Paul Holmes

Returning Officers are responsible for deciding where polling stations should be situated. The Commission provides guidance for Returning Officers on booking suitable polling stations. Returning Officers are often faced with limited options in selecting polling stations. The Commission’s guidance advises them to select a suitable venue based on size and accessibility.

There are no requirements in law on the language of imprints. The Electoral Commission’s guidance on print and digital imprints sets out the information that must be included in an imprint. Imprints must be legible or in the case of audio material, audible, no matter what device is used to access the information.

The purpose of an imprint is to ensure that voters know who is responsible for campaign material. Where material is published to target voters whose first language is not English, an imprint in the same language would be one way of ensuring that this is transparent to those voters.

The Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents outlines that once an agent has accepted their appointment, they cannot resign and must fulfil the duties required of them unless the candidate revokes their appointment.

The Representation of the People Bill proposes extending the Electoral Commission’s remit to include enforcement of the candidate spending regime. The Bill would require candidates to submit spending returns to the Commission and to Returning Officers.

Returning Officers will continue to make spending returns available for a two-year period. The Commission will publish spending returns through its Political Finance Online system, beyond the two-year retention period. This will provide important transparency for voters.

The Commission provides guidance for candidates and agents on the certificate of authorisation and the nominations process. There is currently no provision to allow for the withdrawal of certificates of authorisation once received by the Returning Officer.

The Representation of the People Bill proposes a change to enable parties to withdraw support from a candidate up to 48 hours before the end of the nominations period, where nomination papers have already been submitted.

It is a long-standing convention that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority. This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention, is provided for in paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May, and applies to your question.

The Government has now launched a public consultation on the digital ID where we want to hear as wide a range of views as possible.

The scope of the digital ID system is still in development and we are inviting the public to have their say in the consultation as we develop a useful, inclusive and trusted system.

Through this consultation we are asking the public what age they think is appropriate to have digital ID.

The Prime Minister can allocate official residences gifted to the Government to support Ministers in their official duties. This has been the case under decades of successive governments.

An update on any new allocations will be provided in due course.

The Prime Minister raised a range of domestic and foreign issues in his meeting with President Xi at the G20 on 18 November. A read-out of this meeting is available on the GOV.UK website.

Ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda.

As set out by the Minister without Portfolio, the updated Ministerial Code will be published in due course. It will include details of a new Register of Ministers' Gifts and Hospitality, which will bring the publication of ministerial transparency data more closely into line with the parliamentary regime for gifts and hospitality.

Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We have engaged with landlord and tenant groups in developing this policy and set out several proposals to help landlords reach the new standard. Our proposed changes should not require landlords to increase rents. Instead, they will help tenants cut their energy bills by delivering more energy efficient homes.

The consultation has now closed and we are analysing responses and reviewing evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. A government response will be published in due course.

The government is not neutral about where things are made. We want to see jobs created and supply chains developed here in the UK.

As part of the growth and clean energy superpower missions, the Government is committed to growing the UK’s supply chains and supporting good jobs throughout the country. The Clean Industry Bonus aims to drive investment into sustainable supply chains, particularly in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. In addition, the Government has set out a package of support for offshore wind supply chains worth up to £1 billion, including £300 million from Great British Energy to provide upfront public investment, £400 million from The Crown Estate, to support new infrastructure, including ports, manufacturing, and research and testing facilities, and £300 million being developed by the offshore wind industry, to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advanced turbines technologies and foundations.

The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.

Most provisions have been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. We must ensure they are implemented carefully, to create certainty and avoid post-implementation delays. The Department has policy and legal resources dedicated to deliver these. A technical consultation on draft regulations to implement sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, is open until 2 July.

The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.

Most provisions have been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. We must ensure they are implemented carefully, to create certainty and avoid post-implementation delays. The Department has policy and legal resources dedicated to deliver these. A technical consultation on draft regulations to implement sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, is open until 2 July.

Legal cases relating to telecommunications installations can commence in either the County Court or the Lands Tribunal. The Department does not have comprehensive data, but is aware of an increase in applications to the courts relating to telecommunications infrastructure installation since 2017. Applications can cover a range of different situations. We do not know how many relate specifically to 5G masts. Most applications do not proceed to a full hearing, but are resolved consensually.

Sections 58,59 and 61 – 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 have some limited retrospective effects. Other provisions are not considered retrospective.

The distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus) is found on the northern section of Swanscombe Peninsula, Kent, which is one of only two locations in the UK where it can be found, the other being Thurrock Marshes. Its prevalence is extremely low, and it is a critically endangered species due to habitat loss.

The government has no plans to amend regulations to allow for the conversion of military Air Traffic Controller licences to civil Air Traffic Controller licences.

The government currently has no plans to amend regulations to allow for the recognition of non-UK Air Traffic Controller licences.

The Department recognises that the recent increase in the volume of MP enquiries, alongside a rise in the complexity of cases requiring more detailed investigation, has contributed to delays in meeting our standard response timescales.

To address this, the Department has taken a number of steps to improve the timeliness and efficiency of responses to MP enquiries:

• Additional resource has been deployed to our complaints and correspondence teams, with ongoing monitoring of the impact on response times.
• The Universal Credit MP hotline service has been streamlined through the introduction of a single national contact number, improving accessibility and consistency.
• Guidance on the W4MP website has been updated to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of the appropriate contact numbers for each benefit product line.
• Recruitment is underway for additional Universal Credit complaint handlers to support efforts to reduce the volume of outstanding enquiries and improve response times.

The Department has not engaged with their Australian counterparts on negotiating a new reciprocal social security agreement.

There is no current requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to publish either the evidence base, modelling assumptions, or workforce capacity assessments used to determine commissioned elective activity levels against projected population demand.

National Health Service funding for local services, including elective activity, is allocated to ICBs using NHS England’s Fair Share model and the NHS resource allocation formula.

Medium Term Planning Framework has set clear expectations for improvements in access, levels of performance, and financial discipline. In 2026/27, every NHS trust must deliver a minimum 7% improvement in 18-week performance or be at a minimum of 65%, whichever is greater, to deliver national performance target of 70%. In line with this expectation, NHS England has engaged with systems on the development, assurance, and sign-off of ICB and NHS trust plans to ensure delivery of this ambition alongside the others set out in the planning framework.

Commissioners must comply with duties placed on them under the Equality Act 2010 regarding the public sector equality duty and the duty to reduce health inequalities, and to secure public involvement and consultation in the planning, development, and decisions about commissioning arrangements.

NHS England has published guidance to support commissioning decisions and the impact on service users forms a key part of the assurance process. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/planning-assuring-and-delivering-service-change-for-patients/

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Hamble Valley and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.

Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority and integrated care board level. Information for Hampshire can be found at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E10000014/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 December 2024 to Question 19695.

Capacity to contract is a core principle in British contract law and is designed to protect people who lack the necessary capacity to enter into a binding agreement. Most adults, typically those who are aged 18 and over, are presumed to possess contractual capacity.

The Consumer Credit Act (1974) makes it a criminal offence to offer credit to a minor.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to UIN 101363.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible property under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available, and community assets protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Royal Palaces are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.

An increase in RV does not mean that business rates liability will increase by the same percentage.

The national multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April before resetting at a revaluation, which occurs every three years. This is the standard approach, as multipliers are uprated yearly with CPI.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multipliers will remain 5 pence below their national equivalents every year. The high-value multiplier will remain 2.8 pence above the national standard multiplier every year. However, the rates will remain under review, and the legislation does not preclude the Government from changing the rates for future tax years.

This is set out in the Explanatory Memoranda of the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/4/memorandum/contents