Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support local authorities in utilising licensing and high street regeneration funding to reduce commercial vacancy rates.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has published a new High Streets Strategy, Hope on the High Street, setting out action to bring down vacancy, which can have a damaging impact on high streets and local pride. This includes £125 million to bring prominent, long term vacant and derelict high street buildings back into productive use, and £10 million to support delivery of High Street Rental Auctions, as well as funding for community ownership and co-operative development. We have committed to exploring how licensing can better support growth including considering placing the National Licensing Policy Framework on a statutory footing. Which can be found here.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions has the Secretary of State held with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade concerning the effect of packaging EPR costs and regulatory uncertainty on industrial growth.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State engages with ministerial colleagues across Government on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). Defra recognises the importance of providing businesses with certainty as packaging reforms are implemented and continues to work with industry to improve delivery.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of whether packaging regulatory requirements are diverting business expenditure from capital investment, innovation and productivity improvements into administration and compliance.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An impact and economic evaluation of the Collection and Packaging Reforms is scheduled to be delivered in 2029.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit on the labour market participation of unpaid carers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Financial support for unpaid carers is available from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and – in England and Wales – Carer’s Allowance, which is not means-tested.
The Government wants to encourage unpaid carers to combine their caring responsibilities with paid work where they can, although this will not always be possible due to number of hours spent caring and/or the intensity of that care.
The Government has increased the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to match 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels. This change from April 2025 resulted in the largest ever increase in the limit to £196 net earnings a week and the highest percentage increase since 2001. It means more than 60,000 additional unpaid carers who are doing some paid work will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30. The earnings limit rose again to £204 from April 2026. Universal Credit includes a system of an earnings taper and work allowances (where applicable) to help ensure that people are better off by working.
Going forward the Government will be replacing current Carer’s Allowance earnings cliff edge rules with an earnings taper. This means that from 2030 unpaid carers will be able to earn above the earnings allowance without immediately losing all of their Carer’s Allowance. Instead, their Carer’s Allowance will be reduced £ for £ for what they earn above that allowance. Unpaid carers will be able to increase hours and earn more than they do now and still receive some Carer’s Allowance, increasing overall income. Please also see my Written Statement on 29 October 2026 (HCWS429).
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the distributional impact is of options for reforming the Council Tax banding system.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not announced any reforms to the council tax banding system. It therefore does not have any assessment of the distributional impacts of any alternative systems.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps Skills England is taking to align localised technical skills training provision with regional manufacturing demand.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills England is supporting the alignment of technical skills provision with regional manufacturing demand in a number of ways. Skills England oversees the Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), developed and published by designated Employer Representative Bodies in July 2026. These identify key priority skills needs within an area and the changes to technical education and training provision required to meet employer and labour market needs. The plans draw on employer intelligence and reflect national growth priorities identified in the Industrial Strategy, including skills requirements in manufacturing where these are relevant to the local and regional economy.
To support this process, Skills England has provided analysis of skills needs, including trends in skills supply and demand, priority occupations, vacancy data and projected workforce requirements. Skills England is continuing to work closely with Employer Representative Bodies and Strategic Authorities to ensure this evidence informs local priorities and supports providers to respond to the needs of key sectors, including manufacturing where this is important to local economies.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a modular skills passport framework on career progression in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the potential benefits of sector-led initiatives such as the Hospitality Skills Passport. As part of Destination Hospitality, last year DWP worked with UKHospitality to deliver a Sector-based Work Academy Programme that combined pre-employment training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview with an industry-recognised Skills Passport which certifies that participants have developed skills valued by hospitality employers.
By helping individuals demonstrate their skills to prospective employers and supporting access to employment opportunities across the sector, the Passport has supported progression for DWP customers into hospitality careers. The Department is working with UKHospitality and Mayoral Strategic Authorities to expand access to the Hospitality Skills Passport through approved colleges and training providers.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps Skills England plans to take to devolve long-term skills funding allocations to regional combined authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Cabinet statement “Rewiring the State” in July, the Government is working to give local leaders the power to drive growth. This will include empowering mayors to offer a high-quality locally tailored technical or vocational route from age 16, underpinned by control of the budget for 16- to 19-year-olds. We are working on how to put that into practice, in discussion with Strategic Authorities.
For adults over 19, the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) is intended to engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. As of August 2026, approximately 76% of the ASF is devolved to 20 Strategic Authorities (SAs). These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. A further six areas are currently preparing for the transfer of ASF responsibilities from the 2027/28 academic year onwards. By honouring our commitments to combine and further devolve adult skills funding, we are giving those with local knowledge the power they need to make decisions that best support their communities.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the cumulative impact of packaging regulation, including EPR, on investment, productivity and competitiveness in UK packaging manufacturing.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is evaluating implementation and impacts on obligated businesses, including investment and innovation. Imported packaging is subject to equivalent obligations, supporting a level playing field for UK manufacturers.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the effect of RAM fee modulation on investment in packaging manufacturing and recycling, the use of recycled materials and substitution between packaging materials.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
RAM fee modulation is based on packaging recyclability, rewarding recyclable design choices. We will continue to monitor the effects of pEPR, including the effects of modulation, through the UK-wide elements of CPR Evaluation, which is expected to be published in 2029.