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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to take steps to support local authorities seeking to build social housing to access finance to purchase land being sold by NHS Trusts.

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

The government is not taking any specific action to support local authorities to purchase land being sold by NHS Trusts.

However, in January we announced that we would extend the ‘preferential’ borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board for another year until the end of March 2027. This will provide councils with greater certainty to increase their supply plans, including through land-led development.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Homes England about access to grant funding for small housing providers.

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

Small housing providers can bid for grant funding through the government’s new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

Guidance to bidders from Homes England can be found on gov.uk here, and to bidders from the Greater London Authority here. The government’s policy statement to accompany this guidance can be found on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure affordable housing for young people.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113747 on 2 March 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to support local authorities to fast-track planning applications that deliver 100% affordable housing.

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

The government has no specific plans to fast-track planning applications that deliver 100% affordable housing.

We have already taken a number of steps to streamline planning processes generally.

We are currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework, that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Natural Environment Research Council Open Research Archive Storms and Waves update entitled Climate Change Impacts on Storms and Waves Relevant to the UK and Ireland, published in May 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the mean significant wave height increase in southern UK waters on (a) the incidence of marine pollution incidents, and (b) seafarer safety.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has not conducted any specific research of the potential of a change in mean significant wave height to the incidence of marine pollution in the UK.

We are also not aware of any discussions or research into the potential impact of the mean significant wave height increase on seafarer safety. However, the MCA reviews specific categorised waters, for significant wave height changes, on a case-by-case basis when supported by data which indicates a discernible change to significant wave height at that location. The report indicates that any such changes to wave height in either direction will be slow, and thus the impacts slow to develop, which will help us to introduce any changes that might be required in future to continue to ensure safety.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to update the Cabinet Manual in the near future.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government takes the function of the Cabinet Manual seriously and we will keep it under review.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will investigate whether Peter Mandelson (a) shared privileged information with Palantir and (b) used his role in Government for personal gain.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, and the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve transport accessibility for disabled people.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government is committed to improving public transport services, so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure transport is accessible to all.

Our Bus Services Act 2025 includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local transport. Through the Act, we are helping authorities to provide safer and more accessible bus stations and stops; mandating more streamlined disability training for bus drivers and frontline staff and requiring local authorities to regularly review the accessibility of their bus networks through the development and publishing of a Bus Network Accessibility Plan.

We are committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers on rail services and that is why we published the Department’s roadmap to an accessible railway. It sets out what we are doing now to improve the day-to-day travelling experience for disabled passengers in the lead up to Great British Railways being established. The Railways Bill will also establish a Passenger Watchdog, protecting the rights of disabled passengers by monitoring service delivery, investigating persistent issues, and advocating for improvements. We are also continuing to install accessible routes at stations through our Access for All programme and have completed a programme to install platform edge safety tactiles on every platform in the country.

We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The Charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in poverty as a result of the rule preventing mixed-age couples from claiming pension-age benefits until the youngest partner reaches State Pension age.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Ensuring that individuals can get into, progress and stay in work is important in helping them to continue saving for their own retirement and contribute to the wider economy.

The requirement for mixed age couples to seek financial support from the working-age social security system until both members of the couple reach State Pension Age ensures that, once in receipt of Universal Credit, the younger partner can access the same employment support that is available for customers below State Pension Age including dedicated employment support for customers over the age of 50. The pension-age partner is placed in the no-work related requirements group.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to Written Question UIN 106823, if he will (a) collect and analyse data on the extent of refusal, increase and reduction of Access to Work awards at renewal and (b) make an assessment of the potential impact of that data on Disabled people’s ability to maintain work and careers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has a broad analytical programme of work on Access to Work which includes quantitative analysis of data, qualitative research, and production of official statistics. This programme is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains relevant and helps to build understanding of the functioning of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Written Question UIN 106814, whether a response has been received from Southern Water.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Polluting our waterways is unacceptable. It is only right that Southern Water has taken responsibility for the appalling pollution incident on the south coast in November, and I have been clear that the sector as a whole must step up and do better for our people, and for the environment. The Environment Agency’s investigation into the pollution incident is ongoing and we expect conclusions in the coming weeks. The Government is taking decisive action to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring the harms experienced by girls under 16 into the scope of the monitoring and accountability metrics of the Freedom from Violence and Abuse Strategy.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Children and girls under 16 who experience sexual abuse and exploitation are considered throughout the Strategy, with specific commitments aimed at tackling the appalling crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The key way we’ll measure progress against our ambition to halve VAWG is through a combined prevalence estimate of the proportion of people (aged 16 and over) who experienced any of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the previous 12 months, as measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales. However, as the CSEW does not survey people under the age of 16, we cannot include them in this combined headline measure.

