Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment was made in the process of developing the Fair Funding Allocation formulae of the adequacy of the evidence supplied by stakeholders and local authorities of the cost impacts of remoteness and rurality.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 and response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November, which set out the government's plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government also published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 on Wednesday 17 December 2025. The government is committed to continuing to work closely with the sector. We have now consulted four times on our proposals for reform and we are grateful for the high-quality and constructive responses received from local authorities and sector groups.
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Our updates will account for local circumstances, including the variation in cost of delivering services, such as between rural and urban areas. More detail can be found in the consultation response document here.
As part of this, the government is including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula, as the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering social care services. We are also including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to all our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles, in recognition that the original distance cap would unfairly penalise authorities who have no choice but to place children further from home.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the minimum age for social media use for children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, building on the Online Safety Act. While there is consensus that more action is needed, there is not yet consensus on what form that action should take.
The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, putting children and parents at the heart of this issue. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as explore a ban for children under a certain age. We will also look closely at Australia and their ban on social media for under 16s.
The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK to develop new deep strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, published on 11 January 2026, whether any of the new deep strike ballistic missiles will be stockpiled in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The new ballistic missiles developed under Project Nightfall are intended to provide Ukraine with a long range-punch to counter Russian aggression as rapidly as possible. At this stage of the project, the Department does not envision stockpiling significant number of Nightfall effectors for long periods of time in the UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK to develop new deep strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, published on 11 January 2026, how Nightfall will inform future Armed Forces' long range strike projects.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
At this stage, there is no plan to procure Nightfall for the UK Armed Forces, however it will inform future UK Armed Forces' long range strike projects by showing a high risk, rapid process for developing long-range capabilities, as well as de-risking key technologies such as propulsion systems, material science and terminal phase accuracy.
Asked by: Lord Lebedev (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish a clear and legally precise definition of the term “cumulative disruption” as used in Lords committee stage amendment 372 to the Crime and Policing Bill; and how they will ensure that this concept is applied consistently by police forces and the courts.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 5 October 2025, the Home Secretary announced that the government would amend sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to explicitly require a senior police officer to take account of the cumulative impact of frequent protests on local areas when considering whether to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.
This measure is designed to require the police to consider whether public processions and assemblies have or will take place in the same geographical area when considering whether the serious disruption to the life of the community threshold is met. ‘Relevant cumulative disruption’ is defined in the clause.
The Home Office will work with the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council to include guidance on cumulative disruption in the Public Order Public Safety Authorised Professional Practice, and the Protest Operational Advice Document. These contain operational advice for frontline policing and are regularly updated to include all public order powers.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has recently analysed the mental health impacts of social media use on children and young people under the age of 16.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom has found that 64% of all children, and 95% of 13-15 year olds, use social media.
The current evidence base on the impacts of social media on children’s wellbeing and mental health is mixed. The latest review of existing literature, published on 20 January, found that evidence remains inconclusive about causal links between social media use and mental wellbeing.
On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, accompanied by a national conversation. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as whether there should be curfews overnight or breaks to stops excessive use or doom scrolling.
The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what research her Department has commissioned on whether major social media apps have addictive features targeted at children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom has found that 64% of all children, and 95% of 13-15 year olds, use social media.
The current evidence base on the impacts of social media on children’s wellbeing and mental health is mixed. The latest review of existing literature, published on 20 January, found that evidence remains inconclusive about causal links between social media use and mental wellbeing.
On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, accompanied by a national conversation. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as whether there should be curfews overnight or breaks to stops excessive use or doom scrolling.
The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the number of children under 16 who have access to social media.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom has found that 64% of all children, and 95% of 13-15 year olds, use social media.
The current evidence base on the impacts of social media on children’s wellbeing and mental health is mixed. The latest review of existing literature, published on 20 January, found that evidence remains inconclusive about causal links between social media use and mental wellbeing.
On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, accompanied by a national conversation. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as whether there should be curfews overnight or breaks to stops excessive use or doom scrolling.
The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.
Asked by: Lord Lebedev (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Crime and Policing Bill proposal regarding a prohibition on face coverings when in an area designated by police is compatible with the right to freedom of expression.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is committed to protecting public safety and preventing disorder and crime whilst balancing the right to peaceful protest.
Under the provisions in clauses 118 to 120 of the Crime and Policing Bill, the police can only designate a locality for the purposes of the offence of concealing identity at protests where a senior officer reasonably believes that a protest is or may take place in the locality, that the protest is likely to involve or has involved the commission of offences, and it is expedient in order to prevent or limit offences being committed to designate the locality.
The measure includes a defence for individuals charged with this new offence if they prove they wore or used the item for a purpose related to health, religious observance or relating to the person’s work.
As such, a locality will only be designated where criminality has or is likely to take place, and under this new measure, the police will be expected to take action only against persons who are wearing or using items to conceal their identity at protests in a designated locality, without a legitimate purpose. Given these safeguards, the government is satisfied that this measure does not disproportionately interfere with individuals’ human rights.