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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support animal rescue and rehoming centres.

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

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations. The consultation will include a consideration of the potential impacts on the sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what she is taking to help support the enforcement of legislation on the compulsory microchipping of (a) cats and (b) dogs.

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

Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce breaches of the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023.

It will be for each local authority and police force to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

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 impact o changes to the Listed Places of Worship Scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is a £23m scheme that gives grants covering VAT on eligible works. We estimate that changes to the Scheme this year, including the introduction of a 25k cap on claims, affected around 6% of claims as most claims are under £5,000. The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales. However, the Department has commissioned an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which will be published soon.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help address safety risks from the abandonment of e-bikes on pavements.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We understand that e-bikes parked obstructively on pavements are not just an inconvenience but a real safety risk, particularly for vulnerable pavement users.

That is why the licensing regime for shared cycle schemes which we are bringing forward through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will create a legal requirement for shared e-cycle schemes to be licensed by local leaders and will include minimum standard conditions to ensure a national baseline of safety. This will provide local leaders with greater powers to combat street clutter and misuse of shared vehicles.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support pupils with SEND in Epping Forest.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

On 16 January, the government announced a £200 million investment over the course of this Parliament to upskill staff in every school, college and nursery, ensuring a skilled workforce for generations to come. This builds on the landmark £3 billion investment to create more specialist places and ensure more children and young people can thrive at a setting close to home.

We are also determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families, which is why we are currently engaging a wide range of people and organisations, including parents and young people, in every region of the country to inform development of our proposals and ensure that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our solutions.

We will set out our proposals for reform in the upcoming Schools White Paper, and we will consult widely on these proposals and continue to work with a wide range of partners to refine them and deliver them.

Essex is currently undergoing a local area special educational needs and disabilities inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, the results of which will be published in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing further funding for its planned National Biosecurity Centre to meet the required level of funding specified in the National Audit Office's Improving the UK’s science capability for managing animal diseases Report in 2022.

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

Defra received the funding it requested in the current Spending Review to 2029-30 for the next stage of the National Biosecurity Centre, Weybridge Programme. Programme delivery is on track and in line with Government Project Delivery Functional Standards. Further funding in future Spending Reviews will be requested to secure operational delivery of the new facility by 2034.