Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) banning and (b) reducing the use of pesticides in public spaces on (i) the natural environment and (ii) wildlife.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of managing public spaces sustainably and its first priority is to ensure that pesticides do not harm human or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. A pesticide may only be placed on the market following a thorough risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. All professional pesticide users must minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public, receive adequate training and register with Defra.
They are also encouraged to follow the principles of Integrated Pest Management, which aims to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. The UK Pesticides National Action Plan sets out how the Government will continue to promote the sustainable use of pesticides. Local authorities are encouraged to identify innovative pesticide use solutions and share good practice.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to Answer Question 43980 on Schools: Concrete, tabled on 3 April 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A response to Question 43980 was published on 23 April and can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-04-03/43980.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support research into natural defences against unwanted vegetation in public places.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
One of the actions Defra introduced in the recently launched UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) is to gather more data on pest, weed and disease management in the amateur and amenity sectors. This will allow for a better understanding of pesticide use, the sectors’ contribution to overall pesticide load on the environment, and how widespread integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are currently. IPM aims to reduce reliance on pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes.
Last year Defra completed an evidence review to understand better the barriers to IPM uptake in the amenity sector. In the wake of this review, Defra recently funded an update to the Integrated Weed Management guide produced by Parks for London. This will be published this year and will be available online, providing access to key tools to help amenity managers control weeds effectively and sustainably.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Aviation Futures Forum has met.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport launched the new Aviation Futures Forum, uniting ministers and industry leaders to deliver the government's missions and strengthen the sector. The forum has met once since its launch on 19 March 2025.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support self-employed people who were excluded from financial support during the pandemic.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Decisions on eligibility for Covid-19 financial support were taken by the previous government. The previous Government decided to provide support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) based on two principles, a) targeting support at those who needed it most and b), guarding against error, fraud, and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible. Those ineligible for the schemes may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous Government.
The current Government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country. We are taking immediate action to support individuals, such as committing to no increases in employee National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT as we want to keep taxes low for working people. The Government has put growth as its number one mission, which will help individuals by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeline is for publishing a new Airports National Policy Statement.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government supports airport expansion and has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow. It expects any proposals to be brought forward by the summer and is clear that any scheme must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, climate and environmental obligations.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.
The Secretary of State will determine the scope of a review of the ANPS and we cannot speculate on the scope nor the timings of the review at this stage.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24357 on Prisons: Fires, how many ignition-free safer vape pens have been introduced in each prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Safer Vape Pen Initiative is designed to prevent use of these pens as an ignition source. In addition, the safer pen incorporates features that limit its scope to be used as a delivery mechanism for illicit substances. Pathfinder trials, involving 1,138 prisoners, have commenced at HMP Swaleside and HMP The Mount. Five additional prisons – HMP Belmarsh, HMP East Sutton Park, HMP Five Wells, HMP Swansea, and HMP Wormwood Scrubs – are scheduled to join the trials in June 2025.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 support people impacted by long covid in Twickenham constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Commissioning, service provision and staffing of long COVID services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards.
General practitioners (GPs) continue to act as the primary point of contact to ensure patients receive the appropriate advice and care. Patients experiencing symptoms of long COVID are advised to seek support from their GP in the usual way.
A directory of public health, community, and voluntary sector resources has been developed and is available to local GPs and primary care partners. This directory enables healthcare professionals to signpost patients to a wide range of local support services that address the various impacts of long COVID. Further information on the support services available in the Twickenham constituency is available at the following link:
https://www.kingstonandrichmond.nhs.uk/patients-and-families/patient-leaflets/long-covid-information
At a national level, NHS England has also published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services, which sets out the principles of care for people with long COVID.
Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council, we have invested over £57 million on research into long COVID, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The funded projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to next publish an updated version of the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate enforcement register, published on 26 April 2023.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Crown Premises’ Fire Safety Inspectorate’s enforcement register will be updated again by 31st May 2025
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England with a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Circular Economy Taskforce will start with five sectors: agrifood, built environment, chemicals, and plastics; textiles and transport.
We recognise that reuse and repair are fundamental tenets of any circular economy and will consider the evidence for appropriate action from right across the economy as we develop our strategy.