The new National Planning Policy Framework, published in August 2026, provides a “default yes” to suitable planning applications for residential and mixed-use development within a reasonable walking distance of ‘well-connected’ stations. This development will also have to meet minimum density requirements.

The definition of ‘well-connected’ station, as set out in the NPPF glossary, includes those within the top 80 Travel to Work Areas by Gross Value Added and are served by at least four trains per hour (or at least two in any one direction). Stations may also fall into scope where they have a reasonable prospect of reaching this train frequency, due to planned upgrades or through agreement with the rail operator.

It is for decision-makers to determine whether these criteria apply to any given station. As such, any published list could not be definitive. For that reason, my Department has not published a list of stations which can be defined as ‘well-connected’.

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly Mortgage and landlord possession statistics - Mortgage and landlord possession statistics - GOV.UK - which details the number of claims and the average time (mean/median) from claim to possession.

In 2025, the median average wait between claim and repossession by County Court bailiffs was 27 weeks and approximately 31% of the claims submitted required enforcement by County Court bailiffs.

Most possession claims do not require bailiff enforcement, as tenants vacate the property at various stages of the process and only a minority lead on to bailiff enforcement.

The timeliness of the enforcement of an order, where this is required, can be influenced by the actions of users and court. HMCTS is taking forward work to explore further improvements to bailiff recruitment and retention practices and to reduce administrative tasks for bailiffs to improve communications and efficiency.

Following delays to the publication of the 2023 Housing Delivery Test (HDT) results under the previous government, this government is committed to re-establishing a regular publication cycle. We therefore combined the data collections for the 2024 and 2025 HDTs and intend to publish both sets of results as soon as possible.

The Written Answers on 26 March (HL15521) and 12 March (HL14912) were based on the professional knowledge and experience of the Planning Liaison Judge, rather than statistical data, drawing on his role managing claims in the Planning Court. The Planning Court Users Group provides a mechanism for users to raise any specific concerns regarding the timely progress of cases. The Court has confirmed that there is no backlog of cases in the Planning Court relating to challenges to planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Significant Planning Court claims are managed in line with the targets set out in the relevant Practice Direction, while other cases follow the arrangements applicable to the Administrative Court. Overall oversight by the Planning Liaison Judge ensures that claims are progressed efficiently.

HMCTS is committed to improving efficiency, responsiveness and overall quality of service provided. Through collaborative working with the well-established Planning Court Users Group, HMCTS will discuss and consider any further administrative improvements.

The Written Answer of 26 February 2026 (HL14912) was informed, not by statistical data, but by the knowledge of the Planning Liaison Judge, based on his work as judge in charge managing claims in the Planning Court.

There is no backlog of cases in the Planning Court concerning challenges to planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This position has been confirmed by the Court.

Significant claims in the Planning Court are managed in accordance with the targets set out in the Practice Direction. Other cases in the Planning Court are managed in accordance with the arrangements which apply to claims in the Administrative Court. The Planning Liaison Judge oversees claims in the Planning Court and ensures these are progressed efficiently.

The UK recognises the important role played by the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in making recommendations to promote compliance with the Aarhus Convention. However, we strongly disagree with the interpretation of Convention obligations which the Committee has recommended in the draft findings referred to in the question.   We look forward to working within the mechanisms of the Convention to address this issue.

Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly to support households as best suits the local area, this could include supporting individuals to access education and employment.

All Ukrainian guests have access to public services, including benefits to support housing, healthcare, education, and other essential services.

Guidance is available on GOV.UK in English, Ukrainian and Russian, which provides Ukrainian guests with information on finding a job, accessing benefits and healthcare provision. This also provides guidance on social care and support for carers.

We recognise that the ability to speak English is key to helping people integrate into life in the UK. The STEP programme which launched this month, will provide intensive English language lessons and employment support for up to 4,000 individuals across the Ukraine and Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) visa schemes. This builds on the success of the STEP Ukraine pilot which has supported over 13,000 Ukrainians, with an impressive 84% successfully completing the programme and 73% achieving 100% in their English language test.

The Department for Education also supports adults aged 19+ in England who do not have English as a first language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision via the Adult Skills Fund (ASL).

The actions of the Russian State pose an acute and direct threat to the interests and national security of the UK and our allies. Russia continues to intensify its aggressive hybrid campaign, including sabotage, violence and cyber-attacks. We are working in partnership with our allies to deter and defend against the full spectrum of threats emanating from Russia.

The Government is firmly committed to ensuring Russia pays for the damage it has caused and is causing. That is why, in 2023, the UK legislated to take powers to maintain Russian sanctions until Russia pays compensation to Ukraine. We are also contributing £2.26 billion to a G7 scheme totalling $50 billion in support to Ukraine, using the profits from sanctioned Russian assets.

I am informed that the assessment of harm was conducted by the bicameral Strategic Estates department of Parliament and submitted to Westminster City Council as part of the planning application.

Westminster City Council, through the planning process, recognised that the fence would cause some harm to designated heritage assets, but in its design and due to the temporary nature of the proposal, this harm was assessed to be less than substantial and in the low to moderate end of that spectrum.

In circumstances of less than substantial harm, the proposals must be justified and the public benefits of the scheme considered. In this case, the justification of providing a secure perimeter to the palace was considered by Westminster City Council to be compelling and the public benefits of providing a greater level of security to both the building and its users is assessed to outweigh the harm caused.

