Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which clinical trials for potential new treatments for ME she is funding; from which budget the funding for those trials is sourced; how much funding is allocated for those trials; which research institutions are leading those trials; what the time-frame is for those trials; and what the descriptor is for those trials.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No clinical trials are currently being funded by the Department on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). However, recently, two application development awards were made to projects intending to investigate the feasibility of a new clinical trial that tests multiple interventions for the treatment of post-acute infection syndromes, including long COVID and ME/CFS. The National Institute for Health and Care Research has awarded around £398,000 to two projects: “Designing an inclusive platform trial for people living with Post-Acute Infection Syndromes (PAIS)” at the University of Leicester and “D-SUPPORT-ME" at the University of East Anglia. Further information on clinical trials is available at the ISRCTN registry at the following link:
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many fines for breaching building regulations have been issued in each of the last 5 years by Local Authority area; and what the amount of those fines was.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither the Department nor the Building Safety Regulator collect this information currently and are therefore unable to provide this information.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many convictions for breaching building regulations there have been in each of the last 5 years by Local Authority area.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither the Department nor the Building Safety Regulator collect this information currently and are therefore unable to provide this information.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many felling licences Forestry Commission England has granted for clearfelling operations within a) ancient semi-natural woodlands and b) plantation on ancient woodland sites in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission regulates tree felling in England. In ancient semi-natural woodland, felling is generally limited to no more than 10% of the woodland area within any five-year period and no more than 20% within any 20-year period, unless there are overriding biodiversity or social benefits. The best available estimates of felling licences granted for clear felling in ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) and plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) over the last five years are shown below. These figures generally relate to clear felling individual coupes within larger woodlands. Most licences require restocking following felling operations.
Number of felling licences
Financial year | Ancient semi-natural woodlands (ASNW) | Plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) | ASNW and PAWS | ASNW or PAWS |
2021-22 | 336 | 326 | 220 | 442 |
2022-23 | 280 | 282 | 174 | 388 |
2023-24 | 310 | 292 | 199 | 403 |
2024-25 | 337 | 323 | 218 | 442 |
2025-26 | 369 | 350 | 242 | 477 |
Total | 1,632 | 1,573 | 1,053 | 2,152 |
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what protection is in place for naval bases and strategic civilian ports both above and under water.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
While it would not be appropriate to disclose details of specific protective measures, the security of our naval bases and strategically important civilian ports supporting Defence and national security is imperative. Robust arrangements are in place at all sites, combining multiple layers of physical and technological security, and the Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government Departments, law-enforcement bodies and industry partners to protect the United Kingdom’s maritime infrastructure.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds from Materials Recovery Facility Code of Practice sampling on the aluminium content of local authority mixed recycling; and if she will publish it.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November the Environment Agency will publish annual data from regulated Materials Facilities on local authority recycling. This captures the quantities and proportions of materials collected, including aluminium, but covers only recycling at regulated Material Facilities. Information on the aluminium content of all local authority mixed recycling is not available.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of his Department's procurement budget is committed to buying British.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not ringfence a specific percentage of its procurement budget for buying British. However, the UK defence market is already strong and benefits from significant defence procurement activity. In 2025-26, the department spent £34.1 billion with UK industry, with 85% of its industry spending supporting work carried out in the UK.
As part of our Back British approach, we will go further and use procurement and investment decisions more strategically to strengthen UK industrial capability, resilience, skills and supply chains across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the Critical Minerals Strategy published on 22nd November 2025, what steps his Department is taking to retain secondary aluminium for recycling within the United Kingdom.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy recognises recycling and the circular economy as key to securing future supplies of critical minerals, including aluminium, and sets an ambition to meet 20% of total annual UK critical minerals demand through recycling by 2035.
The Department is working to increase domestic recycling capacity and promote the recovery and reuse of materials in circulation. The Strategy includes support for domestic production through public finance mechanisms and up to £50 million of funding for critical mineral projects.
Through the Metals Circularity Group, we are providing a structured forum for engagement and evidence-based policy development on the barriers and opportunities associated with greater domestic retention and recycling of secondary aluminium.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how she plans to reduce inequalities in mortality rates between people (a) without and (b) with learning disabilities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Statement HCWS224 made on 13 July, which is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-07-13/hcws224
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish his responses to the 335 questions raised by the families of the victims of the RAF Chinook air crash at the Mull of Kintyre on 2nd June 1994.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Department committed to responding to 20 questions shared by the Chinook Justice Campaign (CJC) during a meeting with Ministers last year and the Campaign has been offered monthly updates on our progress with this work.
These were the only questions shared with the Ministers or the Department during that meeting. There has been no commitment to respond to 335 questions. The Department is completing its work on the CJC's 20 questions.