Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Transport & Environment, publication entitled Palm Oil?, published on 9 April 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential disruption to the transport fuel supply.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We take the concerns raised in Transport & Environment’s publication relating to the biofuel feedstock Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) seriously.
Fuel supplied in the UK under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) is subject to robust checks as required by legislation. If evidence of fraud or non-compliance is found we have powers to withhold or revoke certificates, issue civil penalties and, where appropriate, refer the matter to the relevant authorities.
The Department does not expect the concerns raised to result in disruption to the overall supply of transport fuel.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) prolonged waiting times and (b) lack of clarity regarding the application process on people with disabilities who are attempting to make use of the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work has a significant backlog of applications, with 62,000 outstanding applications in February 2025. This has resulted in significant delays and we are considering changes within the existing policy framework to reduce this.
To support customers with the application process, we have streamlined our delivery process and made all core parts of the Scheme, such as applying and requesting payment, fully digital. We recognise that significant delays can have adverse effects on customers, our Case Managers receive training in how to identify and support vulnerable customers during their application process and can provide advanced support to those whose wellbeing is affected during the application process.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) using (i) sustainable urban drainage systems and (ii) similar mechanisms to manage rainwater on site of new developments and (b) allowing rainwater to flow into sewers on (A) storm outflows, (B) treatment processes and (C) the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Comparative and impact assessments of the type requested are not currently available. This is primarily because the design of Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for any given development site will depend on a range of factors, including topography of the site, development size, development type, and rainfall rates.
SuDS provide a range of benefits. They mimic natural water flow and are designed to reduce the impact of rainfall by using features such as soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands. This reduces the pressure on our drainage infrastructure by reducing the quantity of water that ends up in the sewers and storm overflow discharges, mitigating flood risk and preventing pollution from untreated sewage ending up in our waterways.
SuDS also improve the quality of water entering our drainage infrastructure as they offer a natural filtration process, thereby removing pollutants. SuDS provide additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity, improving local amenities, harvesting rainwater for reuse, heat island mitigation, improve air quality and even providing food growing opportunities.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the cost of (a) using sustainable urban drainage systems to manage rainwater on site of new developments and (b) allowing this rainwater to flow into sewers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Comparative and impact assessments of the type requested are not currently available. This is primarily because the design of Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for any given development site will depend on a range of factors, including topography of the site, development size, development type, and rainfall rates.
SuDS provide a range of benefits. They mimic natural water flow and are designed to reduce the impact of rainfall by using features such as soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands. This reduces the pressure on our drainage infrastructure by reducing the quantity of water that ends up in the sewers and storm overflow discharges, mitigating flood risk and preventing pollution from untreated sewage ending up in our waterways.
SuDS also improve the quality of water entering our drainage infrastructure as they offer a natural filtration process, thereby removing pollutants. SuDS provide additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity, improving local amenities, harvesting rainwater for reuse, heat island mitigation, improve air quality and even providing food growing opportunities.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring developers to use sustainable urban drainage systems in new developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development.
We will consider whether further changes are required to manage sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further reform.
National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of formally extending the scope of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme to include all children in households with below-average resources.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefiting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.
The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM) is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of index-linking all future funding with the Holiday Activities and Food Programme to ensure it (a) keeps pace with inflation and (b) continues to effectively support children experiencing holiday hunger.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the impact it has on children, young people and families. The department is very pleased that the overall funding for the HAF programme in 2025/26 will again be more than £200 million, with delivery across England taking place at Easter, summer and Christmas.
Funding beyond March 2026 is subject to the multi-year spending review and any decisions will be made as part of the spending review taking place later this year.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many applications the Land Registry has received in each month since January 2020.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The table below outlines the number of applications HM Land Registry has received in each month since January 2020. These include register change applications that are a legal requirement and occur at the very end of a property transaction, after stamp duty land tax has been paid and the property has exchanged hands. The table also shows the number of guaranteed information service requests received each month. These take place before a property has exchanged hands and provide essential information and a state guarantee, offering protection to purchasers, lenders and their professional representatives, which enables the property market to function. HM Land Registry also provides a range of other services that inform the property market, and information about these has been included after the below table for wider context.
