Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has set a deadline for introducing a comprehensive remuneration and conditions framework set for implementation from October 2026 for public service interpreters.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has provided a comprehensive response to the Public Services Committee inquiry and report into interpreter and translation services in the courts, published in June 2025, which covers this topic.
The Ministry of Justice is procuring new interpreter contracts to commence in October 2026, which include improvements to the service, interpreter remuneration, and conditions.
The Department considered mandating payment rates for interpreters during market engagement but concluded that suppliers (as experts in the market) are best placed to set payment rates. The Ministry of Justice’s role, as the commissioning body, is to ensure that these rates are fair and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.
The Ministry of Justice has already taken steps to improve interpreter remuneration, such as increasing the minimum face to face booking duration to two hours in October 2024, which has led to improved contract fulfilment rates and a reduction in off contract requests.
From October 2026, the new contracts will introduce improvements to interpreter remuneration and conditions. This includes:
Strengthening safeguarding provisions to support interpreter wellbeing
Changing the cancellation cut-off time meaning more cancellations will fall into the ‘short notice’ category and attract a fee payable to interpreters
Maintaining the two-hour minimum booking duration
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of introducing an independent regulator to oversee the commercial agencies it appoints for the provision of interpreting and translation services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not require the introduction of an independent regulator due to the existing, robust assurance procedures in place.
All interpreters under the Ministry of Justice contracts are subject to a quality assurance regime, which is independent of the suppliers that provide our interpreters. The Department has a dedicated Commercial and Contract Management team that oversees the quality assurance provider and the suppliers of interpreters. Their work includes conducting audits to ensure that data is reliable and reviewing quality and complaints data to ensure that the service is delivering for the taxpayer.
Performance data for the language interpreter and translation services is published on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the recruitment and retention of sufficient numbers of interpreters with a Level 6 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting by October 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is committed to maintaining both the quality and capacity of the future supply chain of qualified court interpreters.
The Department and its suppliers regularly review fulfilment data to inform and adapt recruitment strategies, and our suppliers ensure that there are, and will be, sufficient interpreters with the required qualifications to meet our demand. The new contracts will improve this further by including steps to support interpreters in attaining Level 6 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting, through expanding the Trainee Scheme managed by the quality and assurance provider and providing more support for qualification costs.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting restrictions similar to those in Switzerland on the spreading of biomass ash on fields.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting restrictions similar to those in Switzerland on the spreading of biomass ash on fields.
Waste and agriculture are devolved policy areas, so this response only covers England. In England you can spread waste to land to improve soil health. This can help reduce the need to use manufactured fertilisers and quarried soil conditioners.
Spreading waste to land must be controlled by an environmental permit, regulatory position statement, low risk waste position or waste exemption to protect the environment and human health. It must result in agricultural benefit or ecological improvement, and be waste recovery, not waste disposal.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the early (a) identification and (b) support of children with special educational needs (i) in areas with lower special educational needs resources, (ii) for children without formal diagnosis and (iii) in all areas.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined to ensure that all settings have the tools to identify special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) early, support children and young people, and prevent the escalation of needs later on. Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We recognise that the early years presents a crucial opportunity to invest in children’s development. We are investing in additional support and improving how funding is distributed to providers, supporting them to strengthen inclusion and early intervention.
Best Start Family Hubs will also provide high quality support in every local authority. Each hub will include access to a professional trained to support parents of children with additional needs, helping to identify SEND early and connect families with local services.
The department is also investing in evidence-based programmes, including the Nuffield Early Language Intervention and the Early Language and Speech for Every Child programme, to support children with their speech and language development. We have published free resources for providers, including an online training module and SEND assessment guidance, and we are funding the level 3 Early Years qualification for an additional 1,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of for what reason alcohol-free drinks are priced (a) comparably to and (b) higher than alcoholic equivalents.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for the Government to set retail food and drink prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on ending farrowing crate usage for pigs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has met with key stakeholders, as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare, and a broad range of animal welfare issues have been discussed.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has held discussions with (a) retailers and (b) producers on the pricing of alcohol-free drinks.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for the Government to set retail food and drink prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance he plans to issue on sufficient sorting requirements for material recovery facilities to follow.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not plan to issue specific guidance on sorting requirements for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).
Simpler Recycling requires the following recyclable waste streams from all households and workplaces in England: glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste (and garden waste from households only). These measures will increase the quantity of dry recyclable material collected for sorting at MRFS and will apply from 31st March 2025 from workplaces, 31st March 2026 from households and 31st March 2027 from micro-firms (with less than 10 FTEs.
Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support Material Recovery Facility (MRF) readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements.
We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities through WRAP’s MRF Forum to identify challenges with MRF capacity, investment, upgrade timelines, and to work with the sector to identify interventions to support MRFs as they prepare for Simpler Recycling. WRAP is developing interventions to support Local Authorities setting up new MRF contracts or procurement of other resources associated with implementation of Simpler Recycling requirements. An assessment is being undertaken of the potential future composition of dry mixed recyclable waste streams and the associated financial implications resulting from this.
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, if he will ensure that the proposed deposit return scheme has adequate collection zones in (a) rural areas and (b) villages in Newton Abbot constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The scheme administrator, UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd. (UK DMO), is responsible for ensuring there is a comprehensive network of return points so that consumers can easily return their containers, including in rural areas.
The scheme requires all supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores and newsagents that sell drinks that are included in the scheme to host a return point, unless they qualify for an exemption.
Government continues to work closely with UK DMO as they work to deliver the scheme in October 2027.