Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support the Government is providing to local planning authorities to ensure they have the expertise to manage parks and gardens casework in the absence of guaranteed specialist input.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.
The consultation asked for views on the impact of removing consultee status in the planning application process from the Gardens Trust, The Theatres Trust and Sport England.
No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course.
Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on planning outcomes of the decision to remove statutory consultee status from certain bodies in the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.
The consultation asked for views on the impact of removing consultee status in the planning application process from the Gardens Trust, The Theatres Trust and Sport England.
No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course.
Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 proposals to modernise planning committees and introduce a national scheme of delegation, whether applications affecting green belt land could be determined by officers rather than elected members; what criteria will determine whether such applications are considered strategic; and how he will ensure democratic accountability for decisions involving the loss of green space.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 28 May 2025, my Department published a technical consultation on proposals for reform of planning committees. It can be found on gov.uk here.
The consultation has now closed, and we are analysing the responses with a view to consulting on draft regulations for such a National Scheme of Delegation in the coming months.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the proportionality of the requirement for planning permission to install double glazing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not undertaken such an assessment, as in most cases the replacement of windows of similar appearance can be undertaken without the need for a planning application.
However, there may be some local exceptions, and other consents such as listed building consent may be required.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the evidential basis is for the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s amendments to licensing conditions for bird gatherings, particularly the prohibition on the sale and exchange of captive-bred birds at licensed events.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Regulation 6 of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, sets out the legal basis for permitting gatherings (such as shows) of poultry or other captive birds. In England, a licence to hold a bird gathering may be granted by Defra if a veterinary risk assessment has been carried out, and if the gathering, including the movement of birds to and from it, would not significantly increase the risk of the transmission of avian influenza virus. Detailed risk assessments can be found on GOV.UK.
The most recently published qualitative 2025 risk assessment (November 2025) sets out the risk of transmission of avian influenza at gatherings. The exact conditions of issued licences, including activities which can take place at a gathering (such as sales), are determined based on the assessed risk of each gathering.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the evidential basis is for the introduction of separate licensing regimes for (a) psittaciformes and (b) poultry and passerines.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The most recently published qualitative 2025 risk assessment (November 2025) sets out the overall risk of transmission of avian influenza associated with gatherings for each order of birds. The overall risk associated with psittaciformes is assessed as low, whereas the overall risk associated with poultry (galliformes) or passerines is assessed as medium.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation the Animal and Plant Health Agency undertook with avicultural event organisers, birdkeeping societies and representative bodies prior to the introduction of revised bird gathering licensing requirements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials engaged proactively with stakeholders during summer 2025 including show organisers, auctioneers and breed societies, to better understand achievable conditions for gatherings. Engagement was via a number of stakeholder groups which occur regularly, and a series of individual discussions with key impacted parties. This process helped to shape a set of template conditions which could mitigate the disease risk associated with some gatherings.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any documented cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have occurred in the UK within captive Psittaciformes kept under indoor, high-biosecurity conditions.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed on 9 premises of which each had at least one captive Psittaciform bird. The department cannot comment on biosecurity of individual premises, as this is not public information; of these premises, three were domestic households, two were recorded as breeders, one was an educational establishment, and the others were open farms or sanctuaries.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to help reduce levels of school exclusion related to (a) drugs and (b) alcohol in West Berkshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes detailed exclusion data at a regional and local authority level and regularly monitors trends in school exclusion rates for pupil groups.
The department is delivering a comprehensive programme of behaviour support for schools, including Attendance and Behaviour Hubs which are targeting schools with the highest need and providing wider national support
The Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance states that schools, local authorities, and partners should work together to understand local trends. Local leaders should also use this to plan and implement targeted action suitable to local context. The guidance can be read in full here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.
Furthermore, the statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance includes curriculum content on drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping to ensure that pupils can understand the risks and implications of misuse. This guidance can be read in full here:
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to address levels of school exclusion in West Berkshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes detailed exclusion data at a regional and local authority level and regularly monitors trends in school exclusion rates for pupil groups.
The department is delivering a comprehensive programme of behaviour support for schools, including Attendance and Behaviour Hubs which are targeting schools with the highest need and providing wider national support
The Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance states that schools, local authorities, and partners should work together to understand local trends. Local leaders should also use this to plan and implement targeted action suitable to local context. The guidance can be read in full here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.
Furthermore, the statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance includes curriculum content on drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping to ensure that pupils can understand the risks and implications of misuse. This guidance can be read in full here: