Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of mandating silent fireworks on (a) noise reduction, (b) animal welfare and (c) public health.

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

There has been no assessment of the potential impacts of mandating silent fireworks in respect to noise reduction and the impacts on animal welfare and public health. Lower noise fireworks are commercially available to consumers to purchase if they wish to, potentially reducing distress to vulnerable groups and animals. This year's fireworks campaign also encourages the use of low noise fireworks.

To inform future decisions about the regulation of fireworks, I am engaging with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support renters with electric vehicles whose landlords refuse to install electric vehicle charging points.

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

The Government recognises the difficulties that people renting or leasing properties can sometimes face when looking to install chargepoints.

In October 2025, the Government announced that it will consult on ways to ensure more people have an ability to charge. This includes removing barriers to those in rented and leasehold properties. We continue to incentivise renters, leaseholders, and landlords to install charging infrastructure through our domestic chargepoint grants and, additionally, new build residential properties have been required to install a chargepoint since June 2022.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage landlords to install electric vehicle charging points on their properties in (a) Broxtowe constituency, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England.

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

The Government understand that renters and leaseholders sometimes have barriers to installing EV chargepoints. In October 2025, the Government announced that it will consult on ways to ensure more people have an ability to charge from home. This includes removing barriers to those in rented and leasehold properties.

There are Government grants for landlords to install EV chargepoints and supporting infrastructure. We continue to consider what policy interventions are suitable in supporting the rental sector in the transition to EVs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will expand medical exemption certificates to people with Parkinson's Disease.

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

There are no current plans to add Parkinson’s disease to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to remove the prohibition on student finance for applicants with PhDs wanting to study in Government-prioritised research fields.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Postgraduate Doctoral Loan provides up to £30,301 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025 and is intended as a contribution to the costs of PhD study.

Students who already have a doctoral degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher, are not eligible for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.

There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria of Postgraduate Doctoral Loans.