Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the she plans to apply the proposed salary threshold and RQF Level 6 requirements for Skilled Worker visas retrospectively to people already in the UK under existing visa conditions when they apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether she plans to implement transitional protections for families who entered the UK legally under previous rules.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of mainstream political engagement on reducing vulnerability to extremism; and if she will bring forward policy proposals to improve mainstream engagement to help prevent extremism.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Improving mainstream political engagement can have a positive impact on reducing vulnerability to extremism. It is so important that an all-party approach is taken to address the incredibly important issue of extremism. We are exploring options to improve our response to extremism.
This Government takes extremism seriously. Efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of delaying business rates revaluations for hospitality businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the Rateable Value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency, and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years.
Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026 based on values from 1 April 2024.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of exempting all small sites from biodiversity net gain on the UK's progress in meeting its legally-binding biodiversity targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) plays a vital role in protecting nature and the Government expects it to make an important contribution to meeting legally binding environmental targets. We have heard from developers, local authorities, and ecologists that BNG needs to work better for some of the smallest developments. Recently announced reforms will make the process simpler for small developers while maintaining nature recovery at scale. A full response to the BNG consultations is expected in the new year.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain on the UK's progress in meeting its legally-binding biodiversity targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) plays a vital role in protecting nature and the Government expects it to make an important contribution to meeting legally binding environmental targets. We have heard from developers, local authorities, and ecologists that BNG needs to work better for some of the smallest developments. Recently announced reforms will make the process simpler for small developers while maintaining nature recovery at scale. A full response to the BNG consultations is expected in the new year.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by the Chartered Management Institute entitled The CMI Managers Voice September 2024: Managers Voice Pulse Point Poll, published in September 2024.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has not made a specific assessment of the implications of the report for the upcoming bereavement leave entitlement.
Due to the sensitive nature of bereavement leave we are currently consulting on details of the final entitlement, engaging with key stakeholders to make sure bereavement leave is constructed with the needs of both employers and employees at the forefront.
An impact assessment of the policy has been conducted, which covers the impact on businesses and workers. This is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the feasibility test introduced under the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 on the designation of sites.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government’s reforms introduce a feasibility assessment that will consider these factors ahead of formal designation. This will focus resources on sites where water quality can feasibly be improved to ‘sufficient’ standard and allow the public to make informed decisions before using sites.
This feasibility assessment is being designed by an external research organisation in partnership with Defra and the Welsh Government. Two workshops took place in November 2025 to capture stakeholder views.
This reform will come into force on 15 May 2026, and we will update public guidance before then, ahead of future applications being submitted.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 improve energy security and ensure that households reduce energy demands.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is reducing dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets, with investment in homegrown energy. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan estimates £40 billion per year for clean energy projects, with significant upgrading of a dysfunctional grid system, ending delays by expanding the renewable auction process, and speeding up planning decisions to prioritise critical infrastructure.
To reduce energy demands the government announced an additional £1.5 billion for the Warm Homes Plan, bringing total investment to almost £15 billion. This major step forward in the government’s plans will upgrade millions of homes over this Parliament and cut bills for good.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will set and publish plans for ensuring that the most disadvantaged people can transition to clean energy with the Clean Power plan.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last December, the Government published the Clean Power 2030 Action plan. The Plan provides the foundation for the UK to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good, including those who are most disadvantaged. We are also delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through a number of targeted schemes including the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant, which support low income and fuel poor households, alongside the continuation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is providing grants to thousands of households to help upgrade their heating systems.
As more homes are made energy efficient this will reduce carbon emissions, reduce overall energy demand and reduce energy bills for consumers. We will share more details on our plans to upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country as part of our upcoming Warm Homes Plan to cut energy bills for good. At almost £15bn, the Warm Homes Plan is the single biggest public investment programme in energy efficiency in UK history. We will publish more details soon.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91728 on Broadband: Henley and Thame, what spending she plans between the end of the current contract period for South Oxfordshire delivery of Project Gigabit in 2026 and the end of the spending review period in 2030.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working with suppliers to review future Project Gigabit delivery plans across the UK including in Oxfordshire. Further Project Gigabit procurements will be undertaken to complete the remaining delivery necessary to achieve nationwide coverage by 2032. This will be taken forward using the funding that is already available through the 2025 Spending Review, and any further funding that is made available through future Spending Reviews.
At the 2025 Spending Review, £1.8 billion of funding was allocated for Project Gigabit from 2026/27 to 2029/30, enabling delivery of existing contracts, the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, and ongoing procurements with the Devolved Administrations. This is in addition to almost £1 billion of funding which will have been spent on Project Gigabit by March 2026.
Commercial delivery in a competitive market has and will remain essential to the delivery of the overall gigabit broadband ambition, as most gigabit-capable connections will be delivered commercially. DSIT will continue to work in partnership with industry as it develops its ongoing commercial delivery plans. This includes removing barriers to delivery and working with Ofcom to maintain a stable pro-competition regulatory environment to support private investment.