The need for an effective perimeter was identified during independent reviews of Parliament’s security and the designs were progressed on that basis. The safety and security of all those who work on and visit the Parliamentary Estate is a top priority.

The fence design was endorsed on the balance of all considerations, including security, above and below ground heritage, deliverability, and value for money.

The newly installed fence can be removed for significant state or ceremonial events.

The safety and security of all those who work on and visit the Parliamentary Estate is a top priority. I am informed that Parliamentary authorities carefully considered the importance of improving safety on the Parliamentary Estate alongside their need to protect the Palace of Westminster and its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is vital to ensure that this iconic building is safeguarded for future generations to visit and enjoy.

Historic England is a statutory consultee and was included as part of pre-application discussions and consulted by Westminster City Council, as part of the application.

Neither SAVE Britain’s Heritage nor Buckingham Palace are statutory consultees and therefore were not consulted as part of the planning process.

I am informed that Westminster City Council considered whether the planning application relating to the newly installed Abingdon Street Fence was in accordance with relevant policies of the City of Westminster’s City Plan 2019–2040 and the London Plan 2021 as part of the consideration of the planning application for the works.

Westminster City Council determined the proposals were in accordance with its development plan, when considered as a whole.

Throughout the design process, the Parliamentary Authorities carefully considered the proposals, in reference to the policies set out in the statutory development plan.

The planning permission for the ‘siting of a boundary fence’ is temporary and was granted for ten years.

This Government keeps the UK’s nuclear posture under constant review considering the international security environment and the actions of potential adversaries. Our nuclear deterrent can respond to any emerging crises.

The recent announcement that the UK is acquiring 12 nuclear capable F35-A fighter jets, and will join the NATO nuclear mission, is not a decision to acquire a second sovereign delivery system. It complements Continuous At Sea Deterrence, our operationally independent, sovereign deterrent, which remains the ultimate guarantor of our security.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to establish a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone, aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of trade and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

Ministers have actively engaged with the zoo and wildlife sector through multiple visits and discussions to understand its challenges and opportunities. This dialogue will continue as we work together to support the zoo and wildlife sector.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is aware of several third-country airlines which continue to operate to and from Russia, while also separately operating services to and from the UK. The UK’s international connectivity benefits considerably from the operations of third-country airlines, particularly those operating to/from points beyond their home hubs. Any action, in respect of third-countries, must, therefore, be balanced against the consequences for the wider economy, which includes the needs of UK exporters and the travelling public, as well as considering potential reciprocal prohibitions against UK airlines. Where sanctions are specifically being considered, we must consider whether a proposed action meets the stated purposes of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“2019 Regulations”).

The Government’s position also has to be considered in the context of the UK’s international obligations under its portfolio of bilateral Air Services Agreements (ASA), which guarantee market access for UK airlines abroad, and for foreign airlines to/from the UK.

The Government remains committed to supporting Ukraine and exerting pressure, through the UK’s sanctions regime, on Russia to cease its war of aggression. The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for the enforcement of transport sanctions in place against Russia. Transport sanctions include prohibitions on the movement of aircraft and ships. In respect of the aviation prohibitions against Russia, this includes prohibiting Russian aircraft as defined in The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“2019 Regulations”), from landing in the UK or using UK airspace. In addition, and as noted in our previous response to your WPQ (HL3716), under the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Russian Aircraft) Regulations 2022 the Department has imposed a prohibition on any aircraft flying to and from Russian aerodromes from using UK airspace.

The UK has imposed one of the most substantive transport prohibitions under both UK sanctions and aviation law against Russia. This enabled the government to take significant enforcement action under the 2019 Regulations including the detention of aircraft and ships with links to Russia. The Government also prevented key Russian airlines from selling their unused landing slots at UK airports worth millions. Furthermore, ensuring ongoing compliance with UK transport sanctions remains a priority for the UK government and we continue to explore new ways to encourage compliance. These actions have had a material impact on Russia and its aviation sector and has prevented them from profiting from the UK’s aviation and maritime sectors.

We continue to balance these priorities and are working closely with our G7 partners, particularly the US and EU, in our engagement with a range of third-countries. However, this remains a deeply complex area. We continue to review the transport sanctions we have in place and explore additional ways we can support Ukraine.

My Nobel Lord, there is currently a prohibition on any aircraft flying to and from Russian aerodromes from using UK airspace. This prohibition was implemented on 5 April 2022 under the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Russian Aircraft) Regulations 2022 (the ‘RoF’). Specifically, the RoF prohibits (at regulation 2(1)(c)) flights by any aircraft flying in accordance with a flight plan filed after 8.49 p.m. on 5th April 2022 which includes an aerodrome in Russia.

In addition, the RoF and the UK’s aviation sanctions established under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the ‘Russia sanctions regulations’) imposes further restrictions on flights in UK airspace by certain Russian aircraft. These include aircraft; owned, chartered or operated by a ‘person connected with Russia’ (as defined in regulation 57O(3) of the Russia sanctions regulations), or which are registered in Russia.

The UK remains committed to applying pressure on Russia through sectors such as aviation and we continue to encourage all our international partners to match our actions and ensure their sanctions’ effectiveness and impact.