Alberto Costa

69327 • Hospices: Labour Turnover

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support hospices to (a) attract and (b) retain their workforce.

69328 • Hospices: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding strategies his Department is considering to ensure hospices remain (a) competitive and (b) sustainable.

63684 • Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an independent appeal or review mechanism for complainants who are dissatisfied with decisions made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

52256 • Portugal: British Nationals Abroad

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British nationals who are the victims of violent attacks are adequately supported by the British Embassy in Portugal; and whether his Department plans to issue travel advice on the risk of violence towards British nationals by private security personnel.

48964 • Veterans: Social Rented Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that armed forces veterans are given priority status on local authority housing registers.

48965 • Veterans: Homelessness

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of homelessness among armed forces veterans; and what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help prevent veterans from becoming homeless after leaving the military.

48966 • Television: Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the regulation of televised advertisements depicting (a) violent imagery, (b) knifes and (c) other weapons during family viewing hours; and what steps she is taking to ensure such content does not undermine public messaging around knife crime prevention.

45631 • Empty Property: Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department monitors the number of households charged the council tax premium on long-term empty homes following (a) bereavement and (b) inheritance.

45632 • Empty Property: Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to introduce a statutory exemption from the long-term empty homes council tax premium for properties that have been inherited and are being marketed for sale.

45633 • Sheltered Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to (a) support and (b) incentivise the resale of retirement or sheltered housing units.

43183 • Animal Welfare: Prosecutions

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of private prosecution cases brought by the RSPCA being heard in the Crown Court and the Magistrates Court since the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

43185 • Animal Welfare: Prosecutions

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of private prosecution cases brought by the RSPCA being heard in the Crown Court since the introduction of the Animal Welfare Sentencing Act 2021.

40170 • Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to issue supplementary cull licences in 2025.

40171 • Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to offer farmers badger vaccination in 2025 to tackle bTB in wildlife populations.

37205 • Sign Language: GCSE

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects the first BSL GCSE course to begin.

37206 • Sign Language: GCSE

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Ofqual on the timing of the first teaching of the British Sign Language GCSE.

33921 • Plastics: Recycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) define and (b) set standards for the use of (i) biodegradable and (ii) compostable plastics.

33922 • Plastics: Waste Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assess the potential toxicity of bioplastics; and whether he plans to introduce specific toxicity testing requirements beyond existing waste management regulations.

31054 • Microplastics: Health Hazards

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to (a) research and (b) mitigate the potential health risks posed by microplastic exposure to humans.

31055 • Microplastics: Pollution

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains, published in Nature Medicine on 3 February 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of microplastics in UK waters on (a) the environment and (b) public health.