We do though recognise the importance of understanding the experiences of children and young people. As such the performance framework in the Strategy includes a sub-metric on the prevalence of VAWG among children and young people and we are considering the best way of measuring this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will (a) confirm how many local council external auditors' annual reports identified serious financial sustainability issues, as well as the number of local authorities considered at serious threat of a Section 114 notice being issued, and (b) what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of central government financial awards to councils not complying with the requirements for statutory spending.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The department engages closely with local authorities, including in relation to any serious concerns raised through the external audit process. The issuing of a Section 114 notice is a local decision for a council’s statutory Section 151 officer and government has no role in the process. The government has been clear that any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the department in the first instance.

The government is delivering fairer funding for local government, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system. There will continue to be a support framework in place to support councils in the most difficult positions ahead of 2026-27 as councils start the transition to new funding allocations. Details of Exceptional Financial Support were announced on 23 February 2026 and published on GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Brighton and Hove City Council on the external auditor’s report findings on (a) the risk of a Section 114 notice being issued and (b) demand for statutory services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

In the multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government made available a Core Spending Power increase for Brighton of 14.2% between 2024-25 and 2028-29, worth £47.6m – coming good on our promise of reforming the funding system.

We know that recovering from the legacy of the local government finance system overseen by previous governments will take time. On 23 February, this government announced £15m of in-principle Exceptional Financial Support for Brighton and Hove City Council. The department continues to engage with the council on a confidential basis to support them to transform their services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to NHS specialist mental health care following (a) pregnancy and (b) baby loss for people in Brighton Pavilion constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that the experience of losing a baby or pregnancy loss can be very difficult for parents and families. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to mental health support.

Significant progress has been made to ensure women experiencing moderate to severe and complex perinatal mental health conditions can access specialist perinatal mental health services. This includes 165 mother and baby unit beds which have now been commissioned to provide inpatient care to women who experience severe mental health difficulties during and after pregnancy.

Maternal mental health services are also available in all parts of England, including Brighton. These services provide care for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or loss in the maternity/ neonatal context.

The National Health Service has expanded specialist perinatal mental health support, and access has more than doubled from 31,163 in March 2020 to 66,468 in October 2025.

The Sussex Perinatal Mental Health Service, which covers the Brighton area, includes a specialist bereavement counselling offer, available to anyone who was pregnant with a baby that died after 24 weeks of pregnancy or up to 28 days after birth. This includes stillbirth, neonatal death, and termination for medical reasons after 24 weeks. This service can be accessed at any point within the first year of the bereavement. The offer includes counselling and therapies for individuals and couples. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/our-services/specialist-services/perinatal-services

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Written Question UIN 80759, how many Access to Work claims have been processed since 10 October 2025; what the extent is of the backlog of outstanding claims; and what steps he is taking to reduce that backlog.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to reducing waiting times in Access to Work so that people can access the support they need. We prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment.

In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

From the period 10/10/2025 to 23/02/2026 51,924 Access to Work claims have been processed. As of the 23/02/2026 there were 66,749 applications awaiting a decision.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Energy price cap

New US sanctions on Cuba

Fipronil and Imidacloprid Pesticides

Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan

Payment of employment tribunal awards

Ketamine

Delay Repay scheme

UNESCO World Heritage status for chalk streams in England

30th anniversary of the Dunblane Primary School tragedy

Royal Mail delivery standards

Industrial relations at Carlisle Support Services

Reforming National Parks and National Landscapes

Assassination of Yanar Mohammed, women's rights campaigner

New United Nations Convention on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals

Billionaire wealth

NHS access to medical cannabis for children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Dual nationals and new UK entry documentation requirements

Palantir and the NHS

Trade union de-recognition at GB Railfreight

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

NHS dentistry

Football ticket prices (No. 2)

Use of catapults against wildlife

Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal 2026

Covid Day of Reflection 2026

World Hearing Day 2026

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr

Funding for fire and rescue services

Conduct of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Curlew populations

Rosebank oil field

Escalation of conflict with Iran

Government response to Israel’s West Bank annexation plan

Refugee homelessness and the asylum move-on period

Found: 9 • New clause 1, tabled by the Green Party’s spokesperson for work and pensions, Siân Berry