Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will assess the potential merits of introducing an annualised earnings assessment for recipients of Carer's Allowance employed on zero-hours and other irregular contracts to ensure that fluctuations in working hours and holiday pay do not result in the loss of Carer's Allowance and associated National Insurance credits for carers whose overall annual earnings remain below the equivalent annual earnings threshold.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Government is committed to improving and modernising how earnings are treated in Carer's Allowance. It has increased the weekly earnings limit to match 16 hours at the National Living Wage, improved guidance, and is exploring longer-term changes to the benefit, including automation of earnings and the possibility of an earnings taper. A Call for Evidence to support this work was launched on 7 July 2026 and is open until 18 August 2026: Carer's Allowance: call for evidence - GOV.UK.
Where Carer's Allowance recipients undertake paid work, there is flexibility for Decision Makers to average earnings where these fluctuate in a regular pattern, using a period that best reflects the individual's working pattern.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid on people with pernicious anaemia and other medical conditions for whom folic acid supplementation may not be appropriate.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Folic acid fortification was recommended by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy in 2000 and by its successor the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) in 2006, after an extensive review of the evidence on folate and health. The SACN has further considered the evidence in its 2009 report to the Chief Medical Officer on folic acid and colorectal cancer risk and its 2017 update on folic acid. The tolerable upper limit was also re-considered by the Committee on Toxicity (COT) in 2018.
In its 2006 report on folate and disease prevention, the SACN considered data from hospital discharge surveys in the United States of America, where mandatory fortification of enriched cereal grain products with folic acid was authorised in 1996 and fully implemented in 1998. The data suggested that the number of cases of pernicious anaemia or subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord had not increased post-fortification. This suggests that mandatory fortification had not led to a delay in the detection of vitamin B12 deficiency by masking the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia.
In the SACN’s extensive review of the evidence on folate and health it considered other medical conditions for whom folic acid supplementation may not be appropriate including epileptic patients on phenytoin, an epileptic drug, pregnant women in the context of multiple births and embryo selection and anti-folate chemotherapy. For each, the SACN noted that there is no evidence or no substantive evidence to suggest that folic acid fortification would cause adverse health outcomes.
The policy was developed with Government’s public consultations on both the impact assessment and legislation. This issue was considered as part of the consultation and impact assessment process.
The level of folic acid chosen for fortification, 250 micro grams per 100 grams of flour, was based on modelling carried out by Food Standards Scotland. The level of fortification has been chosen in order to minimise the risk of the population exceeding the tolerable upper intake level and therefore the risk of masking the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia. COT concluded in 2018 that “Further work is needed to identify the maximum level of folic acid intake at which masking would not occur. However, it is very unlikely that this would be such that the [upper limit] for intake would be less than 1 mg/day, as at present.”
The Government is planning an evaluation on the impact of the policy to assess the effectiveness of the level of mandatory folic acid fortification for both the prevention of neural tube defect affected pregnancies but also to check that the population are not routinely exceeding a tolerable intake and identify any further unintended consequences.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Nutrient Profiling Model, including the adoption of a free sugars methodology, on (a) the availability of fortified breakfast cereals in schools and breakfast clubs, (b) levels of fibre and micronutrient intake among children and (c) UK food manufacturers that have invested in product reformulation to reduce sugar, salt and fat content.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
In the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government committed to updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products by applying the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM). The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. The new NPM is built on the latest science and has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice, especially on reducing children’s consumption of free sugars. Children are consuming twice the level of free sugars as recommended which can contribute to tooth decay and obesity.
Breakfast cereals can contribute to fibre and micronutrient intakes, but this needs to be balanced against their contribution to free sugars intake in children. Breakfast cereals are often fortified with micronutrients, and can make useful contributions to riboflavin, folate, vitamin D, and iron where intakes are low in older children aged 11 to 18 years old. However, the contribution made by breakfast cereals to children’s free sugars intake is similar to contributions from ‘sweet biscuits’, from ‘buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies’ or from ‘sugars, preserves and sweet spreads’.
There are breakfast cereals that are higher in fibre and lower in free sugars that pass the new NPM.
The consultation on updating the school food standards, which includes standards for breakfast cereals, closed on 12 June. The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care are currently considering the responses.
