Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will discuss access to finance for businesses based in areas of deprivation with the Chair of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMT has engaged the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods and the Department continues to work with the Commission, including engaging with their recent report. I would welcome a discussion with the Chair on access to finance, should she think it helpful.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to ODA on access to prevention tools such as long-acting PrEP; and what steps she is taking to (a) ensure equitable global access to those tools and (b) end AIDS.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains firmly committed to ending AIDS. We continue to support the organisations at forefront of the global response to HIV, including UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and our investments to Unitaid, CHAI and MedAccess have helped shape the market for new HIV innovations, including Lenacapavir. A formal Equality impact assessment of Official Development Assistance programme allocations for 2025 to 2026 was published on 2 September 2025, and is available on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-official-development-assistance-programme-allocations-2025-to-2026-equality-impact-assessment/equality-impact-assessment-of-official-development-assistance-oda-programme-allocations-for-2025-to-2026). Assessments of the impact of future funding allocations will be made in due course once those allocations are set.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will convene a meeting of ministers from relevant Departments to discuss the final report of the Independent Commission for neighbourhoods.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We continue to closely follow the work of the Commission which continues to make a strong case for investment in our most deprived neighbourhoods.

The Pride in Place Programme, announced in September, demonstrates this Government’s firm commitment to backing neighbourhoods that have for too long been left behind and overlooked. This flagship programme will deliver up to £5bn funding and support to 244 of the most deprived places across Britain over the next decade, and our accompanying Pride in Place Strategy set out a broader plan for giving communities across the country the tools and powers they need to drive change in their neighbourhood.

We will carefully consider the Commission’s findings once the final report is published which will inform our response on how we can build on this agenda to support the most in need neighbourhoods.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a third runway on communities close to Heathrow.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) sets out the mitigations a promoter must provide to minimise the impact of the project on the environment and affected communities. The review of the ANPS will consider if any changes are required to the existing mitigations. We will consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS in summer 2026, and communities will have the chance to express their views.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage the take-up of sport by people aged over 70.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including older people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities to stay fit and healthy.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through DCMS’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Their ten-year Uniting the Movement strategy reinforces their commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including older people. Sport England has also ensured that each of its programmes impact directly on those with long-term health conditions, including older people, with initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ask the Financial Conduct Authority to assess whether the mission critical neighbourhoods, as identified by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, have an effective credit union or a community development finance institution providing access to affordable credit for local residents and businesses.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that credit, when provided responsibly, can be crucial for people facing unexpected expenses or managing their cash flow.

The UK has a diverse landscape for credit provision to individuals and businesses, comprising traditional banks, challenger and specialist banks, and non-bank finance providers such as Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs).

In November, I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes a focus on how to improve access to affordable credit.

The Strategy includes a pilot scheme for small sum lending and measures to strengthen the community finance sector, including encouraging partnerships with mainstream financial firms. The Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders to deliver on the interventions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to stop goods produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 in response to Question 77510.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will hold discussions with her Israeli counterpart on allowing (a) Medicines Sans Frontiers and (b) UNWRA to continue to provide aid in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many non-military flights landed at (a) Heathrow (b) RAF Northolt in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Data on aircraft movements at UK airports is collected and published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). CAA aircraft movement data includes a ‘military’ category, but a split between arriving and departing flights is not provided.

Although Royal Air Force (RAF) Northolt does handle some civil flight movements, this is an RAF establishment, and data on aircraft movements at RAF Northolt is not collected by the CAA.

Data on the total number of aircraft movements at Heathrow, split by military and non-military, is provided in Table 03_1 of the annual CAA airport data publication and reproduced as Table 1 below. The last three complete years for which figures are available are 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Table 1: Aircraft movements at Heathrow Airport split by military and non-military

Note: Non-military category includes commercial, test and training, private, official and business aviation movements.

Source: https://www.caa.co.uk/data-and-analysis/uk-aviation-market/airports/uk-airport-data/

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will visit a community development finance institution within the next six months.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) play an important role in supporting access to credit. My predecessor was pleased to chair a roundtable in July 2025 attended by banks and CDFIs, to discuss the barriers to achieving greater growth for CDFIs providing personal lending products. I am looking forward to a similarly productive discussion when I meet the Chief Executive of Responsible Finance later this Spring.

Found: would like to move to is the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Minister's report from Gareth Thomas