Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to phase out animal testing.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods ).

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, where the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods will be located.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods) which sets out our plans to establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM). The location of and timeline for the creation of the UKCVAM is under development and the Government will update on this in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to protect children in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire from becoming victims of indecent deepfakes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

UK law is clear – creating, possessing, or distributing child sexual abuse images, including those that are AI generated, is already illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove such content.

We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill. We are introducing an offence to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create child abuse material and have tabled amendments to support the stringent testing of AI systems for child sexual abuse material risks.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with the Internet Watch Foundation.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Protecting children online is a priority for this department. The Internet Watch Foundation does vital work to tackle child sexual abuse and DSIT and other departments engage closely with them on their critical work.

I regularly meet with online safety stakeholders and remain committed to continuing this incredibly important relationship. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to deliver clearer, cheaper and more accountable local police oversight in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government announced on 13 November that it plans to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) at the end of their current term of office in May 2028, subject to legislation.

PCC functions will transfer to Mayors of Combined Authorities, where possible, and to elected council leaders where it is not. Where there are no confirmed plans for a Mayor, as is the case in Staffordshire, we will create new Policing and Crime Boards to bring local council leaders together to oversee the force in their area, supported by an appointed day to day Policing and Crime lead.

We estimate that at around £100m will be saved in this Parliament as a result of these governance reforms. Once delivered, we expect they will achieve savings to the Home Office of around £20m a year, enough to fund around 320 extra police constables.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what priorities the Government has for the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Prime Minister updated the House on 25 November about his attendance at the G20 Summit, where he advanced an agenda for shared global growth and strengthened partnerships that deliver for the British people.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the access to a police front counter for people (a) living, (b) working and (c) learning in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Decisions regarding the police estate, including the availability of front counters at police stations, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, or equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need and their experience.

A key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission is focused on restoring neighbourhood policing, and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing. As such, all forces including Staffordshire, now have named and contactable neighbourhood officers dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most to their communities. We have also provided £200 million in FY 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of the Parliament. This increase in neighbourhood policing, alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will strengthen the connections between the police and the communities they serve.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve public access to police officers in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Decisions regarding the police estate, including the availability of front counters at police stations, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, or equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need and their experience.

A key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission is focused on restoring neighbourhood policing, and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing. As such, all forces including Staffordshire, now have named and contactable neighbourhood officers dedicated to addressing the issues that matter most to their communities. We have also provided £200 million in FY 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of the Parliament. This increase in neighbourhood policing, alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will strengthen the connections between the police and the communities they serve.

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 resilience of the food system.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. The United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security in the UK, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years. The first UKFSR was produced in 2021. The most recent UKFSR was published on 11th December 2024. The UKFSR examines past, current, and future trends relevant to food security to present the best available understanding of food security at the time of publication.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to replace the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce.

In 2024, the value of UK-grown fruit and vegetables was over £3 billion increasing by 4.5% and 2.1% respectively with the overall fresh fruit and vegetable market valued at approximately £11 billion including exports worth around £170 million contributing significantly to the UK economy.

With the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.

Wider Government support for the sector includes a five-year extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing greater stability for businesses, and a continued easement on import checks for medium-risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the strength of the horticulture sector.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce.

In 2024, the value of UK-grown fruit and vegetables was over £3 billion increasing by 4.5% and 2.1% respectively with the overall fresh fruit and vegetable market valued at approximately £11 billion including exports worth around £170 million contributing significantly to the UK economy.

With the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.

Wider Government support for the sector includes a five-year extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing greater stability for businesses, and a continued easement on import checks for medium-risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of food security.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Defra regularly meets with Cabinet Office, other Government Departments, Devolved Governments on resilience planning, including food security.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to protect food security.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), with Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. We work closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors.  Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to improve standards in local politics.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We published the government’s response to the Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities in England consultation on 11 November. The response, informed by the consultation and wider sector engagement, sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect.

We intend to legislate on local government standards reforms when parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Tunisian authorities on the recent crackdown on human rights organisations.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 September to Question 70304.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to mitigate the impact of increases in rail fares on residents in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We have announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen, for a year from March 2026, for the first time in 30 years putting money back in the pockets of hardworking people. Passengers will benefit from savings on over a billion journeys with season tickets, peak return tickets on commuter routes, and off-peak return tickets on longer-distance routes all protected.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of an off peak return ticket between Stafford Railway Station and London Euston Railway Station was in each of the last 15 years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cost of an off-peak return ticket in each of the last 15 years between Stafford and London Euston was:

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of an off peak return ticket between Crewe Railway Station and London Euston Railway Station was in each of the last 15 years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cost of an off-peak return ticket in each of the last 15 years between Crewe and London Euston was:

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to break down the barriers to opportunity in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for children and young people in both Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. Our approach is rooted in evidence and targeted investment to ensure every child has the best start in life.

‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’, sets out the immediate steps to deliver on our commitment to have a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. The strategy is backed by close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable, improve quality in the early years and reception, and expand and strengthen family services. In October this year, Staffordshire received a development grant of £262,449.

In Staffordshire, we have funded eight schools to establish new breakfast clubs from this term, two of which are in Newcastle-under-Lyme, improving readiness to learn. Alongside this, we have supported the opening of eight new or expanded school-based nurseries, increasing access to high-quality early years provision.

We have worked in partnership with local authorities and schools to improve attendance at schools in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme, tackling the biggest barrier to children achieving at school. We are working in close partnership with Staffordshire County Council to deliver ambitious targets for raising attainment, particularly for disadvantaged pupils as they begin statutory education so more children achieve a good level of development. Through the regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme, we are supporting 12 schools across the county to enable young people to achieve and thrive.

These measures form part of a wider strategy to reduce inequalities and ensure that children in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across Staffordshire can access the opportunities they deserve.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her counterparts in sub-Saharan Southern Africa on economic growth.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The promotion of economic growth, investment and trade is a key priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and forms a regular and essential part of our engagement with counterparts across the world, including in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and Canada.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Australian counterpart on economic growth.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The promotion of economic growth, investment and trade is a key priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and forms a regular and essential part of our engagement with counterparts across the world, including in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and Canada.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Canadian counterpart on economic growth.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The promotion of economic growth, investment and trade is a key priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and forms a regular and essential part of our engagement with counterparts across the world, including in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and Canada.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic engagement she has had with her European colleagues on helping encourage economic growth in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The promotion of economic growth, investment and trade is a key priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and forms a regular and essential part of our engagement with counterparts across the world, including in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and Canada.

Team GB at the 2025 Deaflympics

Royal Naval Association Torbay

UN International Human Rights Defenders Day

Anniversary of the murder of Ken Smyth and Daniel McCormick

McLaren title win for British motorsport

Thanking postal workers

150th Anniversary of Bo’ness Public School

140th anniversary of the North West of Ireland Football Association

Hilary Freedman's 60 years of service to the NHS

Found: Democratic & Labour Party; Belfast South and Mid Down) Simon Hoare (Conservative; North Dorset) Adam Jogee