Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of debt recovery practices used by private firms in relation to unpaid fuel transactions, including the imposition of administration fees and the use of national databases restricting access to services.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has not made a specific assessment of the merits of private debt recovery practices for fuel transactions. However, the Government expects all firms to treat individuals in debt fairly and to act in a responsible manner. Under general commercial law, businesses may claim reasonable debt recovery costs and interest on late payments. The specific imposition of administration fees by private firms in fuel recovery is a commercial matter, though such fees must remain transparent and proportionate to the costs incurred.

The Government remains committed to improving debt collection practices across all sectors and will continue to monitor the impact of these practices on consumers and businesses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve the care system for cardiology patients in the UK; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s by Professor Religa.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

No assessment has been made of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s for heart transplant surgery. The National Health Service’s heart transplant programme provides life-saving heart transplants for adults, those 16 years old or older, with end-stage heart failure, involving assessment, surgery, and lifelong care.

NHS England has been undertaking a review of heart and lung transplantation services, building on a report commissioned by the Department, named Honouring the gift of organ donation, published in 2023 and avaiable at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/honouring-the-gift-of-donation-utilising-organs-for-transplant

The goals of the review are to increase the number of transplants, improve patient outcomes, reduce inequalities in access to transplants, and improve patient experience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include information in the Green Book on the HPV vaccine that includes reference to its role in reducing the risk of oral cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Green Book is written for healthcare professionals. The chapter on human papillomavirus (HPV) does highlight the causal link between infection with this virus, cervical cancer, and some non-cervical cancer including those of the head and neck. The HPV chapter 18a from the Green Book is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-papillomavirus-hpv-the-green-book-chapter-18a

Broader UK Health Security Agency guidance on HPV also highlights the protection the vaccine provides against HPV infection and related conditions. This public‑facing information also explains that the vaccine helps protect against cancers of the mouth and is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64919b26103ca6000c03a212/HPV_Vaccination_For_All_-_English_Leaflet_from_September_2023.pdf

It also highlights that the greatest risk comes from infection with high-risk types of HPV. There is very good evidence that the vaccine in use in the United Kingdom offers excellent protection against these high-risk types.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent glassware attacks at late night venues; and whether her Department plans to engage with the Bottle Stop campaign.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police are responsible for protecting the public by detecting and preventing crime. The government expects the police to respond to all allegations made, including those involving violence in the night time economy, and treat them seriously, investigate and consider any arrests or charging decisions as required.

The Home Office has responsibility for the Licensing Act 2003, which determines the regime for the licensing of, among others, venues which sell alcohol. The Act sets out four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; the prevention of public nuisance; upholding public safety and protecting children from harm.

Local licensing authorities are responsible for making licensing decisions in England and Wales and ensuring the licensing objectives are upheld. The Government publishes statutory guidance to assist licensing authorities in fulfilling these duties. The guidance sets out matters that should be considered by a licensing authority in relation to public safety. This explicitly includes giving consideration to requiring, as part of a premises licence, the use of plastic containers and preventing customer access to glass bottles.

The Government regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders on matters relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the sale and supply of alcohol.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the safeguarding bruising protocol on people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Nothing is more important than keeping children safe.

Our Families First Partnership Programme guidance, published in March 2025, is clear that practice should be inclusive, anti-discriminatory and responsive to the needs and experiences of children and families of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. We would encourage local safeguarding partnerships to align any local protocols, including in relation to bruising, with this guidance, the latest available evidence and with national child safeguarding guidance, and consider the impact of local protocols on children and families from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce new measures including improved information sharing and the introduction of multi-agency child protection teams to prevent children falling through the cracks.

We are also investing in the recruitment, training and development of child and family social worders to ensure the workforce has the capacity, skills and knowledge to identify, support and protect vulnerable children who may be at risk of maltreatment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Immigration White Paper S.176, what future steps she plans to take to ensure that workers can more efficiently change sponsors.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As per the Immigration White Paper, we are continuing to explore a range of policy options and their feasibility. Further details will follow in due course as necessary and appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the average length of time for a GP's surgery to negotiate a lease for (a) new and (b) extended premises in the last 12 months.

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

The lease for a general practice (GP) surgery is negotiated between the GP and the landlord, with the agreement of the local integrated care board.

The Department does not hold information regarding the average length of time taken for GP surgeries in both new and extended premises to negotiate a lease.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides on the minimum training and professional standards required for healthcare professionals undertaking child protection medicals for safeguarding assessments.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance of registered professionals are the statutory responsibility of healthcare regulators, such as the General Medical Council for doctors and the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives, which are independent of the Government. Approved Education Institutions and practice partners develop the specific content and design of training programmes to meet these standards. Training programmes are then approved and monitored by the relevant regulator. Practice partners provide practice placements for healthcare students and can include National Health Service trusts, social care, voluntary organisations, and general practices.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99953 on Hospitals: Construction, with what regularity are the multi-criteria decision analysis inputs updated to inform New Hospital Programme decision making.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Our published New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation sets out a credible plan for delivery, and we continue to make progress against this. The multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool represented only one input to support scheme prioritisation and the development of funding options, which also included funding constraints and consultation and review with colleagues across the Department, NHP, and NHS England.

