Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Crown Prosecution Service has issued any recent guidance on the prosecution of offences related to illegal polygamous marriages conducted within the UK.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Bigamy is an offence contrary to section.57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and is prosecuted as such. The CPS has not issued and has no plans to issue specific guidance.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on external consultants supporting the A-7 Wedgetail programme since its inception.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To date, external consultancy spend on E-7 Wedgetail is £1.27 million and was spent in the 2017-18 financial year.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the adequacy of street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront.
Local councils are responsible for keeping their streets clear of litter and refuse. The role of central Government is to enable and support local action. In the Pride in Place Strategy this Government has committed to bringing forward statutory enforcement guidance on both littering and fly-tipping, modernising the code of practice that outlines the cleaning standards expected of local authorities, and refreshing best practice guidance on the powers available to local authorities to force land and building owners to clean up their premises.
We are also targeting some of the more commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes was banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. Plastic drinks bottles and metal drinks containers make up 55% of litter volume. The Deposit Return Scheme will cover plastic and metal drinks containers (like bottles and cans), and the goal is to reduce litter and help keep our streets, rivers, and oceans clean.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Steel Strategy on the ability of British Steel to secure long-term customer contracts for 2026-27.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector. Our decisive legislative intervention at British Steel has secured UK manufactured steel for nationally important projects like airports and rail and supported jobs and national security.
We also remain committed to delivering a steel strategy in early 2026. The strategy will set out a long-term vision for a bright and sustainable steel sector in the UK and the actions needed to get there. Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy.
We do not anticipate any adverse impacts on British Steel or the availability of credit insurance for SMEs in the steel supply chain arising from the revised publication timing.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken for the publication of the Steel Strategy on levels of skills at the British Steel Scunthorpe site.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector. Our decisive legislative intervention at British Steel has secured UK manufactured steel for nationally important projects like airports and rail and supported jobs and national security.
We also remain committed to delivering a steel strategy in early 2026. The strategy will set out a long-term vision for a bright and sustainable steel sector in the UK and the actions needed to get there. Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy.
We do not anticipate any adverse impacts on British Steel or the availability of credit insurance for SMEs in the steel supply chain arising from the revised publication timing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Pelindaba Treaty once sovereignty is transferred to Mauritius in accordance with the UK-Mauritius treaty on operations at Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 11 June in response to Question 57628.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enhanced DBS check applications for care sector roles have exceeded 60 days at the police checking stage in each of the last six months; and whether the Government plans to provide additional resources to police forces experiencing significant backlogs in DBS processing.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The DBS does not report its performance by specific job sectors. The DBS publishes its performance for Enhanced checks on a quarterly basis at DBS performance and metrics - GOV.UK. These attainments apply to applications across all employment sectors including the care sector.
The DBS works closely with all police forces to ensure checks are completed as quickly as possible. This includes funding additional staff and overtime within forces. Where possible, police forces with capacity are also helping those with a large number of outstanding cases, a process managed by the DBS.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of non-tariff measures to consumer prices on different UK Standard Industrial Classification groups.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has not published a specific, comprehensive assessment detailing the potential impact of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on consumer prices across all individual UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) groups.
DBT produces indicative valuation estimates for market access barriers using a range of methodologies including ad valorem equivalents (AVEs). The method estimates how export demand, and therefore export value, could change in response to the removal of NTM-associated costs and subsequent price changes. The methodology could be found at Methodologies for valuing market access barriers - GOV.UK. This methodology does not provide an assessment across all individual SIC groups.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71238 on Buses and Large Goods Vehicles: Licensing, whether her Department has now concluded its consideration of next steps following the consultation entitled Amendments to licensing restrictions: bus, coach and heavy goods vehicles; and whether she has plans to publish a timetable for the Government’s response.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is reviewing responses to the consultation conducted under the previous government. We are considering next steps and will provide an update once this work has concluded.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what dates he has officially visited HMP Chelmsford since his appointment; and whether he has met with the Governor to discuss the recent mistaken release.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Deputy Prime Minister met with the Governor of HMP Chelmsford on 24 October, the same day as the release in error of Hadush Kebatu. The Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending is planning to visit HMP Chelmsford in the coming months.