough sleepers in the English context. The evaluation of the pilots was published in October 2024 here: Housing First Pilot: national evaluation reports - GOV.UK.

The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to develop a strategy to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. Work to develop the strategy also includes working with representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts to assess what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3 of her Department's Joint plan to accelerate developer-led remediation and improve resident experience, published on 02 December 2024, what steps her Department plans to take to review the accuracy of previous assessments where a fire engineer has been suspended by a professional fire engineering body.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 21355 on 10 January 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for extending the voting franchise to 16 and 17 year olds.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is committed to delivering on the manifesto commitment to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections during this Parliament, strengthening our democracy, empowering young people to participate and building an informed and empowered electorate.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce multi-year Local Government Finance Settlements.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question HL3336 on 20 December 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled, Joint plan to accelerate developer-led remediation and improve resident experience, last updated 13 January 2025, whether Avant Homes has been asked to sign the developer remediation contract.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Yes. Viva Midco Limited, parent company of Avant Homes, was invited to and signed the developer remediation contract.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 in tackling instances of damp in social housing stock.

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

All homes should be safe, decent, and warm. The government is committed to introducing Awaab’s Law to the social rented sector as soon as possible. Awaab’s Law forms part of the Social Housing Regulation Act and will set new time limits for social landlords to fix dangerous hazards, including damp and mold. Once regulations are in force, all social landlords will have to comply with the requirements of Awaab’s Law. If they do not, residents will be able to hold their social landlords to account by taking legal action through the courts or seeking redress through the Housing Ombudsman Service.

All registered providers of social housing are also required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. Under the Safety and Quality Standard, landlords must take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and provide an effective and timely repairs service for the homes for which they are responsible. As part of the new consumer regime facilitated by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act, the Regulator has begun carrying out regular inspections of large landlords to seek evidence they are delivering the outcomes of the standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultation she has undertaken with local communities on Heathrow airport expansion.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.

Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008, and in doing so the Secretary of State will comply with any statutory requirements relating to consultation and publicity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for disabled residents.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The previous Government consulted on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans, identifying concerns over their practicality, proportionality and safety.

Following further consultation, Government has committed to introduce legislation later this year to mandate an alternative package of measures called Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for mobility-impaired residents of high rise residential blocks, and of 11-18 metre high residential blocks with a simultaneous evacuation strategy in place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of passenger flights in the UK using sustainable aviation fuel in 2023-24.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department does not require, and has no plans to require, data from commercial operators on the number of passenger flights using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It has set ambitious but realistic targets for SAF supply through a SAF mandate scheme introduced on 1 January 2025 and against which progress is being measured.

The uptake of SAF was previously supported through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. In 2023 97 million litres of SAF was supplied under the RTFO, the equivalent of 0.7% of all jet fuel supplied in the UK that year. Progress towards targets set through the SAF mandate will similarly be reported in the Department’s renewable fuels statistics.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resilience of power lines in the event of extreme weather.

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

The Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) work to identify lessons after all large energy incidents to ensure continuous improvement to the network. Network operators have completed a significant number of improvements to the resilience of Great Britain’s electricity network which means the electricity system is in a much better place to mitigate power disruption during extreme weather events such as those seen during Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the expansion of Heathrow Airport on (a) noise pollution, (b) air quality and (c) carbon targets.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.

Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.

The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of instructing the emergency services to contact responders to traumatic emergency incidents within 24 hours to see if they require mental health support.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The mental health of all National Health Service staff is taken seriously, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents. At a national level, Ambulance Trust employees have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health offer for more complex mental health wellbeing support, including for trauma and addiction.

NHS England is working closely with the Ambulance Staff Charity to fund the development of the Ambulance Staff crisis phoneline, to provide immediate, independent, and confidential support to ambulance staff in a mental health crisis.

NHS England is also continuing regular communication with key partners from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, to explore wider support opportunities. This includes working with all Ambulance Trusts to support them to utilise the NHS Health and Wellbeing Framework, to improve the health of their workforce based on local bespoke needs.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the human rights situation in Syria.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Following the fall of the Assad regime, we continue to monitor the human rights situation closely. Accountability and protection of human rights are critical parts of a sustainable transition, and we continue to advocate for them to be part of the transitional process. As we made clear in our joint statements with G7 leaders, and following the Aqaba contact group meeting on Syria, we stand ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance with respect for human rights.

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Proposals to forcibly displace and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza

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