Henry Tufnell

Energy efficiency measures installed in households under current Government schemes must be done in accordance with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.

Installers under Government schemes must also be TrustMark registered. As the only Government endorsed quality scheme, TrustMark ensures compliance with the overarching PAS 2035 process and setting clear requirements to protect consumers across the multiple sectors operating in the energy efficiency market.

All installations under Government energy efficiency schemes, including the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, must be carried out by a TrustMark registered business. Installations of low carbon measures must be carried out in accordance with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) requirements.

TrustMark has set out a route to redress for any issues arising from measures installed under the scheme, which can be found at: www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/support/complaints-process

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on Tuesday 12^th October, to Question 901221. On 4th October, the government announced up to £21.7bn of available funding over 25 years to launch the UK’s Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage industry. We will provide further details on the next steps on CCUS, including Track-2 projects, following Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity, including in rural areas. The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure, through the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework.

Ofcom governs the PIA framework, with powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA fee pricing structure.

The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity, including in rural areas. The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure, through the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework.

Ofcom governs the PIA framework, with powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA fee pricing structure.

Our mission-led Government puts children and young people at the heart of our priorities. This includes breaking down barriers to opportunity for young people to access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active.

Sport and physical activity plays a vital role in driving positive public health outcomes. There is also a well-evidenced positive relationship between physical activity, employment and earnings, with being physically active increasing a person’s likelihood of being employed.

In the Autumn Budget, the Government committed to support grassroots sport by investing £123 million into the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25, which will support more people to get active wherever they live.

Additionally, the Government's plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce driving test waiting times across the country.

Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.

For driving test centres (DTCs) that serve Pembrokeshire, DVSA have three potential new driving examiners due to start training later this year.

We are committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty which is why we have set up a Ministerial Taskforce that is urgently working to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025.

Our publication on 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ sets out how we will develop the Strategy, harnessing all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this Parliament.

The Strategy will look at policies across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The Taskforce will hear directly from experts across the UK on each of the Strategy’s themes including children and families living in poverty and work with leading organisations, charities, and campaigners.

Alongside the work of the Taskforce, we are continuing to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales. This enables Local Authorities to provide discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water.

The government knows how important bus services are to local communities and knows that buses can be a lifeline in particular for those in rural areas. We have set out a plan to deliver better buses throughout England by giving local leaders the tools they need and empowering them to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities they serve, including through the introduction of the Buses Bill later in this parliamentary session. The government also recognises the importance of providing funding to support and drive improvements to bus services over the longer-term. In the Budget we confirmed over £1 billion of funding to support and improve bus services, and keep fares affordable in England outside London.

The Department has no plans to make such an assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has an established prioritisation process overseen by a prioritisation board, for the identification of priorities for guidance development. Anyone is able to suggest a topic through the NICE website, at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestion

The licensed dopamine agonist medicines that are indicated for the treatment of restless leg syndrome are ropinirole, pramipexole, and rotigotine. Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by healthcare professionals and National Health Service commissioners, based on an assessment of the available evidence, taking into account national guidance and advice, such as Clinical Knowledge Summaries.

Involving the relevant patient advocacy organisations, including people with lived experience of restless legs syndrome, is central to developing our policies for the National Health Service, to improve patients’ experience of services.

The consultation on our 10-Year Health Plan received over 270,000 contributions, including responses from NHS staff and patients. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.

The Department has also convened a new United Kingdom wide neuro forum, which brings together the devolved administrations, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learnings across the UK, and will discuss important neurology service transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has not developed any guidelines on the diagnosis and/or management of restless legs syndrome, but has commissioned a Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and clinical management of restless legs syndrome, updated in February 2025, which can be used as a source of information for healthcare professionals, and which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/restless-legs-syndrome/

CKS topics are written by an expert multidisciplinary team with experience of primary care, supported by a network of specialist external reviewers.

No assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has not developed any guidelines on the diagnosis and/or management of restless leg syndrome (RLS) but has commissioned a Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and clinical management of RLS, which was updated in February 2025, and which can be used as a source of information for healthcare professionals. This CKS is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/restless-legs-syndrome/

Licensed dopamine agonist medicines that are indicated for the treatment of RLS are ropinirole, pramipexole, and rotigotine. Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by healthcare professionals and National Health Service commissioners, based on an assessment of the available evidence, taking into account national guidance and advice, such as CKS’.

We are aware of the interception of the Madleen and the arrest of its passengers by Israeli Naval Forces on 09 June. We note that this happened without serious incident or injury to any passenger.

Over the weekend and last week, we pressed the Israeli authorities in advance of the ship's arrival to ensure that any action they took would resolve the situation safely, with restraint, and in line with International Law.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. The UK continues to demand that the Israeli government permits the full and unhindered resumption of aid into Gaza immediately. By far the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes. We reiterate that Israel must immediately allow the United Nations and other agencies to deliver lifesaving aid to those in Gaza who so desperately need it.

