Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances the Child Maintenance Service ceases to pursue historic child maintenance arrears.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance’s priority is to collect money owed to children who will benefit today, thereby preventing the build-up of arrears on the CMS.
The Child Maintenance Service has powers to write off historic Child Support Agency (CSA) and Child Maintenance Service debt in specific scenarios where it would be unfair or inappropriate to enforce liability, such as if the receiving parent tells us they no longer want us to collect the arrears or the paying parent is deceased and no further action can be taken to recover the arrears from the paying parent’s estate.
Powers introduced in 2018 allowed remaining Agency cases to be closed following the collection or write-off of historic arrears, as part of the closure of the scheme. All CSA arrears were at least five years old, with some CSA debt dating back much further. This was a one-off exercise, applying only to Agency debt.
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, if he will extend Business Rates reimbursements to Community Pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue prioritising reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Civil Procedure Rules provide a framework for a fair, transparent, efficient and proportionate civil justice system. The Rules are regularly updated to support court services, to reflect wider changes in legislation and societal need, and in response to issues in practice and case law. Generally, there are at least two statutory instruments per year (April and October) which amend the Rules and ensure they remain up to date and relevant. These updates are made under the negative resolution SI process, which is subject to the related parliamentary scrutiny, having first been signed by Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) members, Master of the Rolls and Minister of State for Justice.
In addition to the Government keeping the Rules under review in conjunction with the CPRC, the Civil Justice Council (a statutory advisory body chaired by the Master of the Rolls) keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The Council routinely refers proposed amendments to the Rules to the CPRC for consideration.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that Child Maintenance Service enforcement action is proportionate in cases involving (a) small and (b) short-term arrears.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In cases where arrears are outstanding, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) proactively seek to negotiate with the paying parent a feasible and affordable repayment plan, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case. For small arrears payments can be spread over an appropriate timescale negating the need for enforcement action.
Each enforcement decision and action taken by CMS considers the welfare of all parties, potential financial hardship of paying parents, to ensure any associated charges for the customer are commensurate and not seen as punitive to give the greatest chance of securing money for children. CMS is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the potential impact of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the Government’s environmental improvement goals.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The zero emission vehicle transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations – and to delivering wider environmental benefits, including improvements to air quality. It will drive economic growth and help make Britain a clean energy superpower.
The ZEV transition is a major component of our Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, which was published in October 2025. There are therefore no plans at present to publish a specific assessment.
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 steps the Government will take to improve water quality and flood resilience in Surrey and Guildford, in the context of the latest environmental progress assessment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) works with the Surrey Local Resilience Forum to plan and prepare for incidents and mitigate impacts on local communities.
In Guildford, the EA has temporary flood barriers ready for deployment, and is developing a scheme which will reduce flood risk from the River Wey to over 300 properties.
Citizens and organisations can check flood risk and register for warnings by accessing Check the long term flood risk for an area in England.
Regarding improving river quality in Surrey, the EA leads on the Water Industry National Environment Programme with improvement schemes that Thames Water must implement including the reduction of phosphorus levels in treated sewage effluent and investigations of storm overflows at Guildford, Woking, Weybridge, Camberley, and Dorking.
The EA is transforming its regulation of water companies, developing a larger specialised workforce, and delivering a step change in inspections of permitted sites and associated enforcement.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level of regional disparities in the location of electric vehicle charging points and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the Government’s environmental objectives.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations, as well as improving air quality and supporting growth.
The Government closely monitors regional deployment and the disparities in the location of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, as detailed in statistics released in October 2025. Chargepoint availability is increasing across the country.
The Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England to ensure equitable chargepoint rollout across the country. In total, it is expected to support the rollout of at least 100,000 EV chargepoints.
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 adequacy of (a) funding and (b) capacity for local authorities to implement Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Funding for Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to support the delivery of the strategies will be confirmed as part of departmental business planning for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29. This will be informed by discussions with responsible authorities about what the new delivery role will entail.
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 discussions she has had with local authorities and regional stakeholders, including in Surrey, on the delivery of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s intentions to enhance the roles and functions of Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to take a leading role in environmental delivery are set out in English Devolution White Paper. Officials have been engaging with all responsible authorities, including Surrey County Council, and other relevant stakeholders to develop more detailed expectations for what this delivery role should entail.
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 adequacy of funding levels to meet the Government’s environmental targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 sets out how we will deliver against our Environment Act targets. This is backed by a settlement that maintains the Government’s steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery.