Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to provide capacity funding to local authorities for strategic economic development in Cornwall.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is establishing a £30 million fund to invest in Cornwall’s comparative sectoral advantages, including critical minerals, renewable energy and marine innovation, subject to a full business case.
Funding will be devolved to Cornwall Council, in line with the government’s devolution agenda, empowering local leaders to invest in projects that best meet local needs. Project management costs are eligible as part of a capital project budget.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Kernow Industrial Growth Fund can be deployed as investment capital which can be recouped by Cornwall County Council for future projects.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Funding will be devolved to Cornwall Council, in line with the Government’s devolution agenda, empowering local leaders to invest in projects that best meet local needs. Final release of funding will be subject to a robust business case.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 potential merits of widening the eligibility of the NHS Low Income Scheme to include those who are on a state pension.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. People aged 60 years old and over are automatically entitled to free National Health Service prescriptions and free NHS eye tests.
People on the state pension can apply for the NHS Low Income Scheme and depending on their income and requirements, may receive either full or partial help with health costs. Alternatively, they may be eligible for Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, which provides full help with health costs. Full help covers:
- NHS prescription charges;
- NHS dental treatment charges;
- the cost of sight tests, glasses, and contact lenses;
- the cost of travelling to receive NHS treatment; and
- NHS wigs and fabric supports.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken with Homes England to help support start-up builders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Small and medium sized housebuilders are essential to meeting the government’s housing ambitions and supporting local economies.
The government is acting to support SME housebuilders by increasing their access to land, providing further financial assistance and easing the burden of regulation.
To that end, we have provided a £700 million extension to the Home Building Fund to help them build a further 12,000 homes and doubled the ENABLE Build Guarantee scheme to boost SME access to finance.
We are making more Homes England land available to the sector through SME-only land sales with less bureaucratic sales process.
We have also committed to simplifying the planning system with proposals for a new medium site size definition with corresponding policy and regulatory easements to help SME housebuilders thrive and grow. For further detail, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 16 December 2025 (HCWS1187).
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 ensure the widest set of projects as part of biodiversity net-gain calculations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) applies to every planning permission in England granted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, unless exempted. The Government has announced plans to remove BNG requirements for sites under 0.2 hectares, and that BNG will apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects from May this year.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Royal Mail meets its statutory obligations.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.
Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality of service targets in 2024-25 and instructed Royal Mail to urgently publish and implement a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and its parent company in November and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce burdens on NHS dentistry services, especially by ensuring dentists who are qualified to practice in other countries can be fast-tracked for qualification to practice in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Dental Council (GDC) regulates United Kingdom dentistry and sets the standards for all applicants to its registers. Routes to registration for overseas qualified dentists are set out in legislation.
The Government is working with the GDC to increase the number of overseas-qualified dentists gaining registration to help address National Health Service workforce shortages.
The GDC already offers priority booking to refugee dentists on its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). Last year I asked the GDC to develop a plan to urgently cut the high ORE waiting list and in November received an update on their work. I have been assured that significant improvements to international registration are expected this year.
I have also asked the GDC for an improved ORE booking system for the new ORE delivery contract, coming into effect from April 2026, and to explore prioritisation of UK resident candidates. I will meet the GDC again for an update on this work once the new contract is finalised.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made towards global debt reform in discussions with the London Coalition.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to working with our international partners and the private sector to tackle unsustainable debt. The London Coalition for Sustainable Sovereign Debt, initiated last year, continues to make progress on bolstering the private sector international debt architecture. The Coalition aims to promote greater resilience and debt sustainability for debtor countries through contractual innovations and enhanced coordination of creditors.
The bonded debt working group continue to advance work on pause clauses, which suspend interest payments when events like climate shocks occur. This includes consulting with key stakeholders on their input paper published in November. The non-bonded debt working group is developing guidelines for how private sector creditors can better coordinate themselves during debt restructurings.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to ensure that food purchased by the public sector recognises seasonality of produce.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) already encourage public sector caterers to include seasonally available ingredients in their menus. The Government is currently considering options, including updating the GBSF to further encourage caterers to serve more seasonal produce.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reform planning rules and permitted development rights to facilitate a wider range of housing for elderly people, including modern, low‑maintenance retirement communities and purpose‑built nursing homes; and what steps he is taking to protect local care standards.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including new policies designed to support the delivery of housing that meets the needs of different groups such as older people. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for assessing registered providers, including providers that deliver and manage residential and nursing homes. The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. They can take appropriate action, including through their enforcement powers, when these standards are not met.