Written questions by Snowden.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the licensing regime for Houses in multiple occupation in (a) identifying and (b) addressing potential conflicts of interest involving public contract holders.

It is important that private rented properties are safe, well-maintained, and properly managed. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play a crucial role in achieving this. Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of HMOs comply with all relevant regulations.

What estimate she has made of the number of illegal immigrants residing in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal migrant population, and so the Home Office under successive governments has not published any official estimates of the illegal migrant population.The Government continues to take decisive action against those found to be in the UK illegally, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to over 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Whether her Department is taking steps to investigate potential conflicts of interest in the administration of asylum accommodation contracts relating to people who both oversee contracts and are licence holders for houses in multiple occupation used for asylum accommodation.

All commercial contracts are subject to normal government procurement rules.

What steps his Department is taking to increase public awareness of the (a) causes and (b) early prevention of plantar fasciitis.

The NHS.UK website, the primary source of public information on health conditions and health services for patients in England, provides information on plantar fasciitis, including details on the causes and symptoms of the condition, as well as information on self-care and when to see a health professional. This information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/plantar-fasciitis/

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of unemployment in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The information requested is published and available at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp Guidance for users can be found at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

What steps he plans to take to return of Weeton Barracks to its original military function; and what his planned timetable is for the complete withdrawal of ARAP-related residents.

Weeton Barracks has been occupied by 1st Battalion The Lancashire Regiment since 2024. It was not used as transitional accommodation for Afghans. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that only surplus Service Family Accommodation was allocated as part of the Afghan Relocation Programme. There has been no impact caused by the Afghan Relocation Programme on military training operations or the availability of housing for Service personnel at Weeton Barracks. The Afghan Entitled Persons (EPs) are expected to have vacated the Surplus SFA by the end of November 2025. Following the vacation of the Afghan EPs, the properties will be refurbished as required and made available for allocation to Service personnel.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) quality and (b) efficiency of radiator systems installed in new-build homes.

Statutory guidance on the design of radiator systems in new-build homes is set out in Approved Document L Volume 1, which accompanies Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) of the Building Regulations. This is intended to ensure that radiator systems in new homes are correctly sized, energy efficient, and equipped with appropriate controls. The most recent update to this guidance was made through the 2021 uplift to Part L, which came into effect in June 2022. The Future Homes and Buildings Standards (FHBS) consultation, which closed in March 2024, proposed further changes to Part L and the accompanying Approved Documents to improve the energy efficiency of heating systems in new-build homes. The Government intends to publish its response to the FHBS consultation in autumn this year.

What support she is providing to Afghan nationals during their transition from Weeton Barracks to long-term housin; and whether this includes assistance with (a) employment, (b) language training and (c) healthcare access.

Supporting Afghans on their arrival into the UK is critical in providing a strong foundation for those rebuilding their new life in the UK.Under the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), transitional accommodation is offered for up to 9 months, within which households will be expected to move on to their settled home.An integration tariff has been developed to provide financial support to Local Authorities (LA) supporting the resettlement of Eligible People (EP) under ARP. Further detail and a breakdown of the integration tariff is provided in the published policy guidance for the ARP.This is viewable on the following link: Afghan Resettlement Programme: policy guidance (accessible) - GOV.UK.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the accessibility of the UK Emergency Alert System for people who are (a) visually and (b) hearing impaired.

We have ensured that the Emergency Alerts system works with voice reader software. This means that everyone who already has this and all other accessibility settings enabled on their phones should have the alert read out to them. As part of the communications campaign, we have developed a British Sign Language information video explaining the upcoming national test. We have also engaged with disability groups, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and Mencap. These charities conducted engagement campaigns to reach individuals with visual impairments to help them understand more about the alerts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the volume of textile waste generated from fast fashion annually.

While we do not hold any internal estimates on fast fashion waste volumes in the UK, industry partners provide some insight. WRAP estimates that the UK generated approximately 1.45 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles in 2022, which includes clothing, household linens and more. WRAP does not isolate a proportion of this as fast fashion. However, they note that low-quality textile goods are saturating secondary markets, with the average person in the UK throwing 35 items of unwanted textiles straight into the general waste each year, demonstrating the fast turnover of clothing. Meanwhile, figures from BusinessWaste indicate that 300,000 tonnes of clothing waste enter household bins annually in the UK, with much of this likely being fast fashion.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria are used to determine whether an (a) individual and (b) entity is considered an enabler of people smuggling for the purposes of sanctions.

To consider whether someone is an enabler or otherwise involved in the relevant activity, we use the criteria set out in regulation 8 of The Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025, combined with the statutory threshold of reasonable grounds to suspect and taking information from a range of sources.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce extended producer responsibility regulations for fashion retailers.

The Government has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, which it plans to publish for consultation in the coming autumn. The Circular Economy Taskforce will initially focus on six sectors that have the greatest potential to grow the economy, one of which is Textiles. The Circular Economy Taskforce recognises the importance of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles. As we develop the strategy, we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed, including but not limited to EPR.

