Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to amend the Building Safety Act 2022bto ensure that purchasers of properties previously held under non-qualifying leases can benefit from leaseholder protections where they intend to occupy those properties as their principal residence; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the existing rules on the ability of affected leaseholders to sell their properties.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has listened to concerns about the position of non-qualifying leaseholders and is planning to bring forward a comprehensive package of support.
As part of this, we announced at second reading of the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill that we are investigating how we can make sure leaseholders occupying a property as their only or principal home can benefit from the leaseholder protections.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of Meta's revised Commercial Terms on UK businesses that rely on its platforms for advertising, customer engagement and referral traffic.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential economic impact of Meta's revised Commercial Terms on UK businesses that rely on its platforms for advertising, customer engagement and referral traffic.
Responsibility for investigating competition issues falls to Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s principal competition authority. On 30 October the Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Meta's commercial terms using its Competition Act 1998 (CA98) powers.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions Ministers and officials in his Department have had with Meta regarding its revised Commercial Terms and the potential impact on UK businesses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Neither Ministers or officials have had any meetings with Meta specifically regarding its revised Commercial Terms and the potential impact on UK businesses.
The CMA has engaged with Meta and affected stakeholders to gather further information. Meta has since announced that it was delaying implementation of its revised Commercial Terms indefinitely. On 30 October the Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Meta's commercial terms using its Competition Act 1998 (CA98) powers.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether McCloud remedy compensation arrangements provide for financial losses incurred by police officers whose applications to restore opted-out pension service were accepted but whose pension rights were not restored in time for their intended retirement date; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that affected officers are not financially disadvantaged.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 and associated police pension regulations established the framework for implementation of the McCloud remedy in the Police Pension Scheme.
On 26 March 2026, I made a Written Ministerial Statement confirming that changes will be made for a small cohort of members who opted out of the scheme before the remedy period and were therefore unable to benefit fully from the intended effect of the legislation. This cohort includes members whose opted-out service had not been restored in time for their intended retirement date.
Members eligible for the McCloud remedy may also be entitled to claim compensation for certain financial losses arising from its implementation. It is for the relevant scheme manager to consider such claims.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that guidance issued by the national sports councils is consistent with the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers and the updated Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice, which came into force on 5 August 2026, the Sports Councils agreed that the Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport Guidance should be reviewed.
Sport England is leading work on behalf of the Home Country Sports Councils to commission an independent review, which will consider the latest scientific, medical and policy evidence to ensure future guidance reflects the current legal framework.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to extend access to independent investigations beyond maternity services to patients who have suffered serious harm in NHS care and remain dissatisfied with local investigations; and whether her Department is considering the adoption of a Harmed Patient Pathway to ensure patients and families can access explanations, support, accountability and independent scrutiny.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients who have suffered serious harm in National Health Service care are entitled to use the NHS complaints system. Where patients are dissatisfied with the investigation of their complaint, they can refer their complaint to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, whose role is to investigate and make final decisions on unresolved NHS complaints.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability and accessibility of NHS services for the diagnosis and treatment of tongue-tie in newborn babies; what the average waiting time is for treatment following referral in each NHS region; and whether she will consider issuing guidance to NHS trusts on assessing babies for tongue-tie where breastfeeding difficulties are identified before discharge from maternity services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for local National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards to determine how their tongue division services are funded and commissioned, as well as the referral criteria. NHS England does not have national guidance, nor monitor waiting times for tongue-tie services.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence sets out guidance on tongue-tie, including advising that an assessment for tongue-tie should be considered if there are feeding concerns.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of piloting council-funded, low-arousal community hubs for children receiving Education Otherwise Than at School, including the provision of sensory facilities and access to specialist education and therapeutic professionals; and whether her Department has considered using existing Family Hubs as a basis for such a pilot.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is consulting on proposals to improve support for children and young people who receive education outside a school or further education setting, known as Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS). The consultation, which closes on 18 September 2026, seeks views from children, young people, parents, carers and professionals.
The consultation includes proposals to strengthen decision making, oversight and accountability arrangements for EOTAS, helping to ensure that children and young people receive suitable education and support that meets their needs. The department recognises the importance of ensuring that children receiving EOTAS can access appropriate educational and therapeutic support.
As part of the consultation, we welcome a wide range of views on how support for children and young people receiving EOTAS can best be delivered, including access to educational and therapeutic services. We will carefully consider all responses, including any responses about how low-arousal community hubs and Family Hubs can support children receiving EOTAS, before deciding on the next steps.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her statement of 8 September 2026, what categories of technology her Department considers it appropriate for the Government to shape; and what criteria will be used to determine the limits of Government intervention.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament on 8 September made clear that the government would look at both device-level and app-level measures to protect children from nude imagery. The government will continue to look across the whole technology ecosystem to ensure protections for children are as strong as possible, while also balancing the privacy, security and technical feasibility of measures.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what forms of conduct that the Government intends to criminalise through the draft Conversion Practices Bill are not already capable of being prosecuted under existing law; and how many cases have been identified since 2018 in which action could not be taken solely because no existing offence applied.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are gaps in the current law which allow abusive conversion practices to happen lawfully and that is unacceptable. At the moment these abusive practices can go under the radar because people do not recognise abusive non-physical conversion practices for what they are.
Without specific legislation and a legal definition, these incidents are difficult to formally record, nor is there a consistent framework for victims or safeguarding professionals to identify them as abusive. Our Draft Bill provides a necessary legal definition, which will ensure that this abuse can be accurately recognised, formally tracked, and prosecuted.