Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on supermarket products in the forthcoming animal welfare strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's animal welfare strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and is available here on GOV.UK.
As set out in the strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, we will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those remanded in custody for more than six months receive access to (a) education, (b) work and (c) mental health support.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held in custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative, educational, and wellbeing support while in prison.
Remand prisoners are eligible to access the core education provision available in prisons. This may include literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic digital skills, and library services. On arrival, all prisoners undergo initial screening for learning needs and receive an individual Learning and Work Plan to support progression. Governors must ensure that education is available to all prisoners who can benefit, in line with Prison Rule 32, and remand prisoners are encouraged to participate in these opportunities. In addition to education, remand prisoners can take part in work related activities where they wish to and where operationally feasible. These activities provide purposeful engagement and help maintain routine and structure during custody.
Together with our health partners, we are committed to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard, range and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England. All people in prison, including those held on remand, have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.
For prisoners with severe mental health needs, the Mental Health Act received Royal Assent earlier this month and contains several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care and treatment, including, but not limited to, provisions to:
Introduce a new statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital to reduce unnecessary delays experienced by prisoners who require mental health treatment.
Stop courts temporarily detaining people with severe mental illness in prison as a ‘place of safety’ whilst awaiting a hospital bed for treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act; and
End the use of remand for own protection under the Bail Act where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health.
We will implement these reforms as soon as it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to restore the UK steel rebar importation quota rollover.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 30 June 2025, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade took the decision to vary the steel safeguard quotas for the final year of the steel safeguard. As recommended by the independent Trade Remedies Authority, this included preventing any unused quarterly quotas from being made available in the following quarter.
This decision was taken to ensure the overall effectiveness of the UK’s steel safeguard measure for domestic producers whilst balancing the need for security of supply for the UK market. I am not considering restoring the quota rollover as part of the steel safeguard.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 the current steel rebar importation quotas on the growth of the UK steel industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK applies a steel safeguard measure to protect domestic producers against injury caused by unforeseen surges in imports. The decision in June 2025 to vary the steel safeguard, including category 13 (rebar), was made to ensure the measure continues to effectively protect domestic producers whilst balancing the need for security of supply for the UK market.
Steel is a top priority for this Government and is essential for a modern and secure economy, underpinning many sectors which are critical for secure economic growth. The Government is determined to reverse the years of decline and neglect in the steel industry, caused in large part by global excess capacity and market distortions. We will publish our Steel Strategy in early 2026 which will set out an ambitious vision for the sector and a more competitive business landscape.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration she has given to the potential benefits for schools of introducing a register of supply teachers, allowing access to available, qualified and DBS checked substitute staff.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department continues to develop and review policy on supply teaching and currently has no plans to introduce a national supply register for teachers.
The mix of models presently available in England, including agencies, direct hire and some local pools, gives schools choice over how they secure supply teachers, how many providers they work with and how they engage with providers to ensure their needs are met.
As part of our Maximising Value for Pupils programme, we will introduce a cap on supplier rates on the new Crown Commercial Service framework due in June 2026, and expect schools and trusts to use this new framework unless they are achieving better value for money elsewhere.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) update the Mobile Homes Act 2013.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A review of the effectiveness of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 was undertaken in 2017 and it made a number of recommendations. Most have been implemented, such as the introduction of a fit and proper person test and changes to the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index.
The government has no plans to undertake a further review.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of animals in the UK who are bred for, but not used for, scientific research.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not currently collect statistics on the number of animals in Great Britain that were bred for use in scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures.
Additional statistics were previously collected as required by European Directive 2010/63/EU. In 2017, the Home Office published these additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures, and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping.
The Home Office is no longer required to collect and release additional statistics. Future publication of this data is under review.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of mobile home occupants on their host community where the former do not have a legal obligation to pay (a) Community Infrastructure Levy or (b) a Section 106 contributions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s recommendation in its Fifth Report of Session 2024–26, Tackling the energy cost crisis, published on 29 October, that Ofgem should introduce an Energy Debt Relief Scheme funded by windfall profits made by energy network companies.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government welcomes the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s report, following the committee’s inquiry into the cost of energy, and is grateful to the charities, think tanks, energy suppliers, members of the public, and all others who provided evidence to support it.
The Government is considering all recommendations set out in the report and will submit our response, which responds to each recommendation in turn, to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee later this month.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the length of time spent in detention without trial by defendants charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for (a) supporting or (b) being a member of Palestine Action.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
No-one is being detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 for supporting, or being a member of, Palestine Action.