Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help ensure that entering employment does not result in a net financial loss for young people living in supported housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.
Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.
We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on changing the housing benefit taper rate for individuals living in supported accommodation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.
Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.
We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people hold a valid (a) provisional and (b) full UK driving licence.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the number of full and provisional licence holders on 11 October 2025.
Full licence holders | 42,795,544 |
Provisional licence holders | 10,502,938 |
Total | 53,298,482 |
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the quality of school lunchtime provision on the wellbeing of children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, meaning over 500,000 additional children will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.
School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the School Food Standards. To support governors, the department, along with the National Governance Association, launched an online training course on school food for governors and trustees.
To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of booked practical driving tests were attended by learner drivers in each month in the last ten years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel document shows the percentage of car practical driving tests attended for the last ten full financial years.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the consultation by the Health and Safety Executive entitled GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR) - creosote assessment for renewal, closed on 24 November 2024, whether he plans to issue new guidance on the use of creosote coatings on telegraph poles.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the period of public consultation on creosote, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is undertaking an in-depth assessment as part of the renewal process of creosote as a biocidal active substance under the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation. This work is still under way, and is due to complete in Spring 2026.
A final decision on the renewal will be taken by the Secretary of State in 2026.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what technological steps her Department is considering taking to restore the number of practical driving test bookings back to pre-covid levels.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
As set out in DVSA’s 2024/25 business plan, DVSA is beginning the process of replacing it’s booking system. The system has many uses including:
booking and scheduling of all practical driving and riding tests
recording mandatory training taken by professional lorry and bus drivers
administering the register of approved driving instructors (ADIs) and the compulsory basic training (CBT) scheme for novice motorcyclists
DVSA will start by replacing the test booking and scheduling service. This will allow better capture and meeting of customers’ requirements, including those with additional needs. DVSA will update the way it schedules tests using modern, flexible technology that makes better use of examiners’ time and reduces manual processes.
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests.
DVSA deploys bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his timetable is for the payment of compensation to people approved for a second interim payment for estates under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Following the publication of the Inquiry’s Additional Report, the UK Government has announced further interim payments of £210,000 for eligible estates of someone registered with an IBSS or predecessor scheme (on or before 17 April 2024) who sadly passed away.
This is in addition to the £100,000 interim payments to the estates of deceased infected beneficiaries which opened in October 2024. Since then, 600 interim payments of £100,000 have already been paid to estates.
On 26 September, the Government announced that applications for these interim payments will open on 23 October.
The Government expects the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to begin making payments to the estates of deceased infected people this year.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will (a) collect and (b) publish data on the (i) prevalence, (ii) diagnosis and (iii) treatment of PCOS in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that can be diagnosed in multiple different ways, including without a diagnosis code and in primary care settings, and therefore it is very difficult to identify the number of specific diagnostic tests carried out overall.
However, the diagnosis code for PCOS is recorded in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset. The number of patients treated in secondary care where the primary diagnosis is PCOS is as follows:
The most recent publications for outpatient and admitted activity in 2023/24, namely the Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity Diagnosis 2023 to 2024 table and the Outpatient Primary Diagnosis by Attendance Type 2023 to 2024 table, have been placed in the Library due to the size of the data.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on rolling out defibrillators to state-funded schools in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s defibrillator programme was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date. The programme provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.
The department is working with the British Heart Foundation to understand the impact the programme is having. Since our rollout, the number of school defibrillators registered on the national database, The Circuit, has risen by 252%, with 66% of all schools in England now having at least one device registered. Our evaluation shows that defibrillators we provided have been available for use and deployed in over 12,000 emergency situations, where there has been a suspected cardiac arrest.
The department continues to work with the British Heart Foundation to evaluate and understand the impact of our programme and support schools in registering their defibrillators on The Circuit.