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 is taking to protect historic pauper burial sites from (a) private development and (b) inappropriate land use.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Burial grounds can be considered as open space, which is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as all open space of public value. There are strong safeguards set out in the NPPF to ensure the continued protection of existing open space.

The designation of land as Local Green Space also allows communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help decarbonise refrigerated transport.

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

The Department for Transport continues to work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on an Off-Road Machinery Decarbonisation Strategy, which includes transport refrigeration units (TRUs). This strategy will set out how off-road machinery can further decarbonise while maintaining competitiveness, attracting investment and supporting growth. To support this, we are reviewing the findings of a multi-year research project commissioned to ZEMO Partnership into the emissions from diesel-powered auxiliary engines, including from TRUs used on heavy goods vehicles. Alongside this, the Transport Industrial Commercial Refrigeration project, funded through the DESNZ Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, is expected to publish a roadmap that includes transport refrigeration in Spring 2026. The Department will review the roadmap and consider its implications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many operations scheduled to be carried out by independent healthcare providers were cancelled by ICBs between April 2024 and 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2025, the National Health Service and the independent sector established a partnership agreement, the first of its kind for 25 years, setting out how we will work together to reduce the elective care waiting list.

NHS England manages the Department’s relationships with the integrated care boards (ICBs) and, where appropriate, local systems on the use of independent sector capacity to support delivery of NHS care.

Commissioning decisions are for ICBs to make, who have a duty to arrange health services for the patients they are responsible for in a way which promotes the NHS Constitution.

ICBs are expected to live within their allocations while continuing to use spare independent sector capacity to meet elective targets. Independent sector providers deliver services agreed in contracts with ICBs, progressing priorities set out in planning guidance, including an improvement in elective waiting time performance.

Data on how many ICBs have had to pause NHS services or cancel operations scheduled by independent healthcare providers during 2024/25 is not held centrally by the Department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ICBs have had to pause NHS services provided by independent healthcare providers during 2024-25.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2025, the National Health Service and the independent sector established a partnership agreement, the first of its kind for 25 years, setting out how we will work together to reduce the elective care waiting list.

NHS England manages the Department’s relationships with the integrated care boards (ICBs) and, where appropriate, local systems on the use of independent sector capacity to support delivery of NHS care.

Commissioning decisions are for ICBs to make, who have a duty to arrange health services for the patients they are responsible for in a way which promotes the NHS Constitution.

ICBs are expected to live within their allocations while continuing to use spare independent sector capacity to meet elective targets. Independent sector providers deliver services agreed in contracts with ICBs, progressing priorities set out in planning guidance, including an improvement in elective waiting time performance.

Data on how many ICBs have had to pause NHS services or cancel operations scheduled by independent healthcare providers during 2024/25 is not held centrally by the Department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has with ICBs on ensuring delivery of patient care via independent healthcare providers throughout the financial year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2025, the National Health Service and the independent sector established a partnership agreement, the first of its kind for 25 years, setting out how we will work together to reduce the elective care waiting list.

NHS England manages the Department’s relationships with the integrated care boards (ICBs) and, where appropriate, local systems on the use of independent sector capacity to support delivery of NHS care.

Commissioning decisions are for ICBs to make, who have a duty to arrange health services for the patients they are responsible for in a way which promotes the NHS Constitution.

ICBs are expected to live within their allocations while continuing to use spare independent sector capacity to meet elective targets. Independent sector providers deliver services agreed in contracts with ICBs, progressing priorities set out in planning guidance, including an improvement in elective waiting time performance.

Data on how many ICBs have had to pause NHS services or cancel operations scheduled by independent healthcare providers during 2024/25 is not held centrally by the Department.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will have discussions with the horticultural sector to embed green space delivery in the Environmental Improvement Plan.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of the environmental horticulture sector in promoting people’s health and wellbeing, and its potential contribution to our environmental goals.

I have met with stakeholders including the Royal Horticultural Society and the Horticultural Trades Association, in recognition of the importance of this sector.

Officials also meet regularly with the sector, including the Environmental Horticulture Group, a coalition of industry leaders from across the sector. These discussions help inform policy development and will continue to help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive and to best support delivery of the Environmental Improvement Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure the provision of safe transport for women and girls in rural areas in Surrey.

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

The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring everyone, including women and girls, is safe on the transport network, including those in rural areas. As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour (ASB).

The Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels safe and is safe when travelling.

