Written questions by Hopkins.

Pursuant to his oral answer of 14 October 2025, Official Report, col 189, what plans he has to extend grants for solar panels on public buildings in non-Mayoral areas.

Great British Energy (GBE), intends to provide support to local authorities in delivering local and community energy projects across the UK, including in areas without Mayoral Combined Authorities. This will include consideration of targeted grants and finance to help projects reach investment readiness and deliver good value for money. Further details of this support will be set out through the upcoming Local Power Plan and other future GBE publications

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current pricing of licenses for the all-year storage and sale of fireworks of up to 2,000kg in content, in the context of the cost of the license having not increased since 2004.

DBT has made no recent assessment as to the current pricing of licenses for storage and sale of fireworks. Section 7 (2) of the Fireworks Act 2003 contains the provision to set the fees for licensing of fireworks suppliers. Fees for fireworks storage is set by Regulations made under section 43(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues and inform future action.

Whether financial resources will be made available to charities and voluntary groups organising public events in order for them to comply with the provisions of the Terrorism (Protection Of Premises) Act 2025.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 will strengthen protective security and preparedness by requiring those responsible for certain premises and events, including those run by charities and voluntary groups, to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack.Whether the Act applies to particular premises or events will depend on several factors. Premises may be in scope if they consist of at least one building, are wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses specified in Schedule 1, and 200 or more people can reasonably be expected to be present at the premises at the same time.Events may be in scope if they take place in a building or on land, 800 or more people are reasonably expected to be present at the same time, and it is accessible to members of the public with measures in place to check that attendees satisfy a condition of entry (e.g. that they have paid, have a ticket or pass, or are members or guests of a club, association or similar body).Therefore, smaller events or those not limited by such access control may not be in scope.The Government recognises the importance of non-profit and volunteer-run events and is committed to supporting those responsible to prepare for the Act’s commencement, which will not be before April 2027.As part of this support, the Home Office will publish statutory guidance before the Act comes into force. This guidance will assist those responsible to understand the Act’s requirements and will be designed to be easy to follow, requiring no particular expertise nor the use of third-party suppliers.The person responsible for an event or premises that falls within scope of the Act will need to determine which procedures and/or measures are reasonably practicable. One size will not fit all, and the Act’s reasonably practicable requirement will enable businesses to consider what is proportionate to their circumstances.For these reasons, the Government does not consider financial support necessary to deliver the Act’s requirements.Further information on the Act, including on what constitutes a qualifying event or a qualifying premises, may be found in factsheets on Gov.UK - Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: factsheets - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what recent progress her Department has made on implementing the Remediation Acceleration Plan.

Progress has been made in many areas, such as identifying remaining buildings with unsafe cladding, making developer remediation progress information more accessible for public scrutiny, and increasing regulator funding to build and maintain their capacity and capability.We will provide an update in summer 2025 assessing progress, outlining further steps, and reflecting the spending review.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on legally binding humanist marriages in England and Wales.

I pay tribute to my Hon. Friend for her long-standing work in support of humanist issues, and I am aware that humanists have long been campaigning for legally binding humanist weddings. The Law Commission published a report on weddings in July 2022 containing 57 recommendations to reform weddings law. We are considering these recommendations and will confirm our position in the coming months.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of paying benefits on 24 December 2024 on (a) access to banking and (b) time available for Christmas shopping for (i) pensioners and (ii)

DWP pays benefits and pensions on the date a payment is due. DWP assesses the impact on benefit claimants and pensioners of interruptions to normal access to banking services. This year, 24 December 2024 is a normal banking day and so customers will be ab...

Whether Special Educational Need schools are eligible for split school site funding.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Special schools fo...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance his Department has offered to the Spanish government, in the context of recent floods in that country.

The Foreign Secretary and I were shocked and saddened to see the devastating scenes in Spain, and by the deaths and damage caused by heavy flooding. The Foreign Secretary has been in touch with the Foreign Minister of Spain to express the UK's condolences...

Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for publishing a response to the report entitled The impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission, published in June 2022.

The park homes sector is an important part of the housing market and must be a safe and secure place for residents.The Government recognises that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park hom...

If she will simplify the application form for Pension Credit.

The Department continues to assess the Pension Credit service. This led to the introduction of the online claim process, providing customers with a convenient alternative claim route, alongside the existing telephony and paper application methods. As the ...

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of the use of snares.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare...

Whether she plans to negotiate a reciprocal agreement with the Australian government on uprating state pensions.

There are no plans to negotiate a new reciprocal social security agreement with Australia. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so - for example in cou...