Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Largest fund of its kind to support vulnerable kids & families, published on 14 July 2025, for what reason the Better Futures Fund is not part of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Spending Review, we committed to announcing further details on our plans for Social Impact Investing over the summer. This announcement – alongside the announcements to support low-income families made at SR25 – are a downpayment ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy being published in the autumn, and will form part of it.
As per the press notice, the Better Futures Fund will be managed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in close collaboration with other departments and engagement with the impact investing sector.
The Better Futures Fund was included in the Spending Review, under the Public Service Reform section. This was before it was named the BFF and was under the working title of ‘Social Impact Investing Vehicle’:
The Better Futures Fund will support up to 200,000 children and their families over the next ten years by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors, and philanthropists to work together to give children a brighter future.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Largest fund of its kind to support vulnerable kids & families, published on 14 July 2025, for what reason the Better Futures Fund was not announced at the Spending Review 2025.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Spending Review, we committed to announcing further details on our plans for Social Impact Investing over the summer. This announcement – alongside the announcements to support low-income families made at SR25 – are a downpayment ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy being published in the autumn, and will form part of it.
As per the press notice, the Better Futures Fund will be managed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in close collaboration with other departments and engagement with the impact investing sector.
The Better Futures Fund was included in the Spending Review, under the Public Service Reform section. This was before it was named the BFF and was under the working title of ‘Social Impact Investing Vehicle’:
The Better Futures Fund will support up to 200,000 children and their families over the next ten years by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors, and philanthropists to work together to give children a brighter future.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Largest fund of its kind to support vulnerable kids & families, published on 14 July 2025, which organisation will manage the Better Futures Fund.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Spending Review, we committed to announcing further details on our plans for Social Impact Investing over the summer. This announcement – alongside the announcements to support low-income families made at SR25 – are a downpayment ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy being published in the autumn, and will form part of it.
As per the press notice, the Better Futures Fund will be managed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in close collaboration with other departments and engagement with the impact investing sector.
The Better Futures Fund was included in the Spending Review, under the Public Service Reform section. This was before it was named the BFF and was under the working title of ‘Social Impact Investing Vehicle’:
The Better Futures Fund will support up to 200,000 children and their families over the next ten years by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors, and philanthropists to work together to give children a brighter future.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the ongoing review of the customs treatment of low-value imports on tax revenue.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 23rd April, the Government announced a review of the customs treatment for low value imports. Under our current low value import arrangements, consignments valued below £135 from any overseas retailer can be imported into the UK without incurring customs duty. VAT is due on all imports into the UK.
Since the announcement, Ministers and officials have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on the impact and operation of these arrangements to support our review. The outcomes of the engagement will help inform our next steps.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the National Grid to provide (a) timely and (b) adequate connections in the context of estimated trends in the level of adoption of rooftop solar installations on commercial properties.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem recently made it easier for smaller generation projects (under 5MW in England and Wales) to connect, by removing the requirement for a transmission network impact assessment [1]. For larger projects, the implementation of connections reform will prioritise connections that are ready and aligned with our clean power 2030 ambitions. Furthermore, the next Ofgem price control for electricity distribution (ED3, 2028-2033) will promote strategic network investment ahead of need, including through the introduction of Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs). This will enable the timely connection of rooftop solar and other low carbon electricity generation across Great Britain.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of installing a grid connection corridor along the A1 and A421 to enable commercial warehouses in that area to connect rooftop solar installations to the National Grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Distribution Network Operators are upgrading local electricity distribution networks across Great Britain to enable the connection of low carbon generation, including rooftop solar. For the current electricity distribution price control (RIIO-ED2, 2023-2028), Ofgem have allowed £22.2bn of upfront investment, including £3.1bn for network upgrades for low-carbon technologies. For the next electricity distribution price control (RIIO-ED3, 2028-2033), Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) will support strategic network investment ahead of need, on a locational basis. The government will continue to support Ofgem in ensuring that consumer costs are protected while enabling the network transformation required for net zero.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what categories of risk are defined by her Department for assessing the removal priority of people who have overstayed their visas.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
As set out in legislation at section 10 of the Immigration Act 1999, all individuals who “require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it” are liable to removal. This will therefore include individuals who have overstayed and those who have had visas revoked, as well as any other individual who is found to not have leave to enter or remain in the UK, such as those who have entered clandestinely or those who have used deception to secure entry to the UK. These rules are applied equally across all categories of immigration offenders.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what categories of risk are defined by her Department for assessing the removal priority of people who have had their visas revoked.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
As set out in legislation at section 10 of the Immigration Act 1999, all individuals who “require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it” are liable to removal. This will therefore include individuals who have overstayed and those who have had visas revoked, as well as any other individual who is found to not have leave to enter or remain in the UK, such as those who have entered clandestinely or those who have used deception to secure entry to the UK. These rules are applied equally across all categories of immigration offenders.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average cost per pupil was to construct a special educational needs school in the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
New school buildings are delivered by the department, local authorities, and other bodies.
The average cost of building a special educational needs school can be found on pages 25-29 in the national cost benchmarking study published at: https://documents.hants.gov.uk/property-services/NationalSchoolDeliveryBenchmarkingreport.pdf.
This report contains cost information on local authority delivered schools and department-delivered schools, the data has been collected since 2012.
Standards for new school buildings change over time, for example to increase sustainability requirements, so care should be taken in comparing costs directly year to year.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average cost of building a special educational needs school was in the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
New school buildings are delivered by the department, local authorities, and other bodies.
The average cost of building a special educational needs school can be found on pages 25-29 in the national cost benchmarking study published at: https://documents.hants.gov.uk/property-services/NationalSchoolDeliveryBenchmarkingreport.pdf.
This report contains cost information on local authority delivered schools and department-delivered schools, the data has been collected since 2012.
Standards for new school buildings change over time, for example to increase sustainability requirements, so care should be taken in comparing costs directly year to year.