Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support her Department is providing to the Regulatory Innovation Office to help ensure greater commercial and non-military drone adoption.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The RIO is a key Government lever for achieving its transformative ambitions in regulatory innovation. It has been established as an in-house function within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The RIO has been working in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to deliver regulatory reform to support drone adoption and commercialisation since its founding in October 2024. In March 2025, RIO and DfT ministers agreed six priorities for the CAA’s regulation of drones, including an extension and simplification of airspace change processes and a commitment to develop options for electronic conspicuity (technology that allows aircraft to be digitally aware of one another). The RIO has supported the CAA to develop and expand its atypical air environments policy, making commercial activity possible using drones in airspace where there is low risk of collision with other aircraft. The RIO has provided funding to support the CAA’s efficiency by using AI in its drone approvals processes and to make drone deliveries in specific use cases, such as to Argyll & Bute, routine. The RIO has also worked with the CAA to publish a set of drone regulation performance metrics to ensure there is transparency for the sector. The RIO partnered with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to clear the regulatory pathway for drones to be adopted for commercial agricultural activities.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in local authority public health nursing contracts on prevention and community-based care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions related to public health nursing contracts are taken at a local level.
Public health nursing has been funded by local authorities since 2015 through the Public Health Grant. We increased the Public Health Grant by £224 million this year, 2025/26, to support local authorities to deliver public health services. We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion, a 5.6% cash increase, over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This is the first three-year public health settlement in a decade, giving local authorities far greater certainty over their future funding and supporting their ability to plan ahead.
We have refreshed guidance for the Healthy Child Programme to strengthen service delivery and promote consistency in the quality of public health nursing across the country. This guidance is due for publication in early 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of joining Digital Europe on the UK’s digital economy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT assesses any participation in Digital Europe against delivery of UK objectives and value for money for citizens and UK businesses. We are keeping decisions around participation in Digital Europe under review.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to introduce targeted energy‑bill support for households with high energy consumption due to caring responsibilities.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The affordability crisis is the biggest issue facing this country, that is why the Autumn Budget acted to take an average £150 of costs off people’s energy bills. This support comes on top of the £150 off energy bills provided for around 6 million families under the Warm Home Discount this winter, cutting fuel poverty.
The Government is also driving forward with home upgrades, through the £15 billion Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to establish a national registration scheme for tradespeople’s power tools; and whether she has had discussions with manufacturers, retailers, insurers and the police on this matter.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living.
We are partnering with tradespeople’s representatives, policing and other partners, including retailers and manufacturers, to co-design actions Government and industry can take to encourage the prevention of tool theft.
We are also providing £2m funding for the National Business Crime Centre over the next three financial years to help tackle the crimes most affecting businesses today.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the implementation of (a) the national standards for sustainable drainage systems and (b) updated planning policy, including what data it will collect on (i) compliance and (ii) adoption and maintenance arrangements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. National Planning Guidance indicates that local planning authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.
We are currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, more ‘rules-based’ policies for decision-making. The consultation includes a proposed new requirement for SuDS to be designed in accordance with the National Standards for SuDS published last year. It will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Responsibility for the implementation of national planning policy lies with local planning authorities, as does the monitoring of compliance with planning permissions.
We are also exploring how to improve the adoption of public amenities, including SuDS, on freehold estates. For further details, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the National Planning Policy Framework's Grey Belt Policy on the development of village infrastructure including (a) schools, (b) GP services, (c) transport and (d) wastewater; and what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of securing infrastructure before developments in village areas begin.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 90834 on the 21 November 2025, Question UIN 67812 on the 21 July 2025, and Question UIN 26106 on the 5 February 2025.
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.
The proposed Green Belt policy is set out in Chapter 13 of the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 merits of joining Euroclusters.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Euroclusters initiative is an online hub funded by the EU and targeted at industry stakeholders across Europe and globally. There are currently 145 UK organisations in the Euroclusters directory. UK companies and cluster organisations are free to make their own assessments of the benefits of joining the platform.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of unpaid carers living in fuel poverty.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has made no such estimate. The information requested is not held.
The Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and recently published a new fuel poverty strategy for England outlining our plan to lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with small and medium-sized enterprises on (a) the employer National Insurance Contributions increase and (b) business rates since the Autumn Budget 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Junior Ministers and HM Treasury officials regularly meet with a wide range of businesses and business representation organisations, including with small and medium-sized enterprises. These meetings include discussions on a wide range of policies.