As set out in our Plan for Implementation, the programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future. The tool remains available to support any decision-making as the programme progresses, with consideration of the inputs reflecting the decision context at the time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to review the income thresholds for the First Homes scheme.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department has no current plans to review the income thresholds for the First Homes scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of national speed limit guidelines in the context of changes to (a) traffic volumes and (b) developments in vehicle (i) technology and (ii) safety.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department for Transport has not assessed the adequacy of national speed limit guidelines in light of changes to (a) traffic volumes and (b) developments in vehicle (i) technology and (ii) safety. However, as part of the Road Safety Strategy (RSS), it has committed to publishing a new edition of the best practice guidance “Setting Local Speed Limits” and updating separate guidance on the use of speed and red-light cameras, following research and consultation.

The RSS will build on published analysis to improve understanding of rural roads by breaking them down into subcategories. This will help to target safety interventions more effectively, ensuring resources are spent where they can have the greatest impact.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent glassware attacks at late night venues.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police are responsible for protecting the public by detecting and preventing crime. The government expects the police to respond to all allegations made, including those involving violence in the night time economy, and treat them seriously, investigate and consider any arrests or charging decisions as required.

The Home Office has responsibility for the Licensing Act 2003, which determines the regime for the licensing of, among others, venues which sell alcohol. The Act sets out four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; the prevention of public nuisance; upholding public safety and protecting children from harm.

Local licensing authorities are responsible for making licensing decisions in England and Wales and ensuring the licensing objectives are upheld. The Government publishes statutory guidance to assist licensing authorities in fulfilling these duties. The guidance sets out matters that should be considered by a licensing authority in relation to public safety. This explicitly includes giving consideration to requiring, as part of a premises licence, the use of plastic containers and preventing customer access to glass bottles.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has set (a) targets and (b) timelines for implementing universal mobile coverage in rural constituencies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities, and Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure there is continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks right across the UK.

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, which is jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s main MNOs, achieved its objective of 4G geographic coverage being available across 95% of the UK landmass by end-2025 more than a year early.

In rural areas, where there is either limited or no mobile coverage, we continue to work with the industry to deliver new coverage to these communities as well as monitor developments in the Direct to Device satellite market.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to extend (a) infrastructure-sharing agreements and (b) rural roaming schemes to help improve mobile coverage in areas such as North East Hampshire constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Through the National Planning Policy Framework, mobile network operators are encouraged to improve connectively by using existing masts buildings and other structures where it is possible. Network operators have also committed to sharing infrastructure, wherever it is viable, via the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development.

The Government has no plans to introduce a rural roaming scheme. Mandated roaming schemes could reduce the incentive for operators to invest in their networks.

However, roaming agreements are in place that allow calls to emergency services to automatically roam onto another available network if someone has no signal from their own provider.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to encourage mobile providers to accelerate the rollout of improved signal in rural areas.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government’s ambition is for populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.

We continue to work with the mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure that their investment benefits communities right across the UK. As part of the terms of their merger, VodafoneThree has committed to investing £11 billion to upgrade their joint networks, and BT/EE and Virgin Media O2 have similarly significant investment plans in place.

We are addressing barriers to mobile infrastructure deployment where they exist, including by launching a call for evidence on 18 December 2025 to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure. We also continue to work closely with Ofcom to ensure there is sufficient spectrum available to deliver high quality wireless connectivity across the UK.

Alongside this, the Shared Rural Network, which is jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s main MNOs, continues to deliver 4G coverage in areas where there is little or no coverage currently.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration has been given to addressing historic pension gaps for teachers who were removed from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme without explicit consent.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.

The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.

Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review the potential impact of historic practices on women’s pension entitlements in the teaching profession.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.

The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.

Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance was issued to local authorities in the 1990s on the inclusion of part-time teachers in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme following maternity leave.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.

The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.

Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to ensure that the Highway Code changes introduced in 2022 are (a) understood and (b) followed by the public.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.

That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As
announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the
development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.

Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police who will decide on the evidence of each individual case, whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take.

90th anniversary of the Spitfire

Public toilet provision

World Cancer Day

President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

Hospices and end of life care

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Social media for under 16s

Health and Care Worker visas

Gambling harms

Halie Selassie and Bath

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Chinook Justice Campaign

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Tall ship Tenacious