BTP work closely with Govia Thameslink Railway and South Western Railway to ensure a joined-up approach to safe transport for women and girls in Surrey. They work with Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to promote their discreet 61016 text service, encouraging anyone feeling unsafe or vulnerable on the rail network to contact them directly and discreetly. Every report received builds a bigger picture which informs patrols and policing presence, and every day across the network, officers are present in uniform and plain clothes, looking out for offenders and acting as a visible deterrent.

BTP also works with community organisations, private sector organisations and industry partners to raise awareness of VAWG, encourage reporting and receive feedback to improve our response.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of pharmaceutical prices on clinical outcomes.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service has a finite budget, and it is vital that it is allocated in a way that maximises benefits for all patients. The prices that companies charge for their medicines are an important consideration in determining whether they should be routinely funded by the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the NHS on whether new medicines should be routinely funded based on an assessment of their costs, including the price that the company sets, and the clinical benefits that they bring to patients. In developing its recommendations, NICE evaluates medicines against a threshold that is used in determining whether a specified product is a clinically and a cost-effective use of the health budget compared to other potential uses of that budget.

The recently announced increase to the cost-effectiveness threshold will, alongside measures announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, increase both the speed and breadth of patient access to innovative medicines and encourage growth in United Kingdom based clinical trials.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's 2023/34 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance, updated on 27 January 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure ICBs increase (a) direct access and (b) self -referral to audiology services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of our effort to shift care from hospital to home, the Government wants to support people to live independently in the community. We pledged in the 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, that through the NHS App, patients will be able to book appointments, communicate with professionals, receive advice, draft or view their care plan, and self-refer to local tests and services.

The current availability of self-referral and direct access to audiology services depends on local commissioning arrangements and service protocols, including integrated care board (ICB) commissioning. Currently, self-referral to audiology services is usually for those with age related hearing loss.

NHS England is working with ICBs to support greater standardisation of self-referral arrangements, to assess opportunities to bring more of the self-referral process into the NHS App and website in future, where appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide an update on the renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy and confirm if there will be an opportunity for organisations to contribute to the updated strategy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Publishing a renewed Women’s Health Strategy next year will ensure the momentum from our recent achievements continues and is fully aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. We will identify and remove enduring barriers to high-quality care, such as decreasing wait times for diagnosis and ensuring professionals listen to women and respond to their needs.

We are currently engaging with external partners to inform the renewal of the strategy, bringing together voices from across Government, NHS England, public health, mental health, women’s health advocacy, and employment policy alongside women with lived experience of women’s health conditions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has considered compensating victims from the taxes collected from Libya’s frozen assets.

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

In recent months, ministers have met on multiple occasions with UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorism and all victims of the Troubles, and those conversations continue to shape our approach. The responsibility for providing compensation specifically for the actions of the Qadhafi regime is the responsibility of the Libyan State. It is not therefore for the UK Government to divert UK public funds for this particular purpose.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will publish information on the taxable status of, and taxes collected from, Libya’s frozen assets.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

We do not have this specific information. The UK’s tax system is not able to target specific tax rates at specific pots of money. The UK tends to apply tax to classes of transactions, rather than assets in situ.

Under all UK sanctions regimes, including the Libya Regulations, taxes and other payments may be made under licences and exceptions from frozen funds, subject to strict conditions. However, specific licence or exception related information is not available for publication to ensure and maintain confidentiality and to comply with UK data protection law.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the well-being of prison guards witnessing hunger strikes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

By the nature of their roles, staff working in the prison system can experience challenging situations and it is essential that they are supported to carry out their important roles to support prisoners, including those who refuse food. Given these challenges, we provide extensive mental health support, including a 24-hour helpline, confidential counselling, and online wellbeing services.

We deliver Trauma Risk Management training (TRiM) - a peer-led support scheme for frontline staff who have experienced a traumatic event - in all establishments, and our TRiM practitioners and Care Teams provide further support following any incidents while on duty.

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers confidential 24/7 telephone helpline for counselling and provides a range of wellbeing and health promotion workshops. EAP also delivers reflective sessions which are a proactive mental ill health preventative intervention. The sessions focus on the impact of traumatic events at work, helping employees to develop coping strategies and preventing an adverse impact on their professional and private life.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of VAT on taxis and private hire cars in rural areas.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Private hire vehicle (PHV) services provided by VAT-registered businesses are, and always have been, subject to the standard rate of VAT (20%).

