Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to ensure that water companies provide low income customers with cheaper social tariffs.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government expects water companies to ensure their customers know what support schemes are available and how to access them if they need help. Companies offer a range of support schemes for customers struggling to afford their bills, including social tariffs, WaterSure, debt support schemes, financial hardship funds, flexible payment plans and payment breaks.
All companies voluntarily offer social tariff schemes for households – each setting their own eligibility criteria and level of support. Defra is working with water companies to ensure social tariffs are more consistent and taken up by those most in need. Defra also expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030.
Additionally, the Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure scheme to extend scope and increase support to low-income households who have higher water usage due to medical needs or three or more children.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to review the (a) role and (b) voting rights of bishops in the House of Lords.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to review the role and voting rights of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords.
The Government has set out an ambitious programme of House of Lords reform in its manifesto, including a commitment to replace the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations. The Government will consult on proposals for an alternative second chamber, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 14 October 2025 to Questions 77787, 77788 and 77789 on Pension Funds: Fossil Fuels, what estimate The Pensions Regulator has made of the (a) proportion of UK pension scheme assets invested in (i) thermal coal-fired and (ii) other fossil fuel-fired power generation capacity, (b) contribution of UK pension funds to fossil fuel expansion in (i) the UK, (ii) Europe and (iii) other international markets and (c) value of UK pension fund assets invested in fossil fuels that are at risk of becoming stranded.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has not produced such estimates.
Occupational pension schemes are required to set out how they consider financially material environmental, social and governance factors in their Statements of Investment Principles and to report annually on implementation. Larger schemes must also disclose their climate related risks and opportunities in line with the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures framework. A 2024 TPR review found that more than 60% of sampled schemes had set a net zero goal for 2050 or earlier. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently undertaking a Post Implementation Review of the TCFD regime. We will report our findings this year.
In parallel, Government is working on the adoption of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards aligned with international standards and on mandating climate transition plans. TPR’s Transition Plan Working Group, which includes representatives from across the pensions industry, will report to the DWP in the spring. These initiatives will continue to strengthen transparency around scheme exposures to climate related risks and support the UK’s net-zero goals and broader green agenda.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of medication available on the NHS to treat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in babies.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Acute myeloid leukaemia is rare in babies, as there are approximately 10 cases in England each year. Standard upfront chemotherapy is available but options for patients who do not respond to standard chemotherapy or relapse are limited. NHS England encourages clinicians to submit proposals to expand the range of clinical commissioning policies, helping to ensure that patients are able to access the latest, evidence-based treatments and care.
The Department continues to work with NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to support the development of new treatments for rare paediatric cancers.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on his Department's modelling of workforce numbers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026. This plan will set out action to create a National Health Service workforce which is able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.
That engagement began well before the call for evidence was closed. In early November, ministers hosted an event with nearly one hundred representatives of partner organisations to hear views from across the health system.
Engagement is now continuing while we analyse the submissions to our call for evidence, including a roundtable with medical royal colleges on 14 January, which I chaired.
We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10-Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be subject to independent scrutiny by our appointed external scrutiny panel.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether all species of Zebra will be included in the proposed ban on hunting trophies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to engage with relevant stakeholders to help determine the most appropriate scope for a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern. Timeframes for introducing legislation and details of its scope will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Species of conservation concern are listed primarily on Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) based on the level of threat that international trade poses to their conservation status.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to ratify the UN High Seas Treaty by June 2026.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Royal Assent of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act (BBNJ), further secondary legislation is required before the BBNJ Agreement can be ratified by the UK. This will happen when the parliamentary timetable allows.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the definition of coercive and controlling behaviour within the Serious Crime Act 2015 to include extremist groups, cults and gangs.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Controlling or coercive behaviour (CCB) is an insidious form of domestic abuse. The CCB legislative framework was introduced in 2015 and was explicitly designed to address patterns of behaviour within relationships where the perpetrator and victim are “personally connected”, as outlined in Section 2 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Expanding CCB beyond this context would risk undermining that clarity, creating uncertainty for police to identify, investigate and prosecute this offence.
We do not intend to expand the CCB offence beyond its current scope at this time.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what safeguards have been considered in relation to Meta support for building AI systems for UK national security.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not use services from Meta to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for United Kingdom (UK) national security purposes.
Broader policy on the governance, assurance and oversight of the UK’s relationships with commercial AI developers, including any safeguarding expectations, sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which leads for Government on the regulation and safe development of AI technologies.
The MOD’s role is limited to ensuring that any AI technologies we adopt or develop follow our established Defence AI Strategy, our ethical principles for responsible AI in Defence as set out in our ‘Ambitious, Safe, Responsible’ policy document, and the security requirements set out in UK Government security classifications. These include robust technical; security and assurance measures appropriate to the sensitivity of MOD systems.
We continue to work closely with DSIT, the National Cyber Security Centre and other cross-Government partners to ensure any Defence use of AI is safe, secure and compliant with national policy.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Valour Veterans' Support Programme will include working with existing social enterprises that provide advice, services and support to veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The VALOUR programme will engage across a wide range of stakeholders who provide support services for veterans, including social enterprises. VALOUR Field Officers will work with these stakeholders to improve the coordination of veteran support. The programme will also work with existing organisations to ensure VALOUR Recognised Centres provide a holistic network of support centres for veterans, in areas such as health, housing, employment and finance.