Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies on trans people in prison of the Supreme Court's decision on 16 April 2025.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Supreme Court ruling brings clarity and confidence for women and service providers.
This Government inherited the policy regarding allocation of transgender prisoners from the previous Government, and have not moved any transgender women into the women’s estate since taking office.
Following the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case, the Lord Chancellor has commissioned a review of transgender prisoner allocation policy.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to update the Greening Government Commitments to include commuting.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The government is currently reviewing the Greening Government Commitments to ensure they remain aligned with government priorities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 2958 on Carbon Emissions: Business, whether the Government plans to endorse the International Sustainability Standards Board.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government will shortly publish a consultation covering the endorsement of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards. It will seek views on UK versions of the ISSB Standards, which will be known as UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Government will take endorsement decisions later this year, following the consultation.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether she will make it her policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on enhancing measures to tackle poverty through measurable targets.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We value the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ input and their perspectives on our policies. It is right that the government considers this report in full, and we will respond in line with the timescales set by the committee in their concluding observations.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.
Our metrics must also reflect the experience of poverty in households across the UK and the urgent need to focus on those children experiencing the most severe and acute forms of poverty. The Taskforce will consider how best to measure this as the strategy develops, including through our work on the material deprivation measure following the recent review of the material deprivation survey questions carried out by the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether she will make it her policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on the two-child limit and the benefit cap.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We value the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ input and their perspectives on our policies. It is right that the government considers this report in full, and we will respond in line with the timescales set by the committee in their concluding observations.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.
Our metrics must also reflect the experience of poverty in households across the UK and the urgent need to focus on those children experiencing the most severe and acute forms of poverty. The Taskforce will consider how best to measure this as the strategy develops, including through our work on the material deprivation measure following the recent review of the material deprivation survey questions carried out by the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to conduct a Child Rights Impact Assessment before the potential authorisation of Taser 10 for use by police forces in England and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Government decisions on whether to approve Taser for police use are informed by robust, independent technical and medical testing and assessments alongside an equality impact assessment which sets out any implications for those with protected characteristics, including age.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether she will make it her policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on guarantees for (a) safe and (b) adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation through a comprehensive regulatory framework.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government notes the UN Committee's recommendations on ensuring safe and adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation.
Our Homelessness Code of Guidance provides a summary of the homelessness legislation duties, powers and obligations on local housing authorities, including the quality standards of temporary accommodation.
Legislation is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for the needs of the household and that suitability of accommodation should be kept under review. Households may ask for a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
Through the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government will consult on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors in due course. It is the government’s intention that the Decent Homes Standard should apply to as much of the temporary accommodation sector as possible.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) quality of child's rights impact assessments prepared by Government Departments on (i) reserved and (ii) other matters and (b) extent to which children’s (A) views and (B) experiences have been taken into account in these assessments.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Departments are responsible for carrying out assessments on their policy or legislation area. The Department for Education does not collect information centrally on the number or quality of assessments carried out and the extent to which children’s views and experiences have been taken into account in those assessments. This is the responsibility of individual departments and their policy teams to oversee.
Child’s Rights Impact Assessments are encouraged to be used across government to ensure new or significant changes to policy or legislation do not adversely affect children’s rights and wellbeing.
The department co-produced, with civil society experts, a Child’s Rights Impact Assessment template with guidance that has been shared with other departments. Within the template, the guidance prompts the departments to detail what steps have been taken to directly or indirectly gather the views of children and young people.
We value the voices and lived experiences of children and young people and recognise the importance of listening to how decisions made in government impact them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a child's rights impact assessment has been prepared for the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A number of economic impact assessments, economic notes and equality impact assessments covering measures in the Crime and Policing Bill have been published, and can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938/publications.
The Government has also published a human rights memorandum covering the measures in the Bill.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to incorporate (a) the impact of climate change and (b) access to (i) water and (ii) nutritious food into the UK's future defence strategy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) agrees that Climate Change will have impacts on the world to which our Armed Forces may need to respond, both directly and indirectly. The MOD carefully considers climate change impacts, along with other drivers of food and water insecurity, when conducting strategic planning.
The MOD continues to play an important part in contributing to Government's Plan for Change, including our contributions to the energy security and sustainability Mission.