Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that importers ensure that their goods are free from forced labour.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling forced labour in UK and global supply chains and ensuring that UK businesses are not complicit in human rights abuses. A range of existing measures already support this, including the Procurement Act 2023, Overseas Business Risk guidance, and the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The review launched in the Trade Strategy into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct focuses on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains. It will assess effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and the merits of alternative measures to support responsible business practices.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2025, to Question 65368, on Empty Property, how many dwellings are owned or managed by the Government Property Agency which are currently empty.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There are currently 13 vacant properties within the Government Property Agency’s managed portfolio. This total includes sites that are in the process of being disposed of or have been vacated to facilitate ongoing refurbishment work with the aim to improve the overall condition and efficiency of the managed estate.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender in full.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 8th January is attached.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025, to Question 90245, on Admiralty House: Official Residences, which civil servants, and from which business unit, are allowed to stay in the Admiralty House official residences.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 20 November 2025, Official Report, PQ 90245.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of the cost of energy bills on households.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead department for the energy sector only. Regarding energy utility bills, lowering bills is central to every decision we make.
Thanks to decisions in Government's Autumn Budget, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will deliver an average £150 of costs off household energy bills from April 2026. As a result of this action, people can expect to make a significant saving on their bills.
In addition, in 2024-2025, 7,961 households (18.4%) in Ashfield benefited from the Warm Home Discount - a £150 discount on their energy bill. This winter, we are expanding this discount so that around 6 million low-income households will receive this support, including an approximate additional 160,000 households in the East Midlands region.
Beyond these measures, this Government is taking back control of our energy to prevent the British people from being left exposed to price shocks caused by our dependence on fossil fuel markets. We are delivering the biggest investment in clean, low-cost energy in British history, so we can build a system that protects billpayers permanently.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he is taking to support households with the cost of utility bills.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead department for the energy sector only. Regarding energy utility bills, lowering bills is central to every decision we make.
Thanks to decisions in Government's Autumn Budget, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will deliver an average £150 of costs off household energy bills from April 2026. As a result of this action, people can expect to make a significant saving on their bills.
In addition, in 2024-2025, 7,961 households (18.4%) in Ashfield benefited from the Warm Home Discount - a £150 discount on their energy bill. This winter, we are expanding this discount so that around 6 million low-income households will receive this support, including an approximate additional 160,000 households in the East Midlands region.
Beyond these measures, this Government is taking back control of our energy to prevent the British people from being left exposed to price shocks caused by our dependence on fossil fuel markets. We are delivering the biggest investment in clean, low-cost energy in British history, so we can build a system that protects billpayers permanently.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to introduce national compensation for homeowners adversely affected by loft spray foam insulation.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For installations under DESNZ schemes, consumers are entitled to remediation where work has not been up to standard even when an installer has ceased trading. Homeowners should claim through their guarantee where this is the case. However, we understand most spray foam loft insulation has been installed outside of our schemes where the protection available depends on what was agreed at the time between the homeowner and the installer.
Poor-quality installations are the result of years of a failed system, and this government is committed to introducing new reforms to drive up quality and protect consumers through the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of Crown Court convictions and sentences in the most recent year for which data is available were appealed to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold the information required to calculate the proportion of Crown Court convictions and sentences that were appealed to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent financial losses on the long-term stability of the Premiership Rugby union.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of the Government.
The Government monitors the financial situation of rugby union closely and continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Prem and Champ clubs as well as the Tier Two Board, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
I have met with the RFU and Prem Rugby previously to discuss the long-term financial sustainability of professional rugby union, and my officials regularly engage with the RFU and Prem Rugby on this issue.
During the Pandemic, the previous Government loaned £158 million to rugby union to support organisations impacted by COVID-19 restrictions on favourable terms. Sport England, in their role as DCMS’s Loan Agent, regularly engages with borrowers to monitor their financial position, and works with them to help ensure that the loans are repaid, and that borrowers comply with the terms of their loans. As with all borrowers, it remains the responsibility of the organisation to ensure their longer term sustainability.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Rugby Football Union about recent financial losses in Premiership Rugby.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of the Government.
The Government monitors the financial situation of rugby union closely and continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Prem and Champ clubs as well as the Tier Two Board, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
I have met with the RFU and Prem Rugby previously to discuss the long-term financial sustainability of professional rugby union, and my officials regularly engage with the RFU and Prem Rugby on this issue.
During the Pandemic, the previous Government loaned £158 million to rugby union to support organisations impacted by COVID-19 restrictions on favourable terms. Sport England, in their role as DCMS’s Loan Agent, regularly engages with borrowers to monitor their financial position, and works with them to help ensure that the loans are repaid, and that borrowers comply with the terms of their loans. As with all borrowers, it remains the responsibility of the organisation to ensure their longer term sustainability.