Like the current NPM, NPM 2004/5, the new NPM uses a scoring system in which points are allocated for nutrients or ingredients within a food or drink per 100 grams. The model balances the contribution made by ‘beneficial’ nutrients, that is, protein, fibre, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, to a child’s diet, alongside the ‘negative’ contributions from nutrients, that is, energy, saturated fat, free sugars and salt, of which children’s intakes are higher than recommended. The protein component of the model acts as a marker for micronutrients. The new NPM also awards more positive points to fibre than the current model.
The NPM is not about restricting reformulation. The aim is to stop the targeting of ‘less healthy’ food and drink marketing to children and encourage further reformulation and the promotion of healthier options. While some products previously reformulated to meet the NPM 2004/05 may need to go further, the new NPM continues to incentivise reformulation and to support industry to deliver healthier products over time by allowing greater credit for fibre. A full public consultation on the proposed application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions closed on 17 June. This consultation sought feedback on the impact and challenges of applying the new NPM.
We will use evidence from the consultation to inform final policy decisions and the final impact assessment which, subject to the outcome of the consultation, would be published ahead of any changes being made.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress she has made towards implementing the socio-economic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, can thrive. To support this, we will commence the socio-economic duty on public bodies in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010. We are currently working toward commencement of the duty, which includes drafting statutory guidance that will clarify how the duty can be applied effectively. As part of this process, we are working with listed public bodies to ensure the guidance supports them effectively.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on the introduction of a private parking code of practice.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
The government intends to lay a Code in autumn 2026 in accordance with the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Community Payback schemes in (a) addressing environmental crime and (b) improving the condition of rural communities.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Community Payback provides a broad range of opportunities for offenders to make reparations to communities, including through projects that improve local environments in rural areas. Most Community Payback projects include clearance activities such as removing litter, cutting back overgrown vegetation, and addressing low-level fly-tipping.
In addition, some projects are specifically focused on rural environments, supported through national partnerships with organisations such as Forestry England and the Canal & River Trust.
Projects can be nominated both by officials and by members of the public via an easy-to-use online nominations platform.
Nominate a Community Payback project - GOV.UK
The effectiveness in Community Payback delivery has been evaluated in the recent Unpaid Work Process evaluation commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and the HM Inspectorate of Probation’s Thematic of Unpaid work. While these does not specifically address the impact on environmental crime, they reference projects making significant and tangible contributions to public spaces, such as parks, schools and canals.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reduced competition in fixed telecommunications infrastructure on consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The UK telecoms Market is highly competitive. The Statement of Strategic Priorities, designated on 27 April 2026, highlights that competition in the fixed telecoms market supports investment, innovation and consumer choice. As a result, the UK benefits from relatively low consumer pricing, and prices have declined in recent years when adjusted for inflation. In addition, Ofcom reported in February 2026 that out of six countries analysed (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US), the UK had the third-lowest standalone fixed broadband prices in 2025. Wider comparative data on international pricing and market dynamics is limited.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, plays a key role in supporting competition, including by imposing proportionate remedies on Openreach where necessary. The UK’s pro-competition approach has driven fibre roll-out, with over a hundred alternative networks entering the market in recent years. According to Ofcom as of January 2026, 77% of residential premises have access to more than one network.
The Government and Ofcom also ensure that strong consumer protections are in place so that the benefits of competition are delivered fairly. Earlier this year, the Government published the Telecoms Consumer Charter, a set of voluntary commitments agreed with major operators to strengthen transparency, empower consumers and improve support for those struggling to pay, building on Ofcom’s existing requirements to ensure people receive clear, fair and easily understandable information.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how terrorist murders of British nationals committed in foreign countries are investigated; and whether responsibility for such investigations lies with (a) British police forces and (b) local law enforcement authorities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Crimes against British nationals overseas are investigated by the law enforcement authorities of the country where the crime occurs, just as crimes against foreign nationals in the UK are investigated by UK police. UK police may provide assistance or pursue related lines of enquiry where there is a UK connection or at the request of the overseas police force, but primary responsibility rests with the country where the crime happened.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what rights individuals have to be informed if they (a) are and (b) have been the target of a terrorist organisation; and under what circumstances her Department discloses intelligence relating to such threats.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government takes the safety and security of individuals in the United Kingdom very seriously.
There is no general or statutory right for individuals to be informed that they are, or have been, the target of a terrorist organisation. Decisions on whether to provide information or advice are made on a case-by-case basis, informed by the nature of the threat and operational considerations.
Where appropriate, and where it is assessed that an individual may be at heightened risk, the police and other relevant authorities may provide protective security advice and other support.
We must balance the protection of individuals with the need to safeguard sensitive intelligence and ongoing operations.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government will be represented at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.