Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment her Department made of the risk that alerts could expose survivors of domestic abuse relying on a concealed phone to seek help prior to issuing the Emergency Alert of 14 August 2026; and what prior engagement took place with domestic abuse charities on that risk.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

Protecting victims of domestic abuse is always our priority. Both national tests of the Emergency Alerting capability were accompanied by a proactive public communications campaign informing the public of how to opt out of alerts, if they wished to do so.

This included extensive engagement with charities and groups representing vulnerable communities, such as Refuge. Advice on how to opt-out of emergency alerts is available at all times of GOV.UK/alerts, and is included in the websites of a number of charities and organisations that support victims of domestic abuse.

In a ‘live’ activation scenario such as this, such pre-planned public communications are difficult to ensure. As far as possible, the Cabinet Office engages with the media ahead of the transmission of an Alert to provide notice to the public.

The Cabinet Office recommends that victims of domestic abuse with concealed phones consider opting-out of receiving alerts either by turning off Emergency Alerts in their phone settings or by switching their phone off when it is not in use.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the period of time between announcing the Emergency Alert of 14 August 2025 to the public and the alert itself being issued.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

In a ‘live’ activation scenario such as this, pre-planned public communications such as those carried out ahead of the national test in September 2025 are difficult to ensure. Please be assured that we are learning from each activation.

As far as possible, the Cabinet Office engages with the media ahead of the transmission of an Alert to provide notice to the public.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria her Department applies in distinguishing between the use of Emergency Alerts to (a) warn of danger that is imminent and (b) help prevent a serious incident from occurring.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

Every Emergency Alert is carefully coordinated with responding public bodies and agencies. This tool is only used in emergency scenarios, and where the need is greatest. The Cabinet Office remains committed to reviewing every alert request on a case-by-case basis.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data her Department holds on the national opt-out rate from Emergency Alerts; and what estimate she has made of the number of mobile phone users successfully reached by the alert of 14 August 2025.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

It is not possible to gather data on the national opt out rate for Emergency Alerts. This is because Emergency Alerts use cell broadcast technology, which is “one-way” and does not provide any feedback to the government or Mobile Network Operators about you, your location or whether an individual handset has received an Emergency Alert.

The activation was technically successful, with no widespread problems reported by Mobile Network Operators.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to prioritise access to specialist treatment for rare cancers; how patients with lymphoma are being prioritised; and what progress she has made on meeting commitments in those areas.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the respective answers provided on 18 September and 21 September in response to Questions 27027 and 27283.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of time taken to implement road safety measures following serious or fatal road traffic collisions; what steps her Department is taking to reduce barriers to the introduction of traffic calming measures where local communities and police forces have identified safety concerns; and whether she has made an assessment of the impact of planning, consultation and regulatory requirements on the time taken to introduce such measures.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the appropriateness of the time taken to implement road safety measures following individual serious or fatal road traffic collisions.

Responsibility for decisions on local roads, including the introduction of traffic-calming measures and other safety interventions, rests with the relevant local traffic authority. Local authorities are best placed to assess local circumstances, including collision history, traffic conditions, road layout, community concerns and the needs of vulnerable road users.

The Department provides design guidance in Local Transport Note 1/07: Traffic Calming, available at Local transport notes - GOV.UK

As set out in the Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1999, authorities must consult the local chief of police and other organisations they consider are likely to be affected on proposed traffic calming measures, but there is no set process for this and it is for local authorities to determine how best to fulfil this requirement.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for Access to Work applications from self-employed people; how many self-employed applicants are currently awaiting a decision; and what steps he is taking to reduce delays in the assessment and approval of Access to Work support.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

DWP recognises that while customers greatly value the support provided by the Access to Work scheme, they also have concerns about the scheme’s timeliness, consistency and appreciation of the complex barriers faced by people with disabilities in a modern workplace. The Department is addressing these points in order to deliver an improved scheme that will better help disabled people start and stay in work.

Efforts undertaken by the Department to achieve this include the recruitment of 480 additional staff to help reduce the Access to Work backlog by September 2027. These members of staff will receive extensive training to support them to handle complex applications. In addition, the Department is continuing to engage with a range of stakeholders to develop a richer understanding of the challenges disabled people face. The feedback from this engagement will be used to shape improvements to the scheme that better reflect the current needs of customers. Any improvements to Access to Work will be announced in advance of their implementation.

