Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research her Department is undertaking into developing alternative vehicle fuels, such as synthetic and bio fuels.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of adding a default notice to customers' credit files before the resolution of their payment disputes with energy providers on their credit rating.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that information relating to arrears, such as a default notice, can have an adverse impact on an individual’s credit file. While the decision to report arrears information about an energy account to a credit reference agency is ultimately a matter for the energy company, energy companies and other organisations that report such information are expected to follow the Principles for the Reporting of Arrears, Arrangements and Defaults at Credit Reference Agencies, available at: https://www.scoronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Principles-for-the-Reporting-of-Arrears-Arr….
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to review Farm Business Tenancy to enable longer leases, succession of tenancy and increases in security of tenure for tenant farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department recognises the benefits of longer leases and the importance of security of tenure for tenant farmers. Under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, landlords and tenants may agree tenancy terms of any length. To encourage more landlords and tenants to enter into longer-term agreements the joint Defra and industry Farm Tenancy Forum is developing guidance and best practice. All parties to a Farm Business Tenancy are encouraged to employ the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice, which sets out expected standards for constructive tenancy negotiations, including succession.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NICE on its Final Draft Guidance which does not recommend CAR-T therapy for relapsed or refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including in relation to the development of guidance on individual products.
NICE develops its recommendations on new medicines independently on the basis of a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with interested parties. NICE is currently re-evaluating the CAR-T therapy brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) to determine whether it can be recommended for routine National Health Service use, taking into account real-world evidence generated through its use in the Cancer Drugs Fund.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential competitive implications of capping prescription fees while major veterinary corporate groups also own large online pharmacies.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a specific assessment of this issue. Competition issues in the veterinary services market are currently being examined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. The CMA’s initial analysis of a potential cap on prescription fees can be found in its provisional decision report. It is expected to publish its final decision by March.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment they have made of the potential implications for their policies of the Statement of the House of Bishops on Living in Love and Faith, published in January 2026.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
As one of the Church of England’s National Church Institutions (NCIs), the Archbishops’ Council, in consultation with the other NCIs, manages the Living in Love and Faith programme. The Archbishops’ Council, as part of its standard operations, maintains a risk register for the programme, and relevant NCIs monitor the risks and opportunities arising from this and other matters. This register is kept under regular review.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration his department has made of the potential merits of providing parity in pay and conditions between primary care nursing staff and their Agenda for Change colleagues in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring the general practice nursing workforce is sustainable, supported and valued for the work they do.
The Government looks to the independent pay review bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff, including both contractor and salaried general practitioners (GPs). They consider a range of evidence from organisations including the Government, the NHS and trade unions to reach their recommendations.
The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with the previous year, we accepted the DDRB’s pay recommendation. We provided an increase to core funding for practices to allow this 4% pay uplift, on top of the provisional 2.8% uplift already provided, to be passed on to salaried and contractor GPs. The additional funding also allows for pay uplifts for other salaried general practice staff, including nurses. We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other practice staff in line with the uplift in funding they have received.
As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is up to general practices how they distribute pay and benefits to general practice nurses and other staff. General practice contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on practices regarding general practice nurse terms and conditions.
We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in general practice to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, representing the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget overall.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to recognise the principles of (a) legitimate expectation, (b) adequate notice and (c) procedural fairness in its response to women born in the 1950s affected by delayed notification of state pension age changes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.
The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the UK’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in relation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is fully compliant with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, including in relation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the State Pension age.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that locksmiths meet (a) legal, (b) professional and (c) security standards.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s framework for occupational regulation upholds public protection, while ensuring regulatory burdens on industry are proportionate. Although the locksmithing profession is not subject to statutory regulation, several self-regulating trade associations and accreditation schemes exist within the industry and provide training, conduct criminal record checks, and inspect their members.
The government keeps the occupational regulation regime under review and continues to monitor any concerns raised by the public or the industry, including those related to locksmithing.