Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to contract “Support Payment Card”, procurement reference 429018/1483183, how many staff delivering services are subject to Security Clearance (SC); and what the average cost of clearance is per staff member.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not incur costs for Security Clearance (SC) under the Support Payment Card contract, as these are not charged through the contract, and we therefore do not hold data on the average cost per staff member.
The number of staff subject to SC is also not held by the department, as staffing levels and clearance requirements sit with the provider, who is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate number of suitably cleared personnel are in place to deliver the services in accordance with contractual requirements.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87778 on Affordable Housing: Construction, what proportion of funding from the new Programme will be used to purchase homes that have (a) already been started and (b) built through different schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme will permit a limited number of acquisitions.
For further information, please see the policy statement published by the Department on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department has offered to the a) Republic of Mozambique, b) Republic of Zimbabwe and c) Republic of South Africa following the recent flooding incidents in those countries; and what direct engagement has taken place between His Majesty's Government and Ministers in each nation about the recovery effort.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK was one of the first countries to step up with lifesaving assistance for Mozambique. We delivered a £2 million increase in humanitarian funding, building on earlier action in 2025 to help communities prepare for increasingly frequent climate-related disasters. This support enabled the deployment of a specialist UK International Search and Rescue team, which saved dozens of lives, and helped provide emergency sanitation and health support to those most in need through local partners. The Minister of State for Development has just returned from Mozambique and saw first-hand the impact of the UK's flexible and rapid response to the crisis.
We have not had any direct ministerial engagement with Zimbabwe or South Africa on this matter, but we continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Trees (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce dog lead requirements for dogs on or adjacent to public highways and urban green spaces.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a balance to be struck between protecting the wider public and their animals from dog attacks, the freedom people enjoy when walking their dogs, and the welfare of those dogs including the freedom to exhibit normal behaviours. We currently have no plans to legislate to compel dogs to be on leads in public places.
It is already an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow a dog to be on a designated road unless it is on a lead. In addition, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, enforcement authorities have powers to make Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) insisting dogs are kept on leads in certain areas. Where a dog has been involved in anti-social behaviour, enforcement authorities can also issue community protection notices which could require a dog to be kept on a lead in public.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Google about reports that they sent emails to under 13 year-olds informing them how to turn off parental controls on their birthday.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government meets regularly with stakeholders, including from the tech sector.
Many platforms have parental control tools to help parents manage their children’s screentime and online experience.
Google has clarified in a policy update that parental controls will remain in place beyond 13 unless a parent consents to turn these off.
Asked by: Lord Bates (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to announce the 2026 Official Development Assistance budget allocations; and whether they will make the announcement by means of an oral statement to both Houses.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The allocations in question will be set out in the coming months, and we will confirm details of that planned announcement in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of national planning policy in securing the long-term management and maintenance of public open spaces in residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes proposals relating to the provision of new or improved open space.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
I also refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was for a case to be heard in a criminal court in England and Wales once referred, as of the most recent data available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on the longest time a case has taken to have its first hearing at a criminal court from the point of crime referral.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data regarding timeliness from the date of crime referral.
The Department publishes quarterly timeliness data concerning the criminal courts in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’ and ‘Magistrates’ courts timeliness tool’, at the following link: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
These Accredited Official Statistics present the latest statistics on type and volume of cases that are received and processed through the criminal court system of England and Wales, including multiple measures of timeliness. The statistics give a summary overview of the volume of cases and defendants dealt with by these courts over time, including further breakdowns of available timeliness stages, offence groups and factors impacting case flow (plea, remand and case type).
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposed changes to the right to a jury trial on the rule of law.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government will publish a full impact assessment of our proposed justice reforms in the usual way with bill introduction. That will include an assessment of the impact of the proposed changes in the threshold for who can access a jury trial. Currently, over 90% of criminal cases are already heard by magistrates, without a jury. These proposals make a modest change to the threshold. All indictable only offences and any offence with a likely sentence over three years will continue to receive a jury trial.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the telecommunication cables by the Royal Mint site will be amended or moved when the Chinese Embassy is built.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Details of the development for which planning permission has been granted in the case in question are set out in the relevant decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.