Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 effectiveness of Environmental Land Management schemes in supporting nature-friendly farming and species recovery.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environmental Land Management schemes have seen high levels of uptake by the farming sector with 50,000 farm businesses and over half of all agricultural land involved in schemes. Detailed uptake of each action in schemes is published here Agri-environment scheme uptake data - GOV.UK.
We have a large-scale monitoring programme that is assessing the impact of schemes on a range of indicators and environmental outcomes at the appropriate timescales for these types of biological responses. This report summarises some of the latest monitoring and evaluation of government agri-environment schemes: Agri-Environment Evidence Annual Report 2024-2025: A summary of recently published project reports - NERR165.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 his counterparts in the Department for Work and Pension and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government about data sharing to offer targeted support for vulnerable households with heating oil.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.
DESNZ officials worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and His Majesty’s Treasury ahead of the recent announcement of £50m for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. This funding will be available to the Northern Ireland Executive, Wales, and Scotland.
In England, funding will be distributed by local authorities via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which comes into effect from 1 April.
In addition, DESNZ is working closely with other Government Departments on the National Data Library (NDL) energy bill support ‘kickstarter’ project to test how public sector data can be better joined up to improve access to government programmes.
The Kickstarter project will pave the way for better targeted help, ensuring those who are struggling to pay their bills get the support they need
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that home-visit requirements under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill are applied proportionately, particularly in cases where families have no prior history of safeguarding concerns.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The power for local authorities to request to visit a child in their home is intended to help the authority decide whether education is suitable for the child or, in the case of children subject to child protection processes, that it is in the best interests of the child to receive their education in or outside of school. The findings of a home visit, or the refusal to allow one, must be considered in deciding whether to commence the school attendance order process, but will not be the only factor determining that decision.
The requirement in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to consider a child’s home and other learning environments, and the power to request a home visit, addresses recommendations in the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the death of Sara Sharif.
Local authorities must always act reasonably when carrying out their duties. We will consult on statutory guidance, which helps local authorities conduct visits sensitively, and will develop training to help local authorities implement their new duties. A full new burdens assessment will be undertaken to determine the costs and resources required for local authorities to undertake these new duties, and additional funding will be provided.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding, guidance, and training her Department plans to provide to local authorities to support the consistent and fair implementation of home-visit duties from the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The power for local authorities to request to visit a child in their home is intended to help the authority decide whether education is suitable for the child or, in the case of children subject to child protection processes, that it is in the best interests of the child to receive their education in or outside of school. The findings of a home visit, or the refusal to allow one, must be considered in deciding whether to commence the school attendance order process, but will not be the only factor determining that decision.
The requirement in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to consider a child’s home and other learning environments, and the power to request a home visit, addresses recommendations in the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the death of Sara Sharif.
Local authorities must always act reasonably when carrying out their duties. We will consult on statutory guidance, which helps local authorities conduct visits sensitively, and will develop training to help local authorities implement their new duties. A full new burdens assessment will be undertaken to determine the costs and resources required for local authorities to undertake these new duties, and additional funding will be provided.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence base underpins the proposal that a family's refusal of a home visit may lead a local authority to consider issuing a School Attendance Order under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The power for local authorities to request to visit a child in their home is intended to help the authority decide whether education is suitable for the child or, in the case of children subject to child protection processes, that it is in the best interests of the child to receive their education in or outside of school. The findings of a home visit, or the refusal to allow one, must be considered in deciding whether to commence the school attendance order process, but will not be the only factor determining that decision.
The requirement in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to consider a child’s home and other learning environments, and the power to request a home visit, addresses recommendations in the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the death of Sara Sharif.
Local authorities must always act reasonably when carrying out their duties. We will consult on statutory guidance, which helps local authorities conduct visits sensitively, and will develop training to help local authorities implement their new duties. A full new burdens assessment will be undertaken to determine the costs and resources required for local authorities to undertake these new duties, and additional funding will be provided.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) safeguards and (b) limitations will apply to home visits conducted by local authorities under the proposed registration provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The power for local authorities to request to visit a child in their home is intended to help the authority decide whether education is suitable for the child or, in the case of children subject to child protection processes, that it is in the best interests of the child to receive their education in or outside of school. The findings of a home visit, or the refusal to allow one, must be considered in deciding whether to commence the school attendance order process, but will not be the only factor determining that decision.
The requirement in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to consider a child’s home and other learning environments, and the power to request a home visit, addresses recommendations in the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the death of Sara Sharif.
Local authorities must always act reasonably when carrying out their duties. We will consult on statutory guidance, which helps local authorities conduct visits sensitively, and will develop training to help local authorities implement their new duties. A full new burdens assessment will be undertaken to determine the costs and resources required for local authorities to undertake these new duties, and additional funding will be provided.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions (Agenda for Change) handbook was last reviewed in relation to the partial retirement scheme introduced in October 2023; and whether his Department has any plans to update this section to ensure fairness for staff who took partial retirement.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 16 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, sets out the contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by these terms and conditions. These contractual redundancy provisions for staff in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Section 16 was last reviewed by the NHS Staff Council in 2015. No changes to the contractual redundancy provisions in England have been made since.
Any future changes to the handbook, including changes to this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 European Union officials about the UK joining the EU's Internal Electricity Market since the exploratory discussions for the UK's possible participation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since the exploratory discussions concluded, the Secretary of State has continued constructive engagement with European Union counterparts on regional energy cooperation, including on the United Kingdom’s possible future participation in the Internal Electricity Market. These engagements have underlined shared ambitions to accelerate the development of clean, secure, and lower cost energy sources in the North Seas, which will enable us to reduce our reliance on expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a Special Protection Area review for the Marine Protected Area network for seabirds.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the England Marine Protected Area (MPA) network review we are considering designations and MPA protection for seabirds. The review is mapping hotspots of seabird activity in English seas to understand how these relate to current Special Protection Areas (SPAs). This work will help to inform next steps for our approach to designations for seabirds.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the UK meets commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to achieving the goals and targets adopted under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Domestically, in England, the Environmental Improvement Plan and delivery of the legally binding targets under the Environment Act form a core pillar of meeting the commitments. Internationally, the UK is increasing investment in biodiversity and works extensively through international partnerships to support global capacity development. A comprehensive assessment of our progress towards delivering the 2030 GBF targets can be found in the UK’s 7th National Report to the CBD, which was published on 27 February 2026.