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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ensure that the next BBC Royal Charter reflects the recognition of the Kernewek in the Media Act 2024.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The BBC has a duty to reflect the diversity of the United Kingdom, both in its output and services. As set out in the recent Charter Review Green Paper, it is this Government’s ambition for the BBC to tell a unifying national story that represents all communities across the UK, and to drive growth in the nations and regions. This includes supporting the sustainability of minority language broadcasting and local media.

The Media Act ensures that, for the first time, indigenous and minority languages - including Cornish – form part of the public service remit for television in the UK, including for the BBC. It is for Ofcom, the independent regulator, to monitor compliance.

The Charter Review is considering a range of measures to ensure the BBC can continue to serve all audiences, including how it continues to support Minority Language Broadcasting.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the VAT burden on hospitality businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

At £90,000, the UK has the second highest registration threshold among all 38 OECD countries, which keeps the majority of businesses, including hospitality businesses, outside the VAT system.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. The UK’s standard VAT rate is close to the OECD average of 19.3 per cent.

The Government is supporting hospitality through targeted measures, including permanently lower business rates multipliers, a £4.3 billion business rates support package to protect ratepayers seeing large bills increases as a result of the 2026 revaluation, and the temporary Great British Summer Savings scheme, which will reduce VAT from 20 per cent to 5 per cent on eligible family attractions and children's menu meals between 25 June and 1 September.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has considered extending electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes to Crown and Civil Servants; and whether the Department has assessed the impact of an extension on public sector recruitment and retention.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Currently, electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes are not available to central Civil Service departments, and HM Treasury approval would be required for any such framework to be implemented. As no such scheme currently exists for the Civil Service, the Cabinet Office has not made an assessment of the potential impact of such a scheme on recruitment and retention in the Civil Service.

Cabinet Office does not monitor the use of Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Schemes in the wider public sector.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of credit hire vehicle costs on motor insurance premiums for consumers.

Answered by Rachel Blake

The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce published its final report in December 2025, setting out actions being taken by government, regulators and industry to help reduce premium costs. The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) 2025 review of motor insurance claims costs helped inform this work.

The Taskforce’s report considered the contribution of replacement vehicle costs, including credit hire, to wider motor insurance claims costs and identified actions to reduce those costs. This includes work by the FCA, the Association of British Insurers, and insurers to improve the handling of claims, reduce referrals to third parties and ensure that credit hire costs are fair for consumers.

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 ensure that NHS workforce planning in Cornwall reflects the additional pressures placed on health services during periods of peak tourist activity.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions about workforce planning are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing byelaws to ban bottom trawling in the 41 marine protected areas consulted on in June 2025.

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

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 MPAs. These proposals covered 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.

Richard Pengelly