Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the Warm Homes Agency will commence supporting companies and employees in Birmingham Perry Barr constituency impacted by the closure of the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that ending Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme presents challenges for the supply chain. For the additional £1.5 billion announced in the Warm Homes Plan, the Government will use the procurement regime for all new funding to support the retrofit workforce affected by the closure of ECO, working closely with the retrofit supply chain, housing associations and local authorities. The Government is also committed to ensuring a smooth transition to the Warm Homes Agency. The scope and timeline of the Agency’s operations are being developed and will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2025 to Question 104851 on Ukraine: Defence Equipment, if he will list the new counter-drone protection that will be upgraded.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has allocated £200 million to prepare the UK Armed Forces to deploy as part of the Multinational Force Ukraine. Planning continues at pace; however, it would not be appropriate to provide mission specific detail in relation to any future UK Armed Forces deployment, for reasons of operational security.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2025 to Question 104851 on Ukraine: Defence Equipment, if he will list the communication systems that will be upgraded.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has allocated £200 million to prepare the UK Armed Forces to deploy as part of the Multinational Force Ukraine. Planning continues at pace; however, it would not be appropriate to provide mission specific detail in relation to any future UK Armed Forces deployment, for reasons of operational security.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2025 to Question 104851 on Ukraine: Defence Equipment, if he will list the vehicles that will be upgraded.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has allocated £200 million to prepare the UK Armed Forces to deploy as part of the Multinational Force Ukraine. Planning continues at pace; however, it would not be appropriate to provide mission specific detail in relation to any future UK Armed Forces deployment, for reasons of operational security.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average cost of determining a market rent application; and what the projected annual cost is following implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is not currently possible to identify the cost of determining a market rent application. This is one of several types of case heard by the Residential Property Tribunal and currently costs are not apportioned to individual case types.
We are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure the Property Tribunal is able to accommodate the impact of the Renters’ Reform Act.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government will publish data on market rent determinations, tribunal volumes, decision times and outcomes following implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Currently HM Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) publish quarterly data on the Residential Property Chamber.
HMCTS is reviewing the data captured, drawn and published from the supporting systems for the Tribunal as part of preparations for the Renters’ Rights Act.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for taking legislative steps to develop a regulatory framework for low and zero emission vehicles, following the commitment in the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As stated in the Road Safety Strategy, the Government has made a commitment to pursue legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women have joined the armed forces in each of the last five years; and what proportion they represented of all new recruits in each year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The attached table shows the Intake and Outflow of Female UK Service personnel (Regulars and Future Reserves 2020), for financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women have left the armed forces in each of the last five years; and what proportion they represented of all outflow in each year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The attached table shows the Intake and Outflow of Female UK Service personnel (Regulars and Future Reserves 2020), for financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between any reduction in the provision of childcare and employment outcomes for single parents; and whether areas experiencing a reduction in childcare provision have seen any corresponding changes in single-parent labour market participation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2026/27, we expect to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24, as we have successfully rolled out the expansion of government-funded childcare for all working parents.
We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life. The first phase of the programme is creating up to 6,000 new nursery places, with schools reporting over 5,000 having been made available from September 2025.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Through our Best Start in Life strategy we will improve access to early years education and childcare, particularly for low-income families and those with additional needs. Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.