Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December to Question 96978 on Sports: Facilities, what data relating to non-pitch-based sports infrastructure her Department holds; and whether it holds datasets on local authority breakdowns.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.
According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.
We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the £400 million announced for grassroots sports facilities on 19 June 2025 will include Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.
According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.
We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the decibel level of fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No current assessment has been made on the merits of reducing decibel levels of fireworks. However, the Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action.
The Government has also launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for the 2025-2026 fireworks season. The campaign highlights the availability of low noise fireworks and includes new guidance for those running community fireworks events and new social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of small and medium-seized developers assisting with the delivery of Environmental Delivery Plans.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Private and third sector providers, including small businesses and landowners, will play an essential role in delivering conservation measures under Environmental Delivery Plans through fair and open tendering processes.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Child Maintenance Service's stated response time is for MPs' queries.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a customer makes a complaint, including when an MP contacts DWP on their behalf, DWP complaints service standard (including Child Maintenance Service - CMS) aim is to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint, or when they can expect a response if the complaint is complex and will take longer.
The Department actively assesses the adequacy of the timeliness and priority of enquiries received from MPs, which enables us to identify which benefit areas are generating the highest number of enquiries, the underlying reasons for these contacts, and the factors contributing to any delays in responses. Regrettably, higher volumes of MP enquiries, combined with a rise in more complex complaints which take longer to investigate, has caused some delays with our responses.
MPs and their caseworkers can contact the CMS via dedicated routes, in writing or by phone. Contact details are available on the parliamentary website. The CMS MP Hotline is available for MPs and their caseworkers who need to contact CMS regarding a general enquiry or a constituency case. This service is in addition to written correspondence.
The hotline operates Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and is staffed by Complaint Resolution Managers. We aim to provide an immediate response to enquiries wherever possible. For more complex cases, we will arrange follow-up contact with the MP’s caseworker to discuss or provide additional information.
CMS is committed to delivering a modern, efficient service that meets the needs of all customers.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote soil education among planning officers, developers, landowners and the public.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of soil education and promoting the importance of soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices.
Defra continues to engage with the industry to disseminate a range of material to support planning officers, farmers and land managers to make informed choices about how to sustainably manage their soil. This includes engaging with the British Society of Soil Science to introduce a soil scientist apprenticeship programme to increase the number of qualified experts to support them.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing sites of geological value and soils. The associated guidance is clear that soil is an essential natural capital asset that provides important ecosystem services. More broadly, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have also established a ‘Planning Capacity & Capability’ programme to develop a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the press release entitled Fresh drive to boost Pension Credit take-up as new figures reveal large regional gaps in those receiving benefit worth around £4,300 a year, published on 30 October 2025, if he will publish constituency level analysis.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ad-hoc statistics on households potentially eligible for Pension Credit were published by DWP for the financial year 2023 to 2024 and are available at: Households potentially eligible for Pension Credit, 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. Table 4a provides a breakdown of eligible households in receipt of Pension Credit, potentially eligible households and Pension Credit receipt rate by parliamentary constituency.
These are estimates based on administrative data and are not derived from the official statistics (available here: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2024 - GOV.UK). The official statistics should be used for estimates of Pension Credit take-up at the Great Britian level, with the ad-hoc statistics providing breakdowns at lower levels of geographical areas.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a tax of 1.5p per mile on drivers of hybrid vehicles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The taxation of motoring is a critical source of funding for public services and investment in infrastructure
PHEVs have the capacity to drive in either electric or petrol mode and will continue to pay fuel duty on miles driven in petrol mode. In recognition of this, they will be subject to a reduced eVED rate of 1.5 pence per mile upon its introduction in April 2028 – half the rate that will apply to fully electric cars
Alongside the introduction of eVED, the Government is also providing generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs
New electric car sales are still forecast to more than triple from nearly 0.5 million sales in 2025/26 to around 1.6 million by 2030/31.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of introducing planning protections for high-functioning soils by designating them as Soil Conservation Zones.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no plans to assess or introduce new planning-based protected designations for high functioning soils.
However, the Government recognises the importance of improving and protecting soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that the planning system should protect and enhance soils and ensure new development does not lead to unacceptable levels of soil pollution. It also requires planning authorities to safeguard ‘best and most versatile land’ (BMV) agricultural land. Surveys under the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system are required to be carried out on agricultural land, so that planners can determine whether a site contains BMV land before making planning decisions.
Other soil functions are also protected or managed through various existing mechanisms within the planning system, including those relating to flood risk, pollution and contaminated land, biodiversity, landscape and cultural heritage.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of large‑scale habitat restoration funded through the Nature Restoration Fund on the economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Large-scale habitat restoration has the potential to deliver significant economic benefits alongside environmental gains. Evidence from similar programmes suggests the following could be realised:
Job creation: Habitat restoration projects generate skilled employment in land management, and ecological services.
Natural capital uplift: Improved ecosystems enhance flood resilience, water quality, and carbon sequestration, reducing long-term public costs.
Local and National growth: Investment will attract jobs, supporting local businesses and supply chains.
Further detail can be found within the published Impact Assessment.