Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to diversify and support aviation reliant economies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of aviation and aerospace to local economies across the UK. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are supporting investment, innovation and high-skilled employment in sectors including advanced manufacturing and clean aviation. At the last Spending Review, the Government committed up to £2.3 billion over 10 years to the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, supporting innovative research and development, strengthening UK aerospace supply chains and encouraging industrial investment. We are also working across government and with local partners to attract investment and support sustainable economic growth in communities with significant aviation and aerospace activity.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what measures may be being considered to reduce the time it takes for energy companies to refund customers any credit after a change of energy supplier.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government expects energy suppliers to refund customers promptly where money is owed. Ofgem already requires automatic compensation in specific cases, including where final bills or credit balance refunds are delayed following a switch.
The Government supports Ofgem’s ongoing review of Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOP) payments including proposals for inflation-linked compensation. A further consultation on this work is expected in the coming months as part of Ofgem’s Consumer Outcomes package.
More broadly, through its review of Ofgem and its consultation on faster and fairer redress for consumers, the Government has set out reforms to strengthen the regulator as a consumer champion, including stronger powers to enforce consumer law directly and help ensure customers receive what they are owed.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of recent scientific research into the condition and environmental impact of radioactive waste barrels dumped in the North-East Atlantic.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The disposal of radioactive waste in the sea was banned globally in 1993. The UK had already ceased disposal at sea voluntarily under the 1972 London Convention.
The first Nuclear Ocean Dump Site Survey and Monitoring (NODSSUM) international mission in 2025 mapped the locations of containers on the seafloor. The expedition found no significant environmental contamination.
The current NODSSUM project focuses on collecting samples of sediment and biota around some of the containers, to determine the levels of radionuclides that might have been released from the low-level radioactive waste to the surrounding marine environment.
The Department has not yet carried out an assessment of current NODSSUM expedition because the analysis of samples is still ongoing by researchers of the project.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being considered for improving the corporation tax payment rate amongst small businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
In the 2025 Budget, the government announced new policies that raise £2.4 billion in additional tax revenue from closing the tax gap in 2029-30. This brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029-30.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help prevent ticketless travel on rail and underground services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is working with the rail industry to tackle ticketless travel, while ensuring passengers who make genuine mistakes are treated fairly and consistently.
We have committed £33.4 million to new and improved ticket gates across England, targeted at fare evasion hotspots. We are also working with the rail industry to improve data sharing, prosecutions and the consistency of revenue protection activity.
Responsibility for enforcement on London Underground rests primarily with Transport for London and the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure schools are safely able to remain open during future heatwaves.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Crawley to the answer of 3 September 2026 to Question 19464.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration she has given to the use of blue light at railway stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail has considered the use of blue lighting at stations, including its potential application to trespass, anti-social behaviour and suicide prevention. Previous trials and wider research have produced mixed results, and there is currently insufficient robust evidence to demonstrate that blue lighting is an effective standalone measure for reducing trespass or anti-social behaviour.
Blue lights were trialled by Network Rail at only a few stations, including Gatwick Airport station, over a decade ago, with some positive results in respect of reducing trespass and vandalism. However, when this trial was expanded to other stations, the train operators were not able to demonstrate any direct benefits, therefore the initiative was closed.
There is currently limited demand for a further trial of blue lighting given the significant challenges in demonstrating direct correlation between the introduction of the technology and any effect that may then occur in reductions of trespass and vandalism.
Network Rail therefore does not currently advocate its widespread deployment for these purposes, although targeted use could be considered where justified by local risk and appropriately evaluated.
Our approach remains to use evidence-based and proportionate interventions alongside established station safety, security and lighting standards, and we continue to work with international partners through the International Union of Railways to consider the evidence base for blue lighting.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to ensure they have accurate modelling data for hydrogen.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is developing and validating hydrogen risk modelling tools to support the safe assessment of hydrogen storage and handling activities. This work draws on peer-reviewed scientific literature and experimental data at a range of scales, including experiments conducted using HSE’s specialist capabilities and facilities at its Science and Research Centre. The modelling approaches and outputs are subject to internal and external peer review, helping to ensure that HSE’s hydrogen risk models are based on robust and reliable evidence.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local journalism.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to supporting local journalism and our Local Media Action Plan will help ensure a healthy and plural local media for the benefit of communities across the UK. Our actions will help local newsrooms across the country innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high-quality, trustworthy news.
Through the Local Media Action Plan, we are:
Investing up to £12m in a new Local News Fund to help local media outlets adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated.
More than doubling our community radio funding to £1m a year, helping to support nearly 400 stations at the heart of our regions and encouraging the sector’s development in underserved areas.
Launching a new campaign to encourage more young people into journalism careers, initially in the North West.
Promoting take-up of the ‘Newspapers for Schools’ platform, to encourage the reading of more trustworthy local and national news in schools.
Creating a new Regional Media Forum in the West of England as a test-case in improving reporting on local decision-making and public services.
Making the best use of local media in government advertising campaigns, where this helps us reach our target audience and is a good fit for each campaign, and working with our media buying agency to pilot the use of hyperlocal news titles in campaigns.
Conducting a review of all types of statutory notice, to ensure better transparency of local decision-making.
Bidding for the first year of the Local News Fund launched on 7 July, and closed on 7 August. Any extension of the Fund beyond 2027/28 will be subject to affordability and the impact of the Fund in its first two years. We will conduct a robust evaluation to help inform our decisions.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the evidential basis is for the greater efficiency of unitary authorities compared to two-tier areas.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Strong, capable local authorities are the foundation for devolution. If we are to devolve more powers from Westminster to local leaders, local government needs must be simpler, stronger and more sustainable.
In addition to all the wider benefits of reorganisation, experience from previous local government reorganisations shows that, while there are upfront implementation costs, unitary councils can be more efficient, reduce duplication and deliver savings over time. For example, North Yorkshire Council has reported around £90 million of savings since its establishment in April 2023.