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, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of re-instating the pause on the building of new waste incinerators.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Determining the need and location for waste management infrastructure is a matter for the relevant planning authority. To support decision making the Government has made it clear we only back new Energy from Waste projects if they meet strict local and environmental conditions. Projects are expected to demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. Additionally, new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy.
We are considering how best to reflect the approach in this statement in the new set of national policies for development management which we have committed to producing, and in updates to National Policy Statements.
The Government encourages those developing energy recovery facilities (at all stages in the process) to consider forecast changes to future capacity, demand, and the Government's circular economy opportunities.
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, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the incinerator capacity for waste destined for landfill in Dorset.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government publishes annual statistics related to waste collected by local authorities: Local authority collected waste management - annual results - GOV.UK.
In 2023-24 Dorset Council reported sending 936 tonnes of collected waste to landfill and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council reported sending 18,724 tonnes of collected waste to landfill.
However, this does not include waste processed by private waste management companies.
Our Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note shows that at the end of 2024, the Southwest of England had around 1.63 million tonnes of operational and under construction energy from waste capacity whilst total residual municipal waste arisings were reported as 2.27 million tonnes. Residual waste infrastructure capacity note - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to remove the Television Licence exemption for people over 75 years old and in receipt of pension credit.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
To ensure the BBC is on a stable financial footing, the Government has committed to the current licence fee model for the remainder of the current Charter period. Currently, TV licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, people over-75 and in receipt of pension credit, and people living in qualifying residential care who are disabled or over 60 years old. The BBC, rather than the Government, is responsible for the concession for over-75s in receipt of pension credit.
Looking further ahead, the Secretary of State has been clear that the BBC must be funded by a model that is sustainable and fair to all those that are paying it. The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review is a key opportunity to set the BBC up for success long into the future.
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, whether his Department plans to review the effectiveness of the working relationship between Ofcom and Royal Mail.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have regular discussions both with Royal Mail and with Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector.
The effectiveness of the working relationship between Ofcom and Royal Mail is fundamental to maintaining a sustainable and reliable universal postal service.
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, if she will publish guidance for schools on (a) responding to parental requests for the withdrawal of books from recommended reading lists and (b) the circumstances under which schools can remove books from those lists.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The current National Curriculum requires teachers to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on 5 November 2025, the department will continue to emphasise the importance of pupils listening to, discussing, and reading for themselves a wide range of stories, poems, plays and non-fiction books.
Within the framework of the National Curriculum, schools make their own choices about which specific books or other resources they use. Teachers have flexibility in their choice of books to teach within the context of the curriculum. Any sensitive issues should be covered by the school’s own policy, and in consultation with parents.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a progressive remote betting duty on small, independent bookmakers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government launched a consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system which closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and impacts are being assessed, and the Government will respond at Budget.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of HMRC's Child Benefit verification checks on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Child Benefit is a non-means tested benefit payable to families as a contribution towards the cost of raising children. It is claimed through the Child Benefit service, which is separate to Self Assessment, so for the majority of families Child Benefit checks should have no impact on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments.
There are no further impacts anticipated.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) delays in HMRC Self Assessment tax repayments and (b) the non-fulfilment of published complaint response timeframes on taxpayers awaiting refunds.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible.
HMRC balance the provision of prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters.
For Self Assessment repayments, once the repayment is created it goes through automated fraud and compliance checks. In 2024-25, after these checks, 93.1% of the repayments were paid automatically within a few days.
HMRC continues to invest in automation and to review their internal processes to ensure repayments are issued as quickly as possible.
HMRC recognise too the importance of keeping the customer, and where appropriate the customer’s representative, informed of progress, and are exploring ways of doing that more effectively.
In the meantime, HMRC’s online ‘Where’s My Reply’ tool can help customers understand when they can expect to receive a response.
HMRC aim to respond to complaints within six weeks.
In 2024-25, HMRC responded to 73% of new complaints within this timeframe. HMRC are committed to prioritising customer experience and are reviewing their complaints processes. The Adjudicator’s Annual Report was published on 20 October 2025 and HMRC are using the insight in the report to make further improvements.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with the Home Secretary of the potential merits of funding a wider rollout of long-acting Injectable Buprenorphine as a treatment option for people using opioids in Dorset.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department supports the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine as an option for those undergoing Opioid Substitution Treatment. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services according to local need, and this includes the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine.
In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing Dorset Council with £1,469,140 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The Department encourages local authorities to prioritise resourcing long-acting injectable buprenorphine prescribing from this additional funding if current provision is not adequate.
The Department is currently doing more analysis to understand cost-effectiveness and develop clinical guidance, and to scope out how best to expand access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine further.
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, whether her Department holds data on families with home-educated children who are unable to (a) secure a place in a GCSE examination centre and (b) afford exam entry fees.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on families with home educated children who are unable to secure a place in a GCSE examination centre or afford exam entry fees.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce the first ever duty on local authorities to provide support for home educating families in their areas who are registered with them and who request support. This support could include advice and information on how to access examinations.