Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to ensure that food outlets must display their Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is operated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Introducing a statutory scheme in England would require primary legislation as well as the securing of a suitable legislative vehicle and parliamentary time. Ministers will consider the options in due course supported by the FSA.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Warm Homes Plan will include (a) independent inspections of retrofit work, (b) requirements for training for installers and (c) protections for residents.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations. This work looks at the entire landscape: from how installers work in people’s homes to where homeowners turn for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong. More information will be shared in the forthcoming Warm Homes Plan.
The Government is planning to consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of Pension Credit among eligible pensioners.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit taken-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends through adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press. The latest burst of the campaign began in September, and further promotional activity is planned until the end of the financial year.
We are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. In September, the Department conducted a trial in partnership with Age UK and Independent Age targeting 2,000 households in England identified using HMRC and DWP data.
We are also undertaking research specifically looking into the factors that motivate people to make a claim as well as why some older people do not claim benefits to which they could be entitled, in order to build the evidence of what works to increase take-up.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of assaults on public transport staff.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the railway in England, Scotland and Wales and they record the number of incidents of violence and abuse against rail workers. Analysis by the Department of Violence Against the Person offences shows in 2022/23 there were 5.1 violence against person offences per 1 million passenger journeys of which 1.3 were against staff, in 2024/25 this proportion of staff was 1.4.
We are committed to ensuring that public transport is safe for passengers and staff. There is no place for abuse or violence against any worker, and we are supporting industry to develop practical interventions to keep workers safe.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) homes retrofitted under the Eco4 scheme are inspected and (b) any (i) substandard and (ii) unsafe work is fully remediated.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is offering free inspections of all properties where external wall insulation was fitted under ECO4. The focus is on this measure as audits highlighted particular issues with external wall insulation under the scheme. Ofgem will contact every household with external wall insulation that has not yet been audited.
Remediation is already taking place to address substandard and unsafe work, and over half of the issues identified to date have been fixed. Trustmark, certification bodies and installation businesses are working hard to resolve these issues. They will be rectified at no cost to the consumer.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a criminal offence of assaulting a public transport worker.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker. Public transport workers and the wider public should be assured that where offenders commit acts of violence they will be arrested and brought before the courts quickly and that the British Transport Police have a specific remit to protect all rail staff and passengers.
Public transport workers do of course already have extensive protection in existing legislation such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 which also covers more serious violence such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH), and courts must already consider offences against public facing workers as an aggravating factor under the Police Crime and Sentencing Act 2022. We therefore do not believe that creating a specific offence will have the intended purpose of reducing assaults.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to tackle the sale of illegally modified e-bikes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
E-bikes can only be legally used on the roads where they comply in full with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983.
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act received Royal Assent in July. One of the main aims of the Act is to prevent unsafe products, including illegally modified e-bikes, being made available to consumers by online marketplaces.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has a market surveillance unit and has the powers to act against retailers selling non-compliant e-bikes, including those that have been modified.
The police also have the powers to seize non-complaint e-bikes being used on the public roads.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he taking to simplify the pension credit application process.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is committed to modernising the Pension Credit service and regularly reviews the user experience to balance simplification with ensuring accurate awards.
A key objective of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is to make services more user-friendly and accessible. We are streamlining application routes by using information held internally to reduce the number of questions customers need to answer.
Claims can be made online, by telephone, or by post. The most popular method is online, where claims can be made 24/7 with help from a family member, friend, or third party. The online form now requires a maximum of 48 questions, and for some customers as few as 35. On average, it takes just 16 minutes to complete, with around 90% of new customers applying online or by phone.
For telephone claims, callers are guided through the process by an agent. We will continue to keep the Pension Credit application process under review to ensure it remains simple and accessible.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all 16 to 18-year-olds receive political education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of (a) reforming the G20 Common Framework for debt relief and (b) a new UN-led system for debt relief.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst the G20 Common Framework process has been slower than the government would like, we remain committed to making it a success and are actively working with our G20 partners to ensure that it can deliver more timely, efficient, orderly and coordinated restructurings.
The UK and likeminded partners have pushed for improvements to the Framework – including advocating for greater transparency and clearer timelines in restructuring processes through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable and the G20 and expanding eligibility to select middle-income countries. We welcome the agreement of the recent G20 Ministerial Declaration on Debt Sustainability under the South African Presidency, and we are working with partners to ensure its commitments are implemented.
The government welcomed the package to support debt sustainability in the outcome document agreed at the UN’s Seville Conference on Financing for Development in June, specifically the strong action to improve debtor voice, debt transparency, disaster pause clauses and strengthen the Common Framework. We will maintain momentum on reforms to the existing debt architecture, including making restructurings quicker and more efficient and engage with partners on any future discussions on debt at the UN.