Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the standard of fire safety in schools.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department's fire safety guidance is set out in Building Bulletin 100, which is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.
All new school buildings must comply with building regulations and be signed off by a registered building inspector. Where automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are considered necessary to protect pupils and staff, they must be installed.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing local Healthwatch organisations on the transparency of patient feedback in the Grantham and Bourne constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 8490 on 23 June 2026.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the role of independence in the work of local Healthwatch organisations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers provided by Baroness Chapman to Questions HL16168 (on 27 April), HL199 (on 2nd June) and HL621 (on 17 June).
The Government is aware of the incident in question. The Egyptian Government has stated a firm commitment to protect the rights of Coptic Christians and their freedom of worship, and protections for freedom of religion are mandated in the Egyptian constitution. The UK champions freedom of religion or belief for all and regularly discusses human rights concerns with the Government of Egypt and international counterparts, and will continue to do so, where appropriate. His Majesty's Ambassador to Cairo also frequently engages with faith leaders in Egypt.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing Healthwatch Lincolnshire on care.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 18620 on 23 July 2026.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the higher tax multiplier for business rates paid by properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more on bonded warehouses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The higher multiplier targets those businesses occupying the highest-value properties. That is why the Government has set the threshold at which the higher multiplier is applied to properties with RVs above £500,000, in order to sustainably fund a lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with RVs below £500,000, which make up the backbone of England's high streets.
As the business rates burden falls more heavily on property-intensive sectors, the Government wants to ensure that the business rates burden is permanently rebalanced, and that high street businesses are supported.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the recent increase in employer National Insurance contributions on bonded warehouses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the rise in employer National Insurance Contributions on bonded warehouses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what impact assessment her Department has carried out in relation to the standard of fire safety in schools following the publication of ‘Technical requirements for the design and construction of school and college buildings and outdoor environments’, dated January 2026, and associated change in requirement to follow BB 100 (2007 version).
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department's fire safety guidance is set out in Building Bulletin 100, which is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.
All new school buildings must comply with building regulations and be signed off by a registered building inspector. Where automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are considered necessary to protect pupils and staff, they must be installed.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of BB 100 (2007 version) with regards to fire safety in schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department's fire safety guidance is set out in Building Bulletin 100, which is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.
All new school buildings must comply with building regulations and be signed off by a registered building inspector. Where automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are considered necessary to protect pupils and staff, they must be installed.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of sprinkler systems with regards to fire safety in schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department's fire safety guidance is set out in Building Bulletin 100, which is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.
All new school buildings must comply with building regulations and be signed off by a registered building inspector. Where automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are considered necessary to protect pupils and staff, they must be installed.