Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her policy is on introducing automatic release of funds from unclaimed adult-owned Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is aware of proposals for the automatic release of funds in unclaimed matured Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts. These savings belong to the account holders and are held by private sector providers. The Government does not have the authority to access or transfer these funds.
The Government is committed to reuniting young people with their CTFs. HMRC works with providers, industry representatives and others to raise awareness and help individuals trace their accounts, including through targeted communications and a free GOV.UK tracing service.
The Government has also recently established a dedicated Taskforce to address unclaimed matured CTF accounts and improve outcomes for account holders. This brings together Government and industry to strengthen tracing activity, increase engagement, and support access to funds.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the period product scheme will continue within schools in 2026-27.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Nobody should have to miss out on education due to their period, which is why the government provides access to free period products to girls and women who need them in their place of study. Schools and colleges are able to order free period products via an online portal with the national supplier for the scheme, Phs. The current contract with Phs is due to end in August 2026, and the department is in the process of procuring a supplier to continue the scheme.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has any plans to offer engagement calls with hon. Members' offices to resolve ongoing cases expediently, such as the ones offered by the Home Office.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions recognise the importance of timely resolution of constituents’ cases and remains committed to supporting Members of Parliament and their offices in progressing enquiries. The Department already provides channels for MPs’ offices to escalate and resolve cases. This includes dedicated MP hotlines as an escalation route for urgent non-complex matters and MP engagement sessions.
The Department continues to keep its approach to stakeholder engagement under ongoing review to improve responsiveness and collaboration with hon. Members’ offices, including exploring opportunities to resolve cases more efficiently where appropriate.
Whilst the Department recognises that response times have not consistently met expectations in recent months due to increased volumes and a greater number of complex cases requiring detailed investigation, improving timeliness remains a key operational priority.
The Department has deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight, and improved case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to respond to outstanding casework queries from the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley dated between December 2025 and April 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department recognises there have been some delays to complaint responses due to increased volumes of complex complaints requiring more detailed investigation.
To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight, and improved case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer, but customers are kept informed of progress and expected timescales.
The Department is committed to ensuring that hon. Members receive timely and accurate information on behalf of their constituents and is taking urgent action to restore performance to expected standards.
The Department regrets the delays in responding to queries from the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley submitted between December 2025 and April 2026. Most responses have now been issued. Five cases were responded to on 11 June 2026 as a priority, and the remaining two, which require more complex action, were responded to on 12 June 2026 and 15 June 2026.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her polices of the governance framework for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector established under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan; and whether she has raised this framework with Shell plc in discussions on its prospective onshore operations in the Niger Delta.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to raise with Shell, including at Ministerial level, the importance of action to address the risks of pollution from oil production in the Niger Delta, in line with international standards. The regulation of companies within Nigeria and the governance framework for the oil and gas sectors are, however, matters for the Government of Nigeria. The UK therefore encourages a coordinated effort between the Nigerian Government, oil and gas companies, and local communities to bring an end to all forms of oil contamination in Nigeria.
The Gulf of Guinea remains an important global energy-producing region, and the UK is committed to supporting Nigeria to realise its energy transition ambitions.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Shell plc regarding environmental standards to uphold upon its return to onshore operations in the Niger Delta; and whether the Government has sought assurances that those operations will meet or exceed relevant Nigerian, UK and international standards.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to raise with Shell, including at Ministerial level, the importance of action to address the risks of pollution from oil production in the Niger Delta, in line with international standards. The regulation of companies within Nigeria and the governance framework for the oil and gas sectors are, however, matters for the Government of Nigeria. The UK therefore encourages a coordinated effort between the Nigerian Government, oil and gas companies, and local communities to bring an end to all forms of oil contamination in Nigeria.
The Gulf of Guinea remains an important global energy-producing region, and the UK is committed to supporting Nigeria to realise its energy transition ambitions.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea oil and gas sector to UK energy security; and whether she plans to increase engagement with Niger Delta producing communities.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to raise with Shell, including at Ministerial level, the importance of action to address the risks of pollution from oil production in the Niger Delta, in line with international standards. The regulation of companies within Nigeria and the governance framework for the oil and gas sectors are, however, matters for the Government of Nigeria. The UK therefore encourages a coordinated effort between the Nigerian Government, oil and gas companies, and local communities to bring an end to all forms of oil contamination in Nigeria.
The Gulf of Guinea remains an important global energy-producing region, and the UK is committed to supporting Nigeria to realise its energy transition ambitions.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in processing driving licence applications.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services are the quickest and easiest way to apply for and renew a driving licence. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days. There are also no delays in straightforward paper driving licence applications which are being processed within normal turnaround times.
The DVLA has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued and these applications can take longer. The length of time taken often depends on the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a licence can be issued.
To improve its services to customers, the DVLA has introduced a new casework system and launched a new medical services portal, so the majority of customers can now apply online through the DVLA’s driver and vehicles account. This was launched on 31 March 2026.
These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications and answer telephone calls, are delivering real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who are able to apply for Local Power Plans.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The DESNZ/GBE Local Power Plan is designed to engage a wide range of stakeholders and participants including community energy organisations, local authorities as well as investors and lenders. The initial entry route for those seeking support is typically through a Great British Energy Expression of Interest (EOI). This is open to communities and local authorities to submit project ideas for support. This EOI is GBE’s first step toward coordinated engagement on local and community power, to build a shared understanding of what projects are emerging across the country. Great British Energy is developing further schemes, with more information available this year.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on disabled students, including on educational outcomes and equality, of proposals to restrict funding for specialist assistive software through Disabled Students’ Allowances in favour of free tools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Supporting disabled students to access and succeed in higher education is a government priority. Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) provides support to remove disability-related barriers to learning, enabling students to access academic opportunities. DSA-funded support is designed to meet disability-related needs and promote independence in study through appropriate equipment, assistive software and support.
The department’s consultation on assistive software funded through DSA seeks to gather evidence on how best to modernise the support provided, taking into account the significant advances in technology in recent years.
A key purpose of the consultation is to understand the extent to which advances in mainstream functionality can appropriately meet disability-related needs and where specialist software continues to be required. The intention is to ensure provision is appropriately targeted and represents value for money.
The department has not made a final assessment of the adequacy of free-to-access tools as we are seeking evidence of this through the consultation process.