Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to streamline background checks for applicants to the University Officer Training Corps who had been members of the Combined Cadet Force while at school.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) application process, which all applicants are subject to, cannot be streamlined or reduced for applicants who were members of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). A UOTC Officer Cadet is attested into the British Army as a Group B Reservist and are required to complete and pass medical and security checks, which members of the CCF are not subject to when joining the CCF. The CCF is not part of the British Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve), it is a uniformed youth organisation, that is sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, and which operates in schools across the United Kingdom.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of medical schools to ensure more doctors are trained in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In England, the Office for Students (OfS) sets the maximum fundable limit for medical school places on an annual basis.

For the 2025/26 academic year, the OfS has published the maximum fundable limit at 8,126 for medical school places, with further information available on the OfS website, in an online only format. OfS will publish the limit for the 2026/27 academic year in due course.

The Government is committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. International staff, including doctors, remain an important part of our workforce but we are committed to building and increasing our domestic home-grown talent from across all of our communities.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed services set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what policy incentives they have to attract new recruits to the Combined Cadet Force.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We are working to deliver the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommendation to grow the Cadet Forces by 30% by 2030. This will entail increasing cadet numbers both in community-based units, and in Combined Cadets Force (CCF) contingents in schools. The ‘30 by 30’ campaign will see an increase of over 40,000 cadets across the UK, providing the opportunity for many more young people to enjoy the fantastic benefits of the cadet experience.

Defence is considering ways of encouraging more young people to join the Cadet Forces. For the CCF, these may include the development of a Pathfinder Programme delivered in schools by accessing on-line resources and with limited equipment issued by the Ministry of Defence, as well as introducing a junior entry level to the CCF at age 11. These would give schools the opportunity to understand more about the benefits of the cadet experience for pupils whilst also attracting more young people.

The SDR also recommended that there should be a greater focus within the cadets on developing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics skills and exploring modern technology. By ensuring that the cadet experience is relevant and valued by young people, we will attract more to join.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of representations from the British Ports Association about the impact of removing the landfill tax exemption for dredging on major industrial developments, particularly in ports, rivers and canals; and what action they plan to take, if any, in response.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the vital role that the ports sector plays in supporting the government’s objectives on transport and infrastructure.

At the Budget in November 2025, the Government announced it would legislate to remove the Landfill Tax exemption for stabilisers used in dredged material from April 2027.

This decision followed a consultation on reforms to Landfill Tax during which the government engaged with a range of stakeholders, including representatives from the ports sector. This decision will not prevent the use of stabilisers, but it will encourage businesses to limit their use to what is necessary.

The Government does not expect the change to have a significant impact on flood risk management as most material removed during routine waterway maintenance of rivers and canals is reused locally and deposited adjacent to the channel, avoiding the need for disposal at landfill sites.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current legal grounds for local authorities to postpone local elections planned in May.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The legal basis for postponing local elections is set out in section 87 of the Local Government Act 2000, which gives the Secretary of State, not local authorities, the power to change the year in which ordinary local elections are held by an order which is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

In order to inform his decisions on postponing the May 2026 elections, the Secretary of State wrote to councils on 18 December inviting leaders to set out if a postponement in their area would help release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set a target of 50 per cent of NHS doctors to be educated in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has no plans to set a specific target for the proportion of National Health Service doctors educated in the United Kingdom.

The Medical Training Prioritisation Bill, introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026, delivers the Government’s commitment to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant NHS experience for specialty training places. The bill will ensure a sustainable medical workforce that can meet the health needs of the future and give homegrown talent a path to become the next generation of NHS doctors.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of implementing a total ban on the (1) import, and (2) domestic sale, of dangerous weapons, including zombie-style knives.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

There are 22 different weapons prohibited as offensive weapons, and they include items such as knuckledusters, curved swords and truncheons. This legislation is kept under constant review and on 24 September 2024 we added zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes to the list, and more recently, from 1 August 2025 we banned ninja swords. It is illegal to sell, manufacture, import or possess these weapons. It is currently possible to own specifically prohibited weapons if a legal defence applies, such as the weapon is owned for sporting purposes, is made by hand according to certain specifications, is of historical importance, or if it’s owned for the purpose of making it available to a museum.

On 16 December 2026 the Government launched a public consultation on plans to introduce a comprehensive licensing scheme for those who sell knives or other bladed articles, including importers, retailers and private sellers, making them subject to strict regulations and conditions. The consultation closes on 24 February and is available on GOV.UK: Licensing for knife sales - GOV.UK. This follows recommendations made in Commander Clayman’s Independent End-to-End Review of Online Knife Sales to introduce a registration scheme for knife sellers and an ‘import licensing scheme to prohibit unlicensed importation of knives and prohibited weapons’.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from the introduction of self-driving cars in the United States, particularly in relation to safety.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (AV Act) sets out a comprehensive legal framework with safety at its core. The ongoing Call for Evidence, “Developing the Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework”, aims to gather information from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that future development of this work is thoroughly grounded in expertise from across the sector.

Throughout this work we will continue to utilise the experience and best practice of international partners. In particular, ongoing deployments of automated vehicles in the United States will enable practical lessons to be learned from interactions with a wide range of road users and the general public.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out safety checks on (1) Lyft, and (2) Baidu, as part of the self-driving car pilot scheme; and if not, why permission was granted to those companies to take part in the pilot scheme.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme has been accelerated to spring 2026. As the scheme has not yet been introduced, no permits have been issued.

Operators and technology developers announcing their ambitions to operate pilot deployments under the APS permitting scheme is a vote of confidence in Great Britain’s regulation of self-driving vehicles.

Found: Members Baroness Fairhead Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Lord German Lord Naseby Baroness Hale of Richmond

Found: Members Baroness Fairhead Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Lord German Lord Naseby Baroness Hale of Richmond