Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential risks to supply chains of inadequate roadside facilities for lorry drivers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not carried out an assessment of the potential risks to supply chains of inadequate roadside facilities.
The National Survey of Lorry Parking was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme which will provide up to £37.5 million investment from government and industry in 30 counties across England. This is on top of up to £30M investment in lorry parking by National Highways and industry in lorry parks along the strategic road network in England.
A new National Survey of Lorry Parking is underway, which will provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision throughout England. The Survey is scheduled to be published in the autumn.
To strengthen the UK’s supply chain security, the Government is launching a new Supply Chain Centre based in the Department for Business and Trade. This marks a change in government’s approach to protecting the UK’s economy and security in turbulent geopolitical times. It will take a more assertive, strategic and data-led approach, and lead a targeted programme of work to ensure the UK can access the goods it needs to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of regional disparities in the availability of lorry diver facilities; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistent provision across England.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A national survey of lorry parking is underway to provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision throughout England. This will include region by region analysis of overnight lorry parking, utilisation rates and distribution of sites.
The national survey was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme which will provide up to £37.5 million investment from government and industry in 30 counties across England. This is on top of up to £30 million investment in lorry parking by National Highways and industry in lorry parks along the strategic road network in England.
The government is prioritising improvements to the planning system. Strengthened policy on freight and logistics has been proposed in the recent consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to improve the consideration of freight, including lorry parking, in the planning system.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 117875 on Animal Experiments: Licensing, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding mentioned in her answer for the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of additional funding models.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has announced £75m of funding to accelerate alternatives and innovation, with new capabilities being developed across the UK. This funding will help bring forward advanced testing methods that can save lives and support a faster, science‑led route to regulation. £60 million of this is ring‑fenced, multi‑year funding secured through the 2025 Spending Review to provide long‑term stability for strategic programmes. The Department remains fully committed to delivering the actions set out in the Replacing Animals in Science strategy through the funding secured in the Review
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps is she taking to end the use of the LD50 test for UK-only regulations.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 December 2025 to Question 96750.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has undertaken analysis of financial losses to UK consumers arising from engagement with illegal streaming services; and whether he is taking steps to mitigate those losses.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government recognises the challenges that illegal streaming services creates for intellectual property (IP) owners, creators, businesses and consumers. We work closely with law enforcement partners, rights holders, consumers, and industry to understand where and how this is taking place.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has conducted research into the scale of digital piracy, and IP infringement more broadly across multiple sectors. For example, two IPO consumer surveys published in 2025 demonstrated that digital piracy continues to be a challenge in the UK. In 2024, 29% of UK residents aged 12+ (around 17.2 million) had recently accessed online content that infringed IP rights. This activity can have a negative impact on businesses. These impacts include, but are not limited to, lost sales and the costs related to monitoring and enforcement.
This information is used, along with other data we collect on online infringement (e.g., use of counterfeit goods) to help design measures that can affect consumer behaviour and provide cost-effective, targeted enforcement procedures.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animals were used in LD50 tests to evidence compliance with UK-only regulations in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes detailed annual statistics on the use of animals in science, including procedures for acute and subacute toxicity testing which covers tests such as LD50 (Lethal Dose 50) and LC50 (Lethal Concentration 50). These figures represent the total number of procedures carried out in this category each year.
The Home Office does not collect information on whether individual procedures were conducted specifically to meet UK only regulatory requirements, so the data is not available in the form requested.
Based on the published annual statistics, the total number of procedures in the acute and sub‑acute toxicity category (which includes LD50 and LC50 tests) in each of the last five years is as follows:
2024: 11,992
2023: 11,519
2022: 12,651
2021: 11,758
Statistics for 2025 have not yet been published. Official statistics on the use of animals in science are released annually and are available here:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has her Department made of the effect of illegal streaming on a) the financial sustainability of UK broadcasters and b) their ability to invest in domestic content production.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that the illegal streaming of content negatively impacts the revenues of UK broadcasters, which is why we have committed in our Creative Industries Sector Plan to ensure UK intellectual property rights are the best protected in the world.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in conjunction with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), recently announced that its funding for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit Unit (PIPCU), hosted by the City of London Police, will continue until 2029, and strengthen their ongoing partnership in UK intellectual property enforcement. This partnership actively targets websites and platforms providing illegal access to copyrighted material, such as the illegal streaming of television content.
We want to ensure the future sustainability of the broadcasting sector so that they can continue to commission and produce high quality content in the UK. That’s why we have committed to taking action to support the sector through our implementation of the Media Act 2024. We are also considering the findings in Ofcom’s Public Service Media (PSM) Review, which includes a number of recommendations looking to support the future sustainability of public service media.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of opening a new station at Crumlin as part of proposals to re-open the Abertillery spur of the Ebbw Vale Line.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In February the Prime Minister and the First Minister endorsed Transport for Wales’ ‘Today, Tomorrow, Together’ vision for rail investment in Wales, confirming that it should form the basis of the Wales Rail Board’s future pipeline of projects.
The vision document includes a proposed scheme to reinstate a spur from the Ebbw Valley Line to Abertillery. As part of its role in prioritising rail enhancements for Wales to inform future spending reviews, the Wales Rail Board will consider the timing and scope of this scheme, including any associated enhancement of the main Ebbw Valley branch line such as opening a station at Crumlin.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Welsh Government on (a) proposals to ban greyhound racing and (b) regulations to improve greyhound welfare.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials engage regularly with officials in the Welsh Government on a range of animal welfare issues.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has her Department made in reviewing traps aside from snares used to catch wildlife.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, the Government committed to ban the use of snares in England and conduct a review of other traps used to catch wildlife in England for which welfare concerns have been raised. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has already been commissioned to conduct a review of the evidence relating to the spring traps listed on the Spring Trap Approval Order as it applies in England and work is underway.