Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 107246 tabled on 20th January 2026, regarding safeguarding issues and Academies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I can confirm that a response has been submitted to my hon. Friend, the Member for South Derbyshire to Question 107246.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Academies operate lawfully when safeguarding issues are raised.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All schools must follow ’Keeping Children safe in education’, and ’Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance. Academy trusts must also comply with the ’Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014’, which sets safeguarding standards, as a requirement of their funding agreement.
The department considers all safeguarding issues reported to it. Where the department has concerns about an academy trust not meeting its safeguarding responsibilities, it works closely with the trust to ensure those arrangements come into compliance with statutory requirements. This remit does not extend to investigating individual safeguarding matters or commenting on a trust’s handling of incidents.
Failure to comply with regulations may place a trust in breach of its funding agreement with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, which can lead to intervention action as set out in the Academy Trust Handbook.
The department works with other statutory bodies, such as the local authority or Ofsted, as appropriate. Trusts are held to account for standards in their academies through Ofsted inspections. Local authorities have an overarching responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in their area, regardless of the types of educational settings they attend.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the January 2026 Road Traffic Strategy, when she plans to publish the manual for streets.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department intends to publish an updated version of the Manual for Streets before the end of 2026.
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, with reference to her Department's document entitled Guidelines and guidance on the responsible use of veterinary medicines, updated on 8 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the inclusion of blanket flea and worming treatments in veterinary health plans on the responsible use of veterinary medicine and antimicrobials in animals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flea and tick products play an important role in protecting animal and human health; however, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recognises increasing concerns about the environmental impacts of substances such as fipronil and imidacloprid. Monitoring in England has detected these substances in some watercourses at levels that may pose a risk to aquatic invertebrates.
The VMD is leading cross‑government work through the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Group to support responsible use of these products. Recently published VMD‑funded studies (2024–25) have shown that spot‑on flea and tick products can contribute to environmental levels of imidacloprid and fipronil through wastewater pathways and when dogs swim. These findings strengthen the evidence base, but important gaps remain, including understanding the potential unintended consequences if usage patterns change. This is being considered as part of wider stewardship work to ensure future decisions remain proportionate, evidence based and protective of animal welfare.
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, when she plans to answer Question 105030 on Farm Business Tenancy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A response was published to Question 105030 on Wednesday 28 January here: PQ 105030. I apologise for the delay in doing so.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, when she plans to answer Question 106240 tabled on 15 January 2026, on Church of England: LGBT+ People.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The answer to question UIN 106240 was issued by the Church Commissioners on the 27th January 2026 and can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-15/106240/
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)
In recognition of their established carbon reduction benefits the Government supports the use of low carbon fuels in surface transport vehicles through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. Under the scheme the supply of synthetic fuels and biofuels produced from renewable inputs is eligible for support, where these low carbon fuels meet stringent sustainability criteria.
Whilst my Department does not generally undertake its own research into developing alternative vehicle fuels, it does periodically fund specific research studies to inform policy development and the deployment of such fuels. A recent example is a study on higher bio content fuel deployment in heavy-duty transport, the outputs of which were published online in August 2025.
Additionally, the Department provides funding for latter stage development and deployment of hydrogen, a synthetic fuel, through the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) and the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programmes.
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, what steps he plans to take to increase participation in the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the newly released consultation regarding reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, Defra proposes to replace the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme with a mandatory licence for all veterinary and animal healthcare businesses. This will ensure they all meet the required standards, including the 30% of practices not currently engaged with the Practice Standards Scheme.
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 he plans to introduce statutory protection of the title “Registered Veterinary Nurse”.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the newly released consultation regarding reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, Defra is proposing statutory protection of the Veterinary Nurse title in line with Veterinary Surgeons.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help tackle the potential impact of restrictive software licensing practices on businesses.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting a competitive and innovative digital economy. This is why we prioritised the commencement of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (the CMA) new powers in digital markets.
These new powers are designed to boost competition and innovation in digital markets and promote fairer outcomes for both businesses and consumers. The CMA is independent of Government, and any decisions on which markets it next investigates is for its Board.