Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of making enhanced DBS certificates transferable between organisations where the role and level of check required are equivalent.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Under current arrangements, enhanced and other certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) are transferable between organisations, where the role and level of check required are equivalent. That is, where the level of check for which the role is eligible is the same.

Employers can accept an existing criminal record certificate for recruitment purposes if it is the same type of check (for example, enhanced with a check of the adults’ barred list) and it has been issued for the same workforce (for example, adults’, children’s, other). There is no expiry date on criminal record certificates, as the information disclosed on certificates is correct at the date they are issued.

Importantly, the level of check an employer or organisation is entitled to request depends on the role’s eligibility in relation to DBS checks. For example, if an individual already has an enhanced with children’s barred list check certificate and the second role is only eligible for a standard certificate, the second employer or organisation would potentially be seeing information it is not legally entitled to request.

Conversely, if the employer for the second role requires an enhanced with barred list check but the existing certificate held by the applicant is enhanced only, not all relevant information would be available for the organisation to make a suitability decision. Further guidance and an eligibility tool are available at this link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbs-eligibility-guidance.

The DBS Update Service supports the portability of an individual’s certificate by ensuring the information is up to date. To support ongoing suitability decisions, applicants can subscribe to the Update Service, which allows employers to check if any relevant information has changed since the certificate was issued, although it is the employer’s decision whether to use the Update Service or to request the applicant re-apply for a certificate.

The Update Service offers a digital solution that supports real-time checking. It can also be of benefit to employers, who can undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates, thus saving time and money. The applicant would only need to obtain a new certificate in cases where there has been a change in recorded information, or in cases where they need to apply for a different type of criminal record check. The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees. Further information and details of how to subscribe can be found at https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with (a) Starlink and (b) O2 on data protection.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

All organisations providing services in the UK must comply with the UK’s data protection legislation, which is enforced independently of Government by the Information Commissioner.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local planning authorities on the use of injunctions under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in cases involving repeated or escalating breaches of planning control.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Relevant guidance on enforcement, including planning injunctions, can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the subdivision and sale of agricultural land into multiple small plots on local planning enforcement workloads.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department has made no such assessment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the transition from student loan funding to NHS bursary support on the cost of living for medical students in the later years of their degree.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government reviews the funding arrangements for medical students annually. This includes the NHS Bursary Scheme and Student Finance England support.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, recognises the need to improve access to the medical profession for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and commits to a range of actions to achieve this. This includes exploring options to improve financial support for students from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds, so that they are able to thrive at medical school. We will set out next steps in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the levels of reported violent crime in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes official statistics on violent crime recorded by the police in England Wales at the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level.

Figures for the CSP areas of St Albans and Dacorum can be found in Open Data Tables, available here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK

Given the relatively low volume of offences involving knives or sharp instruments, such statistics are only published at the Police Force Area (PFA) level and those for Hertfordshire PFA can also be found at the weblink given above.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made in trends in the level of reported knife offences in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes official statistics on violent crime recorded by the police in England Wales at the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level.

Figures for the CSP areas of St Albans and Dacorum can be found in Open Data Tables, available here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK

Given the relatively low volume of offences involving knives or sharp instruments, such statistics are only published at the Police Force Area (PFA) level and those for Hertfordshire PFA can also be found at the weblink given above.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of not commencing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on sewer capacity and storm overflow discharges.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Pre-pipe drainage and wastewater solutions, such as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), alleviate pressure on the sewerage system by reducing the volume of rainwater and pollutants entering the system. This approach has benefits for communities, the environment, flood prevention and urban development.

The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of SuDS. In December 2024, we made changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to support increased delivery of SuDS.

The Government consulted on a revised National Planning Policy Framework – including for flood risk and SuDS – and, separately, on proposals to increase adoption of shared amenities, with planned guidance to ensure lifetime maintenance.

In June 2025, the Government introduced new national standards for SuDS. Better delivery of SuDS may be achieved by continuing to improve the current planning policy-based approach and looking at ways of improving the approach to adoption and maintenance, rather than commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the statutory right to connect new developments to the public sewer network on storm overflow discharges.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working together with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure the right to connect for water supply and to the sewerage system supports the Government’s housing delivery objectives and enables sustainable development.

The Government is committed to taking a systematic approach to tackling the issues with drainage and wastewater. This includes a real focus on tackling the root causes of sewage pollution.

We will enable a step change to allow for more ‘pre-pipe’ solutions to reduce the volume of rainwater and pollutants entering the sewerage system. This includes better rainwater management, including sustainable drainage systems, and tackling sewer misuse.

This approach will have benefits for communities, the environment, flood prevention and urban development, ensuring policies and services work better together to deliver real benefits for people and nature. It will also enable economic growth, creating headroom for new development, and create opportunities to alleviate pressures on water supply.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with private parking operators on their duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled motorists; and what enforcement mechanisms are available where operators fail to meet those obligations.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is aware that disabled motorists can face challenges when parking and my officials ensure these issues are actively discussed through ongoing engagement with the parking sector, the Department for Transport and other relevant stakeholders. Most recently, officials met with Disabled Motoring UK specifically to understand how disabled motorists can be protected and supported.

Private parking operators are required to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, the form those adjustments take are up to individual operators. We will continue to proactively consider how the Code of Practice will affect disabled people and take steps to remove barriers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he will the response to the July 2025 consultation on the Private Parking Code of Practice; and what the timetable is for implementation of the statutory Code under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

All submissions to the 2025 Private Parking Code of Practice consultation are currently being analysed and the government will set out further details on the consultation response and the final Code as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made the potential merits of introducing content labelling requirements for AI-generated images and videos on social media platforms.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government continues to explore the feasibility of technical solutions for the labelling of AI-generated content to support transparency, such as through the Deepfake Detection Challenge.

AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the government believes that most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities. The government has been clear that we will legislate where needed but we will do so on the basis of evidence where any serious gaps are.

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