Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the number and scope of regulations in which there has been (a) active and (b) passive divergence between UK and European Union sanitary and phytosanitary rules; and whether her Department intends to prevent further divergence while EU-UK negotiations on a common sanitary and phytosanitary area are in progress.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
When it has been deemed appropriate for GB policy to actively diverge from EU regulations, steps have always been taken to consider how a change could impact businesses looking to sell into UK, NI and EU markets, and if they will be required to adhere to different regulations and systems for each.
The Government has begun negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement. It is too early to assess the nature of the workloads which will result should an agreement be reached, but it is expected to be substantial.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department have been assigned to preparations for a EU-UK agreement on a common sanitary and phytosanitary area.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Negotiating and delivering an SPS Agreement with the EU is a whole of Government effort. It is a big priority for the department. We are working very closely with the Cabinet Office. Defra’s trade staff work flexibly across trade deals according to demand.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, at what frequency his Department plans to hold meetings of the EU Files Forum; and whether the Government intends to publish (a) agendas (b) lists of participants and (c) minutes for each.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade holds a quarterly official-level EU Files Forum, with the next meeting scheduled for December 2025.
This forum was established to facilitate a dialogue between government and the UK business community on evolving EU legislation. To protect any sensitive or commercially confidential information, we do not intend to publish agendas, participant lists, or minutes.
The Government remains committed to open and constructive dialogue with businesses and their representatives to ensure their perspectives are considered in shaping the UK's approach to EU-related trade matters.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to consult on changes to marriage value under the Leasehold Reform Act 2024; and when he expects to implement any changes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 89939 on 20 November 2025.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) children, (b) adult family members and (c) single adults were in receipt of asylum support on 30 June 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the family status of asylum seekers in receipt of support is published in table Asy_09b of the ‘Asylum summary tables’. The published table does not differentiate between child and adults family members.
The latest data relates to as at 30 June 2025. Data for as at 30 September 2025 will be published on 27 November 2025.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the yellow legged Asian hornet on UK (a) pollinators and (b) food security; and what the role is of the National Bee Unit in helping to tackle the potential impacts of that hornet.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Over £500 million a year is contributed by bees and other pollinating insects to UK agriculture, through improvements to crop quality and quantity. If Asian hornet (also known as Yellow Legged Hornet) were to become established in the UK, this could have a major impact on pollinators. With respect to food security the impact would be greatest on crops which are dependent on insects for pollination such as apples, strawberries, field beans and oilseed rape. Since 2016 the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) have responded to incursions of Yellow Legged Hornet (YLH) into Great Britain. The NBU has developed a fine-tuned and effective response which allows them to find and destroy nests to prevent YLH establishing.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her (a) Indian and (b) Pakistani counterparts on (i) human rights in Kashmir and (ii) the use of the death penalty.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 31 March 2025 to Question 39395.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make a assessment of the potential impact of the EU Commission proposal to (a) halve steel quotas and (b) increase tariffs to 50% on the (i) operation and (ii) implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is actively assessing the potential impact of this proposal on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). In addition to internal analysis, we are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps. We expect the EU to fulfil its obligations under the TCA.
We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships to protect steel jobs and defend our steel industry.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the additional £1.2 billion allocated to her Department in the Spending Review 2025 will be spent on.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)’s SR25 Phase 2 settlement delivers on DSIT’s purpose to drive economic growth, improve the performance and productivity of government, and empower citizens, by providing total funding (TDEL) of £65 billion across the period. This includes £63 billion in capital investment from 2026/27 to 2029/30 (of which £58.5 billion is R&D funding), and £2 billon in day-to-day resource funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
For more information on the settlement, please refer to pages 94-95 of the Government’s Spending Review 2025 document.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the NHS Counter Fraud Authority has made on its investigations into providers of NHS-funded cataract care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent providers play an important role supporting the National Health Service to deliver eyecare services, ensuring patients receive the treatment and care they need. However, we were clear in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will neither tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases, nor any quality shortcomings.
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority operates as an independent body conducting data analysis to prevent fraud and other economic crime within the NHS, with all suspicions of fraud and investigations managed with the utmost confidentiality. Any updates on cases will be reported at the appropriate time.