Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearms licence renewals took more than three months in the last financial year.

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

The issuing of firearms certificates is a matter for individual Chief Constables who are in turn held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. The performance of forces is also being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing, who is in the process of developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams.

With regard to charging different fees for firearms used for work and recreation, HM Treasury guidance specifically rules out any two-tier system of fees. It states that “different groups of customers should not be charged different amounts for a service costing the same, eg charging firms more than individuals”.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of charging different licensing fees for people using firearms for (a) work and (b) recreation.

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

The issuing of firearms certificates is a matter for individual Chief Constables who are in turn held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. The performance of forces is also being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing, who is in the process of developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams.

With regard to charging different fees for firearms used for work and recreation, HM Treasury guidance specifically rules out any two-tier system of fees. It states that “different groups of customers should not be charged different amounts for a service costing the same, eg charging firms more than individuals”.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of shingles.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne

To increase awareness of the shingles programme and of potential vaccination benefits amongst health professionals and the wider public, the UK Health Security Agency provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources and assets, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, like easy read, British Sign Language, and braille, and also provides guidance for healthcare professionals. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/Home.html

In addition, further information on the shingles immunisation programme specifically is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingles-vaccination-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals/shingles-immunisation-programme-information-for-healthcare-practitioners

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled, Consultation on fairer food labelling, which closed in May 2024, when he will publish the outcomes of that consultation.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 19 December 2024, PQ 20692.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will implement a (a) transparent and (b) meaningful method of production labelling.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 19 December 2024, PQ 20692.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the lifting of sanctions on Israeli settlers by the US government.

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

We are deeply concerned by recent events in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary has been clear with Israeli Ministers that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and end settlement expansion. Sanctions are an important tool the UK, our allies and the wider international community can use to respond. Our carefully deployed sanctions are designed to address malign activity and demonstrate the UK's commitment to fundamental human rights. We will continue to work together with the new US administration to ensure regional security and stability, including ensuring lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians.

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 hydrogen power plants as part of the UK's energy sector.

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

Hydrogen to power can play an important role in our electricity system at a range of scales. When connected to grid-scale hydrogen storage, it can provide low carbon inter-seasonal storage, whilst also providing a decarbonisation pathway for unabated gas.

In December 2024 the government announced its intention to introduce a hydrogen to power business model to support accelerated deployment of hydrogen-fired power stations.

This marks a key step in paving the way for Hydrogen to power to support delivery and maintenance of the Clean Power Mission and the UK’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with the (a) International Criminal Court, (b) International Court of Justice and (c) UN agencies to investigate allegations of genocide in Gaza during the ceasefire.

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

The UK is fully committed to international law. We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern.  The UK also respects the independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is the UK government's long-standing position that any determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, and not for governments or non-judicial bodies and agencies. The ICJ South Africa v Israeli case is ongoing, and we await their decision.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for National Statistics Wealth and Assets Survey, published on 24 January 2025, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the trends in (a) financial and (b) physical wealth for the top (i) 10% and (i) 1% decile between round seven and round eight.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.

While income and wealth are not always directly correlated, distributional analysis shows that Government decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review 2025, Phase 1 are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average as a percentage of income in 2025-26. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2025-26.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the data on monitoring the longitudinal fluctuations in the wealth held by the wealthiest 1% of households in Round 8 of the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, last published on 24 January 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.

While income and wealth are not always directly correlated, distributional analysis shows that Government decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review 2025, Phase 1 are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average as a percentage of income in 2025-26. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2025-26.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the level of wealth inequality.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.

While income and wealth are not always directly correlated, distributional analysis shows that Government decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review 2025, Phase 1 are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average as a percentage of income in 2025-26. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2025-26.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the review of the UK’s national resilience will include the impact of wealth inequality on society.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.

While income and wealth are not always directly correlated, distributional analysis shows that Government decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review 2025, Phase 1 are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average as a percentage of income in 2025-26. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2025-26.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles plans to publish guidance on the options for the charging of electric vehicles.

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

The Government regularly publishes guidance for local authorities, industry and other key stakeholders on different aspects of electric vehicle (EV) charging, including the recent guidance on ‘cross-pavement solutions for charging electric vehicles’ and an online EV infrastructure ‘Knowledge Repository’ containing expert advice on all aspects of chargepoint delivery.

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 requiring a at least 25% of all new pension contributions to be invested in social and green infrastructure projects.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Investing in the right assets to deliver good saver returns, support growth and meet our environmental aims is key to the Government’s pensions initiatives. Proposals put forward by the November 2024 Interim Report of the Pensions Investment Review, aim to deliver a major consolidation of the defined contribution workplace market, and require 86 Administering Authorities of the Local Government Pension Scheme (of England and Wales) to delegate management of their investments to pools. Our objective is to enable schemes to invest in a wide range of assets including infrastructure, meeting social and green aims. The Government expects to publish its Final Report in Spring 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help facilitate media access to Gaza.

