Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of bus services in rural areas in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises the importance of accessible, frequent and affordable bus services in keeping communities connected, including in rural areas. Buses in England outside London were deregulated by the Transport Act 1985 and at present are largely run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision.
The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December 2024 as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire more widely, and rural areas right across England.
In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million to local authorities across the country, of which Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £12.2 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities, including in rural areas.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year from 26/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots, and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of permitted development rights on (a) community engagement with and (b) levels of local oversight for planning; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all developments of a significant scale require local (i) consultation and (ii) scrutiny at the planning stage.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where permitted development rights consent development which could have local impacts, a prior approval process can allow for consideration of specified planning matters by the local planning authority and the local community.
Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise applications for planning permission and consult any relevant statutory bodies for a minimum of 21 days. The local planning authority must not determine the application until after this period. This is 30 days if the development is subject to Environmental Impact Assessment.
The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of e-invoicing on (a) payment times and (b) cash flow management for SMEs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling late payments, which can cause cash flow issues for SMEs. In September 2024 we announced measures including a new Fair Payment Code, legislation requiring large companies to report headline payment performance data in their annual reports, and a public consultation on further measures.
Adoption of e-invoicing can also help improve payment times and cash flow management by reducing administrative burdens and data errors and streamlining invoicing processes.
DBT and HMRC recently ran a joint 12-week consultation to gather views on promoting e-invoicing in the UK. The Government will publish a summary of responses and provide an update on next steps in due course.
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, whether his Department plans to work with technology companies to co-develop (a) standards and (b) frameworks to help increase levels of trust in AI among (i) the public and (ii) businesses.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises the importance of trust in AI systems. DSIT is building confidence in and driving adoption of AI by supporting a growing, competitive, and dynamic AI assurance ecosystem. AI assurance can help provide the basis for consumers to trust the products they buy will work as intended and for industry to confidently invest in new products and services.
The Department will continue to work with a range of stakeholders, including the public and businesses, as we deliver initiatives to support the AI assurance ecosystem. This includes further developing our AI Management Essentials framework for businesses as well as our roadmap to trusted third-party AI assurance, which will be published this summer.
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 steps his Department is taking to improve timely access to innovative treatments for women with ovarian cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving cancer care for patients across England, including those with ovarian cancer. The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country, including patients with ovarian cancer, as well as speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials. These actions will help bring this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
The Government is supporting Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, such as ovarian cancer, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers.
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, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an international AI safety agency headquartered in the UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI is the technology driving the next global industrial revolution - creating the economic growth which is central to our Plan for Change. Through the AI opportunities action plan, we are cementing Britain's position as a world leader on AI.
The UK is committed to international cooperation on AI safety and security. The AI Security Institute is a central example of our leadership.
The Institute has one of the world's largest teams dedicated to AI security.
Technical talent is drawn from the best AI labs in the world, including: Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind. It is the first state-backed body of its kind, and its work sets the global gold standard for AI security.
It partners internationally, with the US, Canada and many others to develop best practices on secure AI development.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the use of e-invoicing to support SME digital adoption.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
E-invoicing can help SMEs to reduce administrative burdens and data processing errors. Increasing SME adoption of digital tools like e-invoicing can therefore lead to increased productivity, as well as improved payment times and streamlined tax administration.
The SME Digital Adoption Taskforce has been developing recommendations for Government and Industry on how best to encourage uptake of digital tools such as e-invoicing. The Taskforce produced an interim report in March 2025. Their final report will be published later this Summer.
DBT and HMRC recently ran a joint 12-week consultation to gather views on promoting e-invoicing in the UK. The Government will publish a summary of responses and provide an update on next steps in due course.
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 steps his Department is taking to support the digitalisation of the property transaction process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to modernising the home buying and selling process.
We recently announced local authority pilots involving making key property information available online and the introduction of common data standards so that data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily.
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, whether her Department plans to reform the residential conveyancing process to (a) reduce the time taken and (b) increase transparency for (i) buyers and (ii) sellers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to modernising the home buying and selling process.
We recently announced local authority pilots involving making key property information available online and the introduction of common data standards so that data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily.
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 steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken for enforcement appeals pending by written representations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027.
The Inspectorate continues to make considerable progress towards meeting that ambition across casework areas including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework and appeals against refusal of planning permission.
It is, for example:
Appeals against enforcement notices and refused lawful development certificates is the remaining significant area of casework backlog.
The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.
The Planning Inspectorate does not record the date an inspector is assigned to a case and are unable to give the average and longest wait time for an inspector.