Written questions by Hollinrake.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment Ofwat has made of the potential impact of bills of family homes with gardens from the introduction of (a) seasonal water charging tariffs and (b) progressive water charging tariffs, further to evidence from charging trials introduced to date, and from the forecast effects as such tariffs are rolled out by water companies.

All companies plan to trial new charging structures by 2030 and some of them plan to introduce them more widely for additional customers if the trials are successful. It is important that water companies challenge themselves to develop progressive and proactive behaviours which will benefit households and consumers. The trials are still ongoing across water companies. The only trial to have concluded so far is Affinity Water’s WaterSave Tariff trial, the findings of this trial showed more people to have saved money than they had originally estimated. Further information can be found here. The Government is engaging with industry leaders to further drive progress in this area and supports the innovative approaches being taken to trial new charges aiming to make bills fairer and more affordable for their customers.

With reference to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 16665 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Offenders, whether Ministers are asked to declare a criminal convention when joining the Department.

I refer the Honourable Member to the government’s response to his previous question of 9 December 2025, reference 96210.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96793 on water charges: social tariffs, what guidance Ofwat has given water companies on (a) whether tariffs from charging trials can be introduced without opt-in consent of the household and (b) whether households can opt-out of the trial.

Ofwat expects trials to follow its good practice principles, including strong customer engagement and safeguards. Companies must also consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that vulnerable consumers are protected or excluded from the trials.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Water White Paper, January 2026, p.31, how will the reform of the WaterSure scheme be funded, and whether there will be a cross-subsidy charged on household bills of residents who are not on the WaterSure scheme.

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable and as such, is reforming the WaterSure support scheme. The regulations that provide for the scheme were made in 1999: The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999. We will extend eligibility to more households where a medical condition is present and increase support for up to 180,000 existing WaterSure recipients who could see a lower bill cap.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111526, on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, and with reference to the Ofwat, Summary of water companies' published plans for affordability for 2025-30, December 2024, page 9, whether the Ofwat estimate of the average cross-subsidy per customers for social tariffs of (a) £26 a year for all Waste and Sewerage Companies and (b) £55 a year for Thames Water, remains the most recent estimate of the costs of social tariffs on households who are not on a social tariff as a consequence of the increases in social tariff charging.

Government is working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported. In total the sector has committed to contribute £449 million to social tariffs, debt matching, and other support schemes over 2025-30. Water Companies set the amount that they have committed to social tariffs in their company business plans up to 2030 in Price Review 2024 and this remains the most up-to-date estimate of social tariff costs. It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 (PR24) on 19 December 2024, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial and enduring improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Water White Paper, January 2026, p.42, what the incentives are that his department and Ofwat intend to introduce for homes to adopt water efficiency, and whether this will include changes to water tariffs for households.

The Government is considering a range of incentives to encourage homes to adopt water efficiency. This includes enabling innovative tariff options through a rollout of 10.4 million smart meters in the next five years. This will also provide customers with improved data and communications on how water efficient technology and fixing leaks can reduce their water and energy bills to incentivise efficiency. Ofwat also offer a range of water efficiency incentives for developers to encourage water efficiency in new homes. Government is also committed to tightening water efficiency standards in the Building Regulations, following our recent consultation, and introducing water efficiency labelling on water using products to support this.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 4 December 2025 to Question 94726 on Water Charges, and of 10 December 2025 to Question 96792 on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, what information Ofwat holds on the average cost of social tariffs to other domestic customers, across each individual water company.

In their PR24 business plans, water companies are required to explain how affordability support (including social tariffs) is funded. Companies must consult with their customers and organisations representing customers, to understand what an acceptable cross-subsidy is, and the eligibility for social tariff schemes. Some companies 'top-up' their social tariff schemes through shareholder contributions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85831 on Public Houses, whether he plans to allow 16 and 17 year olds to consume alcohol-free drinks when accompanied by an adult and when drinking with a substantive meal in a licensed premises.

In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government has committed to explore 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.There are no current plans to change the licensing rules in pubs for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Met Office on the campaign, led by Chester Zoo on behalf of outdoor attractions, to encourage clearer presentation of weather forecasts to support informed decision making and the visitor economy.

The Met Office has recently received an enquiry from the campaign and are considering an engagement plan to integrate this with their existing plans to develop the 'Thrive' theme of the Public Weather Service including tourism facing services.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82334 on Home Office: Facilities Agreements, whether there has been a change to facility time arrangements in her Department since July 2024; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the change in the (a) cost and (b) number of facility time staff.

There have not been any changes to facility time arrangements in the Home Office since July 2024.There will always be fluctuations from one year to another in terms of the number of employees elected as trade union reps and the amount of facility time they use to undertake their duties.These fluctuations will be driven by a range of factors, such as vacancies on trade union committees being filled, the number of consultation exercises the employer needs to engage the unions on and the level of personal casework (e.g. grievances and disciplinaries) where trade union representatives may be supporting individual employees.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2026, to Question 108681, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if he will list each developer or applicant that has been given clarification meetings or pre-application engagement since July 2024.

Since July 2024, officials have undertaken pre-application engagement with:a Cross-Whitehall Group that included the Department for Transport, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and HM Revenue & Customs,the Home Office, andthe Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.Engagement in these instances related to prospective Crown or Urgent Crown applications, and carried out in accordance with planning propriety guidance.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has held discussions with the Met Office on steps to encourage more detailed presentation of weather information to support the visitor economy.

The Public Weather Service (PWS) Customer Group has been working closely with the Met Office to strengthen the focus on supporting the outdoor economy, including tourism, through the Thrive theme within the PWS Customer Service Agreement. To enhance this work, the membership of the Customer Group has recently been expanded to include the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Head of Domestic Tourism.Steps have already been taken by the Met Office to deliver a series of improvements to enhance the presentation of weather information which can support the visitor economy, with further developments planned.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has received any representation from Labour Together in 2023 or 2024 relating to the disclosure of materials relating to the Electoral Commission investigation into Labour Together.

The Commission does not disclose details of correspondence related to its investigations , so it would not be appropriate to confirm whether it received representations in relation to this matter.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 112203 on Electoral Commission: Companies House, whether the Electoral Commission has established a policy on the circumstances in which it would use its enhanced powers to obtain company information.

The Commission does not have a separate policy relating to the powers conferred to it in the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023. Its Enforcement policy sets out how it works with other regulatory bodies, and includes detail on sharing information.It states that the Commission shares information with other regulatory bodies where it is able to and it is appropriate to do so. Where a matter under investigation includes an offence or offences where more than one enforcement body has an interest, it will liaise with other regulatory bodies or the police at the earliest possible stage to minimise duplication of investigative work.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what Freedom of Information Act requests has the Electoral Commission substantively disclosed information in response to, on Labour Together, since 2021, which have not been published on the Electoral Commission’s FOI disclosure log.

Since 2021, the Commission has received 16 Freedom of Information requests relating to Labour Together.The Commission receives a high volume of complex FOI requests, and therefore does not routinely publish all FOI responses on its disclosure log.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 101773 on Political Parties: Conferences, if she will set out the timetable for the (a) internal review and (b) consultation of relevant stakeholders.

The Home Office has now completed the initial scoping phase of the internal review and will shortly be reaching out to relevant stakeholders, including political parties, to arrange meetings in April to gather their views.An internal report is expected to be completed by the end of May.

Whether any gifts or hospitality given to the Deputy Prime Minister in a Ministerial capacity since July 2024 by Lord Alli have been returned or refunded.

All gifts or hospitality received in a Ministerial capacity are declared in the usual way.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 101774 on DEFRA: Secondment, on what date is the secondment of the Second Permanent Secretary due to end.

The secondment agreement end date is 19 July 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what is the Government’s policy on the use of deepfake imagery, video or audio in elections.

The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes very seriously. The Government recognises that the huge opportunities offered by AI also come with risks, including potential challenges posed by AI-generated content for the online information environment and its potential impact on democratic processes. The UK’s Online Safety Act has introduced duties on in scope services to tackle digital impersonation where it amounts to an existing offence, including false statements about a candidate's character or conduct ahead of or during an election. Solutions that help to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated are key to tackling a range of AI risks. The government is undertaking work to explore the potential methods for detecting AI-generated content. The UK also has strong data protection laws to help tackle the misuse of personal identity, through the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. These laws require that any personal data processing is lawful, fair and transparent.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 105388 on Councillors: Vetting, whether she is considering options for criminal record checks for elected representatives other than councillors.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given Question UIN 105388 on 20 January 2026 which answered this question in full. This remains our current position.