Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure consumers are adequately protected from rogue builders.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme that covers work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home. In addition, the Building Safety Act 2022 has introduced competence requirements for both individuals and businesses working in the built environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent biodiversity loss associated with deforestation globally.

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

We remain steadfast in working with partners to deliver our shared commitment to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 while supporting sustainable development. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure rural households have access to adequate smart meter network coverage.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Data Communications Company (DCC) is the organisation responsible for the smart metering network in Great Britain, and is obligated to provide smart meter network connectivity to at least 99.25% of premises across GB. The Government is working closely with the DCC to ensure that smart meter connectivity can be extended to the small minority of unserved properties in all regions, including rural areas, as soon as reasonably possible.

One such solution, currently being rolled out, is Virtual WAN (VWAN) which involves using customers’ broadband connection, (with consent), to carry smart metering communications.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for the issuing of medical driving licences.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) aims to process all applications as quickly as possible. In the interests of road safety, the DVLA must be satisfied that the required medical standards are met before a licence is issued.

Some medical cases take longer because the DVLA often needs information from third parties, such as doctors or other healthcare professionals, before it can make a licensing decision. The DVLA has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of medical licence applications, increasing waiting times for some customers. To improve its services, the DVLA has introduced a new casework system, and launched a new medical services portal so the majority of customers can now apply online through the DVLA driver and vehicle account.

These enhancements alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.

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 ensure households without access to reliable broadband or mobile signal will be able to make calls following the digital switchover.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK

In November 2024, the Government secured safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent (including those without mobile signal) customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours.

In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.

In order to function correctly, VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5 megabytes per second. It is possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a broadband connection.