Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether passenger demand forecasts for Thameslink services have been updated to reflect the approved expansion of London Luton Airport, planned housing growth along the route and the proposed Universal Studios development in Bedfordshire; and how those factors are being incorporated into long-term capacity planning for the Thameslink corridor.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Govia Thameslink Railway has shared demand modelling with the Department which does include projections for planned developments along the Thameslink network. The Department requires all operators to plan future timetables that reflect expected demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer. In the longer term, under Great British Railways’ directing mind, timetables and services will be optimised to drive up network performance and improve passenger journey experience.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what timeline her Department has for introducing regulations that ensure generative AI cannot be misused to create extreme sexual abuse material involving children.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the serious and evolving threat posed by AI being misused to create child sexual abuse material. We know offenders will seek to exploit emerging technologies for their own sexual gratification.
AI-generated child sexual abuse is not a victimless crime. The material often includes depictions of real children, escalating the risk of contact abuse. The volume and realism of this material can make it increasingly challenging for safeguarding partners to identify and protect children. Offenders can also use these images to groom and blackmail children.
That is why this Government has introduced a measure within the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models that have been developed to create child sexual abuse material. These optimised models produce hyper-realistic indecent images that often contains the likeness of real children. This offence will carry a sentence of up to five years. To further ensure that generative AI models are not misused to create extreme child sexual abuse material, this Government has also sought to update the existing law criminalising ‘paedophile manuals’ to cover AI as well. Manuals which provide guidance on how to use AI to create child sexual abuse material will be punishable by up to three years in prison.
The Crime and Policing Bill is currently at the Lords Committee stage. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Crime and Policing Bill – and thus these two crucial measures to criminalise AI-generated child sexual abuse material – is expected to secure Royal Assent by the Spring of 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure the 30 by 30 on land in England nature recovery target is met.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). Progressing this target on land in England means ensuring that our most important and wildlife-rich habitats are benefiting from effective, long-term conservation and management.
In October 2024 we set out our vision for progressing 30by30 on land in England and the criteria for land and inland water areas which can count towards this target. Our 30by30 Delivery Plan will set out how we will lead, support, and inspire action across England to deliver this vision. We will publish the 30by30 Delivery Plan later this year.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of a) government departments b) critical public services and c) critical national infrastructure rely on US-owned cloud infrastructure; and what assessment her Department has made of the risks to UK data sovereignty and service continuity this poses.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Survey results in the State of Digital Government Review state that around 55% of central government organisations reported that over 60% of their estate is now on the cloud. All survey participants indicated that they use one of two leading cloud providers, both of whom are US based.
Critical public services, including those delivered by arm’s length bodies and local authorities, operate under a range of governance and assurance arrangements. Responsibility for digital infrastructure decisions rests with the relevant accountable bodies, and there is no centralised record of the proportion of such services that use US-owned cloud infrastructure.
The government works closely with critical national infrastructure operators alongside our national technical authorities and industry partners. The government does not generally comment on national security or commercial matters related to CNI, including the use of individual suppliers.
‘Data sovereignty’ could cover numerous UK interests, including but not limited to economic, security, resilience, privacy, and diplomatic considerations. We will continue to seek to balance these objectives in our approach, to ensure the robustness of our digital services. UK public sector buyers of cloud services are advised to review their technology requirements against the Technology Code of Practice and consider the specific risk management and controls they need when procuring those services.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to publish an equalities impact assessment of the Child Poverty Strategy, including its impact on groups at highest risk of poverty.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A full summary Equalities Analysis was published alongside the Strategy and is available at: Child Poverty Strategy: Summary Equalities Analysis - GOV.UK.
The impacts of policies contributing to the Child Poverty Strategy will be kept under review and monitored on an ongoing basis by departments using their own established approaches to considerations made under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
The ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation of the Child Poverty Strategy will also continue to assess the poverty risk and prevalence for groups with protected characteristics, as far as the data and evidence gathering allow. The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026, with annual reporting on progress thereafter.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of State Pension age changes for 1950s-born women living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding the full cost of specialist palliative care delivered by hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
The recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.
Hospices provide both core and specialist palliative care. Whilst acknowledging that not everyone will need specialist palliative care, we must ensure is that there is equitable and timely access to these services, whether they are provided by hospices or the National Health Service.
While no specific assessment has been made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system, as part of our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government will shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community. We recognise that it is vital to include palliative care and end-of-life care, including hospices, in this shift.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
The recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.
Hospices provide both core and specialist palliative care. Whilst acknowledging that not everyone will need specialist palliative care, we must ensure is that there is equitable and timely access to these services, whether they are provided by hospices or the National Health Service.
While no specific assessment has been made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system, as part of our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government will shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community. We recognise that it is vital to include palliative care and end-of-life care, including hospices, in this shift.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of Dating Scam Fraud were reported in 2025; and what the financial loss was.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not collect information on Dating Scam Fraud. City of London Police are the national lead force for fraud and operate the Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) reporting service which collects data on Dating Scam Fraud. The below data was collected from the reports made to Action Fraud (now Report Fraud) that amounted to a crime under the Home Office crime recording rules.
In the first 10 months of 2025, there were 9,305 dating scam reports to Action Fraud (now ‘Report Fraud’). Losses for these reports totalled £90.9m. Source: Report Fraud Analysis Services (Public)
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of Grey Belt policy on speculative development proposals on village edges in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 98288 on 5 January 2026, UIN 105177 on 20 January 2026, and UIN 106373 on 26 January 2026.