Where it is necessary to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area, local planning authorities can remove permitted development rights in respect of the temporary use of land through an Article 4 direction.

We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

We are monitoring the situation and preparing for every eventuality. The International Monetary Fund expects the UK to be the fastest growing European G7 economy cumulatively over this year and next. A rapid de-escalation of the conflict remains the best way to protect consumers from rising bills. We continue to act on the cost of living, with £117 on average off energy bills from 1 April, £53 million to help with the cost of heating oil, and freezing both rail fares and prescription charges.

The UK works internationally to manage the export and safe use of pesticides. The UK is party to the Rotterdam Convention, a multilateral treaty that promotes shared responsibilities and information sharing in relation to the international trade of hazardous chemicals. We strongly support science-based listings of hazardous pesticides under the convention.

The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) regime in Great Britain (GB) regulates the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals, including pesticides banned for use in GB. Companies intending to export any of these substances from GB must notify the importing country via the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the explicit consent of the importing country is required before export can take place. The exchange of information that PIC provides allows importing countries to make informed decisions on import, handling and safe use.

Tapeworm infections are not notifiable diseases. No compensation is provided for farmers whose livestock are condemned following tapeworm infection transmitted from dogs on agricultural land or public rights of way. Only a very small number of livestock carcases each year are condemned following tapeworm infection. Most are slaughtered before infection develops.

The Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs was presented to Parliament in December 2017. It makes clear that there is a legal obligation for a handler to clean up after their dog (Welfare of Dogs). Similarly, the statutory guidance within the Countryside Code: Advice for Countryside Visitors, updated 01 April 2021 (Countryside Code) highlights the risk of illness to people and livestock, and sets out that dog handlers must clean up after the dog. It is of paramount importance to break the cycle of transmission by deworming dogs.

On 27 January, we published the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, marking the beginning of the end for the feudal leasehold system and supporting millions of families with the cost of living. We are reinvigorating commonhold and capping ground rent. We are analysing the responses to our wide-ranging consultation to drive up transparency of service charges and make it easier for leaseholders to challenge unreasonable costs. We will implement these measures as soon as possible.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.

The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.

The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK, and we will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes annual reports on seasonal flu vaccine uptake for England. COVID-19 vaccination uptake figures are published regularly during the spring and winter campaigns, as part of the national flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, and are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/weekly-national-flu-reports

The adult groups which the vaccine is offered to includes those over 65 years of age, clinical risk groups, pregnant women, and frontline healthcare workers. Compared to the previous 2023 to 2024 season, uptake was higher in pregnant women. Comparisons cannot be made to the previous season for other adult groups, due to changes in the timing of programme implementation.

The Department works with the UKHSA and NHS England to deliver national communications supporting vaccine uptake. The UKHSA undertakes research, assessing public confidence, barriers, and motivators to vaccination uptake, and develops strategies and messaging tailored to different audiences.

The Government is committed to tackling the supply of illegal drugs. We are taking a coordinated approach to tackle harmful online content, including material associated with vapes containing illegal drugs. This combines law enforcement activity, education, and also measures compelling online platforms to act.

To this end, the illegal sale of drugs is a priority offence under the illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act 2023.Ofcom is closely monitoring compliance with the regime. The National Crime Agency also works with partners in the UK and internationally to identify offenders operating online, and to take down UK-based sites committing offences.

The Government is committed to tackling the supply of illegal drugs, including online, and the harms associated with their misuse.

We are taking a coordinated approach across Government that includes law enforcement activity, stronger engagement with technology companies, better education for users so they understand the risks and harms; as well as requiring internet companies to take responsibility for content on their platforms.

We have strengthened the regulatory framework to address online harms, and the unlawful sale of controlled drugs online is a priority offence under the illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act 2023. In-scope providers are legally required to implement measures to protect their users and to remove illegal content from their platforms, including that related to the sale of vapes containing illegal drugs. Ofcom, as the independent regulator of the Act, is monitoring compliance with the regime.

The National Crime Agency also works with partners in the UK and internationally to identify offenders operating online, and to take down UK-based sites committing offences.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87630 on 11 November 2025.

The Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS), under which community pharmacists can initiate and manage the supply of oral contraception, was due to expand to allow the supply of emergency hormonal contraception on 29 October 2025.

The number of pharmacies registered to provide PCS and actively delivering the service has increased since service launch in April 2023. The latest available data for registrations and activity shows that in September, 9,932 pharmacies were registered to provide the PCS, and in June 7,160 pharmacies delivered at least one contraception consultation. 15 pharmacies have deregistered from the PCS since March 2025.

NHS England will keep the clinical scope of this service under review, and the NHS Business Services Authority will publish activity data in line with the approach for other clinical services in community pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS), under which community pharmacists can initiate and manage the supply of oral contraception, was due to expand to allow the supply of emergency hormonal contraception on 29 October 2025.

The number of pharmacies registered to provide PCS and actively delivering the service has increased since service launch in April 2023. The latest available data for registrations and activity shows that in September, 9,932 pharmacies were registered to provide the PCS, and in June 7,160 pharmacies delivered at least one contraception consultation. 15 pharmacies have deregistered from the PCS since March 2025.

NHS England will keep the clinical scope of this service under review, and the NHS Business Services Authority will publish activity data in line with the approach for other clinical services in community pharmacy.

Charities are not excluded from existing core consumer law on the basis of their charitable status. The government is engaging closely with the sector in relation to the subscriptions regime in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024.

The impact assessment for the subscriptions chapter in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act can be found here: Subscription traps: annex 2 impact assessment. Together the subscription measures are anticipated to provide £400m of consumer benefits per year and the estimated net direct cost to businesses is £171m per year. Sector-specific analysis has not been conducted.

As we move towards warfighting readiness, the Government are investing more of our rising defence budget in new technologies and innovation, and the need for more innovative solutions to address emerging challenges is paramount in these darker and more dangerous times. On 1 July we launched UK Defence Innovation, a £400 million fund, and we will spend 10% of the equipment budget on innovative technologies that will deliver for defence.

As the response to module 1 of the covid-19 inquiry made clear, the Cabinet Office is playing a greater role in preparedness for cross-cutting catastrophic risks. Our preparedness for future pandemics has been stepped up through Exercise Pegasus, the largest ever national pandemic response exercise.

On 12 June 2025, we published the summary of responses and the Government response to the fairer food labelling consultation, which was undertaken last year by the previous government. The response is available here on GOV.UK.

We will consider the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare strategy.

Defra works closely with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC). Defra provides funding of up to £30,000 per year for specific project-based activity which supports skills development and training.

My officials continue to work very closely with the NFYFC to deliver the 2025-26 grant to ensure value for money. An assessment of future years funding remains part of future spending decisions.

The criteria will be developed alongside the new proportionate approach to indication-specific pricing arrangements.

The criteria will be developed alongside the new proportionate approach to indication-specific pricing arrangements.

Between January 2020 and March 2025, NHS England entered into 62 commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing for cancer indications. Of these:

• 60 were for indications classified as rare; and
• of those 60, two were for indications classified as ultra-rare.

NHS England determines whether a cancer indication is considered rare or ultra-rare based on the incidence of the eligible patient population for a given National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisal, rather than the overall incidence of the broader cancer type. The following definitions have been applied:

• rare, with fewer than six cases per 100,000 population per year; and
• ultra-rare, with one case per 1,000,000 population per year or fewer.