Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities in England have implemented auto-enrolment for free school meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold information on which local authorities in England have implemented auto‑enrolment for free school meals. Local authorities are responsible for managing their own processes for identifying eligible children.
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System, making it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will make the UK AISI/Thorn Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention mandatory for artificial intelligence developers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 January 2026 to Questions UIN104313, UIN104352 and UIN104434.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned sequencing and timetable is for (a) publication of the draft Great British Railways licence for parliamentary scrutiny and formal consultation, (b) consultation led by the Office of Rail and Road on the Retail Code of Practice and (c) finalisation of those documents; and whether Parliament will be able to scrutinise the draft licence before the passage of the Railways Bill.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to Question 88358 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament Further information on the GBR licence can be found in the Railways Bill factsheet: holding Great British Railways to account
There will also be a full consultation on the retail code of practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course. Further information on the code of practice can be found at Railways Bill factsheet: tickets and retail.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the principle of economic parity between Great British Railways’ retail operations and third-party retailers will be included in the Great British Railways Licence.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fair and open competition when Great British Railways (GBR) has a dual role as a retailer and provider of wider retail industry management functions, the government has announced a robust package of safeguards. These are a Code of Practice, with the force of a GBR licence condition; separation of decision-making between GBR’s retailer and its cross-industry systems and services; and ORR monitoring and enforcement of GBR’s adherence with the Code of Practice.
The retail Code of Practice will incorporate clear requirements for how GBR should interact with all market participants. There will be full consultation on the Code of Practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the development, operating and upgrade costs of the proposed Great British Railways retail app and website; how she plans to assess value for money; and when final information on those costs will be published.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials continue to develop the proposition for the Great British Railways app and website. We are engaging with industry on this project and will provide updates in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral evidence to the Transport Committee on Wednesday 7 January 2026 on the Railways Bill, how structural separation between retail functions and cross-industry management functions of Great British Railway will operate, including governance, accounting, decision-making and information-sharing arrangements; where this separation will be formally set out; and when she plans to publish further details.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fair and open competition when Great British Railways (GBR) has a dual role as a retailer and provider of wider retail industry management functions, the government has announced a robust package of safeguards. These are a Code of Practice, with the force of a GBR licence condition; separation of decision-making between GBR’s retailer and its cross-industry systems and services; and ORR monitoring and enforcement of GBR’s adherence with the Code of Practice.
The retail Code of Practice will incorporate clear requirements for how GBR should interact with all market participants. There will be full consultation on the Code of Practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the proposed visitor levy on the Welsh economy.
Answered by Anna McMorrin - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Welsh Government’s Visitor Levy could raise up to £33 million a year to reinvest in local communities and support tourism, reflecting the strength of the sector.
We have announced that a similar overnight levy will be introduced in England, building on the example set by Wales.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safeguards will be included in the Great British Railways licence to manage conflicts of interest arising from Great British Railways’ dual role as system operator and rail retailer.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fair and open competition when Great British Railways (GBR) has a dual role as a retailer and provider of wider retail industry management functions, the government has announced a robust package of safeguards. These are a Code of Practice, with the force of a GBR licence condition; separation of decision-making between GBR’s retailer and its cross-industry systems and services; and ORR monitoring and enforcement of GBR’s adherence with the Code of Practice.
The retail Code of Practice will incorporate clear requirements for how GBR should interact with all market participants. There will be full consultation on the Code of Practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the governance, transparency and accountability of the Police Federation of England and Wales in the context of the remuneration of the General Secretary; and what steps she is taking to ensure effective oversight of statutory bodies funded by mandatory subscriptions.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We ask police officers to do a unique and challenging job, so it is vital that they have effective and robust representation of their interests through the Police Federation of England and Wales.
The Police Federation must be fully accountable to its members and transparent in its use of members’ subscriptions, including the remuneration of those who lead the organisation.
We expect the Police Federation to ensure timely publication of its accounts and to give clarity about its future governance and transformation, as key factors in being open and accountable to its members.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what regard he has given to representations from the Gardens Trust about his Department's plans to remove it as a statutory consultee in the planning system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 17 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation closed on 13 January 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
No decision will be made on the Garden Trust’s role until responses to the consultation have been fully analysed and considered.