Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the National Church Institutions have issued guidance on the use of sacred places of worship for secular purposes.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Church of England parish churches are public spaces. Their primary use is for worship, but for centuries the church has welcomed appropriate use, alongside worship, for the benefit of the community and the church.
Currently the Church is the largest provider of space in local communities where amateur and professional art, culture, and music can be enjoyed. In addition churches run coffee mornings, warm spaces, food banks and credit unions. They are also used for election hustings, planning enquiries, emergency relief in floods or natural disasters, public community meetings, and official announcements such as the proclamations made at the Demise of the Crown.
Churches respond to local need, and other creative ideas include village shops, community banks, children’s social and holiday clubs, wellbeing and mental health support, libraries, nursery and play spaces, and flexible office space. In rural parts of the country, churches are also supporting their communities by using their buildings to broadcast internet and wifi to support and retain the viability of local businesses and schools.
The Church publishes case studies to share examples that inspire others, along with guidance and policies for initiatives such as ‘Support for struggling churches’ (found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/church-buildings-council/how-we-manage-our-buildings/struggling-churches ) which recognises broader use alongside worship as part of a sustainable future for church buildings.
There is extensive guidance, including videos, about making changes to churches (which can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/making-changes-your-building-and-churchyard/develop-your-vision ) and this guidance covers many non-worship uses of the space.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to food bank referral slips on levels of food poverty since February 2024.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the previous administration, DWP introduced a new food charity signposting slip to replace the one previously used, removing personal data to better comply with obligations, including GDPR responsibilities, and to improve our process. The new slip does not change our DWP policy, and our Jobcentres continue to provide customers with guidance to find additional support, including to emergency food support when appropriate.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of trends in levels of foodbank usage in Surrey since 2020.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold information on levels of foodbank usage in Surrey.
The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be accessed here Children in low income families: local area statistics - GOV.UK and are available on Stat-Xplore Stat-Xplore - Home.
We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food support landscape.
We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and extended the Household Support Fund by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England.
Through the Spending Review, we have announced £842m per annum to reform crisis support. This includes the first ever multi-year settlement to transform the Household Support Fund into a new Crisis and Resilience Fund, incorporating Discretionary Housing Payments and funding to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry outside of term time.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle environmental harm in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) plays a vital role in protecting the environment by regulating businesses in the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors, and serving as the environmental regulator for water companies. Through water permitting, it balances the needs of public water supply, agriculture, industry, and the environment. The EA enforces environmental laws, prosecutes polluters, and responds to major incidents like pollution and waste fires as a Category 1 Responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
It advises on planning applications within its statutory remit, including in South Holland, South Kesteven, and Lincolnshire County Council areas, ensuring flood risk, climate change, and water quality are considered. The EA also works with Local Planning Authorities to embed environmental priorities in Local Plans.
In Lincolnshire, the EA combines flood defence with biodiversity enhancement, tackling invasive species and restoring natural river processes in partnership with Wildlife Trusts, River Trusts, and landowners.
In South Holland and The Deepings, the EA has led sustainable initiatives such as controlling Giant Hogweed and American mink, maintaining pollinator-friendly flood banks and hedgerows, and creating fish refuges at Crowland Washes. Sensitive operations at Cowbit Washes have also protected breeding avocets during flood recovery.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the further roll out of Multi Banks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy – one that stimulates growth, reduces waste, and alleviates pressure on household bills. By keeping our materials in use for longer, we can strengthen supply chain resilience, attract investment in modern manufacturing and processing infrastructure, and create skilled jobs across the country. A circular economy also means less waste going to landfill or on our streets, and more value returned to businesses and consumers alike.
Defra recognises the opportunities and benefits Multi Banks could play in redistributing surplus goods to those that need them. As we develop our Circular Economy Strategy for England, we will consider the evidence from right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of food banks in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food support landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and extended the Household Support Fund by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.
Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) food banks there are, (b) donations made to food banks and (c) people who used foodbanks in (i) Slough and (b) the South East in 2024.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold information on the number food banks there are, nor the number of donations made to food banks in (i) Slough and (ii) the South East in 2024.
Regional breakdowns of the number of individuals living in households that accessed a food bank in the 12 months prior to interview are available on Stat-Xplore - Home. Disaggregation by geographical regions should be presented as three-year averages. This is because single-year regional estimates are considered too volatile.
We are committed to tackling food poverty and ending mass dependence of emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food poverty landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and are extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle poverty in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Many churches across the Diocese of Lichfield are involved in initiatives to help those in poverty, including offering Warm Welcome Spaces, foodbanks, and school uniform banks. Such initiatives are developed according to locally identified needs and available resources in parishes.
St Thomas’ Church in Kidsgrove, St Luke’s Church in Clayton, and All Saints Church in Madeley are three of the six local distribution points for the Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank. These churches work with other denominations in Chesterton, Silverdale and Newcastle town centre to provide this service to the local community in Newcastle under Lyme. On the 22nd May, the Foodbank published data to show that in one year, it had provided 8,720 emergency food parcels to people in need. 3,018 of these parcels went to children across Newcastle under Lyme. More information is available here: https://newcastlestaffs.foodbank.org.uk/2025/05/22/end-of-year-stats-2/
The Diocese of Lichfield Strengthening Communities team works with communities and individuals, churches and other faiths across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, the Black Country and north Shropshire, to support community building and improve lives. More information about the work of the diocese can be found here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/about-us/strengthening-communities/ For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help retailers distribute surplus food to local charities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy encourages food businesses, including retailers, to prioritise redistribution of any surplus should it arise.
Defra funds the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which helps businesses to identify and measure their surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it. This Target Measure Act approach enables food businesses to get more surplus to redistributors. Defra also engages a working group of supply chain and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice and overcome barriers to redistribution.
Previous grant opportunities have helped the redistribution sector increase its capability and capacity for getting more surplus from the supply chain. Announced in December, £15 million has now been available to help the sector get more surplus food from farms to those in need.
The total amount of surplus food redistributed in the UK in 2023 was 191,000 tonnes, equating to nearly 456 million meals with a value of around £764 million.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regulation of American-style candy shops in the United Kingdom particularly in relation to (1) their links with criminal activity, including money laundering, (2) the prosperity of high streets, and (3) public health.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
This Government is committed to supporting vibrant high streets that contribute to a thriving everyday economy, growth and community cohesion. Illegitimate businesses can undercut and undermine legitimate ones that are seeking to contribute to their high street and local economy.
Money laundering through cash-based high street businesses is a known issue that government continues to focus on. While businesses such as candy shops are not regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), they interact with MLRs regulated businesses such as banks, who are required to undertake customer due diligence, and under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) must submit reports to the National Crime Agency if they suspect money laundering.
The government works closely with law enforcement and regulators to monitor trends in criminal behaviour – and how these may relate to changes in the make-up of our high streets – to ensure resources are deployed towards the most significant threats.
Supporting people to stay healthier for longer is at the heart of the Government’s Health Mission. We are committed to tackling the obstacles driving obesity. We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on TV and online, announced changes to the planning framework for fast food near schools and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose. We are also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16s.