Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to (a) abolish and (b) reform the standing charge.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.
Firstly, Ofgem have been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges Ofgem took a further step towards this goal this week, announcing proposals to require suppliers to offer their customers low or no standing charge tariffs from early 2026.
Secondly, Ofgem have been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take legislative steps to require cyclists to wear helmets.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government strongly encourages cyclists to wear helmets, and this is reflected in The Highway Code, but there are no plans to mandate this.
A previous review of this matter concluded that the safety benefits of mandating helmets would be likely to be outweighed by the fact that it would put some people off cycling, thereby reducing the wider health and environmental benefits.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes in funding for (a) fifth year medical students and (b) above on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government reviews and updates the NHS Bursary rules annually and keeps the funding arrangements for all medical students under close review to ensure they meet the needs of students and the National Health Service.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will explore options to improve financial support for students from the lowest socioeconomic background so that they are able to thrive at medical school.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has reviewed the level of fees charged by property management companies on the (a) sale and (b) remortgage of a home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is unacceptable for property management companies to charge unreasonable fees before providing leaseholders with the information they need.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect leasehold homeowners, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a leasehold home is accessible at a reasonable cost.
We will be consulting on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on these measures in due course.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for ending the badger cull.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Work has begun on a comprehensive new bovine TB strategy to reduce disease rates and end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of available driving tests in Cheshire East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
Cheshire East is served by a cluster of test centres including, Macclesfield, Buxton, Newcastle Cobridge and Crewe. DVSA also has a remote site at Northwich, which is resourced with driving examiners (DE) from Chester.
From recent recruitment campaigns, for the Macclesfield and Buxton cluster of test centres, two potential DEs are undertaking training with a further two awaiting confirmation of availability for a training course.
For the Crewe and Cobridge cluster of test centres, two potential DEs are ready to start training, with one starting on 14 July. DVSA has also made offers to two more potential DEs who will start their training at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential role of (a) railways and (b) rail freight in supporting the forthcoming industrial strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that the supply chain is crucial for the day-to-day running, maintenance, and development of the railway.
Under the strategic leadership of Great British Railways, there will be more coordination between track and train, a centralised point of contact and more certainty for rail suppliers, but equally the Government requires a resilient and productive rail supply chain that invests in skills, technology, and innovation to reduce costs and increase competitiveness.
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper, Invest 2035, identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors will benefit from wider policy reform, including rail, through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the children of parents who have relocated to the UK are able to obtain funding to enrol at UK universities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Generally, to be eligible for student support a student must be ordinarily resident in England and have ‘settled’ status or a recognised connection with the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course. They must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for the three years prior to that date.
It is important that the limited public funds available for student support are targeted on those categories of persons with a lawful and substantial residential connection to the UK and who are likely to remain indefinitely.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of electrifying rail routes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government expects electrification to play an important role to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target and, as such, we will continue to invest in electrification projects which will deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Electrification can also have wider benefits for the railway including increased reliability, cheaper operating costs and quicker journeys compared to diesel vehicles. Our strategy will be to focus on being more efficient with where we deliver electrification by leveraging the recent progress in battery technology. This will help to reduce the amount of electrification infrastructure that needs to be delivered to achieve our Net Zero target.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether foreign nationals on UK work visas will (a) be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years and (b) have (i) provisions and (ii) routes for fast-tracking permanent residency for skilled workers in key sectors; and whether undertaking postgraduate studies alongside employment will impact eligibility for settlement.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.