Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the (a) Plastic Packaging Tax rate and (b) recycled content requirement to promote domestic recycling.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Plastic Packaging Tax was introduced in April 2022 under the previous government and provides a price incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging – thereby stimulating the collection and recycling of plastic waste.

All tax rates and thresholds are reviewed at fiscal events.

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 support trusts to reduce bed occupancy to below 80% ahead of winter 2025-26.

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

The National Health Service is already preparing for winter this year with the development and testing of winter plans. This includes the surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services.

The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 focuses on improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance this winter, including working to reduce bed occupancy by avoiding unnecessary admissions and reducing delays to discharge.

To help avoid unnecessary admissions, the NHS is expanding Same Day Emergency Care, virtual wards, and urgent community response services so patients can receive timely care closer to home.

Where people are admitted to hospital, trusts are asked to reduce the average length of stay for patients requiring an overnight emergency admission by at least 0.4 days. This includes reducing discharge delays, working with local authorities and integrated care boards to progressively eliminate the longest and most unacceptable discharge delays, starting with the 0.7% of patients who wait more than 21 days beyond their discharge ready date, and eliminating any internal delays to discharge of more than 48 hours.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82020 on Energy: Buildings, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, (b) Warm Homes: Local Grant and (c) Boiler Upgrade Scheme on (i) energy bills, (ii) carbon emissions (A) to date and (B) in each of the next three years and (iii) the nationally determined contributions target for 2030.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

For Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) the Government publishes Official Statistics including WH:SHF Waves 1 and 2 measures installed, homes treated, carbon and bill savings. Statistics on WH:SHF Wave 3 and Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), summary business cases covering both schemes 2025/26-2027/28 and evaluation findings, will be published in due course.

There is a robust evaluation approach in place for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The Government will publish an Impact Assessment covering the BUS from 2025/26 through to 2029/30. An Impact Assessment for period 2022/23 to 2024/25 is already published. The Government publishes Official Statistics including BUS deployment volumes to date (Table 1.1) and Energy and Emissions Projections (EEP) containing the estimated emission savings generated by BUS installations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review plastic waste exports to promote domestic recycling.

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

We are committed to ensuring a level playing field for domestic plastic recyclers and we are currently considering the role of exports in dealing with the UK’s plastic waste.

Defra is committed to building a circular economy that enhances industry competition and capitalises on the UK’s potential in plastic recycling and reprocessing, whilst realising our environmental objectives. We recognise that export markets can compliment domestic reprocessing to ensure more of our waste is recycled.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

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

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will launch in October 2027 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Earlier this year we appointed UK DMO as the deposit management organisation for the schemes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and they are continuing to progress at pace with delivery of the scheme.

Cumulative disruption proposals and the right to protest

Two-child limit

Kashmir Black Day and self-determination

Freezing of Local Housing Allowance

Buying community energy locally

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the price disparity between electricity and gas.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to my hon Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Simon Opher) on 20^th October to question UIN (14374).