Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to mandate the use of AI labelling tools to differentiate between real and synthetic content.

Answered by Feryal Clark

The Government recognises that solutions to enable users and institutions to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated can help in tackling a range of AI risks, and are examining the robustness of a range of such solutions in this space.

The Government is also making sure our statute book is ready for the age of AI and its huge opportunities. The Government will update Parliament in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of using Body Mass Index as a way of measuring childhood obesity through the National Child Measurement Programme.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reviewed evidence and assessed the most accurate methods for identifying childhood obesity and thresholds for predicting the risk associated with overweight and obesity. They recommend that Body Mass Index (BMI) centile (BMI adjusted for age and sex) is a useful practical measure for estimating and defining overweight and obesity in children and young people.

The Government accepts NICE’s evidence review, assessment and recommendations as national guidance for measuring childhood obesity through the National Child Measurement Programme, including that:

• BMI centile needs to be interpreted with caution because it is not a direct measure of central adiposity (the accumulation of excess fat in the abdominal area, which directly relates to health risks such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease).
• Waist circumference and a waist to height ratio measurement is considered alongside a child’s BMI centile in individual clinical assessments to predict health risks associated with central adiposity. Based on this recommendation, additional information about measuring a child’s waist to height ratio using the NHS waist to height calculator has been included on NHS.UK to support parents in understanding their child’s long-term health risks.
• A child’s BMI centile should always be plotted on the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health UK-World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts and BMI charts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to remove the requirement to reapply for a Blue Badge for people over the age of 80.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Blue Badge holders generally must reapply for a Blue Badge every three years; this gives local authorities the opportunity to ensure that they continue to meet the criteria which make them eligible for a badge. It also helps ensure that the details local authorities hold about the badge holder remain correct and that the details displayed on the badge itself remain legible. Depending on the circumstances an authority may choose not to reassess.

In cases where a person's disability or condition is unlikely to change, local authorities will generally process applications as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once a person’s data is captured on the system it should become easier and less time-consuming for them to reapply for a new badge ahead of their current one expiring.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has considered making a carers allowance supplement payment available to carers in England.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Scottish Government uses its powers under devolution to pay some unpaid carers who live in Scotland, regardless of their means, an extra amount through the twice-yearly payments of a Carer’s Allowance Supplement.

This Government is continuing with a different approach which focuses on extra support given to carers on the lowest incomes. Carers across the UK who are on Universal Credit can therefore receive around an additional £2,400 a year through the Carer Element compared to those without caring responsibilities.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the safety risks of in-car devices that can distract drivers.

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

All vehicles used on the road in Great Britain are subject to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended (C&U). Regulation 109 of C&U only permits drivers to view information related to the state of the vehicle or its equipment, navigation information, or information that assists in viewing the road around the vehicle when driving.

The Department is also participating in drafting an international regulation onDriver Drowsiness and Distraction Warning Systems (DDADWS) at the UN

Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). This regulation will set the technical requirements for how these systems detect when the driver is distracted and will warn them to focus their attention back to the driving task.

Sustainable Plastics APPG
Wednesday 27th August 2025

Found: Jess Asato MP James Asser MP Tracy Gilbert MP Polly Billington MP Julia Buckley MP Dan Aldridge