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 steps his Department is taking to help tackle the sale of (a) unlicensed band merchandise and (b) other counterfeit goods on (i) TikTok and (ii) other social media platforms.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to protecting IP rights for our businesses and protecting unsuspecting consumers from those who seek to profit from all forms of intellectual property infringement. Trading Standards are primarily responsible for enforcing Intellectual Property Rights and are working with platforms of all sizes to remove counterfeits from their online stores.
The Intellectual Property Office also regularly meets many of the major social media and e-commerce trading platforms in the UK and overseas to help ensure they have policies in place to remove goods identified as counterfeit, advertisements of counterfeit goods, and persistent sellers of counterfeit goods.
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, what steps his Department is taking to ensure greater compatibility between electric vehicle (EV) chargers, EV models, and electricity providers’ smart tariffs; and whether the Government plans to introduce regulations to prevent anti-competitive practices in the EV charging market that limit consumer access to cheaper overnight electricity rates.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring consumers can access any electricity tariff for use with their smart electric vehicle (EV) charger, enabling all consumers to benefit from cheaper off-peak electricity. In April 2025, the Government confirmed that it will require electricity suppliers to share tariff data with the consumer’s load controller in a standardised format to facilitate this.
In addition, the Government has committed to working with industry to develop and introduce interoperability standards that ensure that all EV chargepoints are operable by any load controller on behalf of the consumer Further detail can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/delivering-a-smart-and-secure-electricity-system-implementation.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support women affected by changes to the State Pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
The State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. In 2025-26 we will spend £174.9 billion on benefits for pensioners in GB, 5.8% of GDP. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be £145.6 billion in 2025-26.
Our commitment to the Triple Lock also means that the annual spend on State Pensions is forecast to rise by around £31 billion this Parliament.
The basic and new State Pensions recently increased by 4.1%, benefitting 12 million pensioners by up to £470 this year. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been up rated by inflation.
There is also supplementary support for those on low incomes. This includes direct financial help to low-income pensioners through Pension Credit, the Warm Home Discount and (in England & Wales) Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.
Finally, support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government is taking steps to mark Social Mobility Day on 12 June 2025.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people of all backgrounds can thrive, with breaking down barriers to opportunity as one of our driving missions. Our Opportunity Mission plays a vital role in helping to create a country where the circumstances of someone's birth do not determine their outcomes in life. We will mark relevant awareness moments in line with policy developments.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when guidance will be released for cites wanting to bid for the 2029 city of culture competition.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s approach to a future UK City of Culture competition will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of bank holiday weekend closures of Euston Station on passengers; and what steps she is taking to ensure the accessibility of major rail hubs during periods of high demand.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail advises that London Euston will be closed over the early May Bank Holiday over Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May and with a reduced service on Saturday 3 May whilst work takes place to upgrade track and drainage and carry out maintenance work to help improve performance for passengers and freight for future journeys. Bank Holidays are chosen to carry out work as it allows more time for work to take place whilst fewer passengers are travelling.
Trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes where bus replacement services will run to and from Bedford for onward travel to London St Pancras.
Passengers are being encouraged to check before they travel at National Rail Enquiries. An advertising campaign has taken place across ticket booking sites, a press release has been issued, stakeholders have been updated and there have been frequent social media posts to ensure passengers had awareness of the changes to journeys.
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,what progress he has made on achieving clean power by 2030.
Answered by Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Since the election, we have turbocharged progress towards a clean power system, changing the planning rules, reforming the grid, lifting the onshore wind ban and consenting 3 times more solar power in 10 months than the last government did in 14 years.
Just this month we approved the Rampion offshore wind farm delivering power to 1.3 million homes as well as creating thousands of jobs.
Our mission is all about jobs, growth and energy security, and that’s what we’re delivering.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that businesses and employers are contributing to enhancing social mobility through (a) apprenticeships, (b) internships and (c) employment practices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Plan to Make Work Pay aims to improve fairness at work, ensure equal treatment and opportunity, and support low-paid workers.
Too many young people are struggling to access high-quality opportunities. That is why this government is working with businesses to develop new foundation apprenticeships: to give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives whilst supporting the pipeline of new talent that employers will need to drive economic growth.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to support people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds in accessing employment opportunities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper focuses on building a thriving labour market, reducing economic inactivity and increasing the number of people in work, which is central to growing the economy. We will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, create an inclusive labour market in which everybody can participate and progress in work, and meet the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The new service will be available for anyone who wants to look for work, to increase their earnings or to change their career or retrain. It will be responsive to local employers, inclusive for all customers and will work closely in partnership with local services to tackle the challenges associated with local labour markets.
Additionally, our Youth Guarantee will ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or employment support, helping to bridge the gap for those who might otherwise struggle to find employment due to their socio-economic status.
We are committed to breaking down barriers and fostering greater social mobility across the UK, our plans as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK set us on a path to achieving this.
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 steps he is taking to ensure equal access to digital skills training and technology.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is taking action in both these areas. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan sets out how we have, for example, launched a device donation pilot scheme in partnership with The Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life government laptops from three departments and get them to those that need them most.
The government is also supporting digital upskilling, for example through Essential Digital Skills (EDS) provisions funded by the Department for Education’s Adult Skills Fund. We will also be enhancing support for the EDS framework, which supports businesses and individuals to get the digital skills they need.