As I made clear to the house on 4 June, Israel's unjustified block on aid into Gaza needs to end. It is inhumane. The Foreign Secretary recently announced that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement and will be reviewing cooperation with them under the 2030 Bilateral Roadmap. On 19 May we issued a statement, with France and Canada, calling on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter. We also issued a joint donor statement with 26 other signatories calling for a full resumption of aid into Gaza and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently. The Foreign Secretary continues to make representations to Israeli counterparts stressing the importance of restoring the flow of aid into Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, alongside Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy on 8 March. However, reconstruction can only fully begin once there is a long-term ceasefire. To prepare for implementation, the UK has been working with partners to build international support for the Arab plan. In addition, we are exploring innovative finance mechanisms to scale up financing. With our Egyptian partners, we will be co-chairing the Humanitarian and Reconstruction working group at the Two State Solution conference in New York from 17-19 June. We will use this opportunity to further mobilise international support for the plan and cohere international donor support and planning.

The Government regularly raises that a long-lasting ceasefire is the only credible pathway towards a sustainable peace, a two-state solution and the reconstruction of Gaza with counterparts in the Israeli Government. The Foreign Secretary last raised this in discussions with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 21 May as well as concern about the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. On 19 May the UK, alongside France and Canada, issued a joint statement expressing concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The statement called for the release of hostages, reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defence with an emphasis on proportionality, and voiced support for both a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

The government will introduce the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on 1 January 2027.

The UK CBAM will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas face a comparable carbon price to those produced here, making sure that UK decarbonisation efforts lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas.

The UK CBAM is designed to reduce the risk of carbon leakage. The aim of the UK CBAM is not to raise revenue. However, in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook, they forecast the UK CBAM to raise £43m in 2026-27, £184m in 2027-28, £221m in 2028-29, and £223m in 2029-30.

Guidance on letterplate specifications for developers are referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk here, providing developers with further guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning. When reviewing the Approved Documents, the Building Safety Regulator engages with the Building Advisory Committee, an independent board of industry representatives, including developers.

Guidance on letterplate specifications for developers are referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk here, providing developers with further guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning. When reviewing the Approved Documents, the Building Safety Regulator engages with the Building Advisory Committee, an independent board of industry representatives, including developers.

Guidance on letterplate specifications for developers are referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk here, providing developers with further guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning. When reviewing the Approved Documents, the Building Safety Regulator engages with the Building Advisory Committee, an independent board of industry representatives, including developers.

Guidance on letterplate specifications for developers are referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk here, providing developers with further guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning. When reviewing the Approved Documents, the Building Safety Regulator engages with the Building Advisory Committee, an independent board of industry representatives, including developers.

Guidance on letterplate specifications for developers are referenced in Approved Document Q (ADQ), but the Government has recently published a Frequently Asked Question alongside ADQ on gov.uk here, providing developers with further guidance on letterbox and letterplate positioning. When reviewing the Approved Documents, the Building Safety Regulator engages with the Building Advisory Committee, an independent board of industry representatives, including developers.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The unit cost of processing an application is not specifically tracked or recorded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), nor is the operating expenditure relating to exceptional case funding (ECF) recorded separately to general legal aid operating expenditure. Information about the operational costs of administering the legal aid scheme is set out in the LAA’s Annual Report and Accounts.

It is not possible to provide costs relating to, or to make an estimate of the costs relating to, processing an application or any part of the application process or overall operational costs associated with the ECF scheme.

Although the LAA records some information about appeal processing times, it does not distinguish between appeals submitted by clients with legal representatives and those without. Information relating to civil legal aid processing times can be found here and criminal legal aid processing times can be found here.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The unit cost of processing an application is not specifically tracked or recorded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), nor is the operating expenditure relating to exceptional case funding (ECF) recorded separately to general legal aid operating expenditure. Information about the operational costs of administering the legal aid scheme is set out in the LAA’s Annual Report and Accounts.

It is not possible to provide costs relating to, or to make an estimate of the costs relating to, processing an application or any part of the application process or overall operational costs associated with the ECF scheme.

Although the LAA records some information about appeal processing times, it does not distinguish between appeals submitted by clients with legal representatives and those without. Information relating to civil legal aid processing times can be found here and criminal legal aid processing times can be found here.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The unit cost of processing an application is not specifically tracked or recorded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), nor is the operating expenditure relating to exceptional case funding (ECF) recorded separately to general legal aid operating expenditure. Information about the operational costs of administering the legal aid scheme is set out in the LAA’s Annual Report and Accounts.

It is not possible to provide costs relating to, or to make an estimate of the costs relating to, processing an application or any part of the application process or overall operational costs associated with the ECF scheme.

Although the LAA records some information about appeal processing times, it does not distinguish between appeals submitted by clients with legal representatives and those without. Information relating to civil legal aid processing times can be found here and criminal legal aid processing times can be found here.

The requested information can be found in the attached table.

Data for 2024-2025 is a year-to-date figure reflective of the work reported between 1 April 2024 to 31 January, inclusive. As such it is not directly comparable with 2022-23 and 2023-24. Please note that the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) commissions and monitors the provision of legal aid services by ‘Procurement Area’ rather than by local authority. Procurement areas differ for different categories of law.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes information about the number of providers and offices which hold a legal aid contract and number of legal aid offices completing work in each period as part of its official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].

The requested information can be found in the attached table.

Data for 2024-2025 is a year-to-date figure reflective of the work reported between 1 April 2024 to 31 January, inclusive. As such it is not directly comparable with 2022-23 and 2023-24. Please note that the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) commissions and monitors the provision of legal aid services by ‘Procurement Area’ rather than by local authority. Procurement areas differ for different categories of law.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes information about the number of providers and offices which hold a legal aid contract and number of legal aid offices completing work in each period as part of its official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].