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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish a plan to support farmers who are not able to apply for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme following its closure to new applicants.

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

This Government has secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period.

Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements.

Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.

SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We recognise farmers need clarity and certainty and we remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes, and to supporting the farming sector.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to support farmers following the ending of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

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

This Government has secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period.

Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements.

Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.

SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We recognise farmers need clarity and certainty and we remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes, and to supporting the farming sector.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to open environmental schemes to increased numbers of farmers.

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

This Government has secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period.

Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements.

Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.

SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We recognise farmers need clarity and certainty and we remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes, and to supporting the farming sector.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to provide financial support to upland farmers, in the context of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

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

We fully recognise the importance of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for upland farmers – and we strongly want the scheme to be available to them as we move forward.

We have closed SFI for new applications because the current SFI budget has been successfully allocated, with large-scale uptake of the scheme and 37,000 live SFI agreements delivering towards our environmental targets.

We will be reforming the SFI offer to direct funding towards SFI actions which are most appropriate for the least productive land and have the strongest case for enduring public investment.

We expect to publish more information about the reformed SFI offer in summer 2025. This will include an indication of when we expect to re-open SFI for applications.

In the meantime, as announced on 25 February, we’re increasing HLS payment rates. We believe this uplift better reflects the contributions made by those with HLS agreements and will support the continued protection and management of these sites.

We will also open the rolling application window for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) this summer and have published information that sets out what upland farmers can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support farmers following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

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

This Government has secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period.

Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements.

Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.

SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We recognise farmers need clarity and certainty and we remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes, and to supporting the farming sector.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of unresolved Teacher Regulation Agency teacher misconduct cases.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is an executive agency of the department which acts on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education as regulator of the teaching profession.

Supported by the department, the TRA has taken extensive steps over the last two years to increase its capacity and help ensure that misconduct cases are concluded in a more timely manner. As reported in its latest Annual Report and Accounts, these steps enabled the Agency to deliver a record number of misconduct hearings in the 2023/24 reporting year.

The TRA aims to manage all teacher misconduct investigations and hearings in a fair and timely manner. However, factors such as case complexity and delays when seeking disclosure from third parties may impact on the timeliness of their resolution.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the level of primary care core funding to help support GP practices to hire more staff.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account of the cost of delivering services.

We are investing an additional £889 million in through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

The Government also committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs. Primary care networks (PCNs) can continue to recruit and employ recently qualified GPs through the ARRS in the coming year, as part of the 2025/26 contract.

Under the contract changes for 2025/26, the ARRS will become more flexible, to allow PCNs to respond better to local workforce needs. This includes GPs and practice nurses included in the main ARRS funding pot, an uplift of the maximum reimbursable rate for GPs in the scheme, and no caps on the number of GPs that can be employed through the scheme.

In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will undertake an investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's regulation of Collateral (UK) Limited.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The conduct of Collateral’s Directors was plainly unacceptable, as evidence by their conviction for fraud and the criminal sentence that they are now serving.

More widely, the Government does not have plans to commence an investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's regulation of Collateral.

The FCA has investigative and enforcement powers of its own and has already commenced investigations into particular peer-to-peer lenders, certain of which are ongoing.

In the case of Collateral specifically, the FCA has undertaken an internal investigation already, including into its own role – the outcome of which is publicly available.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to provide a legal right to access adequate housing.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Human Rights Act (HRA) is an important part of our constitutional arrangements and fundamental to human rights protections in the UK. The Government has no plans to amend the rights protected by the HRA, which are drawn from those in the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Government will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness. We are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness including delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, as well as abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the adoption and special guardianship and support fund on looked after children's access to mental health (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment in South Cambridgeshire.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides trauma- and attachment-related therapy and specialist assessments for children and families, where the child has previously been in local authority care and has been adopted or is under a special guardianship order (SGO) or child arrangements order (CAO). The ASGSF has given adopted and SGO/CAO children and families in South Cambridgeshire access to a variety of therapeutic interventions designed to help them with the impact of their early life trauma. Although the department continues to assess the impact of the ASGSF on children, it does not collect information centrally to assess the impact of the ASGSF on wider mental health diagnosis or treatment.

