Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to promote the dissemination across the NHS of good practice in the treatment and care of autistic people with eating disorders, including learning from the PEACE pathway.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, published on 9 October, provides analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area, including the treatment of eating disorders.
The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, including in relation to the issues raised by the Hon. Member.
The response is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the cost of electricity relative to gas to support the adoption of low-carbon heating technologies, including heat pumps.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a particularly high residential electricity-to-gas price ratio compared with many European countries. Electricity prices do not reflect the lower wholesale cost of clean energy, making low-carbon technologies more expensive to run than fossil-fuel alternatives and reducing the attractiveness of heat pumps.
Over this Parliament, the Government will work relentlessly to translate cheaper clean-power wholesale costs into lower consumer bills, making this central to every decision.
We are closely considering the balance of costs recovered through energy bills and a range of options to deliver our priorities, while recognising the difficult fiscal environment.
Given the issue’s complexity, decisions will be informed by robust research and analysis, with fairness and affordability at the forefront throughout.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department plans to maintain the funding committed to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme through to 2029/30 following the Budget.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has a budget of £400 million for this financial year (2026/27).
The Government does not comment on speculation ahead of fiscal events. Future Warm Homes Plan funding, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, is subject to decisions at future Budgets and Spending Reviews. The Chancellor will set out further details on spending later this month.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 removing the call-in process by ward and parish councillors within the National Scheme of Delegation for Planning Committees on the public’s ability to effectively scrutinise planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 13359 on 30 June 2026.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reforming business rates to enable open-plan co-working spaces to claim small business rate relief.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Small Business Rate Relief is available to ratepayers occupying individual properties with low rateable values, providing 100% relief for eligible properties up to £12,000, tapering to zero at £15,000. Local authorities determine eligibility for the relief, while the Valuation Office (VO) is responsible for assessing both the rateable value of properties and the appropriate unit of assessment for business rates purposes.
At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing or delaying Warm Homes Plan funding on the Government’s clean heat and energy efficiency ambitions.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has made clear the Warm Homes Plan remains a key part of its mission to cut energy bills, tackle fuel poverty, and strengthen energy security and is fully committed to delivering it.
The Plan involves a comprehensive set of funding and policies including the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to support low-income households, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for all eligible households, where grants have recently been increased to £9,000 for homes heated by oil or LPG in response to the situation in the Middle East.
The Government also recently confirmed the Future Homes Standard, ensuring all new build homes will be thermally efficient and fitted with low carbon heating and solar panels as standard, and recently tabled proposals for major reform of the consumer protection system that underpins home retrofit.
The Government continues to work at pace behind the scenes to deliver on various other commitments in the Plan and will announce more details in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will reform energy market regulations to enable community-run energy schemes to sell power directly to local households and businesses.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Local Power Plan published jointly by my Department and Great British Energy recognises the barriers community energy groups face in supplying their local energy markets and we are exploring measures to overcome these. The department is also closely monitoring Ofgem’s forthcoming decision on BSC code modification P441, which is intended to standardise how licence-exempt suppliers, such as eligible community energy groups and their partners, can register their schemes and sell energy to local households and businesses. Last month, GBE launched a £30 million of funding to support community groups and local authorities develop projects, including up to £2.9 million for advice services.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward regulations to introduce a public food waste reporting requirement for large businesses.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of improving food waste data to help reduce food waste and improve resource efficiency. Defra is engaging with industry to improve reporting and data quality, while considering a range of policy options.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introducing a "special circumstances" policy permitting 16- and 17-year-olds with specific care needs to be placed in CQC registered provision.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
16- and 17-year-olds with specific care needs can be accommodated in services registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), provided the service is delivering a CQC-regulated activity and does not meet the statutory definition of a children's home.
We keep policy and regulatory arrangements in this area under review as part of our work with the Department for Education on transitions.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introducing a "special circumstances" policy permitting 16- and 17-year-olds with specific care needs to be placed in CQC registered provision.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young people aged under 18 may, in certain circumstances, be accommodated in services registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Whether registration with CQC is appropriate depends on the facts of the individual case, the nature of the service being provided and the relevant statutory and regulatory frameworks. Guidance is available to providers and local authorities on the respective regulatory responsibilities of Ofsted and CQC, including the joint Ofsted and CQC guidance ‘Children's homes and health care: registration with Ofsted or CQC’, which sets out the circumstances in which services should be registered with Ofsted, CQC, or both regulators.
The CQC does not have a published provision directly equivalent to Ofsted's special circumstances policy. The department is working with the Department for Health and Social Care, Ofsted, and the CQC to explore how regulation can support and improve transitions into adult services. As part of this work, the department keeps policy and regulatory arrangements in this area under review, including issues relating to young people transitioning into adult services.