U.K., Oct. 22 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: Responding to the publication of a White Paper announcing proposed news measures to protect critical undersea infrastructure, including undersea cables, Chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Matt Western MP said: “Critical undersea infrastructure in the UK is facing serious and evolving threats that require a strong response from Government. The legislation covering attacks on undersea cables was written in a...
U.K., Oct. 23 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: Responding to figures from the Imperial Grantham Institute estimating 50,000 excess heat deaths in Europe’s urban areas in the summer of 2026, the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Toby Perkins MP, said: "These shocking revelations expose the full scale of the catastrophic excess heat deaths experienced across Europe this summer, with the UK one of the five countries in Europe with the most heat-related deaths. Never has the ...
U.K., Oct. 22 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: The VAT rate on hospitality food and accommodation in Northern Ireland should be cut to 10% for a trial period of four years to help hospitality and tourism businesses cope with significant cost pressures, and to test the case for a cut for the wider sector across the UK. Read the letter The recommendation from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee comes in a letter sent today to the Chancellor, ahead of next week’s Budget. It outlin...
U.K., Oct. 22 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: The Education Committee will explore the current state of citizenship education as the government seeks to allow 16- and-17-year-olds in England to vote for the first time. Inquiry: Preparing for Votes at 16: The Role of the Education System In a new inquiry launched today, MPs will explore how schools can inform students about polarising political issues, while remaining impartial and avoiding bias, and tackling misinformation and dis...
U.K., Oct. 23 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: The NHS’s support for people to lose weight should be overhauled with obesity treated as a long-term, managed condition like diabetes, the Health and Social Care Committee says in a new report. Read the report MPs say this should start with a reframing of obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition with life-long physiological impacts. Weight-loss services across the country are poorly designed and resourced, creating a postcode lottery...
U.K., Oct. 23 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: The Financial Services Regulation Committee has today published its report Home and travel insurance regulation: more for the FCA to do. Report: Home and travel insurance regulation: more for the FCA to do (HTML) Report: Home and travel insurance regulation: more for the FCA to do (PDF) Inquiry: Regulation of the consumer insurance market Financial Services Regulation Committee The inquiry The Financial Services Regulation Committe...
U.K., Oct. 21 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: On 20 October 2026 the Committee considered e-petitions that had received over 10,000 signatures and received a Government response and public petitions that had received a Government observation. Petitions with over 10,000 signatures 1. Make one-to-one mentoring a statutory right for children in care & care leavers The Committee agreed to request a revised response to this petition. 2. Stop megasheds being built & operated 24/7 clos...
U.K., Oct. 21 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: Report: Cosmetic procedures Inquiry: Cosmetic procedures Women and Equalities Committee Chair comment Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Olivia Bailey said: “It’s welcome news that the Government is finally acting on recommendations made in two successive reports by the Women and Equalities Committee this year to place restrictions on the highest-risk cosmetic procedures. “WEC’s report warned back in Februa...
U.K., Oct. 21 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: On Monday 2 November, MPs will debate a petition relating to the proposed ban on social media for under 16s. Watch the debate (from 4:30pm, Monday 2 November) Read the debate transcript (available shortly after the conclusion of the debate). Tony Vaughan MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, has been asked by the Committee to open the debate. MPs from all parties can take part, and the Government will send a minister to respond. "...
U.K., Oct. 22 -- UK Parliament issued the following news: The government has said it cannot publish annual figures showing department and public bodies spending on digital and data-driven transformation because its existing financial systems do not allow it to do so. Read the report [HTML] Instead, in its response to the committee's report, 'Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government,' it said that it would consider how to improve this "over time." The committee's report, published in...