Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing Statutory Maternity Pay to the level of the National Living Wage on women’s labour market (a) participation and (b) retention following childbirth.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has committed to review the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether existing (a) district and (b) borough council area borders can be changed as part of local government reorganisation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Final proposals for local government reorganisation must specify the area for any new unitary council(s). Boundary changes are possible, but existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. Where a final proposal includes a boundary change, that should be explained and mapped clearly.
More complex boundary changes will only be considered where there is a strong justification. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will announce Government plans for community benefit funds for solar developments following the Community Benefits and Shared Ownership for Low Carbon Infrastructure consultation which closed in July 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government has made clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, we will ensure they benefit from it.
We are in the process of reviewing responses to our community benefits and shared ownership for low carbon energy infrastructure working paper and intend to publish a response setting out our next steps in due course.
In the meantime, Solar Energy UK, the industry trade body, are planning to publish a voluntary community benefit protocol later this year.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department with engage in a public consultation with the residents of South Kesteven before deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plan to approve.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.
Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will engage in a public consultation with the residents of Leicestershire prior to deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plans to approve.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.
Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what form consultation on local government reorganisation proposals will take.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.
Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will engage in a public consultation with residents of Rutland before deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plan to approve.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.
Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the offer of two seat convertible Mazda MX-5 cars as part of the Motability Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme.
As Motability is independent of government, the management of the scheme including the choice of vehicles rests with them and their respective Boards of Governors. We are however committed to ensuring that the Motability scheme is fair for both users of the scheme and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the public health impact of removing people with Type 1 diabetes from eligibility for the NHS autumn COVID-19 booster vaccination programme; and what clinical advice informed the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s recommendation on that eligibility.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy on groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the advice of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Over time, the risk from COVID-19 has reduced across the United Kingdom population, through exposure to the virus, changes in the virus and vaccination.
The JCVI carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of illness, serious disease in specific groups, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis, to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. The evidence indicates that whilst the risk from COVID-19 is now much lower for most people, adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and those who are immunosuppressed are those at highest risk of serious COVID-19 disease. A more targeted vaccination programme, aimed at individuals, with a higher risk of developing serious disease, and where vaccination was considered potentially cost-effective, was advised for autumn 2025.
Whilst current COVID-19 vaccines provide good protection against hospitalisation and/or death for those at highest risk, they provide very limited protection against acquiring COVID-19 infection or mild illness, meaning any potential public health benefit of reducing transmission is much less evident.
Long term health consequences following COVID-19 infection, including post-COVID syndromes, such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.
The JCVI has proactively published an updated list of Research Recommendations, encouraging future investigations on the exploration of data and evidence on the benefit of vaccination amongst post-COVID syndromes, and those with underlying medical conditions who are not currently eligible.
The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review. Accordingly, the Government will consider any additional advice from the JCVI in due course. Further information on the details of the modelling and analysis considered are within the 2025 and spring 2026 advice, on the GOV.UK website.
Information is collected on hospital bed occupancy and on the reason for hospital admissions. It is, however, not possible to determine which admissions associated with COVID-19 were for individuals who were eligible for vaccination in autumn 2024 but no longer eligible in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much money has been granted to Inter Mediate (a) in what years and (b) for what purposes.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 25 September to question 70453.