Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle cold calls; and whether he plans to introduce financial penalties on people conducting cold calls.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), which are enforced by the Information Commissioner. The Commissioner has a range of investigatory and enforcement powers, including the ability to issue financial penalties. Details of enforcement actions are published at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/

Reforms introduced through the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 will give the Commissioner new powers, including the ability to impose higher maximum fines for infringements. The Commissioner will also be able to take enforcement action based on the volume of unsolicited direct marketing calls made—regardless of whether those calls are answered by the intended recipient —reflecting the potential risk of harm to consumers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to update regulations on the (a) composition, (b) marketing and (c) labelling of commercial (i) infant and (ii) toddler foods.

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

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of wellbeing in later life.

It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional, compositional, and labelling standards for commercial baby food. These ensure that the ingredients used in commercial baby food are suitable for the nutritional needs of infants and require businesses to ensure labelling in clear and not misleading. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy.

We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to (a) reduce pavement parking and (b) encourage the removal of obstacles for pedestrians with visual impairments.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement, and other obstacles on the pavement, can cause for pedestrians, especially people with mobility or sight impairments and those with prams or pushchairs. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to its pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.  In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking and deal with other obstacles on the pavement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to support the development of padel courts in Eastleigh constituency.

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

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of military promotion processes.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

As recommended by the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), we are working towards supporting a ‘One Defence’ mindset through career management structures that reward behaviour and action accordingly. Unified Career Management (UCM) is currently in place within specialised cohorts which provides a joint approach to career management and promotion boards. Lessons learnt from UCM will provide an opportunity to refine the roll out to additional cohorts.

We will also consider the more radical options recommended by the SDR to break down single Service siloes, such as joint promotion boards and central career management.

Defence is taking seriously the SDR's call to invest in foundational leadership, financial, commercial, and technology skills across the civilian and military workforce, including the flexibility to reward the development of expertise in specialist areas, including through pay and promotion freedoms; and developing a two-way secondment programme with a focus on short-term, informal schemes that are effective and can be delivered quickly. We are working at pace on a plan for delivery.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to local authorities to (a) build and (b) maintain sports facilities.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

DCMS and its ALB provide direct funding to sports facilities. The government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Additional funding for grassroots sport facilities is also delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is providing £98 million across the UK in 2025/26 to support new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities.

In June the Culture Secretary announced another £400 million to transform community sport facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

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 adequacy of mental health support services for bereaved parents following baby loss.

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

The Government recognises that experiencing a baby loss can be an extremely difficult time and we are determined to make sure all women, babies, and their families receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, particularly when things go wrong.

As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are available in all 42 integrated care system areas of England.  These services provide care for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.

A record 63,858 women accessed a specialist community perinatal mental health service or maternal mental health services in the 12 months to February 2025. This is a 109% increase from March 2020.

We have developed the National Bereavement Care Pathway in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s leading pregnancy and baby loss charity, to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. The pathway covers a range of baby loss circumstances, including miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, neonatal death, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

While the Government has not carried out a formal assessment of mental health support services for bereaved parents following baby loss, we are committed to transforming and improving mental health care, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England.

Jibraan Chaudhary Sepsis Research Foundation and chemotherapy-associated sepsis

Access to care and support for people living with arthritis

Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities system

Mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting and action plans

UK-based medical charities in Palestine

Protections for the welfare of wild animals in tourism

Import of goods from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Government policy on the Hillsborough Law

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Found: Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Mr James Frith; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Natasha Irons; Liz Jarvis

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Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: REPORT STAGE Friday 18 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 16 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: REPORT STAGE Tuesday 15 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen

Found: REPORT STAGE Friday 11 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: Negatived on division_12 Steve Darling Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Tom Morrison Liz Jarvis John

Found: Negatived on division_NC1 Mr Louie French Liz Jarvis Mr Peter Bedford Stuart Andrew Saqib Bhatti

Submit Evidence (by 4 Sep 2025)

Organisers and facilitators of major sporting and cultural events are invited to give evidence to a new inquiry from MPs examining the challenges faced by the industry and how the sector can tap into new opportunities for growth and collaboration.