Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is considering requiring mobile network operators to provide indoor coverage data alongside outdoor coverage maps to ensure that service availability more accurately reflects the experience of rural communities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Each of the main UK mobile network operators already provide indoor coverage data in their mobile coverage checkers which are available on their public facing websites.
In addition, Ofcom launched their improved mobile coverage checker, ‘Map Your Mobile, on 26 June 2025, which now better reflects people’s lived experience of mobile connectivity, both indoors and outdoors.
Indoor aggregated coverage figures for 4G connectivity are also provided in the Connected Nations data releases, published by Ofcom twice a year.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 merits of including council and housing association tenants are not included in the EPC rating system requirements; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that social housing tenants have (a) adequate heating systems, (b) affordable heating bills and (c) the same rights as private renters.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Every tenant deserves to live in a decent, warm and comfortable home.
The recently closed consultation on the future of Energy Performance Certificates, which can be found on gov.uk here, provides an opportunity to ensure the standard in the social rented sector incentivise the appropriate measures for each home.
The government also recently consulted on proposals to set a Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for socially rented homes.
Socially rented homes are not currently required to meet a minimum EPC standard and current requirements are roughly equivalent to an EPC ‘F’ rating.
The consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, proposes setting the standard at EPC C or equivalent by 2030. This mirrors proposals to raise standards in the private rented sector, set out within a recently closed consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes which can be found on gov.uk here.
This MEES will be included in the modernised Decent Homes Standard (DHS), which the government recently consulted on, as part of a Criterion D on thermal comfort. The consultation on a reformed DHS for social and privately rented homes can be found on gov.uk here.
Both consultations closed on 12 September, and we have committed to publishing the final standards before the end of the year.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 potential impact of extending minimum EPC C requirements to include self-catering holiday lets on (a) rural tourism, (b) small businesses and (c) local economies; and if he will review his Department's decision to apply these regulations to short-term holiday accommodation.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation included proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We have sought views on whether short-term lets should be included in the scope of our changes, to help ensure a consistent standard across all private rented properties. We received a significant number of responses and have engaged widely with stakeholders on our proposals. A government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps with (a) Ofcom, (b) mobile network operators and (c) local authorities to explore community-level infrastructure solutions to improve mobile coverage in rural villages in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) Gloucestershire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government encourages digital teams and planners within local authorities to work with Mobile Networlk Operators (MNOs) to improve rural coverage. We are also aware that many local authorities have carried out mobile coverage measurement surveys of their own to help inform them of mobile connectivity gaps.
Ensuring there is high quality mobile coverage right across the UK remains a priority for the Government, including in rural communities. However, it is for the market to determine how to deploy infrastructure to effectively achieve this ambition.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the length of time covered by overseas criminal record certificates.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We take the issue of preventing foreign criminals entering the UK extremely seriously.
Overseas criminal record certificates are one of a number of checks undertaken to establish whether a person has committed any offences overseas.
Visa applicants coming here to work in education, health and social care sectors must provide a criminal record certificate from any country they have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. This continues to be considered a fair balance between capturing any significant and recent criminal history, and what is available from some territories’ criminal record data systems.
The requirement strengthens the existing process of checks enabling us to establish whether the person has committed any offences overseas, including standard self-declaration of any criminal history as part of an application to come to the UK.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the requirements for overseas criminal record checks for migrant care workers applying for sponsorship under the Health and Care Worker visa route.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We take the issue of preventing foreign criminals entering the UK extremely seriously.
Overseas criminal record certificates are one of a number of checks undertaken to establish whether a person has committed any offences overseas.
Visa applicants coming here to work in education, health and social care sectors must provide a criminal record certificate from any country they have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. This continues to be considered a fair balance between capturing any significant and recent criminal history, and what is available from some territories’ criminal record data systems.
The requirement strengthens the existing process of checks enabling us to establish whether the person has committed any offences overseas, including standard self-declaration of any criminal history as part of an application to come to the UK.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the removal of the Direct Pay option and (b) other changes to the Child Maintenance service on the affordability of the system for both parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The proposed reforms to remove Direct Pay could result in around 20,000 fewer children in poverty. The reforms will help ensure children receive the financial support they are entitled to by addressing issues with hidden non-compliance within Direct Pay. We know from Direct Pay Research that only 60% of receiving parents reported getting all their money, and only 40% report always getting it on time. Under these reforms, the CMS will manage payments between parents, enabling them to respond quicker where payments breakdown.
As part of these changes, we also plan to modify the fee structure making them more affordable for parents already in the current Collect and Pay service. Our published liability data shows that paying parents in the Collect and Pay service tend on average to be on lower incomes that those in Direct Pay. Fees will reduce from 4% to 2% for receiving parents, and from 20% to 2% for compliant paying parents. Non-compliant paying parents will continue to pay a fee of 20%.
The Government is also conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose, balancing affordability concerns for both parents with the best outcomes for children and ensuring the calculation is reflective of the costs of raising children today.
Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation resulting from this review will be subject to extensive public consultation, which we plan to publish late this year, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.