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is available for residents to plant trees in urban areas.

Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund provides support for urban trees through grants including the Community Forest’s Trees for Climate programme and also the Trees Outside Woodland Fund. The Trees Outside Woodland Fund launched in June 2025, administered by the Tree Council and funded by Defra. It offered grants between £10,000 and £40,000 to support tree planting in urban and peri-urban areas across England. The fund was open to local authorities and registered charities with a turnover exceeding £100,000, and projects must be completed by 2 March 2026. Applications were open from 10 June to 31 October 2025. The funds are now fully allocated for this financial year.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the outcomes of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer schemes since its launch.

Since launching in Spring, the eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers are testing a range of localised support to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. The eight Trailblazer areas are actively identifying and engaging at risk or disengaged young people to help them access tailored support to move into employment and training opportunities through local connections with employers and delivery partners. The findings of the local and national evaluations will inform our approach to wider roll-out of the Youth Guarantee. To further improve outcomes for young people, we have committed to continue funding the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in 2026/27 to enable more young people to access employment, education and training opportunities.

Whether guidance has been issued to (a) banks and (b) financial services firms on (i) detecting and (ii) reporting transactions linked to sanctioned people smuggling networks.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has designated 25 individuals and entities under the new Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025, and previously published statutory guidance. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), responsible for implementing and enforcing financial sanctions, has produced an extensive suite of guidance to provide industry with further clarity and support to comply with financial sanctions, such as the OFSI general guidance, threat assessment reports and FAQs.For further information view OFSI’s general guidance here, and its full suite of guidance here.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the level of ground rents on mortgage lending decisions.

The pricing and availability of mortgages, including how ground rents factor into mortgage applications, is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. More widely, the Government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of Weeton Barracks for transitional accommodation on (a) military training operations and (b) the availability of housing for service personnel and their families.

Weeton Barracks has been occupied by 1st Battalion The Lancashire Regiment since 2024. It was not used as transitional accommodation for Afghans. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that only surplus Service Family Accommodation was allocated as part of the Afghan Relocation Programme. There has been no impact caused by the Afghan Relocation Programme on military training operations or the availability of housing for Service personnel at Weeton Barracks. The Afghan Entitled Persons (EPs) are expected to have vacated the Surplus SFA by the end of November 2025. Following the vacation of the Afghan EPs, the properties will be refurbished as required and made available for allocation to Service personnel.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Prevent duty in reducing radicalisation among children and young people in the long term.

The Home Office works continually to enhance and strengthen our approach to preventing radicalisation among children and young people. Each year, a significant number of young people are referred to Prevent for support. In the year ending 31 March 2024, individuals aged 11 to 15 accounted for the largest proportion of the 6,884 referrals to Prevent (2,729; 40%) where age was known, and a slightly larger proportion of both those discussed at a Channel Panel (374; 42%) and those adopted as a Channel case (254; 50%).To assess the effectiveness of the programme, a Channel evaluation programme launched in April 2025 and has begun collecting data on outcomes for participants of Channel in England and Wales. The evaluation has also been expanded to Prevent multi-agency panels (PMAP) in Scotland. The evaluation programme is consulting practitioners nationally and conducting case studies across six local authorities to review how Channel is being delivered. This is a significant piece of work to improve our understanding of Channel's impact on counter-terrorism outcomes and radicalisation risk. The evaluation will report at the end of 2026.Earlier this year, Prevent launched new guidance to ensure that repeat referrals to Prevent receive the multi-agency consideration they require. In January 2025, the Channel multi-agency programme was extended to enable interventions in cases where people are under police investigation. This means specialist support can be provided to individuals -  and particularly young people -  who are already on a pathway to terrorism offending, to reduce their risk of harm.An end-to-end review of Prevent thresholds has also been concluded, and its recommendations will strengthen our approach to the assessment and management of Prevent referrals, including where young people are identified as being at risk. Pilots are now running across the country, to ensure that where young people do not meet Prevent thresholds, they receive the support they need from wider services.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consider introducing a reinsurance scheme similar to Flood Re for properties built after 2009.

Planning policy is clear that that inappropriate development in floodplains should be avoided. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it should be made flood resistant, resilient and safe for their lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere. It is important to shop around to find an affordable premium as individual insurers consider different factors in setting their premiums. Householders can use the Flood Insurance Directory at www.biba.org.uk.find-insurance to find an appropriate insurance service or speak to someone at BIBAs Find and insurance service on 0370 950 1790. Householders should ensure that the cover is suitable for their individual circumstances.

Food and Rural Affairs, what insurance support is available for homeowners whose properties were built after 2009.

Planning policy is clear that that inappropriate development in floodplains should be avoided. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it should be made flood resistant, resilient and safe for their lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere. It is important to shop around to find an affordable premium as individual insurers consider different factors in setting their premiums. Householders can use the Flood Insurance Directory at www.biba.org.uk.find-insurance to find an appropriate insurance service or speak to someone at BIBAs Find and insurance service on 0370 950 1790. Householders should ensure that the cover is suitable for their individual circumstances.