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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of council tax exemption and discount rules for families required to live away from their homes for extended periods due to a child undergoing prolonged hospital treatment.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Councils are responsible for administering the council tax system, including considering the circumstances applying to a household and its eligibility for a discount or exemption. As well as the mandatory 25% discount where a household only has one adult occupant, councils have discretion over the level of discount provided in respect of unoccupied or second homes, which may be relevant where a family or family member is temporarily absent for medical reasons. Councils are able to design their working age council tax reduction schemes to ensure that households continue to receive support during periods of absence. In addition, councils have discretionary powers to provide a discount to taxpayer for any reason where they consider this appropriate.

The government recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration council tax. This included seeking views on any other groups which should be considered for council tax disregard/discounts. The consultation has now closed, and we are currently reviewing all responses. The government will publish its response to this consultation in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consultation has his Department undertaken with vending and automated retailing businesses and other relevant stakeholders before proposing restrictions on the sale of high-energy caffeine drinks.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department engaged with relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the vending and automated retail sector, prior to publishing its proposals for banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks.

Building on initial engagements, the Department ran a 12 week consultation, which was open from 3 September 2025 to 26 November 2025. This formal consultation invited views from all interested parties, including businesses operating in the vending and automated retailing sectors, on the proposed age restriction and its implementation.

The Department is currently reviewing all consultation submissions and will set out a formal consultation response in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will set out the oversight mechanisms in place to hold private custody and prisoner transport providers accountable for delays in delivering prisoners to court.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) are performing strongly, despite continuing pressures across the criminal justice system. In 2025, overall criminal justice system delivery to court was timely in 98.19% of cases; PECS suppliers met contractual expectations by delivering prisoners to court on time in 99.91% of cases.

HM Prison & Probation Service’s Contract Management Team (CMT) provides rigorous oversight through a clear contractual and governance framework, applying commercial levers where delays are attributable to provider actions. The CMT works closely with stakeholders through quarterly Strategic Partnership Boards and monthly Contract Management Boards to drive improvement, address system-wide challenges, and ensure suppliers are held fully to account. If a contractor’s performance falls below the required standard, financial service credits will be applied, in accordance with the contract mechanism. Any persistent or systemic issues can trigger formal improvement notices, rectification plans or other contractual remedies.

We are assessing the potential impact of current reform policies on delivery timeliness, to ensure that the system remains resilient and effective.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cumulative number of pensioners who will be liable for income tax between 2026 and 2031 as a result of the the Personal Allowance threshold being frozen; and what assessment she has made of the total additional tax revenue from those of pensionable age over this period.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:

https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028 and this is reflected in the numbers.