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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the evidence base was for requiring third-party liability insurance for banned breeds; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing the requirement.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

From 1 July 2026 it will no longer be a requirement for banned breed dogs to have third party public liability insurance.

Insurance formed part of the safeguards attached to Certificates of Exemption, providing financial protection for dog owners in the event of an incident. No alternative third‑party public liability insurance product is currently available for banned breed dogs following the withdrawal of the only provider. The requirement has therefore been removed to ensure otherwise compliant owners are not placed in breach of the law through no fault of their own.

Owners of exempted dogs must continue to meet all other conditions of their Certificate of Exemption, including keeping dogs muzzled and on a lead in public places, and remain legally responsible for any harm caused by their dogs.

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 merits of mandatory third-party liability insurance for all dog owners.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra recognises the importance of public safety and responsible dog ownership. The provision of insurance is a commercial decision for insurers and there is currently very limited coverage available for certain types of dogs. This Government does not currently have plans to make insurance mandatory for all owners as not all owners have access to suitable policies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of re-issuing exemption certificates.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A one-off cost to Government is expected, estimated to be between approximately £66,000 and £80,000. This includes staff time and the cost of issuing physical certificates, responding to related correspondence and printing and postage costs. There will be no cost to dog owners.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend Oliver McGowan training to include acquired brain injury.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism has been developed with a specific and defined focus on learning disability and autism, and there are no plans to extend its scope to other conditions. Oliver’s Training has been designed as the standardised package to support health and care services registered with the Care Quality Commission to meet the statutory training requirement in the Health and Care Act 2022.

Health and care services are responsible for ensuring that their staff receive appropriate training for their role. As such, there is a range of guidance and training available including on acquired brain injury. Organisations such as Headway, the brain injury association, offer specialist courses designed for neurorehabilitation staff, case managers, social workers, and general practitioners. NHS England also offers various online training modules, primarily through the NHS England e-learning for healthcare platform.

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 take legislative steps to prohibit leaving children under the age of 12 unsupervised with dogs of any breed.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

From 1 November, it will be an offence to leave a child under the age of 12 in close proximity with a banned breed dog, in a home or garden without adult supervision. This measure is intended to strengthen safeguards for children, where evidence indicates they are at greater risk of serious injury from dog attacks, particularly in domestic settings.

Defra will work with partners, including policing and animal welfare organisations, to support clear and consistent communication that any dog can pose a risk in certain situations and that young children should always be supervised around all type of dogs. This Government does not currently have plans to extend the new age measure requirement to all breeds of dog.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the prohibition on children being left unsupervised with banned breeds will be enforced; and what will the consequences of enforcement.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act is a matter for the police, who have existing powers to take action where necessary. If non-compliance with the condition is identified, they can take enforcement action in line with those powers. This could include seizing a dog and pursuing prosecution where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment (PIP) claimants are included in the Transform Decision Making pilot, expressed as both a percentage and number.

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

DWP is running a small-scale trial of a transformed decision making approach within the Health Transformation Programme's new Health Assessment Service, and we will evaluate the impacts. The initial phase of testing involved around 1% of PIP assessments from 16 March 2026. From 1 June 2026, we began a second phase of testing with around 4% of PIP assessments nationally. We expect the second phase of the test to involve approximately 2,800 to 3,300 PIP customers per month.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the acquired brain injury action plan.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the significant and often life‑changing impact that acquired brain injury (ABI) can have on individuals and their families.

The Department is currently working with NHS England and a range of stakeholders, including other Government departments and the voluntary sector, to develop the ABI Action Plan. This work is considering how best to improve care, rehabilitation, and long-term support for people living with ABI, as well as how to strengthen coordination across services.

Given the breadth and complexity of this work, it is important that the action plan is informed by robust evidence and stakeholder engagement. The Department intends to publish the plan in due course, once this process has been completed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of opposing the WASPI campaign's application for a costs capping order in their previous legal action.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As part of the previous legal action, a costs capping order was agreed between the Government and WASPI, through their lawyers. The Government did not oppose the order that the court issued in line with that agreement.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which (a) external stakeholders and (b) disabled people’s organisations, have been consulted on the Transform Decision Making programme.

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

DWP is running a small-scale trial of a transformed decision-making approach within the Health Transformation Programme's new Health Assessment Service. The Health Transformation Programme regularly engages with a wide range of external stakeholders. The Programme has engaged with its national stakeholder forum and with the Timms Review to inform them about the testing of a transformed decision making approach.

We have provided a list of the members of the Health Transformation Programme’s national stakeholder group.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to mandate remote electronic monitoring on fishing boats in UK waters.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is committed to expanding the use of remote electronic monitoring in English waters. We are taking a targeted approach and have said that we will implement remote electronic monitoring in priority fisheries, working first with volunteers before moving to mandatory requirements.

In December 2025 Defra successfully completed a first volunteer project with a vessel from the pelagic trawl fishery. We are now working towards making remote electronic monitoring mandatory in this fishery and will make an announcement in due course.

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 take legislative steps before the school summer holidays 2026 to increase protections for children against dangerous dogs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

From 1 November 2026, it will be an offence to leave a child under the age of 12 in close proximity with a banned breed dog, in a home or garden without adult supervision. This measure is intended to strengthen safeguards for children, where evidence indicates they are at greater risk of serious injury from dog attacks, particularly in domestic settings. It sets a clear expectation around supervision in higher‑risk situations.

It comes into force on 1 November to give owners sufficient time to prepare and take the necessary steps to comply. Guidance will be made available ahead of the summer holidays to help owners understand the new measure and take the necessary steps to comply.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to publish Bycatch Action Plans for seabirds, cetaceans, seals, elasmobranches and protected fish species.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra are developing a Seabird Bycatch Action Plan for England in collaboration with stakeholders including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the fishing industry and academic researchers. The plan will set out steps to address seabird bycatch, along with assessing the evidence available and what further evidence is needed.

Plans are complex and require significant time and investment to ensure they are evidence-based and deliverable. The Seabird Bycatch Action Plan will provide a valuable template for the approach to further action plans.

Lewy Body Society

Sensory room at Upton St James Primary School

Parliament Education and Engagement Outreach Service

Improving access to elected office for disabled candidates

Climate Change Committee's seventh Carbon Budget

VAT for UK hospitality

Free court transcripts

Right to work

Reform of the asylum system

Risk of AI chatbots to children

Coastguard remuneration

Social Care and Community Integrated Care’s Unfair to Care Report 2026

Community Integrated Care at Griffin Lodge, Heald Green, Cheadle

Found: ) Mr Peter Bedford (Conservative, Mid Leicestershire) (added 28 Oct 2024) 35 of 61 (57.4%) Steve Darling

Found: Q28 Steve Darling: Thank you very much for attending, Secretary of State.