Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle increasing levels of freight crime; and if she will meet with (a) the Road Haulage Association and (b) other relevant stakeholders to increase awareness of the danger of unsafe parking.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government understands the significant and damaging impact freight crime has on businesses and drivers and we are aware of worrying increases in its frequency.
We work closely cross-Government to tackle the problem. The Minister for Police and Crime Prevention recently met with Rachel Taylor MP, and Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport (DfT) to discuss this very matter. Parking for HGVs is led by the Department of Transport. The DfT also hosts the Freight Council; this group regularly discusses crime against freight companies, and the Home Office works closely with DfT to engage with the sector on this issue through the Freight Council.
There are strong links between freight crime and serious organised crime, which is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK and estimated to cost the economy at least £47 billion annually.
This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms. We work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.
We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and other invested stakeholders to change the unacceptable perception that freight crime is low risk and high reward and find solutions which will tackle it.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the installation of solar panels on commercial and industrial roofs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government incentivises commercial/industrial rooftop solar in various ways, including permitted development rights, favourable tax treatment, and the Smart Export Guarantee.
Although we have no plans to mandate the installation of solar panels on commercial roofs, the recently published Solar Roadmap set out that rooftop solar will, where appropriate, play an important role in the Future Buildings Standard for new build non-domestic buildings which is due to be introduced later this year.
We are also working to unlock the potential for solar deployment in the non-domestic retrofit space, for example by exploring innovative financing models with the National Wealth Fund, and the upcoming Solar Council will monitor progress and drive delivery of this and other actions in the Roadmap.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) commercial and (b) industrial property owners to install solar panels on roofs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government incentivises commercial/industrial rooftop solar in various ways, including permitted development rights, favourable tax treatment, and the Smart Export Guarantee.
Although we have no plans to mandate the installation of solar panels on commercial roofs, the recently published Solar Roadmap set out that rooftop solar will, where appropriate, play an important role in the Future Buildings Standard for new build non-domestic buildings which is due to be introduced later this year.
We are also working to unlock the potential for solar deployment in the non-domestic retrofit space, for example by exploring innovative financing models with the National Wealth Fund, and the upcoming Solar Council will monitor progress and drive delivery of this and other actions in the Roadmap.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether appointments to the National Energy Systems Operator will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; whether the Chair appointment will be classified as a Significant Appointment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As the Shareholder of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero appoints the Chair of NESO's Board. This appointment is subject to the Public Appointments Order in Council and as such must comply with the Governance code on Public Appointments. The appointment of NESO’s Chair was also considered a Significant Appointment and therefore involved a Senior Independent Panel Member.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle road freight crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government understands the significant and damaging impact freight crime has on businesses and drivers and we are aware of worrying increases in its frequency.
There are strong links between freight crime and serious, organised crime, which is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK and estimated to cost the economy at least £47 billion annually.
This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms, and we are continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.
We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and invested stakeholders to change the unacceptable perception that freight crime is low risk and high reward and find solutions which will tackle it. I also recently met with Rachel Taylor MP, and Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport (DfT) to discuss this very matter.
The DfT also hosts the Freight Council; this group regularly discusses crime against freight companies, and the Home Office works closely with DfT to engage with the sector on this issue through the Freight Council.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 32 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, when the first review by senior Ministers from the National Security Council (Nuclear) committee on progress on the National Endeavour for delivering the UK’s nuclear deterrent will (a) begin and (b) conclude.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The National Endeavour to maintain and renew the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent is a whole of Government effort. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government departments, including the Cabinet Office, His Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to ensure its effective delivery. The National Security Council (Nuclear) remains committed to regularly reviewing progress on the National Endeavour. It receives comprehensive updates on delivery at least twice each year, with involvement from all relevant Departments.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 32 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, which government departments will participate in the progress review of the National Endeavour for delivering the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The National Endeavour to maintain and renew the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent is a whole of Government effort. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government departments, including the Cabinet Office, His Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to ensure its effective delivery. The National Security Council (Nuclear) remains committed to regularly reviewing progress on the National Endeavour. It receives comprehensive updates on delivery at least twice each year, with involvement from all relevant Departments.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 32 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, how frequently senior ministers from the National Security Council (Nuclear) committee will meet to discuss the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The National Endeavour to maintain and renew the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent is a whole of Government effort. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government departments, including the Cabinet Office, His Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to ensure its effective delivery. The National Security Council (Nuclear) remains committed to regularly reviewing progress on the National Endeavour. It receives comprehensive updates on delivery at least twice each year, with involvement from all relevant Departments.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to increase capacity for housing asylum seekers within the Bradford Council district.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.
We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.
The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.
We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.
We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what capacity her Department has to house asylum seekers within the Bradford Council district.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.
We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.
The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.
We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.
We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.