The Government has a long-standing commitment to publish a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate to ensure we are taking a pragmatic and balanced approach to the ZEV transition. We intend to conclude the review, which will include a public consultation, in the next six months. We will provide a further update on any potential costs to manufacturers, for example associated with discounting vehicles, and complying with the ZEV Mandate as part of the consultation.

Further information on 2024 manufacturer compliance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-emissions-trading-schemes-vets-final-compliance-information-2024

The Government recognises the importance of regulatory clarity and stable market conditions in supporting investment across the automotive, charging and related sectors as the UK continues to transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). The Government is committed to phasing out new cars relying solely on internal combustion engines by 2030 and to all new car and van sales being zero emission by 2035, milestones that provide industry with crucial investment certainty.

The Government has a long-standing commitment to publish a review of the ZEV Mandate to ensure we are taking a pragmatic and balanced approach to the ZEV transition that drives investment. We intend to conclude the review, which will include a public consultation, in the next six months. We will welcome views from across industry and the public during this process.

The Department does not routinely monetise the costs of noise from existing noise sources and has not made an estimate of such costs for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43dB.

Of the rail infrastructure projects in England currently delivering on site with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million, 144 projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date, out of a total of approximately 500 projects.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are long-lasting chemicals that can harm human health and the environment. Waste containing POPs above legal limits must be managed so that the POPs are destroyed or irreversibly transformed. Some chemical flame retardants previously used on sofas and similar upholstered seating are classified as POPs and therefore must be disposed of in this way.

The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary moved to the Supreme Court in 2009. Since then, the Library has purchased 1,298 volumes of law reports in total, with 446 volumes held in the vicinity of the offices on the Law Lords’ corridor. The cost of all volumes since 2009 is not recorded. The total spend for the current year on volumes stored in that corridor is £3,143. The Library holds the legal collection for both Houses of Parliament, and law reports are an essential part of a law library. The law reports are stored in a number of locations, including on the Law Lords’ corridor, to enable timely retrieval. There are currently no plans to move or sell the law reports. Subscriptions to law reports are reviewed at the point of renewal, and where volumes are deaccessioned from the collection they are offered to other libraries.

The government inherited a homelessness crisis, and recognises that the number of households in temporary accommodation has increased in recent years. On 31 December 2025, 134,210 households were in temporary accommodation, including 85,800 households with children (see published temporary accommodation statistics here.

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this reflects a combination of factors, including a lack of affordable housing, rising poverty, reduced focus on prevention and wider pressures across public services.

The Department does not produce an estimate of the total cost of temporary accommodation to local authorities for the current financial year. Published Local Government Finance returns provide data on local authority expenditure in previous years. In 2024/25, Local authorities’ net expenditure on temporary accommodation in England was £1.43 billion.

The government is providing £969 million of temporary accommodation funding to local authorities over the period 2026/27 to 2028/29 through the Local Government Finance Settlement, using the new Fair Funding Assessment, which includes a formula reflecting proportional need for temporary accommodation across the country. In addition, the government is investing £950 million through the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund to increase the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation.

Since July 2024, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have spent £15,940 on external public affairs firms or for supporting its public affairs work with external expertise. The details are:

£1,660 to Field Consulting

£14,280 to Savanta

The ORR Board keeps the use of external support under review to ensure it provides appropriate value for money, follows civil service procurement rules, and aligns with ORR’s priorities.

Recipient Average Costs per Financial Years

Application requests are made within the Fair Access Limit – we do not approve an amount different to the requested amount.

Local Authorities and Regional Adoption Agencies are responsible for submitting applications. The financial value of all applications submitted to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund were below the £3,000 fair access limit. The department regularly reviews the costs per hour of therapy, and the number of hours of therapy per application. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies can top-up funding using their own resources.

The department is currently considering responses to its consultation on the future of Adoption Support, including the long-term effects of any changes made to adoption support.

Since 4 July 2024, the Department has not made any assessment of the impact of ecological survey windows and protected species licensing requirements on the cost and delivery of Network Rail projects.

The total cost to the public purse of seven Homes England staff attending the four-day 2024 MIPIM conference was £31,787.29. This figure includes the cost of flights and some expenses.

The previous referenced answer incorrectly stated that the reported total included flight costs when, in fact, it did not. Please consider this a correction of that answer.

Details of travel and subsistence usage by Homes England staff are set out in the Agency’s Annual Report. Over 98% of this total was for travel, hotels, and conference tickets with the remaining 2% covering reasonable expenses such as subsistence.

Details of senior MHCLG officials’ hospitality are published on a quarterly basis and are available on GOV.UK.

The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of student visas on the finances of UK universities. However, the government continues to monitor the financial sustainability of the higher education (HE) sector and works closely with the Office for Students (OfS), to understand risks and pressures facing providers.

The OfS, as independent regulator of English HE providers, has statutory duties in relation to the financial sustainability of the sector. The government has a clear interest in understanding the level of risk across the sector and continues to work closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.

We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in 2025/26 and are also increasing tuition fee caps in line with forecast inflation in 2026/27 and 2027/28 and will legislate to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years. Over the next five years, these uplifts could generate around £6 billion extra income for the sector.

HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.

More broadly, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out the government’s commitment to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthen financial resilience, and adopt more effective operating models.

This government has taken a different stand on international students and we have spoken clearly about it. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out that we welcome international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s HE sector and our economy and society as a whole. The UK has a world class higher education sector with 4 universities in the top 10 and 17 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of high-quality institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

The Immigration White Paper confirmed that we will retain the graduate visa but reduce its duration from 2 years to 18 months. This will maintain our competitive post-study offer whilst ensuring individuals on this route obtain employment in graduate level roles and contribute to the country’s skills needs more quickly.

The Government recognises that policy costs fall disproportionately on electricity bills and are taking forward work to ensure that prices reflect the cheaper wholesale price of clean energy.

On the distribution of costs between electricity and gas, the Government acted at the Autumn Budget to cut electricity costs in a way that makes this distribution fairer. We ended funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme, as well as removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from people’s energy bills.

The government also announced in April plans to go further and faster on delinking electricity and gas prices. We will consult later this year on arrangements to offer existing generators a fixed price Contract for Difference for the electricity they generate. In addition, the rate of the Electricity Generator Levy has been increased by 10% to respond to the high prices that generators are benefitting from due to the crisis in the Middle East.