Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the timetable for introducing a retail licensing scheme for tobacco, vape and nicotine retailers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 20 July in response to Question 18891 regarding the timetable for introducing the retail licensing scheme.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the accountability of mobile network operators where people are victims of fraud.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Tackling fraud is a priority for this Government. My Department works closely with Ofcom, the telecoms industry and law enforcement to strengthen operators’ counter-fraud measures. Ofcom has introduced requirements to disrupt the criminal use of telephone networks, while the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter sets commitments for industry action. Victims should report incidents to Report Fraud and their mobile provider
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he plans to review the operation of the steel safeguard measures prior to the next annual review.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s steel safeguard expired on 30 June in line with WTO rules. The Government is closely monitoring the implementation of the new steel trade measure and will continue to engage with businesses on the impacts. We will remain responsive to significant changes in circumstances and review the full measure after 12 months. This timeline has been selected to ensure there is adequate time to evaluate the measure’s effectiveness, while providing businesses with a predictable and consistent operating environment.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the revised steel safeguard quota arrangements on stock availability and supply chain resilience for UK manufacturers during the first quarter of 2027.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s steel safeguard expired on 30 June in line with WTO rules. The Government is closely monitoring the implementation of the new steel trade measure and will continue to engage with businesses on the impacts, including stock availability and supply chain resilience. We will also review the full measure after 12 months. Since the measure has only been in force for two months and a transitional arrangement has been in place during the first quarter, quota utilisation patterns will take some time to adjust.
The Explanatory Memoranda to the legislation that implemented the measure set out the expected impacts on different sectors and businesses across the supply chain.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the delayed publication of 2025 Key Stage 2 SATs results on pupils, parents and schools; what discussions she has had with Pearson regarding reported issues in the marking process; and if she will undertake an independent review of the administration and marking of the 2025 SATs to ensure that pupils receive accurate results and have an opportunity to request reviews of marking where appropriate.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools rightly expect results to be delivered on time, and the department recognises the frustration this delay caused. Pearson Education Limited has fully apologised for failing to return the 2026 SATs results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. A thorough independent review, led by Dame Christine Gilbert, will be conducted into how such a serious failing could have occurred and is expected to report in the Autumn.
The government is very clear that the delay was due to issues with Pearson’s systems and not concerns about the quality of the tests or the results. Marking was completed and test scripts were marked according to the required quality assurance processes. The standards maintenance process, which underpins our ability to compare the expected standard of the tests from year to year, was completed to schedule on Thursday 2 July 2026.
Results were returned on 16 July. The deadline for schools to apply for reviews of marking or clerical errors has been extended until 7 September.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department plans to publish detailed information on steel safeguard quota allocations and anticipated utilisation in advance of the implementation of those measures on 1 July 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Details of the finalised steel trade measure quotas were published on GOV.UK on 25 June and I gave a statement on the new steel trade measure on the same day.
The steel trade measure quotas reflect the needs of the steel industry, taking account of production capacity and demand. We therefore expect quota utilisation to be significantly higher than under the existing safeguard.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department will publish detailed information on steel safeguard quota allocations and anticipated utilisation in advance of the implementation of those measures on 1 July 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Yes.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting (a) an independent review and (b) an inquiry into the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Police Federation in representing its members.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what level of oversight her Department has of the governance and reform of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.