Written questions by Hollinrake.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of spending by (a) her Department and (b) Natural England on (i) the upland Brood Management Scheme and (ii) the Southern Reintroduction project; and how many hen harrier chicks fledged under each of those schemes.

These programmes were created as part of the Joint Action Plan for the Recovery of the English Hen Harrier Population, put in place in 2016. The Hen Harrier brood management trial and the Southern Reintroduction project were funded by Defra and led by Natural England as part of the Hen Harrier Action Plan. Natural England spent £80,800 over the five-year (2019-2023) brood management trial. During the trial 15 nests were brood-managed, and 58 chicks were subsequently released. Natural England spent £572,272 on the Southern Reintroduction project between March 2021 and October 2025. No chicks fledged in this period. The decision was taken to close the Southern Reintroduction programme this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2025 to Question 76603 on Peatlands: Fires, whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have received representations from the National Fire Chiefs Council on that issue.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) responded to Defra’s consultation on heather and grass burning in England earlier this year. Their response is published on their website: 250523-Heather-and-Grass-Burning-in-England-Consultation-Response-FINAL.pdf. I also met with NFCC to discuss their consultation response, prior to the amendments to the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 being finalised. Defra and NFCC, as well as representatives from various Fire and Rescue Services, continue to work together in this area.

How many post offices there are in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area by (i) location, (ii) rurality and (iii) type of post office.

Post Office Limited publishes monthly data on the number of branches trading across the UK, including their locations and rurality. The latest dataset, covering September 2025, is available on the Post Office Limited’s website at: 2025-september-network-numbers-online-list-v2.xlsxPost Office Limited’s most recent annual Network Report includes data on branch types. You can access it here: network-report-2024-final-5.pdf.Parliamentarians can find data on branch locations by constituency in the House of Commons Library.

How much and what proportion of the average energy bill for households not in receipt of the Warm Homes Discount was allocated to support the Warm Homes Discount in the latest period for which data is available.

The UK Government has statutory duties to address and reduce fuel poverty and is committed to helping the poorest in our society. The expanded Warm Home Discount will support around 6m households this winter, offering essential support through the winter for those in or at risk of fuel poverty. The scheme’s expansion to 2.7 million additional households will be cost neutral, with costs offset through Ofgem’s work to reduce energy debt.

What guidance his Department has provided to special advisers on the definition of personal hospitality.

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers requires special advisers to declare details of gifts and hospitality received in accordance with the rules set out in their departmental staff handbooks. The Special Advisers’ Transparency Guidance available on GOV.UK provides further details of requirements for reporting of gifts, hospitality and meetings with senior media figures.

Whether he plans to introduce a ban on (a) vaping and (b) smoking outside (i) pubs, (ii) restaurants and (iii) nightclubs.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill allows the Government to expand current indoor smoking restrictions to outdoor public places and workplaces via secondary legislation. The bill also gives the Government powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free. Exactly which settings should become smoke-free and vape-free will be subject to a full consultation. However, we are not considering extending smoke-free or vape-free places to outdoor hospitality settings, such as outside pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 70563 on Admiralty House: Valuation, what the valuation was; and whether each residence is valued.

Admiralty House as a whole was valued at £18.2 Million. The residences formed part of the valuation, however, they were not individually valued separately to the rest of the building.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has issued guidance to charities on the (a) participation of and (b) provision of parallel provision for (i) older girls and (ii) women in sporting events.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales provides guidance for charities on compliance with the Equality Act 2010.The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active. 1.6 million more women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.We’ve also launched the Women’s Sport Taskforce to tackle challenges and barriers facing women and girls in sport, from grassroots to elite.More widely, the Government is also harnessing the power of hosting major sporting events, such as investing £6.7 million into the Impact 25’ programme for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which has been used to make facilities more accessible for women, train new female coaches and match officials and provide sanitary packages to clubs nationwide. To honour the Lionesses recent European Championship triumph, the Government has announced new plans that are expected to more than double the share of slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams at Government-funded facilities across England over the next five years.

Communities and Local Government, which Levelling Up culture projects that were announced under the previous Government have since been (a) cancelled and (b) amended.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 78670 on 21 October 2025. Worcester received £2.3 million funding for only some of the activity within its original programme. This amendment was determined on the basis of representations received to the consultation. Prioritisation of funding considered a series of factors including: significant progress of work to date, imminent delivery, and/or the wider strategic impact of withdrawing funding on local regeneration efforts, as well as potential to boost economic growth.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 76281 on Ministers: Redundancy Pay, when Ministers were asked to sign the waiver.

The reforms took effect from 13 October 2025 with waivers issued accordingly.

Whether the Certification Officer has received (a) representations and (b) complaints on the elections of the Unite trade union.

The Certification Officer does not comment on whether any complaints are under consideration. The Certification Officer lists all forthcoming hearings and publishes all decisions on their website.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 66478 on Innovation: Beer and Public Houses, whether 16 and 17 year olds will be permitted to consume non-alcoholic products with substantive meals accompanied by an adult.

In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government has committed to exploring measures to regulate access to no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) products in line with other alcoholic beverages. This policy is being pursued as alcohol substitute drinks are only intended for consumption by adults.Department officials are progressing work to take forward this commitment and are in the process of scoping out the full details. We will update stakeholders in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department held discussions with representatives of political parties prior to the publication of the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025.

The Government has worked closely with its partners in local and devolved government, with the electoral sector, with education providers and civil society, and with citizens themselves in the development of the strategy for modern and secure elections. We will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders, including with political parties and sector representative organisations such as the Association of Electoral Administrators, to ensure these changes are delivered successfully.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 70571 on Elections: Campaigns, whether the new imprint requirements will apply outside candidate-specific regulated election periods.

Imprint requirements play an important role in upholding trust in our democratic process by ensuring voters can see clearly who is behind printed and digital campaigning material. The period for which the print and digital imprint rules apply will remain the same. As digital campaigning is not confined to election periods, the UK-wide digital imprint regime, for the most part, applies all-year round. Whereas the print regime applies during regulated periods for candidates.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68415 on Political Parties: Finance, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals relating to donors raising funds from abroad.

While it is clear that foreign donations to political parties are not permitted, the Government recognises the risk posed by malign actors who seek to interfere with and undermine our democratic processes. As pledged in our manifesto, we are strengthening the rules around donations to political parties. We have published our ‘Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections’ which sets out a number of reforms we are making to strengthen rules on political donations, responding to the threat of foreign interference. These include “Know Your Donor” requirements for recipients of donations and tighter controls on unincorporated association donations. We are also tightening the rules to ensure greater scrutiny of the origin and nature of political donations. Donors will be required to declare any benefits or sources of funding associated with their donation. In addition, companies making donations will be required to demonstrate a genuine and substantive connection to the UK or Ireland, preventing the use of shell companies to channel foreign or illicit money into UK politics.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Manifesto Club entitled Gatekeepers: How councils are controlling access to the public square, published in October 2025.

The provision and administration of street trading and highways licences are the responsibility of Local Authorities under either the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 or the London Local Authorities Act 1990, depending on their location.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the letter sent to the Rule 6 participants on 16 October 2025 announcing the delay in the target date for the Chinese Embassy decision.

We do not routinely publish correspondence to parties on live cases. Letters to the Rule 6 participants will be listed in the final decision letter, and will be available on request when the decision is published.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the reasons for which some people put flags on lampposts in the summer.

At this time, no assessment has been made. My department is co-ordinating cross-Government efforts to develop a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with local government, communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues. Where the subject has been raised, we have been clear that everyone can make their own decisions, including local councils, on flying flags and that guidance exists to support them, such as ‘Flying flags: a plain English guide” - as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007 (as amended in 2012 and 2021) – which outlines the regulations related to the flying of flags in England.

With reference to the Answer of 26 September 2025 to Question HL9585 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, when it was registered as a second home.

As the property was a second residence, the Government was responsible for paying the Council Tax on Admiralty House, not the former Deputy Prime Minister - in line with long-standing precedent under successive governments.As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government Property Agency is responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council for matters concerning residency at Admiralty House.Following the introduction of the second homes premium, this has been paid in full in a one-off full payment in July 2025. This payment was made on the date the invoice was received from Westminster City Council.

Communities and Local Government, how many hereditaments claimed Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate relief in each local authority in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

Data on the number of hereditaments that claimed Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief are collected annually as part of National Non-Domestic Rates collected by councils in England. The latest data available is for 31 December 2024 collected via the 2025-26 data collection. They are published as supplementary tables.Data as at 31 December 2023 can be found herehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663b98e474933dccbbb6c431/NNDR1_2024-25_Supplementary_table.xlsx Data as at 31 December 2024 can be found herehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d2c9c4814acba3755e97c1/NNDR1_2025-26_Supplementary_table__ecomms_.xlsx.