Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of existing levels of central government funding for fire and rescue services.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 3 February, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities.

These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25. Overall, fire and rescue authorities received around £2.87 billion in 2024/25.

In addition to settlement funding, the Government has provided Fire and Rescue Authorities with several grants intended for specific purposes, such as the Fire Pensions Grant and Protection Uplift Grant.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to equip local authorities to (a) identify and (b) appropriately respond to (i) United Front activity and (ii) transnational repression.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Government works closely with law enforcement and other partners to continue to strengthen our understanding of reporting trends and methodologies of transnational repression to ensure sufficient safeguards and mitigations are in place to prevent, detect and counter the threat. Attempts by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrating country.

I refer the hon Member to Written Statement HCWS632 made on 14 May 2025 by the Security Minister signalling the conclusion of the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Transnational Repression Review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the (a) number and (b) differing typologies of incidents of transnational repression in the last five years.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

This Government is committed to addressing foreign state directed threats, including those actions which amount to transnational repression (TNR). We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and a key focus of the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Review of transnational repression was to understand the scale and nature of TNR in the UK. I set out the findings of the Review and Government’s response in my statement to the House on 14 May.

This Government works closely with law enforcement and other partners to continue to strengthen our understanding of reporting trends and methodologies of TNR to ensure sufficient safeguards and mitigations are in place to prevent, detect and counter the threat. Attempts by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrating country.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49987, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is no funding gap between the end of Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme and the opening of the application window for Environmental Landscape Management schemes for landscape-scale restoration of upland peatland areas.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.

Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. We will continue to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peat restoration, supported by agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding to support restoration projects. We are providing advice and guidance to enable partners to transition to new funding arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) recognising and (b) including low-grade brain tumours in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve the experience and outcomes for all cancer patients, including those with brain tumours.

Although low-grade brain tumours are generally non-cancerous, they can have similar, serious symptoms and require surgery or radiotherapy to treat. The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.

The plan will include further details on how we will speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the horticultural industry in transitioning to peat-free growing.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ministers are committed to protecting our nature-rich habitats, including peat bogs and are looking at next steps for measures to end the use of peat in horticulture. We continue to work alongside the horticultural sector to support progress on the peat free transition. This includes support for the Royal Horticultural Society’s peat free transition fellowship amounting to £330,000 over three years.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide (a) urgent aid and (b) longer-term climate adaptation support to Pakistan following recent floods.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK was among the first countries to respond to the floods in Pakistan, approving £2.53 million in emergency funding to date across the seven most affected districts reaching over 400,000 people with search and rescue, emergency medical care, food, water, hygiene, and household items. Additionally, the UK has contributed to the Start Ready Disaster Risk Financing system in Pakistan. £500,000 has been released, reaching 20,000 people across Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to anticipate and mitigate humanitarian impacts from future flooding.

Found: Alex Ballinger (Labour; Halesowen) Aphra Brandreth (Conservative; Chester South and Eddisbury) Phil Brickell

Found: Clive Jones Lillian Jones James MacCleary Andrew Murrison Sean Woodcock Apologies: Phil Brickell

Found: Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 12.30pm Members present: Steve Barclay (in the Chair) Matt Bishop Phil Brickell

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell

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