Announcements on funding for the ASGSF will be made as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for an announcement on future funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides trauma- and attachment-related therapy and specialist assessments for children and families, where the child has previously been in local authority care and has been adopted or is under a special guardianship order (SGO) or child arrangements order (CAO). The ASGSF has given adopted and SGO/CAO children and families in South Cambridgeshire access to a variety of therapeutic interventions designed to help them with the impact of their early life trauma. Although the department continues to assess the impact of the ASGSF on children, it does not collect information centrally to assess the impact of the ASGSF on wider mental health diagnosis or treatment.

Announcements on funding for the ASGSF will be made as soon as possible.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the housing strategy will include measures to help tackle (a) poor quality and (b) unsafe housing stock.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government intends to publish a long-term housing strategy later this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is planning to take to provide support to (a) low-income and (b) vulnerable households through the Warm Homes Plan.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, including £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes.

There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Current schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). The Government recently announced Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to support social housing providers and tenants, and the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating. Both schemes are expected to deliver in 2025.

Support is also available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill.

Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of introducing a climate mitigation duty on mayoral strategic authorities.

Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues. We also both engage with Mayoral Strategic Authority leaders on the delivery of net zero regularly, including through roundtables.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will remove VAT on (a) labour and (b) materials for restoration work on listed buildings.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has no plans to remove VAT on restoration work on listed buildings.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services.

Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport administer the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review, and any decisions on tax policy will be announced at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-efficiency of pothole repair strategies in South Cambridgeshire constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Cambridgeshire County Council is the local highway authority for the South Cambridgeshire constituency. Cambridgeshire is a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). It is the responsibility of individual highway authorities to maintain and improve their networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities.

For the 2025/26 financial year, this Government is providing CPCA with £37.4 million for highway maintenance, an increase of around £10.3 million compared to 2024/25. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how the money is best spent.

As of Monday 24 March, the Department has written to all local highway authorities advising them that 25% of their uplift in maintenance funding is contingent on them demonstrating to Government that they are complying with certain criteria aimed at driving best practice and continual improvement in highways maintenance practice. All authorities will have to publish information online and share information with the Department. The Department will assess the information provided by Cambridgeshire County Council in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the level of teacher salaries on staff retention in (a) Cambridge and (b) other areas with high living costs.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

High quality teaching is the within school factor that makes the biggest difference to children’s outcomes which is why this government is determined tackle staff recruitment and retention challenges, making work pay and support teachers to stay in the profession.

Fair pay is key to ensuring teaching is an attractive and respected profession, which is why this government accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB) recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for the 2024/25 academic year. This pay award was equivalent to an increase of over £2,500 for the average teacher, taking median pay to over £49,000 for 2024/25.

This also means that teachers and leaders in maintained schools have seen a combined increase of over 17%, over the last three pay awards.

The starting salary for qualified teachers is now at least £31,650 outside London, including in Cambridge. Experienced teachers can earn up to £49,084 at the top of the pay scale outside London, including in Cambridge, and earn more if they take on additional responsibilities.

The teacher pay system is set up to reward teachers as they progress through their career, encouraging retention through an annual review that can lead to increased pay. Around 40% of classroom teachers also progress each year to the next pay point, meaning even greater increases in their salary.

Teachers’ pay is reviewed, on an annual basis, by the independent STRB, which considers what is an appropriate award in the context of the wider economy and public sector finances, and the cost-of-living pressures facing households.

