Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of expanding the Police's right of disclosure to include incidents of animal abuse.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police National Computer holds all relevant information for prosecutions made for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Certain organisations, including non-police public bodies such as the Disclosure and Barring Service and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, have access to this information, where appropriate to fulfil their public function. This allows us to securely protect this important information from misuse, but also for it to be available for organisations with a justified need to access the information.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme covers all criminal convictions, and police forces may release information under their police common law powers relating to animal cruelty offences if they think this behaviour would pose a risk to the individual seeking the disclosure. We have committed to exploring the potential to expand the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme through the government's Violence Against Women and Girls strategy (VAWG) to other forms of VAWG.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 potential merits of the receipt of benefits designed to support disabled people with the additional costs of living with disability, such as a) PIP, b) DLA and c) AA, being within targeting criteria for energy cost support initiatives.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy bills. The Government continues to monitor the situation closely. Contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality, so that we can keep costs down for everyone and provide support for those who need it most
In addition, DESNZ is working closely with other Government Departments on the National Data Library (NDL) energy bill support ‘Kickstarter’ project to test how public sector data can be better joined up to improve access to Government programmes.
The Kickstarter project will pave the way for better targeted help, ensuring those who are struggling to pay their bills get the support they need.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what consideration he has given to the additional energy needs of disabled people who do not receive means tested benefits when evaluating potential energy bill support for households as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy bills. The Government continues to monitor the situation closely. Contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality, so that we can keep costs down for everyone and provide support for those who need it most
In addition, DESNZ is working closely with other Government Departments on the National Data Library (NDL) energy bill support ‘Kickstarter’ project to test how public sector data can be better joined up to improve access to Government programmes.
The Kickstarter project will pave the way for better targeted help, ensuring those who are struggling to pay their bills get the support they need.
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, when she plans to lay the Activity Regulations to give effect to the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023; and which activities she plans to prioritise.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
As set out in the animal welfare strategy published in December 2025, we are continuing to engage with stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups to explore both legislative and non-legislative options to stop the advertising of low-welfare animal activities abroad and will be setting out next steps in due course.
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, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national animal abuse register to record the names of people who have been found guilty of crimes against animals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not currently have plans to assess the benefits of a national animal abuse register.
Defra continue to work closely with enforcement partners to strengthen existing protections for animals.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what learnings she has taken from the PESP rollout in Australia when developing the commitment to the digital parenting offer contained in the BSIL strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Best Start in Life strategy sets out the government’s commitment to widening access to high-quality, evidence-based parenting and home learning environment support. This will help ensure that families receive the interventions most effective in supporting children’s early development and reducing disparities before they reach school age.
The department remains focused on ensuring that parenting support in England is informed by strong evidence and aligned with the needs of families. We will continue to take a careful, evidence-led approach to future decisions. This includes tracking emerging practice in the UK and internationally, including learning from Australia’s programmes.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Vietnam regarding the release of political prisoners requiring medical care; and what steps she is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Vietnam is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Freedom of Religion and Belief Strategy, launched in July 2025, and we raise the issue on a regular basis with the Government of Vietnam. We also regularly raise concerns about the treatment of political prisoners, including access to appropriate medical care, through bilateral engagement and also jointly with the support of other diplomatic missions.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of pet-related work absences, including those linked to veterinary care and emergencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government does not collect or hold information on the reasons for absence relating to the care of pets, including those linked to veterinary care and emergencies.
Employers are responsible for managing wider categories of employee absence, including any time taken for caring responsibilities relating to pets, in line with their own workplace policies.
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 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.