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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating year-round quality monitoring at designated bathing waters for sewage, pollution, and other harmful contaminants; and whether she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 to extend protections to all water users.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) monitors designated bathing waters during the bathing water season for E. coli and intestinal enterococci, indicators of faecal contamination. The EA monitors bathing waters more frequently than the statutory minimum sampling requirements.

In November 2025, Defra introduced greater flexibility to bathing season dates through reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, enabling the opportunity for monitoring periods to better reflect local use. Defra and the EA are assessing how this could work in practice, including the impacts of changes to season lengths.

We continue to consider whether to expand "bather" to include other water users.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will consider the creation of a working group to enable the use of Cornish in local courts, administrative proceedings and legal documentation.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The UK Government is committed to protecting minority languages and continues to support the Cornish language and culture through a range of measures from education to broadcasting and in international forums like the British-Irish Council.

At present, the Government does not have plans for a specific working group on the use of Cornish in local courts, administrative proceedings and legal documentation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Environmental Protection Act 1990 in reducing the impact of noise disruption from bird cannons on (a) rural tourism businesses and (b) local residents; and if she will consider introducing a statutory framework regulating the use of bird cannons, including requirements relating to operating hours, acoustic baffling, identification of the owner, and proximity to residential and tourism premises.

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

Responsibility for investigating complaints about issues that could be a statutory nuisance, including bird cannons, rests with local authorities. The National Farmers Union produced a voluntary Code of Practice for minimising noise nuisance from auditory bird cannons, and local authorities are likely to take this guidance into account when assessing whether a bird cannon constitutes a nuisance or not. They may still find that a nuisance has occurred where the guidance has been followed. The Government believes that current legislation provides councils with the necessary powers to deal with problems caused by noise and there are no plans for legislative change at this time.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a new ring-fenced funding stream for Cornish-medium education.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The study of languages is compulsory under the national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3 for all maintained schools, and for academies from 2028, following the passing of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. Decisions about language provision are made locally by schools and academy trusts, enabling them to respond to the needs of their pupils and communities. The government recognises the importance of local language and cultural heritage, but has not assessed the merits of placing a statutory duty on Cornwall Council to provide Cornish language instruction in maintained primary schools and academies, and does not have plans to introduce a new ring-fenced funding stream for Cornish-medium education.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of placing a statutory duty on Cornwall Council to provide Cornish language instruction in maintained primary schools and academies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The study of languages is compulsory under the national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3 for all maintained schools, and for academies from 2028, following the passing of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. Decisions about language provision are made locally by schools and academy trusts, enabling them to respond to the needs of their pupils and communities. The government recognises the importance of local language and cultural heritage, but has not assessed the merits of placing a statutory duty on Cornwall Council to provide Cornish language instruction in maintained primary schools and academies, and does not have plans to introduce a new ring-fenced funding stream for Cornish-medium education.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 14651 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, how many public charge points have been subject to in-service metrological verification in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using the powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 to introduce a requirement for in-service metrological verification.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Public electric vehicle chargepoints are not currently subject to metrological verification at prescribed intervals once they are in service. Accordingly, the Department does not hold the requested verification data. However, safeguards are in place including conformity assessment requirements, market surveillance and enforcement powers, for most chargepoints which are in scope of relevant legislation.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that meters used at public charge points remain accurate throughout their service life. We will continue to monitor this issue while considering whether further measures, including use of powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, are required.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what information her Department collects on the accessibility of essential services for transgender people, including public toilets and changing facilities; and what recent assessment she has made of whether service providers are meeting their legal obligations in this regard.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including trans organisations, regarding equality matters, which may sometimes cover access to essential services.

The EHRC has confirmed that monitoring of the Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations is in their forward plan. The EHRC also has statutory powers to investigate cases where duty bearers may have acted unlawfully.