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

The UK remains committed to media freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society. We understand this is an incredibly difficult time for journalists who are carrying out crucial work in disseminating accurate and impartial reporting during a time of crisis. Journalists covering conflicts are afforded protection under humanitarian law. This means that all parties must avoid deliberate attacks against them and only detain them on justified security grounds. I supported International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and drew attention to those who risk their lives on the frontline in Gaza and the 100+ journalists and media workers who have been killed since the conflict began.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the Primary-Secondary School Transitions Emotional Wellbeing Scale being developed by the University of Manchester and the University of Dundee.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government recognises the importance of monitoring and understanding trends in the emotional wellbeing of children and young people, including through means such the Primary-Secondary School Transitions Emotional Wellbeing Scale developed at the University of Manchester and University of Dundee.

Schools are encouraged to measure pupil wellbeing to inform their whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. It is for schools to decide how they do this to identify and meet the specific needs of pupils in their setting.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to key recommendation 3 of the Office for Environmental Protection’s report entitled Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2023 to 2024, published on 16 January 2025, if he will set out a timetable for improving management of Marine Protected Areas.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Brent West on 10 December 2024 and 6 January 2025, PQs 17500 and 20559.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect blue carbon habitats from damaging human activities.

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

In England, we have established a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which cover the majority of our saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. While blue carbon habitats may not always be an explicitly designated feature, MPA protection may still yield benefits.

Our focus is now on ensuring that these MPAs are effectively protected to allow the designated features to achieve favourable condition. Three Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMAs) designations in English waters came into force in summer 2023. Two of the three designated sites, Allonby Bay and North East of Farnes Deep, contain blue carbon habitats.

Defra set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with DESNZ and the Devolved Administrations to address evidence gaps around these important habitats. We are funding a multi-year research project to increase our understanding of UK seabed sediment carbon storage and sequestration, the impact of human activities and to model potential management interventions. Initial outputs from this work were published in January 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with Ofsted on the (a) availability and (b) quality of school library provision.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not specifically assessed the impact of professional school librarians on pupils’ learning or outcomes. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. This school funding can be used to fund librarians, school libraries and book corners.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector and his staff on a wide range of matters, including those relating to literacy and ensuring pupils benefit from a knowledge-rich curriculum.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of professional school librarians on pupils (a) learning and (b) outcomes.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not specifically assessed the impact of professional school librarians on pupils’ learning or outcomes. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. This school funding can be used to fund librarians, school libraries and book corners.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector and his staff on a wide range of matters, including those relating to literacy and ensuring pupils benefit from a knowledge-rich curriculum.

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 to prevent housing associations levying commercial rated energy costs onto residents for domestic usage.

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

Under the maximum resale price direction landlords cannot directly profit from re-selling energy to their tenants. There should therefore be no advantage to landlords for their tenants to have high bills.

The previous Government ran a call for evidence on domestic consumers on non-domestic energy contracts. This showed that there is no single solution to address the multiple complex challenges faced by domestic consumers on non-domestic tariffs. The Government will continue to work with the regulator Ofgem and wider stakeholders on this issue.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the horticulture sector.

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

The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our agricultural sectors including the fundamental part played by horticulture growers.

As part of our mission-driven Government we are currently considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for all of our farming sectors. This includes, as the Secretary of state announced at the CLA conference, developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap to create a robust and resilient agriculture sector, capable of meeting current challenges whilst future proofing the sector for generations to come.

In addition, the department meets regularly with growers to discuss a range of specific issues facing the sector. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce a new Food Bill for England in this Parliament.

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

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. We will consider the need for legislation as we develop the strategy and will seek to make space in the legislative timetable if needed.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring that a minimum number of (a) local and (b) regional freelance professionals are hired by (i) TV and (ii) film companies when filming is taking place in their area.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department has not made any assessment of the potential merits of the particular suggestion of per-production employment quotas. However, our public service broadcasters are already subject to regional production quotas set by the regulator Ofcom. One of the criteria through which public service broadcasters can meet their quotas is by ensuring at least 50% of the off-screen production talent (by cost) working on a given production is based outside of London. This ensures that creative job opportunities continue to be available to freelance professionals building their careers in the nations and regions of the UK.

We are also incentivising television and film production in every region through our tax reliefs and support for studios, including the £25 million investment for Crown Works Studios in Sunderland via the North East Combined Mayoral Authority.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the pension review will consider adequacy.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement– which is why we announced the landmark Pensions Review days after coming into office in July.

The first phase is focussed on boosting investment and economic growth and we are committed to a second phase that will include retirement adequacy within its considerations. We will provide further detail on the full scope and timetable for the second phase in due course.

Parliamentary Prayers

Injury on Duty Award Scheme

Striking workers at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts sixth form

Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919

LGBTQI+ people in immigration detention

International Mother Language Day

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Refusal of Citizenship to refugees who have made irregular crossings

LGBT+ History Month 2025

Royal Mail's universal service obligation

Blue Flag status for rivers

Independent parking regulator

Proposals to forcibly displace and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza

South Western Railway service standards and performance

Eco-Museum of Scottish Mining Landscapes

World Cancer Day 2025

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