Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023, when he plans to launch the consultation on technical issues for the proposed renewable liquid heating fuel obligation.

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

The government has published a consultation on alternative heating solutions which seeks to gather evidence on the role that these technologies could play in ensuring that every household has a low-carbon option that is right for them. The consultation will run until 10 February and can be found here: Exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions - GOV.UK.

The government will consider the evidence from this consultation before making any decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating, including through an obligation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Landfill Tax on the competitiveness and viability of the UK foundry sector; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that any changes do not disproportionately affect small and medium-sized foundries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of businesses in the foundry sector, which employ thousands of people across the UK and support critical supply chains.

The Government has listened to concerns from businesses and announced at Budget 2025 that it will not proceed with the plan to converge towards a single rate of Landfill Tax. Instead, the Government intends to prevent the gap between the two rates from widening further over the coming years.

The Government has also decided not to remove key exemptions to Landfill Tax including the water discounting scheme and Qualifying Fines regime, and is committed to continuing to work with businesses to develop new solutions that enable them to recycle more of the waste they produce.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Charity Commission on adopting a more proportionate approach to regulatory and audit requirements for small and medium-sized charities, to help reduce administrative burdens and additional compliance costs at lower income levels.

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

DCMS is working closely with the Charity Commission to reduce administrative burdens for charities. On 31 October 2025 we published our response to the consultation on financial thresholds in charity law; setting out how we will reduce burdens for charities, while ensuring appropriate scrutiny and oversight. The changes, which should be implemented later this year, will save charities an estimated £47m per year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve coordination between NHS mental health services and criminal justice agencies.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Together with NHS England, we are committed to continuing to work in partnership to improve services to ensure that people in contact with the criminal justice system have access to timely and effective mental health care that is tailored to their needs. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in February 2023 and is supported by robust governance and regular ministerial engagement between Departments.

The National Partnership Agreement sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care that improves health outcomes for people in prison and those subject to supervision by the probation service in the community. This ensures a coordinated approach between health and justice partners to improve health outcomes for those in contact with the justice system.

To improve continuity of care and swift access to treatment on release, we have recruited over 67 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators who strengthen healthcare pathways and bolster support, including for those on Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs), by building partnerships between prison, probation and treatment providers. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with identified health needs, to engage with the right health services in the community. Services work with people up to 12 weeks before release, and 6 months post-release.

Our ongoing partnership with NHSE has achieved an increase in the number of MHTRs, with the number of people sentenced to MHTRs now more than five times higher than it was a decade ago, up from 960 in 2014 to 4,880 in 2024.

We are committed to continuing to work with our health partners to provide effective, coordinated services for those with a mental health need.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialist mental health support is available to children experiencing parental alienation.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country and deliver timely, efficient care for children and young people, including children affected by parental alienation.

As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.

We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating.

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 make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing councils to take more rapid action to shut down shops repeatedly found to be trading illegally.

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

The government is committed to taking further action against illicit activity on high streets. There has already been a significant crackdown on illegal working, raising enforcement activity to the highest levels in recorded history. The 2025 Budget provided £15 million per year for a range of additional interventions, including an uplift in funding for Trading Standards and a cross-government taskforce to better understand and disrupt criminality on our high streets.

Alongside this, our Pride in Place Programme will give local communities greater control to influence the make-up of their high streets, and support communities to take ownership of shops and key assets. These measures build on existing powers to ensure that high streets remain safe, vibrant, and welcoming for consumers and legitimate businesses.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered amending the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to allow county councils to issue closure notices and apply directly for closure orders.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils to quickly close premises which are causing or likely to cause nuisance or disorder.

County councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area.

This Goverment keeps all legislative options under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are able to act swiftly where there is evidence of illegal tobacco or vaping products being sold on high streets.

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

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement and crack down on rogue retailers selling illegal tobacco and vaping products. The bill enables ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, and enables the introduction of a new registration system for tobacco, vape, and nicotine products that are sold on the United Kingdom’s market. This will help ensure products are compliant with product safety and standards requirements and enable Trading Standards to remove non-compliant products from the market quickly and efficiently.

Alongside the bill, the Government has announced £10 million of new funding in 2025/26 to Trading Standards, to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales in England, and the implementation of the measures in the bill. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting 94 new apprentices. This will provide greater workforce capacity, enabling swifter enforcement action against illicit activity.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen trading standards enforcement against rogue high street traders.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government and make enforcement decisions according to local need. The department continues to engage with Trading Standards and supports their efforts and work in tackling rogue high street traders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of underage access to vape products on young people’s health.

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

The health advice is clear, that whilst vapes can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers, children and young people should never vape.

The leading health risk to children and young people from vaping is nicotine addiction, and evidence suggests that young people may be more susceptible to the effects of nicotine. There are also potential health risks associated with the other ingredients in vapes which when overheated may produce toxic compounds. Vaping is associated with health problems such as asthma, coughing, and poor mental health, and is linked to other risky behaviours, such as drug use. Evidence on the longer-term health effects of vaping are still emerging.

To address this, the Government is progressing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament, which includes a package of measures that will protect young people from the known and emerging harms of nicotine and vaping products. To better understand the longer-term effects of vaping on young people, the Government has commissioned a significant package of research including a £62 million research project funded by UK Research and Innovation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many retailers have been prosecuted for the sale of non-compliant or illegal vaping products in each of the last five years in (a) Suffolk Coastal, (b) Suffolk and (c) East Anglia.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold information on prosecutions for the sale of illegal vaping products as the prosecuting authority for such offences is primarily local authority Trading Standards departments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the identification of mental health needs among people entering the criminal justice system.

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

We are committed to diverting offenders with mental health, substance misuse, and other vulnerabilities away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether, where appropriate.

NHS Liaison and Diversion services identify people who have mental health, learning disability, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants or offenders.

Mental health screening also takes place when someone is detained in prison, as set out in the National Health Service service specification for health care in prisons. As part of the formal prisoner induction process, all prisoners must undergo health screening that incorporates a mental health assessment. This is an essential standard under the specification.

Found: Sarah Bool; Juliet Campbell; Charlie Dewhirst; Sarah Dyke; Jayne Kirkham; Josh Newbury; Jenny Riddell- Carpenter