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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are seeking powers in the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle seizure and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra officials chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, including officials from the Department for Transport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and devolved governments, to promote good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which can be found at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Saving Lives Is Not Enough, published by the British Burn Association in August 2019.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I note this report is from 2019, my officials will discuss this further with colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care, and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that farmers are not undercut by imports from countries with lower animal welfare standards.

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

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. This Government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage

All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards

The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help protect (a) woodland and (b) natural habitats in the context of the construction of the lower Thames crossing.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Minister for Local Transport’s considerations on the Lower Thames Crossing scheme are explained in the Decision Letter, published on the Planning Inspectorate website, and this sets out the proposed mitigations regarding habitats, including woodlands. The Honourable Member will understand that during the 6-week legal challenge period the Department is unable to comment in detail, but National Highways will be able to answer further questions about the scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure people who need joint replacement surgery are able to access treatment where they live.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to putting patients first, including those waiting for joint replacement surgery. Too many people have been left in limbo, with their personal and professional lives on hold waiting for National Health Service treatment. We understand the impact that long waits can have on patients’ mental health, which is why we have committed, in the Government’s Plan for Change, to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard, which has not been met for almost a decade.

We will ensure that patients are not only seen on time but also have the best possible experience of care. Our Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, has committed us to working with patients and their carers to co-develop minimum standards for their experience of care.

Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are helping to reduce elective surgery wait times by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, such as joint replacement surgery. As of March 2025, there are 114 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England.

The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, and by ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so even more operations can be carried out near where patients live.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the new surgical hubs will be focused solely on orthopaedic procedures.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025 and ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so more operations can be carried out.

In line with direction set by the Getting it Right First Time High Volume Low Complexity programme, surgical hubs focus on driving improvement in six high volume specialties: ophthalmology; general surgery; trauma and orthopaedics, which includes spinal surgery; gynaecology; ear, nose and throat; and urology. There are no plans for any of the new hubs to solely focus on orthopaedic procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to provide mental health support for people waiting for joint replacement surgery.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to putting patients first, including those waiting for joint replacement surgery. Too many people have been left in limbo, with their personal and professional lives on hold waiting for National Health Service treatment. We understand the impact that long waits can have on patients’ mental health, which is why we have committed, in the Government’s Plan for Change, to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard, which has not been met for almost a decade.

We will ensure that patients are not only seen on time but also have the best possible experience of care. Our Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, has committed us to working with patients and their carers to co-develop minimum standards for their experience of care.

Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are helping to reduce elective surgery wait times by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, such as joint replacement surgery. As of March 2025, there are 114 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England.

The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, and by ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so even more operations can be carried out near where patients live.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish an implementation plan alongside the Elective Reform Plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans to publish an implementation plan alongside the Elective Reform Plan.

Our Elective Reform Plan sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament, and outlines how these will be implemented by National Health Service systems, including a series of milestones for delivery. We have already achieved our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments, as a first step to delivering on this commitment.

In addition, the Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has since been published and confirmed the interim targets for 2025/26, including a target that 65% of patients wait for 18 weeks or less by March 2026, up from 58.9% as of January 2025, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period.

Prevent strategy

LED headlights

Right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

Israeli Defence Force attacks on humanitarian workers

British companies and the transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Robert May’s school and STEM racing competition

Domestic Abuse Offences

Radiotherapy (No. 2)

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling