Written questions by Snowden.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 25 to Question 73558 on Veterans: World War II, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of commemorating the contribution of British famers to national security (a) through their service in the Home Guard and (b) supervision of prisoners of war during the Second World War.

We have no current plans to create initiatives in respect of commemorating the role of British farmers in maintaining national security during the Second World War. In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation.

Whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the (a) quality and (b) availability of stoma care services.

The Government is committed to ensuring patients across the United Kingdom have access to high quality care, including those who need stoma surgery. As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.No recent assessment has been made about the quality and availability of stoma care services. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and assessing the quality and availability of stoma care services at a regional level and in accordance with their local populations’ health needs.

What steps she is taking to improve safety on the M6 motorway.

Safety is National Highways' top priority, and it regularly reviews safety performance. It will be undertaking a route safety study for the M6 this financial year, which it expects to complete by March 2026.

What role local authorities have in regulating the timing of roadworks in residential areas; and whether they are empowered to enforce restrictions on noise and working hours.

Local highway authorities play a central role in regulating the timing of roadworks in residential areas. When utility companies apply for permits to carry out street works, authorities can attach conditions to those permits, including restrictions on working hours to help minimise disruption to residents. If a utility company breaches these conditions, the authority is empowered to issue fines under the relevant street works regulations. Authorities also have discretion to schedule their own roadworks outside standard hours, particularly when traffic volumes are lower. Section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 empowers local authorities to restrict noise from street works by setting permitted working hours, which are typically 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 72990 on Mobile Scooters: Safety, whether he plans to consult members of the public in the review.

As part of the review of the law covering powered mobility devices, we will run a public consultation on potential changes to the legislation.

What guidance his Department provides to transport operators on making toilets (a) accessible and (b) usable for people with a stoma.

The Department places accessible travel for disabled people among its highest priorities, as part of our broader commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunity. We are determined to deliver a transport network that puts passengers at its heart-enabling disabled people to travel easily, confidently and with dignity, including those with bowel conditions which require a stoma. On rail, the Department publishes accessibility standards the industry must comply with whenever they install, replace or renew station toilets. This includes accessible toilets. Where toilets are provided on trains it is a legal requirement for operators to comply with the relevant accessibility standards. Given the importance of toilets to passenger comfort, operators should consider appropriate provision when procuring or refurbishing trains. In aviation, regulation and guidance already exists in relation to the provision of accessible toilets that cater for all kinds of disabilities, for both airports and airlines. In addition, there is a requirement for industry to account for the needs of disabled passengers in the design and refurbishment of airports and aircraft. In local transport, the provision and design of bus and coach stations, including accessible toilets, is a matter for local authorities, who should be mindful of their duties under the Equality Act 2010 when making relevant decisions. Disabled people should be able to make journeys with confidence that transport infrastructure will meet their needs. This is why we are introducing a requirement, through the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, for local authorities to pay regard to new statutory guidance on the safety and accessibility of bus station and stop design when providing new or upgrading existing facilities.

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) contractors and (b) subcontractors used by her Department publish accounts in line with HMRC requirements.

Contractors under direct contract with agreements over £10k are bound by contract terms to both uphold the laws of the land and to not bring the Secretary of State into disrepute.This includes responsibility for any subcontractors they engage.

What (a) access to stoma nurses, (b) psychological services and (c) home delivery of supplies does the NHS provide to people living with a stoma.

National Health Service Talking Therapies Long Term Conditions Services provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety disorders, who also have a long-term physical health condition, such as those living with a stoma. All integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways. ICBs are legally responsible for commissioning the majority of health services, including stoma-related services like home delivery of supplies, in accordance with their populations’ health needs.The Department does not hold the information requested on access to stoma nurses.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of environmental protection legislation to limit noise pollution from roadworks in built-up areas on weekends.

The Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and minimise disruption to people’s quality of life. Section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act allows Local Authorities to address noise from construction sites, including roadworks, by serving a notice imposing requirements as to how the construction may be carried out. This notice may specify a range of conditions, including hours during which the work can be carried out, and the level of noise that may be emitted during specific hours. While there the law does not specify permitted hours for works, weekend work involving noise is commonly restricted to the hours between 8am and 1pm on a Saturday, although there may be circumstances where a Local Authority deems the work to be of sufficient priority for work to be carried out outside of these hours. In all cases, Local Authorities are required under the Control of Pollution Act to ensure best practicable means are employed to minimise noise and protect people in the locality from the effects of noise. The law is designed to enable decisions to be made while taking into account the specifics of a local context.

What guidance his Department provides to (a) NHS local health boards and (b) trusts on treating jellyfish stings.

The General Medical Council sets the overall standards and outcomes for medical training, and the Royal Colleges develop the specific curricula for each medical specialty.The Department does not provide guidance to National Health Service trusts or integrated care boards on this topic. Patient-facing information on how to treat jellyfish stings is already available on the NHS website.

If he will provide a breakdown of Government spending on advertising via social media platforms broken down by Department, over the last 12 months.

As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives. The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency and that the appropriate strategy is implemented. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective and ensure best value for the taxpayer. Please see the breakdown below of spend on social media broken down by department between 1st August 2024 and 31st July 2025. Please note that this may not be the complete spend as the Cabinet Office does not centrally manage Departmental social media spend directly. DepartmentSpend on social media platformsCABINET OFFICE£917,392.78DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS£108,685.84DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT£55,776.43DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION£5,790,404.71DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT£853,893.06DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS£1,174,253.06DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND NET ZERO£168,576.98DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS AND TRADE£2,932,130.17DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY£145,503.62DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE£1,689,076.17UK EXPORT FINANCE£336,808.09FOREIGN COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE£455,653.02HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS£1,692,096.15HOME OFFICE£1,655,160.54MINISTRY FOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT£528,370.47MINISTRY OF JUSTICE£1,605,710.08MINISTRY OF DEFENCE£5,938,304.99

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the recent arrests for alleged online speech crime on freedom of speech; and if she will make a statement.

The police are operationally independent of Government. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on individual cases.The Government is absolutely committed to upholding free speech and legislation is in place to protect this fundamental right. The UK is an open and diverse country and freedom of speech is one of the values that defines us as a society. Our legislation values free speech and enables people who wish to engage in debate to do so. However, freedom of expression is a qualified right and can be restricted in certain situations, including where it is used as an excuse to cause harm or spread hatred.We keep our legislative framework under review to ensure it remains effective in tackling hate crime and protecting communities whilst also upholding the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The Government will always work with policing to ensure that the criminal law supports the common-sense approach we all want to see being taken. The Home Office stands ready to consider the proposals for change currently being developed by the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of buildings under 18m in height but classified as higher-risk solely due to the treatment of non-residential basement or semi-basement garages as storeys on leaseholders.

If the building is below 18m in height (measured from ground level) and has fewer than 7 storeys, it should not be classed as higher-risk under the current regulatory framework. Importantly, storeys located below ground level - including non-residential basements or semi-basement garages - should not be counted when determining whether a building meets the higher-risk threshold. Therefore, such buildings should not be classed as higher-risk.A comprehensive review of the higher-risk regime is scheduled for 2027, and the Building Safety Regulator is expected to publish its initial review and ongoing review by the end of summer 2025. These may address how impacts are assessed and inform future policy adjustments.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to to Question 73498 on Housing: heating, whether the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation received representations from housebuilders and end-users on the (a) performance and (b) sizing of radiator systems in new homes.

The energy performance of radiator systems in new-build homes is governed by the Building Regulations, which are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Associated statutory guidance is provided in the Approved Documents which accompany the Building Regulations. We draw on evidence from industry and the public to inform Approved Document guidance and ensure new homes are high-quality and energy efficient. While the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation did not include specific questions on sizing radiators, the existing Approved Document L Volume 1 provides guidance on this.This guidance was last updated in 2021 following two consultations which provided housebuilders and end-users with the opportunity to provide feedback, and an impact assessment was published at the time of implementation. Separately, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently ran a consultation on raising product standards for space heating. This set out proposals which would drive improvements in the efficiency of new heating appliances and closed in March 2025.

If she will prohibit the entry of Greta Thunberg to the UK on the basis of her support for Palestine Action.

