Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 impact of landfill tax rates on levels of fly-tipping; and whether she has made a comparative assessment of (a) revenue generated from landfill tax and (b) the cost to the public purse of clearing illegally dumped waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not have a legal duty to clear illegally dumped waste and is not funded to do so. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of landfill tax rates on levels of fly-tipping, neither has it made a comparative assessment of revenue generated from the landfill tax against the cost to the public purse of clearing illegally dumped waste.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of regional variation in access to children’s hospice services; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable provision across England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including children and young people’s hospices, also play in providing support to children at the end of life, as well as their loved ones.
We recognise that there is variation in access to children and young people’s hospice services across England. This reflects a range of factors, including the way in which the independent hospice sector has historically developed, which was largely not planned with a view to ensure even geographical coverage or to prioritise areas of greatest need based on demographics. However, it is worth recognising that hospices are not the sole providers of palliative care and end of life care, much of which is provided by NHS statutory services.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
We supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult, and children and young people’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing approximately £80 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices over three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, giving them the stability they need to plan ahead.
For the long-term, the Government is developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care for England, with a planned publication date of Autumn 2026. 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, and we will also consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of this work.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to extend statutory leaseholder protections to residents in buildings under 11 metres where freeholders seek to pass on the cost of remediation or other major works.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Regarding cladding, the Department is committed to protecting residential leaseholders from bearing the costs of remediating historic fire safety-related defects as far as is proportionate and offering support to both residents and leaseholders.
The Remediation Acceleration Plan committed to funding for fire safety cladding remediation in multi-occupied residential buildings under 11 metres in England in exceptional cases where there are life critical fire safety risks and no alternative route to funding. Homes England now oversees cases for residential buildings under 11 metres.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent housing and tenancy reforms on student accommodation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59225 on 19 June 2025.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the ability of charitable housing providers to meet housing delivery requirements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, did not propose to amend the NPPF definition of affordable housing to include almshouses that are not registered providers.
The consultation did, however, invite views on a range of proposals to better support the provision of social and affordable housing.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the draft National Planning Policy Framework, whether almshouses and other charitable housing providers are treated as affordable housing for planning purposes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, did not propose to amend the NPPF definition of affordable housing to include almshouses that are not registered providers.
The consultation did, however, invite views on a range of proposals to better support the provision of social and affordable housing.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 adequacy of national planning policy in supporting the delivery of adaptable housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for local planning authorities to set requirements for the delivery of M4(2) and M4(3) housing that will meet or exceed their locally assessed need for these types of housing.
In relation to M4(2) requirements, the government is proposing a national minimum that ensures at least 40% of new housing over the course of the plan period is delivered to M4(2) standards. This approach is intended to ensure that necessary levels of accessible housing are provided, while providing authorities with an appropriate degree of flexibility to maximise housebuilding overall.
Through the consultation we sought views on these proposals, including whether 40% is the right minimum proportion or whether an alternative requirement is preferable, and on the potential impacts of our proposals on protected groups under the Public Sector Equality Duty.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Science and Technology Facilities Council on proposed reductions to funding for astronomy and space science; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of such reductions on (a) the UK’s international standing in these fields and (b) early career researchers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has committed a record £58.5 billion investment in R&D over the next 4 years. This includes £38.6 billion allocated to UKRI. The overall Government spend on R&D over the next 4 years is £86 billion.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) within UKRI has a flat budget across this period and is currently working with the sector to model different spending scenarios for its overall portfolio including in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics (PPAN). The impacts of different modelled scenarios across the broad and diverse range of STFC-funded facilities and programmes will be considered alongside feedback from the sector when taking final decisions. The current level of post-doctoral researchers and flow of PhD students will be maintained across the SR period.
DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its specific investment decisions are informed by meaningful engagement with the scientific research community and a robust assessment of potential consequences for the UK’s scientific capability, research institutions and international standing.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the extent to which leaseholders are protected from unreasonable service charges and other costs passed on by freeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. It also proposed new reforms the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.
In addition, the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, which came into effect on 28 June 2022, place caps on how much can be charged to leaseholders for certain historical life-critical safety defects. Guidance for leaseholders on those protections can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of standalone council elections that do not align with another principal authority as a result of local government organisation on the finances of parish and town councils; and what consideration has been given to providing support for the costs incurred.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where the government makes a structural changes order to implement a proposal for local government reorganisation in an area, the legislation can provide for the alignment of parish councils to the electoral cycle of their new principal council. This is a matter for councils in areas undergoing reorganisation to consider in their discussions on the legislation with the Department. Decisions on the funding of parish and town council elections are a matter for local government, and central government has no role in funding town and parish councils.