Final decisions on the teacher’s pay award for 2025/26 will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many overdue tree preservation order appeal cases are outstanding.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As of 31 December 2024, there were 423 overdue and outstanding tree preservation order appeal cases.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for the funding of global vaccination programmes, in the context of the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We have committed £1.65 billion to the current strategic period covering 2021-2025. The UK is working to ensure a successful replenishment of Gavi through our diplomatic and development network. Following the difficult decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.3 per cent by 2027 we are taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. Announcements on individual investments will be made following the completion of the Spending Review process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening the Decent Homes Standard for all forms of tenure.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Centre for Ageing Better on its Good Home Hubs initiative.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department and I engage in regular discussions with a wide range of housing stakeholders.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage met with the Centre for Ageing Better in September last year and discussed a range of topics, including its Good Homes Hubs initiative.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent foreign lorries without adequate safety features using UK roads.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All lorries using GB roads must meet safety standards. The Driver and vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conduct enforcement of this, including roadside checks.

DVSA use data and intelligence to target those vehicles that present the highest risk to road safety. Where vehicles do not meet standards, they are prohibited from continuing their journey until the defects are fixed and until any penalties are paid.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of claims made to the Health and Safety Executive that are subsequently referred by the HSE to local authorities for resolution.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety at Work Act establishes a co-regulatory partnership between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs). This co-regulatory partnership sees HSE and LAs working closely to ensure consistent enforcement of health and safety legislation.

The Enforcing Authority Regulations (EA Regulations) 1989 determine allocation of enforcement responsibility. LAs are responsible for enforcing health and safety requirements at 65% of business premises in Great Britain, which employ 46% of the national workforce. In general, LAs are the enforcing authority for retail, wholesale distribution and warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, and the consumer/leisure industries. HSE has the policy lead for all other sectors, and enforcement responsibilities for those sectors that traditionally have higher hazards/risks, e.g. factories, construction, agriculture, and off-shore industries.

Regulation 5 of the EA Regulations allows enforcement responsibility for any premises or any activity carried on there, to be transferred from HSE to the LA or vice versa. A transfer may be made only by agreement between the two enforcing authorities involved. The number of transfers under Regulation 5 from HSE to LAs show no discernible trend.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the cap on Lifetime ISAs.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing Long Covid clinics on patients with Post-Covid syndrome.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services for people with long COVID. ICBs are allocated funding by NHS England to meet local need and priorities, and to improve outcomes.

NHS England has recently completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake, aiming to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed the widely recognised challenges of significant variation in care delivery across England and a lack of comprehensive activity data.

Executive NHS England board members were updated on the current provision of long COVID and ME/CFS services, noting those challenges. Discussions considered service prioritisation and potential COVID Inquiry recommendations. It was agreed that long COVID and ME/CFS services are rightly commissioned by ICBs, which have responsibility for ensuring coverage for their population.

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

Robert May’s school and STEM racing competition

Small and medium-sized enterprises in defence procurement

Government review into Volumetric Concrete Mobile plants

Beer festivals 2025

Whitchurch banking hub

Strode College awarded the CyberFirst Silver Award

Energy Technical Academy Group’s Female Introduction to Trades Open Day

Work of the Royal British Legion in Stratford-on-Avon

Gerry Watkins

Cupar Scouts King's Scout Award

International Day for Mine Awareness

Fife Carers Centre

Abduction of Ukrainian children

Disability hate crime

Humanitarian response to the Myanmar earthquake

Festival Medical Services and Ukraine

Israeli Defence Force attacks on humanitarian workers

Protecting children from data exploitation

Access to football pitches for women and girls

Support for the World Health Organization

Radiotherapy (No. 2)

Scams and fraud

Homelessness

Rail fare increase

Congratulating Barry Ahearn

Colleges Week 2025

Open Doors 2025

SEND in schools

Support for young disabled people after education

Royal Mail's universal service obligation

Found: present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Barry Gardiner; Anna Gelderd; Sarah Gibson; Allison Griffiths; Pippa Heylings

Found: Taylor John Milne Anna Sabine Tim Farron Jess Brown-Fuller Olly Glover Victoria Collins Pippa Heylings

Submit Evidence (by 24 Apr 2025)

The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking an inquiry on airport expansion and climate and nature targets. In this inquiry the Committee is seeking to:

Submit Evidence (by 26 May 2025)

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a large, complex group of about 14,000 synthetic chemicals used in a wide variety of everyday products. For example, PFAS are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective.