Every parliamentary written question tabled by Pippa Heylings this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 241–260 of 563 · this parliament
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the impact of payment structures under the extended producer responsibility scheme on the cash flow of small producers.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade continues to have regular discussions with all Cabinet colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
What recent discussions his Department has had with local Chambers of Commerce on the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill.
The Government is committed to engaging closely with employers throughout the development of Make Work Pay policy and implementation. This will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill. We have engaged directly with over 250 stakeholders across 254 meetings since August 2024. We have engaged directly with 138 businesses of which 75 are Small and Medium Enterprises. Department officials meet routinely with the British Chambers of Commerce, as one of the key business stakeholders.We will continue to work closely with businesses and business organisations.
If he will issue guidance on the interaction between his Department's proposed probationary period and employees’ rights to claim unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Bill.
The Government’s Employment Rights Bill Implementation Roadmap, published in July 2025, reiterated our commitment to producing guidance to ensure that employers and employees understand the Plan to Make Work Pay’s changes to employment law, including unfair dismissal day one rights and the statutory probation period. The Government will work alongside Acas and other partners to ensure the development of practical guidance. We will ensure there is time for employers to prepare and familiarise themselves with the requirements of these changes before they are implemented in 2027.
Whether he plans to provide targeted support for small employers to help meet the cost of day-one Statutory Sick Pay.
Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is part of the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay ensuring the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it most. The Government believes that removing the waiting period is essential to ensure employees feel better able to take the time they need to recover from short term illness, without struggling in work and often spreading infectious diseases such as influenza. The government conducted a Regulatory Impact Assessment on the changes to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay in the Employment Rights Bill, which was published on 21 October 2024. This includes the impacts on small businesses. The additional cost to business of the SSP reforms is around £15 per employee. The government intends to conduct a post-implementation review of the Employment Rights Bill within five years of implementation. Previous SSP rebate schemes that were available to employers, such as the Percentage Threshold Scheme were seen as complex, expensive to administer, underused by small businesses and did not encourage employers to support their employees during sickness absence. The Department for Business and Trade provides a range of offers that SMEs may wish to access. They include the Business Support Service, Gov.uk, the network of 41 local Growth Hubs across England, and the Help to Grow: Management scheme to help improve leadership and management capabilities. The recently launched Business Growth Service (BGS) makes it easier for businesses across the UK to get the advice and support they need to grow and thrive.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) Employment Rights Bill and (b) changes to employers' National Insurance Contributions on small and medium-sized businesses.
My department has published a robust set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments These include assessments on the impacts to micro, small and medium businesses in line with the Better Regulation Framework.The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
What steps he is taking to ensure that new regulations on zero-hours contracts reflect (a) seasonal and (b) fluctuating work patterns in the (i) hospitality, (ii) agriculture and (iii) other seasonal sectors.
We appreciate that work can fluctuate seasonally for certain sectors. The Employment Rights Bill provides powers for the zero-hours measures to cater for seasonal work through regulations. We will consult employers, trade unions, and other stakeholders to inform these regulations.The Bill already allows businesses flexibility while abiding by the legislation. For example, businesses will still be able to use contracts which offer variable numbers of hours of work at different times of the year. It also allows guaranteed hours offers to take the form of limited-term contracts, where reasonable.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on levels of hiring confidence among small and medium-sized enterprises.
My department has published a robust set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessmentsThis analysis includes consideration of increases in labour costs for businesses and the subsequent effects, as well as assessments on the impacts to micro, small and medium businesses in line with the Better Regulation Framework.
What steps his Department is taking to prioritise the development of small modular reactors as load following sources.
The next generation of nuclear, including small modular reactors (SMR), offers new possibilities including faster deployment, lower capital costs, and greater flexibility. Whilst nuclear energy has a unique role to play in delivering stable, low carbon baseload energy, SMRs may be able to serve the electricity grid more flexibly than traditional nuclear, as well as unlock a range of additional applications in energy sectors beyond grid electricity.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of planning restrictions on noise levels for heat pumps on installation of those pumps.
Research found that noise complaints from air source heat pumps are rare and heat pumps are perceived as being very quiet (Air source heat pump noise emissions, planning guidance and regulations - GOV.UK). In 2025 the Government amended the Permitted Development Right for air source heat pumps in England, to give households greater flexibility to install an air source heat pump without needing to submit a planning application, while retaining the sound limit. Subsequently, some installers have reported significant reductions in installations requiring planning applications. The Government continues to explore how to streamline the planning process for low carbon heating.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of small modular reactors being made as load following energy sources.
The next generation of nuclear, including small modular reactors (SMR), offers new possibilities including faster deployment, lower capital costs, and greater flexibility. Whilst nuclear energy has a unique role to play in delivering stable, low carbon baseload energy, SMRs may be able to serve the electricity grid more flexibly than traditional nuclear, as well as unlock a range of additional applications in energy sectors beyond grid electricity.
When she plans to respond to Question 82435 tabled by the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on 15 October 2025.
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 82435 was published on 4 November 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure Fisheries Management Plans deliver sustainable fisheries management.
In line with the UK Fisheries Act 2020 Defra is committed to managing our fisheries sustainably. Defra has published the first set of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) and are on course to publish the next five by the end of 2025, with a further four to be published by the end of 2026. The plans are evidence based, collaboratively developed, and set out measures to maintain or restore stocks to sustainable levels. Implementation is underway, with critical actions already taken such as an increase in minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) for crawfish to protect the juveniles of these stocks from being landed before they have matured. Plans will be kept under review to ensure they remain effective.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the fixed quota allocation system for distributing the catch quotas.
The Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) system was introduced in 1999 and is only one of the ways in which quota is allocated. While the UK Government does not routinely conduct formal assessments of the FQA system itself, it continually monitors fish stocks based on the latest scientific advice. In addition to the FQA system, quota is also distributed through the Quota Application Mechanism trial in England supporting our commitment to the Fisheries Act objectives.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with fisheries authorities on the effectiveness of the steps they are taking to tackle (a) illegal, (b) unreported and (c) unregulated fishing in UK waters.
Whilst it is for each of the Devolved Administrations to assess how best to control its waters, Defra, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive work closely together. This cooperation includes discussions and review of appropriate policies and regulations at a UK level as well as regularly sharing and reviewing intelligence to deliver a robust approach to monitoring, compliance and enforcement across our waters to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide resources to implementation groups responsible for the delivery of Fisheries Management Plans.
Defra is committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders in delivering Fisheries Management Plans (FMP). Defra resources and manages a number of FMP implementation groups, and funds Seafish to convene and support two further implementation groups. Defra and the Marine Management Organisation also organise ad hoc stakeholder meetings to further delivery as required.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help meet the National Benefit objective of the Fisheries Act 2020.
The UK requires that vessels fishing against UK quota demonstrate a tangible economic contribution to the UK. This is primarily achieved through the economic link licence condition, embedded in fishing licences. As part of the Quota Application Mechanism trial in England, we score applicants based on environmental commitments but also on delivered social and economic benefits. We have begun independently evaluating new fishing opportunities to ensure they are realising the social and economic benefits intended. For instance, two recent reports show that bluefin tuna fisheries provide multiple social and economic benefits for coastal communities. To ensure social and economic benefits in the national interest can be assessed, we have inaugurated a new Fishing Industry Social Survey to complement the existing economic fleet Survey. Over 400 fishermen responded this year, and results of the survey will be published in the near future.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to tackle known limitations of fisheries stock assessments since 2020; and whether she plans to allocate additional funding to help improve data collection in fisheries.
The Department has invested significantly in research and development with an aim to improve fisheries stock assessments since 2020. Additionally, the Department has run a Fisheries and Science Partnership scheme, which provided grant funding to fishing industry and academia partnerships to undertake fishery science projects. Fisheries Management Plans published by the Department include the identification and delivery of evidence to support known gaps. This financial year alone the Department has invested £2.5 million in filling these evidence gaps. The Department is also reforming the fisheries data collection programme to ensure its fit for purpose and further help to address these evidence gaps.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the outcomes of the 2025 Quota application mechanism trial; and whether she plans to expand this system to distribute a greater proportion of England’s fishing quota for a greater number of stocks in (a) 2026 and (b) beyond.
An assessment of the 2024 Quota Application Mechanism trial has been published online, and an assessment of the 2025 trial will be developed and published once the 2025 trial has concluded at the end of the fishing year. Applications for the 2026 trial are now open until 31 October 2025. The trial is being expanded for 2026 to potentially include 14 stocks subject to the outcome of fisheries negotiations, a significant increase from the 5 stocks included in the 2025 trial. Decisions regarding the future of trial will be taken once further assessment of the current trial has been concluded.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that fishing quotas are distributed in ways that incentivise (a) lower impact and (b) selective fishing.
There are a number of mechanisms in place to incentivise lower impact and selective fishing. In terms of quota distribution, in England we have been running a trial since 2024 called the Quota Application Mechanism, which allocates quota based on environmental, social and economic criteria. As part of this, with the support of scientists, we have developed a gear ranking system to incentivise selective fishing.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to align fisheries management policies with the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency.
The UK Government already has robust fisheries management measures in place and has previously welcomed the broad principles underpinning the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency. We continue to engage with the organisations who have produced the charter with a focus on tackling Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.