Month | Register Change Applications | Guaranteed Information Services | Total Applications |
Jan-20 | 436,337 | 1,804,110 | 2,240,447 |
Feb-20 | 386,686 | 1,799,018 | 2,185,704 |
Mar-20 | 389,988 | 1,653,237 | 2,043,225 |
Apr-20 | 261,394 | 1,015,932 | 1,277,326 |
May-20 | 228,219 | 952,503 | 1,180,722 |
Jun-20 | 279,592 | 1,423,147 | 1,702,739 |
Jul-20 | 323,988 | 1,717,840 | 2,041,828 |
Aug-20 | 301,860 | 1,602,690 | 1,904,550 |
Sep-20 | 341,705 | 1,823,376 | 2,165,081 |
Oct-20 | 362,856 | 1,904,683 | 2,267,539 |
Nov-20 | 370,808 | 1,819,909 | 2,190,717 |
Dec-20 | 365,070 | 1,449,706 | 1,814,776 |
Jan-21 | 361,545 | 1,661,031 | 2,022,576 |
Feb-21 | 362,059 | 1,788,858 | 2,150,917 |
Mar-21 | 467,108 | 2,166,308 | 2,633,416 |
Apr-21 | 439,224 | 1,861,868 | 2,301,092 |
May-21 | 382,425 | 1,834,860 | 2,217,285 |
Jun-21 | 440,834 | 1,996,214 | 2,437,048 |
Jul-21 | 484,818 | 1,858,413 | 2,343,231 |
Aug-21 | 374,057 | 1,712,797 | 2,086,854 |
Sep-21 | 404,093 | 1,852,670 | 2,256,763 |
Oct-21 | 437,012 | 1,804,020 | 2,241,032 |
Nov-21 | 417,739 | 1,870,152 | 2,287,891 |
Dec-21 | 372,206 | 1,395,653 | 1,767,859 |
Jan-22 | 409,019 | 1,744,341 | 2,153,360 |
Feb-22 | 380,200 | 1,884,214 | 2,264,414 |
Mar-22 | 444,167 | 2,151,845 | 2,596,012 |
Apr-22 | 395,023 | 1,759,246 | 2,154,269 |
May-22 | 419,310 | 2,006,089 | 2,425,399 |
Jun-22 | 383,854 | 1,858,451 | 2,242,305 |
Jul-22 | 415,168 | 1,894,014 | 2,309,182 |
Aug-22 | 429,068 | 1,924,755 | 2,353,823 |
Sep-22 | 408,130 | 1,859,354 | 2,267,484 |
Oct-22 | 438,946 | 1,868,048 | 2,306,994 |
Nov-22 | 474,676 | 1,854,016 | 2,328,692 |
Dec-22 | 374,313 | 1,274,957 | 1,649,270 |
Jan-23 | 444,233 | 1,703,117 | 2,138,986 |
Feb-23 | 357,361 | 1,744,735 | 2,102,096 |
Mar-23 | 401,500 | 2,030,841 | 2,432,341 |
Apr-23 | 335,302 | 1,582,398 | 1,917,700 |
May-23 | 342,645 | 1,753,841 | 2,096,486 |
Jun-23 | 361,512 | 1,941,266 | 2,305,260 |
Jul-23 | 378,101 | 1,834,478 | 2,212,579 |
Aug-23 | 363,462 | 1,738,095 | 2,101,557 |
Sep-23 | 396,208 | 1,711,422 | 2,107,630 |
Oct-23 | 366,738 | 1,820,926 | 2,187,664 |
Nov-23 | 357,942 | 1,823,147 | 2,181,089 |
Dec-23 | 309,837 | 1,264,730 | 1,574,567 |
Jan-24 | 377,885 | 1,890,124 | 2,268,009 |
Feb-24 | 335,022 | 1,937,578 | 2,272,600 |
Mar-24 | 330,570 | 1,873,286 | 2,203,856 |
Apr-24 | 369,993 | 1,984,827 | 2,351,240 |
May-24 | 360,290 | 1,995,911 | 2,353,695 |
Jun-24 | 332,450 | 1,869,658 | 2,199,983 |
Jul-24 | 408,417 | 2,133,452 | 2,539,834 |
Aug-24 | 359,107 | 1,897,229 | 2,256,336 |
Sep-24 | 348,765 | 1,980,059 | 2,328,824 |
Oct-24 | 403,327 | 2,208,782 | 2,612,109 |
Nov-24 | 402,617 | 1,947,230 | 2,349,847 |
Dec-24 | 348,793 | 1,454,660 | 1,803,453 |
Jan-25 | 375,483 | 1,900,741 | 2,276,224 |
Feb-25 | 350,863 | 1,828,657 | 2,179,520 |
Mar-25 | 379,233 | 1,993,928 | 2,373,161 |
In addition, there has been increasing demand for other service types. The table below shows the additional service requests HM Land Registry receives annually as per HM Land Registry’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Other Service requests | FY 2019/20 | FY2023/21 | FY2021/22 | FY2022/23 | FY2023/24 |
Bulk Register updates | 971,542 | 281,575 | 1,380,627 | 144,339 | 169,527 |
Enquiry Services | 6,592,031 | 6,575,532 | 7,044,747 | 6,701,806 | 6,677,023 |
Correspondence | 305,755 | 214,430 | 194,194 | 163,059 | 161,264 |
Telephone enquiries | 989,047 | 571,448 | 851,812 | 714,140 | 209,037 |
MapSearch downloads | 1,181,483 | 1,052,565 | 1,104,151 | 1,085,470 | 1,130,523 |
Search for land and property information |
|
| 1,909,259 | 11,007,469 | 17,576,354 |
Title view |
|
|
|
| 5,242,141 |
Total other service requests | 10,039,858 | 8,695,550 | 12,484,790 | 19,816,944 | 31,165,869 |
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) recruit more Land Registry caseworkers and (b) reduce backlogs in the Land Registry application system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry (HMLR) has recruited over 3,300 new staff in the last five years. It has made significant progress in reducing waiting times for applicants. The age of outstanding post-completion applications is now under 12 months across all service lines, from a peak of 20 months in February 2023.
HMLR is committed to building on this progress by further expanding its capacity and capability. Through the automation of administrative processes, its staff will be freed to focus on more complex tasks that require their expertise. HMLR is also continually enhancing its digital customer services, with innovations like pre-submission application checks, designed to support customers and improve the quality of applications. Together, these initiatives will drive down delays, reduce the number of outstanding post-completion applications, and provide an overall better experience for customers.
HMLR acknowledges that some customers may not yet feel the full impact of these improvements. If a delay to an application may cause financial, legal, or personal problems or put a property sale at risk, it can be expedited free of charge. HMLR processes nearly 1,400 expedited applications every day, with more than 95% of these processed within 10 working days.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to outdoor sports facilities during school holidays.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Everyone, including children and young people, should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities which will ensure that communities have access to high-quality, inclusive facilities, no matter where they live.
The Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment, so that sites can provide a more inclusive and sustainable offer throughout the year, including the school holidays.
More widely, the Government has confirmed more than £200 million of funding for the Holiday, Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the 2025/26 financial year. The HAF programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families over the school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.