The Department does not hold information on the average processing time for Access to Work applications from self-employed customers. Access to Work management information does not differentiate by employment status once applications have been allocated to a Case Manager and average processing times for self-employed customers are therefore not available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability of NHS support services for people with tic disorders, including Tourette syndrome; and what plans she has to increase specialist provision and reduce regional disparities in access to care.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answers provided on 3 March in response to Questions 114957 and 114958.

The Independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current scale of problems and needs in this area, and the current provision of services, including in relation to Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, including in relation to the issues raised by the Hon. Member. The response is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve retention among Armed Forces personnel.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

The Government is committed to improving retention across the Armed Forces and renewing the nation's contract with those who serve. Since April 2024, we have delivered two of the largest pay increases in over 20 years for Service Personnel; most have received a cumulative pay award of 14.1% over that period. We continue to improve the overall offer through more flexible terms of service, a modernised allowance system, targeted financial incentives, specialist skills payments and enhanced support for Service personnel and their families. We are also investing in accommodation (through the Defence Housing Strategy published on 3 November 2025), childcare (Defence Wraparound Childcare scheme and UK Nursery Authority), professional development and career flexibility to ensure Service life remains rewarding and sustainable.

The Armed Forces Welfare Support policy (JSP 770), after undergoing a full review was published in January 2025. The policy includes updated information and guidance to ensure the welfare support structures are appropriate, accurate, and informative for Service personnel and their families.

These measures are showing positive results. For the first time in several years, Armed Forces intake now exceeds outflow, with recruitment increasing and departures reducing compared with previous years. We will continue to monitor retention closely and take action where evidence shows further improvements are needed.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential financial impact of the disruption for passengers and travellers affected by the NATS failure in September, both (a) on those directly affected and (b) on the wider economy.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are still in the process of understanding the impact of NATS outages across the UK. However, we recognise that disruption to air services can have consequences for passengers, businesses and regional connectivity, including for communities that rely on aviation links.

Therefore, we need to learn the lessons from what has happened to ensure that we can minimise the chance of disruption of this kind happening again.

The Secretary of State has commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to lead an independent review of the NATS outage on 8 September and the separate technical issue that occurred in Prestwick on 21 September. The review will examine the causes of the incidents, broader questions relating to NATS' resilience, capital investment and modernisation plans, and the effectiveness of the CAA's regulatory oversight, helping to identify any lessons needed to strengthen the resilience of the UK air traffic management system.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department makes available to communities seeking to contribute financially towards the delivery of Fibre to the Premises broadband infrastructure where commercial rollout is not planned; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of that support.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Project Gigabit is the Government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. This supports the objective of reaching at least 99% gigabit coverage of UK premises by 2032.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) collects and analyses information from suppliers about their completed and planned broadband infrastructure to identify which premises are likely to require public subsidy to receive a gigabit-capable connection. Informed by this process, BDUK works with broadband suppliers to deliver gigabit capable connections to premises that might otherwise miss out.

There is currently no mechanism for communities to contribute financially towards the delivery of gigabit capable broadband through Project Gigabit contracts.

In some circumstances, broadband suppliers may consider self-dig or self-contribution options, where residents are willing to undertake some civil works to help reduce delivery costs. However, such arrangements are a commercial matter for the supplier and would be subject to technical, safety and contractual considerations.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department provides to communities that are not included in suppliers' planned full fibre broadband rollout programmes.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring 99% of premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations Spring Report, 88% of UK premises can already access a gigabit-capable connection.

As of the end of June 2026, over 1.46 million premises in hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.

Project Gigabit is the Government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. Following a recent consultation with suppliers on their capability and interest in further delivery through Project Gigabit in the areas previously covered by CityFibre’s contract, a procurement is now underway with Openreach for a new contract to provide coverage to as many of the remaining premises as possible in East Hampshire.

LGBT+ rights in the Commonwealth

Delivery of Budget 2026 through property tax systems

Microplastic filters for washing machines

Appointment of Russian diplomat to lead United Nations' mine-action work

One Health Day

Leasehold reform

Rural fuel duty relief

E1 settlements

Oil and chemical spills at sea

Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026

Baby Loss Awareness Week (No. 2)

Cancer treatment in rural areas

Humanitarian situation in Russian-occupied Oleshky

Speed camera guidance

Defibrillators in police vehicles

World Menopause Day 2026

19th International Day of Democracy

Fracking moratorium and onshore fossil fuel exploration

Independent cafes and coffee shops

Barbering and hairdressing

River Lavant