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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) local authority leaders, (b) metro-mayors and (c) the Mayor of London on the value for money of foreign visits.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities are responsible for their own financial management, and we do not monitor their day-to-day business. We expect all local authorities to take prudent decisions and ensure they manage their finances effectively, in line with “Best Value” guidance, under the Local Government Act 1999.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of mandating carbon monoxide detectors in every home with fixed combustion appliances.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to answer given to Question UIN 80767 on 20 October 2025.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They apply when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design, so that minimum standards for size, space and materials are included. The Regulations, which are supported by statutory guidance in Approved Document J, set minimum performance standards for new building work including, at Schedule 1 Part J, provisions for detection and early warning of carbon monoxide. The statutory guidance makes clear that where a new or replacement fixed gas or solid fuel burning appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, and government will protect tenants further through our review of the Decent Homes Standard and the new requirements to address health and safety hazards under Awaab’s Law.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 3 November to question 84965 on Gambling, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the statistical analysis in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' report entitled The economic and social cost of harms associated with gambling in England published on 11 January 2023; and if she will exclude it from use within her Department.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The report that the Honourable Member refers to estimates the economic and social costs of gambling-related harm and provides a useful addition to our evidence base. As we have previously set out in a number of gambling-related impact assessments, we recognise that the report has limitations relating to both data availability and methodology, which means that the cost estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true cost of harm. This is true of many reports that try to estimate the cost of harm. However, we continue to consider this report in the context of the wider evidence base, and as such have no plans to exclude it from use in the Department.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November to question 84964 on Gambling, what steps she is taking to ensure that her department uses (a) impartial, and (b) accurate data, and commissions (i) impartial, and (ii) accurate data on gambling harms.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of using impartial, accurate and up-to-date statistics on gambling behaviour and harms. We are committed to ensuring that policy decisions are guided by the best available evidence from a broad range of reliable sources.

Developing impartial and accurate evidence on gambling-related harms is a key priority for the statutory gambling levy. That is why 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, which will be used to inform policy related to tackling gambling-related harm.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 28 October to question 83435, on Gambling: Taxation, if she will set out a timeline for publishing the Terms of Reference for the Levy Board and Advisory Group.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department intends to publish the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board and the Gambling Levy Advisory Group before the end of the year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 5 November to question 85955 on Betting: Excise Duties, if she will list the stakeholders she has met since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DCMS Ministers have had regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about gambling taxation.

Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to support the Deaflympics.

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

Sport England are exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.

The Government, through the UK Sport grant, supports Olympic and Paralympic success. Beyond this the Government does not provide additional funding to performance sport, in line with our approach to a great many other areas of individual sporting performance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the value for money of funding distributed by the Arts Council England.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government ensures value for money from Arts Council England (ACE) funding by holding it accountable through performance reporting, financial controls, and grant-management standards set by DCMS. ACE also reports against key performance indicators and strategic outcomes in its annual report.

The government has also strengthened performance measurement by developing long-term impact indicators, including a participation survey, to measure the outcomes of funded arts activity. Alongside this, through the Culture Heritage Capital programme, DCMS and its arms length bodies are developing new methodology and guidance to measure the value for money of investment in culture. In December 2024 DCMS published Embedding a Culture and Heritage Capital Approach, which set out the ambitions for the programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the trends in the number of houses in multiple occupation on house prices in each local authority.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75141 on 16 September 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met the Police Federation; and when she next plans to meet the Police Federation.

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

Home Office Ministers have regular meetings as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

As part of Government transparency information about meetings is published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk

The Police Act 1996 establishes the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) as the representative body for police officers in the federated ranks in England and Wales.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to bring channels which stream online under an Ofcom licence under Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom has launched a review of broadcast regulation which will, amongst other things, consider the licensing framework and the impact of the digital environment. This is in recognition that much of our existing legislation was designed for linear television and radio consumption. The Government will engage with Ofcom as that work progresses.

Through the Media Act 2024, the Government will be designating mainstream video-on-demand (VoD) services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then draft and enforce a new VoD Standards Code, which will be similar to the Broadcasting Code, and which will set appropriate standards for content, including rules on harmful and offensive material, accuracy, fairness, and privacy.