Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the status is of RAAC roof repairs for Holcolmbe Grammar School, formerly Chatham Grammar School for Boys, in Chatham and Aylesford constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working closely with the Thinking Schools Academy Trust to remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete at Holcombe Grammar School, formerly Chatham Grammar School for Boys.

The Trust confirmed in May that the first phase of works has been completed. Proposals for a second, more complex area have been submitted and will proceed shortly.

Departmental officials continue to support the Trust to progress the project as quickly as possible whilst minimising disruption to education.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to establish PE and School Sport Partnerships Networks in Medway following the abolition of the Sports Premium.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

On 21 May 2026, the government announced that it is investing over £1 billion in school sports over the next three years, including funding for the new Partnerships Network, improvements to school sports facilities and transitional support for primary schools while we move to the new approach.

The Network will provide practical, targeted support to help schools increase participation. This includes coaching, swimming provision and support to open facilities and stronger links to extra‑curricular sport and local clubs. Schools will also receive funding to test and share effective practice, alongside more accessible programmes from National Governing Bodies and clearer pathways into community sport.

Support will align more closely with wider programmes and include competitive sport opportunities and inclusive events for less‑active pupils. Detailed design and funding allocations will be confirmed through the procurement process.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the funding settlement and timetable for spending will be for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for the new Youth Hub provision announced as Tranche 3 of new Youth Hubs.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The government is committed to ensuring every young person aged 16 – 24 has support and opportunities to enter work or education. We are investing over £2.5bn to help young people build skills, gain experience and progress into earning or learning through the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in apprenticeships via the Growth and Skills Levy over the next three years. This will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn.

Youth Hubs are a core component of the Youth Guarantee. We are expanding Youth Hubs to over 360 areas across Great Britain, underpinned by a core blueprint for minimum service standards. This will make support more accessible and better integrated with other local services in line with local needs and partnerships, ensuring young people can access joined-up employment, skills, housing and wellbeing support in their communities. As part of this, the Tonbridge and Malling borough is included in year 3 2028/2029 of the rollout.

Youth Hubs are not funded solely by DWP and rely on local authorities and other external partners to provide premises and the supporting infrastructure. DWP can fund partner staff salaries, IT and administrative support to help ensure effective delivery of services for young people. DWP will also provide work coaches to work in Youth Hubs for a minimum of three days per week.

Local engagement will form an important part of establishing a Youth Hub in Tonbridge and Malling. Members with an interest may wish to engage with their local jobcentre Service Leader to understand local plans. Collaboration between Jobcentres, local authorities and community organisations will help ensure young people can access joined-up employment, skills and wider support.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps to help ensure that Memoranda of Understanding between train operators in Europe support UK operators to benefit from cross-border collaboration, network interoperability, and route expansion including utilisation of HS1 services in Kent.

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

We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Germany and with Switzerland to pave the way for further direct rail connections to mainland Europe

As part of these agreements, we have established formal working groups with both countries, involving relevant authorities from both government and industry, to tackle the barriers to enabling direct international rail services, including technical barriers and requirements for border and security controls. These working groups include discussions on all international stations in the UK including Kent stations.

Separately, we are supporting an industry-led working group to establish the next steps required to remobilise the Kent stations on the High Speed 1 line to facilitate the aspirations of potential new entrants to serve these stations in future.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the A229 Blue Bell Hill Improvement Scheme.

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

Kent County Council, who are promoting and managing the scheme, are developing an Outline Business Case which they expect to submit to the Department in December 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what government financial support is being provided for the Medway Tunnel.

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

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. As part of this, Medway Council is eligible to receive over £25 million over the next four years. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including tunnels, carriageways, bridges, cycleways, lighting columns and footways.

Further to this, the Department launched the Structures Fund on 15 April. This new fund will support the capital costs of repairing or replacing local highway structures such as bridges, flyovers and tunnels. Local highway authorities have until 3 August 2026 to put forward proposals for investment.

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 potential impact of the more than 30,000 hours of apparent bottom trawling activity recorded in 2025 within a Marine Protected Area designated for the conservation of harbour porpoises in the North Sea on the conservation objectives of that site.

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

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas. These proposals are substantial, covering 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters and we must ensure we get them right. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.

Internationally, we remain a leading advocate for ambitious ocean action. We continue to share the lessons we are learning from our UK experience through our membership of key alliances, whilst our scientific expertise, international finance and technical assistance continues to deliver real impact globally.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of bottom trawling within protected areas for harbour porpoises and seabirds on the Government's ecosystem-based approach to marine management.

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

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas. These proposals are substantial, covering 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters and we must ensure we get them right. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.

Internationally, we remain a leading advocate for ambitious ocean action. We continue to share the lessons we are learning from our UK experience through our membership of key alliances, whilst our scientific expertise, international finance and technical assistance continues to deliver real impact globally.

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 impact of the time taken to introduce bottom-trawling restrictions in Marine Protected Areas on the UK's reputation for international ocean leadership.

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

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas. These proposals are substantial, covering 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters and we must ensure we get them right. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.

Internationally, we remain a leading advocate for ambitious ocean action. We continue to share the lessons we are learning from our UK experience through our membership of key alliances, whilst our scientific expertise, international finance and technical assistance continues to deliver real impact globally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on anti-social behaviour of expanding the use of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to allow non-registered social housing providers with more than 10,000 houses, like MHS Homes, to issue CPNs.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep the use of all ASB powers under review and continue to work closely with partners to ensure that these tools are used effectively and proportionately to protect communities.

Community Protection Notices (CPN) can be issued by the police, local authorities and social landlords where designated by the local authority to address persistent, unreasonable behaviour that has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality. They are unable to be issued by non-registered housing providers, who are not regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing. If non-registered housing providers want a CPN to be issued, they can do so by contacting the police or local authority.

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

Found: Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Sarah Green; Rupert Lowe; Tristan Osborne

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

Found: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Sarah Hall; Catherine McKinnell; Sarah Olney; Tristan Osborne

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

Found: Q42 Tristan Osborne: I have one question on income and a couple on the scale of the organisation.

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

Found: Betts; Anna Dixon; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Green; Rupert Lowe; Catherine McKinnell; Sarah Olney; Tristan Osborne

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

Found: Q82 Tristan Osborne: I have a couple of questions about the current estimate.