Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure new developments are safe and accessible for pedestrians.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Housing within Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.

In England, the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that when assessing sites that may be allocated in local development plans, or specific applications for development, it should be ensured that safe and suitable access to the site can be achieved for all users.

The Framework also sets out that applications for development should give priority first to pedestrian and cycle movements, both within the scheme and with neighbouring areas, and should create places that are safe, secure, and attractive and which minimise scope for conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools in reducing (a) energy bills and (b) carbon footprints.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department provides tools, guidance and support to help schools manage their spending:

• The Energy for Schools offer, helping schools to arrange the best deal on their energy contracts when their current contracts are up for renewal. Details can be found at: https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/7281/register-your-interest-in-energy-for-schools/27000.
• The Sustainability Support for Education website, which guides users to design a climate action plan and provides signposting to resources which are customised to a school’s context. This is accessible at: https://www.sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.uk/.
• The Climate Ambassadors Programme, which sees volunteers from industry and civil society work directly with schools to turn climate ambition into action. Nine regional hub managers coordinate local activity, build strong networks and host events across the sector. Details can be found at: https://climateambassadors.org.uk/.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the net fiscal impact of changes to inheritance tax for family owned businesses in each year to 2029-30.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

This measure is forecast to raise an additional £230m in 2026-27, £495m in 2027-28, £520m in 2028-29, and £520m in 2029-30.

The OBR does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. Additional information is also published in the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook, from paragraph 3.20 to 3.23:

https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_Oct_2024.pdf.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help improve customer confidence in battery performance when buying used Euro 6 compliant electric vehicles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and the recently announced Electric Car Grant require manufacturers to provide a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles on EV batteries. In comparison, new petrol or diesel cars usually come with a 3-year warranty.  Moreover, during the warranty period, if the battery capacity drops below 70% for cars or 65% for vans, the manufacturer must provide a replacement battery.

The UK has worked with international partners at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to develop a Global Technical Regulation on EV batteries (GTR No.22). If implemented, this regulation would ensure that EVs provide easily accessible, accurate, and comparable information on the battery’s state of health. The Government is analysing options for the implementation of GTR No.22 regulations in the UK.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on providing English local authorities the powers to enforce a pavement parking ban.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State for Transport has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this matter. The Department held a consultation on pavement parking in 2020 and has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.

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 ensure the National Oceanography Centre is meeting its nationwide remit.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) plays a key role in delivering oceanographic science and innovation across the UK. It provides access to a wide range of data, infrastructure, and research services to universities, government departments, and other partners nationwide.

NOC’s activities are designed to reflect and serve the whole of the UK. It collaborates with regional and national partners, including the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). SAMS is a key delivery partner in the NOC-led Marine Science National Capability programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. This partnership ensures that marine science infrastructure, data, and services are accessible to researchers and stakeholders across Scotland.

NOC’s performance and use of public funding are subject to regular review and evaluation and is overseen by an independent board to ensure accountability and alignment with national priorities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support family owned businesses with annual turnover above £100 million.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government Ministers and Senior Officials regularly meet with businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to SMEs, including family-owned businesses with an annual turnover of above £100 million. These meetings afford an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. These engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.

Further information on previous meetings held by HM Treasury Ministers and can be found on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to consult family-owned businesses with annual turnover above £100 million on potential fiscal policies.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government Ministers and Senior Officials regularly meet with businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to SMEs, including family-owned businesses with an annual turnover of above £100 million. These meetings afford an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. These engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.

Further information on previous meetings held by HM Treasury Ministers and can be found on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to ensure the life sciences sector has the visa routes it needs to attract global talent to the UK.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to attracting top global talent to the UK. We are working with the Home Office and the Home Secretary to deliver the Immigration White Paper, ensuring that the very highly skilled can come to the UK. The Life Sciences sector already attracts talent through routes including the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas and the recently published Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out clear actions HMG will take to attract international Life Sciences talent.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with cancer-related charities on taking steps to help support the UK to become the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Life Sciences Sector Plan (LSSP) sets out a ten-year vision for enabling world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place for investment in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation in the NHS. The plan received input from over 250 organisations including clinicians, NHS leadership, industry experts and charities (including cancer-related charities). The Office for Life Sciences Cancer Healthcare Goals Programme established the UK Cancer Research Strategy Forum (UKCRSF) to bring together the UK’s major cancer research funders to ensure coordination of strategic priorities in cancer research. The UKCRSF facilitated discussions relating to the cancer commitments of the LSSP.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure the biomedical sector has (a) efficient and (b) cost-effective visa routes for attracting world-leading scientists to the UK.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home office’s Immigration White paper, published on 12 May, sets our proposed reforms in a wide range of areas including attracting top scientific talent to the UK, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce alcohol related cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan, and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption, alongside other risk factors, given alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer: mouth; pharynx; larynx; oesophagus; breast; liver; and bowel, which includes the colon and rectum.

In relation to ensuring public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer, the Government has a responsibility to provide the most up to date health information to enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. Both the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines and the National Health Service’s webpage on alcohol clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer.

On 3 July 2025, the Department published ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’, which outlines plans to introduce mandatory alcohol labelling, to increase awareness of harms and enable people to make healthier choices. Details of the next steps will be shared in due course.

The 10-Year Health Plan also recognises that No and Low (NoLo) drinks may have the potential to help adults reduce their alcohol intake if consumed in place of a standard-strength alcohol drink. In the document, we outline plans to explore if there is a need to change the threshold at which products can describe themselves as alcohol free, to support growth of this sector. We will also explore options to restrict access to NoLo products, so they are treated in the same ways as all alcohol products, including banning sales to children under 18 years old. Alongside the plan, a large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, and we look forward to the findings of that being available in the coming year.

The 10-Year Health Plan also commits to supporting community level innovation, and continued expansion of Individual Placement and Support schemes for people with alcohol addiction to find good work.

Submit Evidence (by 15 Sep 2025)

The UK has a long tradition of manufacturing motor vehicles, buses, aeroplanes, trains, and ships, but manufacturers in the transport industries are concerned about skills shortages. These industries are integral to the economic health of the communities they are based in, and they provide high-quality, British-built equipment for companies here and around the world.

Submit Evidence (by 16 Oct 2025)

The Transport Committee is looking at how Government can mould transport services, networks and options around the journeys that people need and want to make in their daily lives. We want to find out what kinds of changes need to be made to bring this about, including in different parts of the country and for transport users with different needs.