Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the deposit return scheme that will be used in (a) Wales and (b) the rest of the UK on the (i) economy and (ii) environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published a Final Impact Assessment for the deposit return scheme (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland alongside the regulations in January 2025.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor the population of Cirl Buntings in (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is currently no active monitoring carried out by, or funded by, Defra. However, current agri-environment schemes provide funding for farmers to provide suitable habitat to support Cirl Bunting.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will he have discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential merits of hosting future major golfing events in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government remains committed to delivering major international sporting events with pride - building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in event delivery - and seeking new opportunities to do so. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.
We recognise that major events deliver significant benefits to all parts of the UK including Northern Ireland. Having attended The Open at Royal Portrush this July, I am aware that Northern Ireland is well equipped to successfully deliver major golfing events.
We continue to work closely with our expert arm’s-length body UK Sport to explore future hosting opportunities that will strengthen the UK’s major events pipeline. The UK has already secured a strong pipeline of events over the coming years, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the Grand Départ for the Tour De France and the Tour de France Femmes in 2027 and the UEFA 2028 European Championships.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the guaranteed-hours provisions in the Employment Rights Bill on (a) levels of self-employment (b) the ratio of fixed-term contracts to permanent contracts.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has published its Impact Assessment and Economic Analysis for the Employment Rights Bill.
As stated, the guaranteed hours provisions aim to reduce the risk of workers being pushed into casual employment, increase predictability for workers with variable hours, and still allow those who prefer zero-hours contracts to keep them.
The Bill contains provisions to tackle avoidance mechanisms that might be used by employers to avoid the new rights, for example use of fixed-term contracts where work is ongoing. Whether an individual is self-employed or a worker is not a choice but depends on the reality of the relationship.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 received recent representations from relevant stakeholders on the potential impact of (a) rent charge clauses and (b) management company practices on homeowners’ ability to sell their properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures.
The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 help protect freeholders from excessive (a) delays and (b) charges imposed by private management companies during property transactions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures.
The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) prevalence and (b) potential impact on freehold property sales of restrictive rent-charge clauses used by developers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures.
The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the capacity of sewage treatment sites to accommodate (a) current housing and (b) new housing developments in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the importance of water and wastewater provision on new developments.
As set out in Paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development should be pursued both through the preparation and implementation of local development plans, and the application of policies in the framework.
The government is clear that housing must come with appropriate infrastructure, including appropriate water infrastructure. We believe that strategic issues such as water capacity are best dealt with at a strategic level through the plan-making process, rather than through individual planning applications.
A key function of local development plans is to guide development to the most suitable and sustainable locations and to ensure that the associated infrastructure requirements are addressed. Effective co-operation early in the plan-making process is essential to ensuring not only that housing and infrastructure need is appropriately planned for, but that they are aligned with each other. The NPPF makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies, including infrastructure providers, to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies.
Water companies are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewerage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of water resource management plans, and drainage and wastewater management plans. The water resources planning guideline published by the Environment Agency and Ofwat, sets out how those companies should forecast demand for water based on existing customers and planned levels of household and non-household growth, with the number of planned developments being based on published local plans.
Relevant planning practice guidance sets out that good design and mitigation measures should be secured during development, both through site-specific and non-site-specific policies on water infrastructure. The revised NPPF published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that developments of all sizes should use sustainable drainage techniques when the development could have drainage impacts and should have appropriate maintenance arrangements in place. We continue to explore whether more needs to be done to ensure sustainable drainage technologies are taken up more widely in new development, either through planning policy or by commencing schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and a decision on the best way forward will be made in the coming months.
Ensuring that we take a strategic spatial planning approach to the management of water, including tackling pollution and managing pressures on the water environment at a catchment, regional and national scale, was a core objective of the independent review into the regulatory system of the water sector. The government’s full response to the Independent Water Commission’s recommendations will be published through a White Paper published for consultation this Autumn. This will include responses to recommendations which intend to unlock growth by ensuring water infrastructure investment is aligned with regional and national economic priorities and remove long-standing barriers to development.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the role of (a) parish and (b) town councils in the context of Local Government reorganisation; what assessment he has made of the potential merits in maintaining their statutory role in representing local communities on planning applications; and what steps he is taking to ensure parish councils remain integral to local democratic accountability.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Town and parish councils are not in scope for local government reorganisation and will continue to operate as they do now. Councils may wish to collaborate with their town and parish councils to determine how they can most effectively contribute to the delivery of services in future arrangements. In doing so, they may wish to consider the support town and parish councils will require to do so effectively.
We recognise the important role that parish and town councils play in the planning process. Planning law allows parish councils and neighbourhood fora to require local planning authorities to consult them on any relevant planning applications in their area, and notify them of the decision. This will not change in the context of LGR.
The government continues to value the role of town and parish councils in driving forward the priorities of their communities and delivering effective local services.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the list of designated days for the flying of the Union Flag is kept under regular review; and when the last review took place.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The list of designated days for the flying of the Union Flag is reviewed annually in consultation with No 10 and the Royal Household. The most recent review was completed on 14th March 2025 when the 2025 Designated Days list was published on GOV.UK.