Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK airports provide autism-friendly (a) facilities and (b) support; and whether she plans to introduce national standards for accessibility provision for neurodiverse passengers.

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

Aviation must be accessible to all. To support this, the Department for Transport established the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, which published 19 recommendations on 16 July to improve aviation accessibility.

Two of these focus on non-visible impairments, including neurodivergence. One calls for pan-impairment requirements in airport accessibility reviews to ensure facilities, services, and support meet the needs of all passengers. The other recommends awareness campaigns to build confidence among passengers with non-visible impairments and improve understanding among staff and the public.

The Group will now support the sector in championing and implementing these recommendations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of legal powers held by councils to tackle pavement-parked cars.

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

The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to introduce free bus travel for people under the age of 22; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transport costs on young people’s access to education, training, and employment.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government knows how important affordable and reliable bus services are in enabling people to get to education, work and access vital services. On 1 January, we introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London to help passengers continue to access cheaper bus services and better opportunities. At the Spending Review we announced the cap would be extended until March 2027.

At present, the majority of bus services operate on a commercial basis by private operators, and any decisions regarding the level at which fares are set outside the scope of the £3 bus fare cap are commercial decisions for operators. Bus operators can choose to offer discounted fares for young people, and in the year ending March 2025, youth discounts were offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London.

As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 25/26 and make fares more affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been allocated £20.8 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for young people.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered introducing legislation to adopt a composite no gain, no loss framework to align the tax treatment of crypto-asset lending and staking with traditional financial instruments; and what progress HMRC has made on its consultation on the taxation of decentralised finance transactions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has engaged in detail with industry on the tax treatment for the lending and staking of cryptoassets, following the previous consultation on this issue. The government will be responding to the industry in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the revised Carbon Budget Delivery Plan on the international commitment to cut carbon emissions by over two-thirds by 2030.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We are delivering an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our international commitments on a pathway to net zero.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a national chemicals regulator.

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

The Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency between them regulate the UK’s chemicals regimes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bring forward proposals to strengthen the Hunting Act 2004 by (a) removing exemptions, (b) introducing custodial sentences for illegal hunting and (c) banning trail hunting.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to enacting a ban on trail hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and a consultation seeking views on how to deliver a full ban will be held early next year.

The nature of trail hunting makes it very difficult to do safely. The use of large packs of hounds reduces the control huntsmen have, putting wild mammals, household pets and even members of the public at risk.

Trail hunting also provides a convenient cover for those seeking to participate in illegal hunting activities by obscuring their intention and enabling the inevitable chasing of animals to be labelled as ‘accidental’. This is why we want an effective, enforceable ban that truly protects our wildlife, countryside, and rural communities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to bring forward a public consultation on (a) banning the use of cages and (b) close confinement systems for farmed animals; and if she will make it her policy to phase out those practices.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, PQ UIN 47556.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Belém Action Mechanism.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We are committed to working with all Parties to secure outcomes across the COP30 negotiations, including on just transitions, which are a critical opportunity to ensure that workers and communities benefit from the economic transition to net zero. Ahead of COP30 we are considering a range of proposals, including those related to just transitions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of allowing the practice of carrying chickens by their legs.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 resolved a discrepancy by bringing the legislation in-line with long-standing statutory guidance. The regulations reinforce the guidance that one-leg catching is unacceptable, by specifically prohibiting one-leg catching, and allow for two-leg catching of laying hens, meat chickens, and turkeys weighing 5kg or less. This does not lower animal welfare standards in practice as the GB poultry industries catch chickens by the legs and not upright by the body.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all bereaved parents who need specialist psychological support following (a) pregnancy and (b) baby loss can access it (i) at any time and (ii) free of charge through the NHS.

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

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support, free of charge through the National Health Service.

Following the loss of a baby, all parents should receive timely, equitable, and culturally competent care. To support this, NHS England has provided funding to all integrated care boards to establish seven-day-a-week bereavement services across maternity settings in England, so that support is always available when families need it most. Currently, 38 out of 42 integrated care boards offer a seven day a week bereavement service, with coverage in 115 out of 120 trusts.

Every trust in England has signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss. NHS England is working closely with Sands to agree what steps are necessary to support faster and more consistent implementation of the pathway so that all parents, no matter where they are, receive the support they need at such a difficult time.

As of July 2025, maternal mental health services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss. More mothers than ever before, including those sadly affected by the loss of their baby or child, were able to access maternal mental health services or specialist community perinatal mental health services in the year to April 2025.

Fathers and partners can receive evidence-based assessments and support through specialist perinatal mental health services, and some NHS trusts also work with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health. Where mothers and partners may have a need for mental health support, but it is not a moderate or severe mental health condition, it is important they can be signposted to other forms of support through their general practitioner and NHS Talking Therapies.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to (a) divest public funds from fossil fuels and (b) support community-owned renewable energy initiatives.

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

As part of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, we are delivering the largest public investment in clean energy and nature recovery in UK history which will cut bills, provide energy security, create jobs, and boost growth. At COP29, The UK joined the Coalition on Phasing out Fossil Fuel Incentives, including Subsidies which further demonstrates our continued engagement on inefficient fossil fuel subsidy reform. At the same time, we are ensuring the North Sea transition sets a global benchmark for a just and prosperous energy future.

Since its establishment, Great British Energy has invested over £280 million into local and community energy with the UK government.

Great British Energy announced that £5 million will be allocated to the Great British Energy Community Fund in 2025/26, a grant funding scheme to support community energy groups to generate their own clean power projects.

On 21 May, we published a working paper on community benefits and shared ownership of low carbon energy infrastructure. The working paper sought evidence on current shared ownership practices in the UK and whether introducing a legal requirement to offer shared ownership using powers in Section 38 Part 6 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 is appropriate. We are currently reviewing responses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England will include (a) targets to improve the early diagnosis of (i) myeloma and (ii) other blood cancers, and steps to (b) reduce the number of GP visits prior to diagnosis and (c) the proportion of patients diagnosed via emergency departments.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.

To tackle the late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.  The Plan will be published in early 2026.

Two-child limit

Cumulative disruption proposals and the right to protest

East Leeds History and Archaeology Society

Freezing of Local Housing Allowance

Kashmir Black Day and self-determination

Tower Hamlets counter-demonstration on 25 October 2025