It is longstanding Home Office policy not to comment on individual cases.Where a foreign national is seeking to enter or stay in the UK, in order to qualify they will be assessed by UK Visas & Immigration (or Border Force when presenting at the border) against a range of provisions in the current Immigration Rules relating to criminality and other adverse conduct and character prior to their entry to, and any previous time spent in, the UK. Failure to satisfy these criteria may mean their application for a visa, entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay will be refused, depending on the severity of past offences or other factors in their history.Details of these criteria can be found in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules, available on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-9-grounds-for-refusal.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that buildings previously deemed compliant by local fire services are not subject to excessive remedial costs due to reinterpretations of insulation or other materials under the new Higher-Risk Building regime.

The higher-risk building regime fundamentally reforms the way higher-risk buildings are designed, built and managed. They change the building control process, and place new duties on accountable persons when these buildings are managed, to make sure that safety and performance of these buildings is considered right at the start of the design process and all the way through the building’s lifecycle.The changes will reassure residents, mitigating negative mental health impacts arising from fears around safety or financial insecurities; reduce the risk of fire and structural incidents occurring; reduce the likelihood of systemic risks arising and the cost associated with putting them right; and provide confidence to the insurance and mortgage market.It is worth noting that the regime has only introduced new procedural requirements for dutyholders to robustly demonstrate how their projects will meet compliance. The functional requirements under the building regulations with which dutyholders need to comply remain the same as under the previous regime.We do recognise that these new procedural requirements in the regime may result in some additional costs for leaseholders. Our expectation is that these requirements will help dutyholders to get things right from the outset, which should reduce additional time at later stages and the need to correct non-compliant or defective work, saving time and money in the longer term.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September to Question 73498 on Housing: heating, what recent estimate his Department has made of the average efficiency rating of radiator systems being installed in new-build properties.

The energy performance of radiator systems in new-build homes is governed by the Building Regulations, which are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Associated statutory guidance is provided in the Approved Documents which accompany the Building Regulations. We draw on evidence from industry and the public to inform Approved Document guidance and ensure new homes are high-quality and energy efficient. While the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation did not include specific questions on sizing radiators, the existing Approved Document L Volume 1 provides guidance on this.This guidance was last updated in 2021 following two consultations which provided housebuilders and end-users with the opportunity to provide feedback, and an impact assessment was published at the time of implementation. Separately, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently ran a consultation on raising product standards for space heating. This set out proposals which would drive improvements in the efficiency of new heating appliances and closed in March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of whether building safety regulations are being applied proportionately to low-rise, low-occupancy buildings that have historically met all safety standards and fire service inspections.

In the initial stages, a building control application is usually required for new buildings. This is reviewed by building control bodies to ensure compliance with building regulations.During the build process, progress on site may be checked and monitored, using a number of methods, including on site visits, where the inspector may ask the builders on site to open up parts of the build in order to check compliance, and give advice if needed.At the end of the build process, if a building complies with relevant regulations, a completion certificate will be issued.Building control bodies conduct checks to assure building work or material changes of use are compliant with the building regulations. However, ultimately, it is the responsibility of the person carrying out the work (and, where appointed, the principal designer and principal contractor) to ensure building work complies with these requirements.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2025 to Question 73362 on Air Traffic Control: EU Countries, what representations her Department has made to other Eurocontrol members on delays at Manchester Airport caused by (a) inadequate air traffic control staffing levels and (b) out-of-date systems.

The UK is a member of EUROCONTROL, a Pan-European inter-governmental body, which is responsible for working with Member States and their Air Navigation Service Providers to ensure that the airspace across Europe is used efficiently. My Departmental officials have and continue to engage with European states to discuss European air traffic control resilience issues including resourcing and operating systems that impact UK operations users including those travelling to and from Manchester Airport.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing (a) penalties and (b) redress mechanisms where leaseholders were not properly informed about the (i) risks and (ii) financial obligations associated with their lease.

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, property listings must not omit information that the average consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision.On 9 February, the government announced action to improve the availability of property information. This will help transactions run more smoothly by ensuring all parties are able to access the information they need at the right time.In addition, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect leasehold homeowners, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a leasehold home is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on these measures in due course.We continue to work with stakeholders across industry, government, and the public sector to understand the most effective way of supporting buyers to make the right decisions.