The Government’s announcement at Autumn Budget 2025 puts an end to the exploitation of a VAT administration scheme, designed for the tour operator sector, by a small number of large private hire vehicle operators seeking to pay a lower rate of VAT than others.

This won’t affect smaller operators outside London whose drivers contract directly with passengers, or black cabs, neither of which have attempted to exploit this scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to (a) publish and (b) notify the House of Commons when licences are issued for accessing frozen Libyan assets.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Specific licensing purposes are provided for under the Libya (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Where these purposes apply and where the conditions in those grounds have been met, HM Treasury may authorise activity involving frozen assets.

OFSI releases the OFSI Annual Review each year which provides information about the number of licences issued under each regime. The figures are presented only in anonymised, aggregate form and do not provide information on individual accounts, entities or licences for confidentiality purposes.

OFSI does not publish information about individual licence applications or decisions. Details are kept confidential, save where disclosure is required by law or ordered by a court. This is to ensure and maintain confidentiality and to comply with UK data protection law. It would not be appropriate to publicise information about specific licences.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that entry routes to the UK remain open for people in Hong Kong.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether mandatory settlement requirements for BN(O) visa holders will be retrospectively changed.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the English language component of the citizenship application will change to B2 for incoming BN(O) visa applicants.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether income requirements will be (a) waived and (b) adapted for BN(O) visa applicants in full-time education.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how B2 requirements will be assessed for 18-year-old BN(O) dependants.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether small modular reactors will be commercially insurable against nuclear radiation events.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, operators of nuclear licensed sites are required to have sufficient financial coverage to ensure compensation would be available in the unlikely event of a nuclear incident.

Most operators secure this coverage through nuclear insurance. These are commercial arrangements between operators and insurers. Small modular reactor operators could seek such arrangements in the same manner as other nuclear projects.

In the event that commercially available cover is unattainable, the Secretary of State can make provision for financial security under such terms it considers appropriate. This can be used to ensure there are no gaps in cover.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of safe evening transport for women in (a) rural areas and (b) Langley Vale.

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

The Department for Transport is committed to making the transport network safer for everyone, including women and girls, whenever and wherever they are travelling. As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and antisocial behaviour (ASB).

We know that women and girls are more likely than men to avoid travelling alone when it’s dark. The Department’s ‘Protected characteristics and public transport perceptions and safety’ research, published in 2023, also found that women were more concerned than men about the risk of violence regardless of the time of day. People living in rural areas were more likely to say they felt safe, albeit by a relatively small margin.

We are continuing to build our evidence base to better understand the prevalence of VAWG and ASB across the transport network so we can better target interventions. In the meantime, the Department will continue to work across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.

In relation to taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is seeking a power to set in regulations national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons at Report Stage, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords. If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep women and girls and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

Less Survivable Cancers Week

Wincanton Cares wins Connecting People Award

Octagon Memory Choir

Health and Care Worker visas

Horse and rider road safety

Empty chairs

Social media for under 16s

Chris Boulton

Linda Snelling and the Somerset Bus Partnership

Gambling harms

Ex-Howe of Fife players selected for Scotland 2026 Six Nations

Joe Preece

Halie Selassie and Bath

N-Fest

Geoffrey Hayes contribution to engineering

Edinburgh Zoo’s veterinary achievements and Poly the northern rockhopper penguin

Killing of Dipu Chandra Das

Commemorating National Care Leaver’s Month November 2025

Import of illegal meat

The Hive, Chard

Public health campaign on tackling stigma towards suicide

Dolly Parton's birthday

Peter Hill, visiting every pub in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2020

Somerset Bus Partnership and Bus Users UK Awards 2025

Iran protests

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Veterans' Orthopaedic Service

Richard Clothier MBE for services to sustainable agriculture and food production

Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater

Dexter Holton

In Memory of Gerry Keating

Earth Action North Devon

Use of UK bases by the United States and international law in relation to Greenland

175th anniversary of the founding of Surrey Police

Wimborne, Town of Culture 2026

RESP and St Andrews Aquarium nominated for award

Vera Petty

The Good Fellowship Club

Swan Theatre, Yeovil

Yeovil College's University Centre

In memory of Andrew Arbuckle MBE

Winifred Maduko Ambassador of the Year Award

Wemyss Ware wins Best Heritage Pottery Company

The Gatehouse in Oxford

ADHD services

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas

Tribute to Lance Corporal George Thomas Hooley

50th anniversary of Central Church Torquay

UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

Future of Cambridge Veterinary School