Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Lloyd of Effra on 22 January (HL13638), what assessment they have made of their progress in cutting the administrative burden of regulation on business.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government is making progress to reduce the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament.
As set out in the October Regulation Action Plan progress update, we have identified £1.5bn in gross administrative savings through measures like the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which is accelerating the delivery of 1.5m new homes and critical infrastructure, making annual savings of £272m; modernising corporate reporting requirements, making annual savings of £230m, and; providing access to data and speeding up work to operate and repair pipes and cables by establishing the National Underground Asset Register, saving £185m annually.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is ensuring that Fire and Rescue services have a statutory duty to support flood events.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood response and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.
MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the National Underground Asset Register will enter full operational service on 1 January 2026 for safe digging and what formal safety and risk assessments the Department has received in relation to NUAR, including from the Health and Safety Executive and trade unions.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) is operational now, and in January 2026 all of its core functionality for use in street works will be in place. Development and continuous improvement will continue beyond this point, informed by user feedback. NUAR has been developed to give undertakers standardised, efficient access to asset information for carrying out street works. Feedback from users demonstrate that NUAR already delivers major improvements over existing processes for gathering information about buried utilities. No centralised risk assessment has been delivered as each organisation remains responsible for determining how NUAR fits into its safe working practices and for conducting any necessary risk assessments and ensuring that relevant guidance is adhered to. We will be carrying out a robust programme of monitoring and evaluation which will review multiple indicators to understand the impact of NUAR on safe working practices.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of integrating the National Underground Asset Register with existing safe digging services such as LinesearchbeforeUDig on levels of safety.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We have conducted a discovery project and testing phase to investigate the potential to broaden access to information held in NUAR, and through other channels, including via third-party access. The outputs of this will be communicated to the sector in due course, and we remain committed to ensuring that this information remains secure and available free at the point of use for authorised street works users.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data her Department holds on (a) underground asset strikes and (b) asset strikes in areas where the National Underground Asset Register has been operating in the past five years; and whether her Department has made an assessment of NUAR’s anticipated future underground strike rate compared with existing industry systems.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently hold data on asset strikes, including in areas where NUAR has been operational. It is important to note that, over the past five years, NUAR has progressed through several delivery phases across different regions, starting as a pilot in Northeast England and Greater London and moving to public beta in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in June 2025, and up to this date, user access was restricted to manage demand as the service evolved.
An impact assessment was published on 24 October 2024 as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This included estimates of NUAR’s effect on strike rates and was rated as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 76804 on DSIT: Social Media, what campaigns or topics social media influencers paid for by her Department have been promoted.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science Innovation and Technology has only spent money on social media influencers for reasonable expenses such as travel.
We have worked with social media influencers to drive public awareness on the following topics; how the government is putting AI to work in healthcare; work to tackle digital exclusion; the National Underground Asset Register; and products launched by the Government Digital Service to improve access to public services for citizens.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing statutory funding for tackling flooding to fire and rescue services in England.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.
MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a statutory duty for fire and rescue services in England to respond to flooding incidents.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.
MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing flood-related resources for fire and rescue services; and whether she plans to increase guaranteed resources.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.
MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.
The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement set out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of up to £69.1m in 2025/26.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to make flood rescue a statutory duty of the fire and rescue service.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.
MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.
The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement set out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of up to £69.1m in 2025/26.