Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that new towns adopt approaches that incorporate (a) high-quality and (b) environmentally resilient green places.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been clear that the next generation of new towns must be well-connected, well-designed, sustainable, and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities, and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.
On 28 September 2025, the government published the independent New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response to that report. Both can be found on gov.uk here. Chapter 3 of the Taskforce’s final report sets out placemaking principles. The government initial response welcomed the Taskforce’s emphasis on ensuring new towns are designed in line with a placemaking approach which should form the building blocks of any new towns, ensuring that they are places where people are proud to live and work.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to ensure that (a) high-quality (i) landscape design and (ii) green infrastructure proposed in planning applications are protected during construction and (b) long-term funding models for (A) management and (B) maintenance are provided through the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework emphasises the importance of a network of high-quality open spaces for the health and wellbeing of communities and the environment.
The National Design Guide, which supports the Framework, makes clear that well-designed places consider management and maintenance regimes from the early stages of the design process and document them in a management plan.
A Local Planning Authority (LPA) can attach conditions to the grant of planning permission. These could be used to secure the implementation and protection of landscape design and green infrastructure within a development.
LPAs can also use planning obligations to restrict or prescribe the use of land, require specific activities to be carried out in relation to a development, and require payment to a local authority. Planning obligations could include requiring a developer to make payments towards the management and maintenance of green infrastructure.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Universal Credit savings threshold for disabled claimants who are permanently unable to work and need to pay for (a) mobility equipment, (b) vehicle repairs, (c) respite care and (d) other disability-related costs; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (A) introducing exemptions to and (B) increasing the Universal Credit savings threshold for disabled people who are unable to work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. PIP is non-contributory, and non-means-tested. Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences.
The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, and help with travel costs to appointments. It can also act as a passport to additional support such as premiums and additional amounts paid within certain benefits, Carer’s Allowance for an informal carer or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefit has been consistently uprated in line with inflation since it was introduced and was last increased by 1.7% from 7 April 2025.
The current system allows people to continue to receive benefit even though they may have an amount of capital from £6,000 by gradually reducing the level of their entitlement. The capital limit above which Universal Credit entitlement ends is above £16,000.
Whilst we keep all policies under review there are no current plans to change the capital limits for disabled customers.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people who are (a) unable to work and (b) on Universal Credit awaiting a Work Capability Assessment are not left in financial hardship for extended periods due to the time taken (i) by her Department to undertake that Assessment and (ii) to access additional support elements.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People on low, or no income or earnings who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do, can claim UC. They must provide medical evidence to support their claim - most commonly a Statement of Fitness for Work, usually referred to as a fit note. Claimants whose health condition or disability continues for four weeks or more are referred for a work capability assessment (WCA).
Universal Credit awards include a standard allowance, which is the core component of any award and is paid according to age and household unit. The purpose of the standard allowance is to provide towards basic living costs. Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, children, disability, and childcare costs.
Demand for initial WCA assessments has risen so we continue to prioritise initial claims. This enables us to ensure that claimants receive the right level of benefit, and we establish capability for work at the outset of a claim.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the current eligibility criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for Regular Officers who were (a) discharged before 29 July 2014 and (b) served the same qualifying period as those who have received the medal under the revised rules; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending those criteria to ensure that all veteran officers are given equal recognition for their service, in the context of the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has the utmost admiration and appreciation for the loyal service of all our Armed Forces Veterans, however, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no current plan to recommend that the eligibility criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal are amended to include Regular Officers who served in the Armed Forces before 29 July 2014. In any case, the MOD cannot unilaterally amend the eligibility criteria for the medal, and any recommendation in this respect would be subject to endorsement by the Committee on the Grant of Decorations, Honours and Medals, and approval by His Majesty The King.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the completion of the review of medical entry standards; and what interim (a) guidance and (b) appeal mechanisms are available to applicants to the armed forces with well-managed asthma.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence is committed to a diverse workforce, seeking to ‘select in’ rather than ‘select out’ and is focused on work to review the current policies for Armed Forces recruiting.
An update to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 950 Leaflet 6-7-7, which sets out the medical entry standards for the Armed Forces, was published in August 2024 following an intensive period of review undertaken by clinical experts, Defence personnel staff, and the recruiting agencies.
The updated JSP 950 Leaflet 6-7-7 is now in use and in the case of asthma confirms candidates may now be able to join the Armed Forces providing they meet certain criteria. Defence Medical Services continue to monitor and consider all emerging medical evidence to inform medical entry standards.
There is an executive waiver process where the employing Service may, exceptionally, recruit someone who is below the normal medical entry standards. This may include individuals with unique specialist skills that outweigh any functional limitations they might have.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to prohibit new onshore fossil fuel extraction.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed to not issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields while managing existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.
On 1 October, the Secretary of State announced legislation to end new onshore oil and gas licensing in England.
The Government’s consultation which closed earlier this year, sought views on how it should implement these commitments. It will respond in due course.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that all premises previously covered by the cancelled Airband Community Internet Ltd contract, are included in an extended Openreach contract under Project Gigabit; and whether Building Digital UK will publish a connection schedule for those premises before the end of 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Last year, Airband took the decision to descope approximately 28,000 premises from its Superfast contracts with Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS), some of which are now expected to be connected via the commercial markets.
The remaining descoped premises were made available for other suppliers to submit voucher project proposals under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. A number of projects have been approved and are already in build, with more projects currently under review.
The remaining premises are being considered for inclusion in the Project Gigabit contract with Openreach. We currently expect to finalise the amended scope of the Openreach contract in early 2026. Building Digital UK (BDUK) will continue to publish data highlighting premises included in its plans and will work closely with the supplier to ensure updates are shared with local communities as the Project Gigabit contract progresses.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to review the technical definition of hydraulic fracturing in respect of (a) volume thresholds and (b) geological conditions to prevent onshore oil and gas extraction operations from circumventing the current moratorium on fracking.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Proppant squeezes are not currently defined in legislation as high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction. We are committed to banning fracking for good and any future decision on national planning policy for fracking will take into account all volumes of hydraulic fracturing.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of mandatory digital filing requirements on Community Interest Companies (CICs); and what steps he is taking to support CICs to (a) file annual accounts in iXBRL format using compliant software and (b) comply with director identity verification.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
CICs file accounts to Companies House in the same way as other companies. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Impact Assessment assesses impacts of removing paper accounts filing. We are reviewing our proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business.
Identity verification is designed to be straightforward. Individuals can verify digitally through One Login, via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, or in-person at the Post Office. Companies House contact centre is available for users requiring assistance.