Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance she has issued to schools on remaining open during periods of extreme weather.

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

The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment in response. We continue to support responsible bodies and schools to provide education in a safe environment.

To support them, the department has published guidance to support education settings during hot weather, available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This advice draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. In most cases, schools are the safest place for children during hot weather, as staff can actively monitor pupils, ensure regular hydration, and make adjustments to keep them cool. Children may also not be any cooler at home than in school, and recent analysis by the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing shows that 1.6 million children currently live in overheated homes.

We are improving infrastructure and strengthening resilience across the education estate through our Education Estates Strategy, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-estates-strategy

This includes a new £710 million Renewal and Retrofit Programme to improve condition and climate resilience; investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034-35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate; and investment of almost £20 billion through to 2034-35 in the School Rebuilding Programme, delivering climate‑resilient buildings at over 750 schools.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to train UK-based sheep shearers ahead of the closure of Seasonal Shearer Visas in 2027.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to work with British Wool ahead of the 2027 shearing season to build domestic shearing capacity and to encourage promotion, take-up and delivery of domestic shearing training programmes.

During each of the last five years (2021-2025) British Wool has invested an average of £134,000 net costs in providing shearing training for between 798 and 898 people at skill levels ranging from beginners through to highly proficient commercial shearers.

The department recognises the continued challenges that the industry faces each year in sourcing sufficient numbers of trained shearers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the end of Seasonal Shearer Visas in 2027 on sheep welfare.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department recognises that the annual shearing of sheep is essential to managing the health and welfare of the UK flock of around 30m sheep, and the continued challenges that the industry faces each year in sourcing sufficient numbers of trained shearers.

The department is also aware that shearers from countries such as Australia and New Zealand share skills and expertise with UK sheep farmers in addition to supporting the health and welfare of the UK flock.

Visa concessions are a matter for the Home Office.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of blood donors with Ro blood type have had their donations deferred in the period between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026; and what was the reason for those deferrals.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, in order to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.

Between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, there were 60,928 attendances by Ro blood type donors at blood donation appointments in England, 8,021 of which resulted in deferral. This represents 13.2% of Ro donor attendances.

The following table shows the number of Ro donor deferrals, the percentage of Ro donor attendances, and the percentage of total Ro deferrals, broken down by the reason for deferral:

This data is from NHSBT’s Deferrals Dashboard and was extracted on 17 July 2026. It refers to whole blood donors only and does not include plasma or platelet donors.

The broad deferral reasons above cover a range of more specific reasons for deferral. A more detailed breakdown cannot be provided without accessing individual donor records.

It is the intention of NHSBT to start publishing relevant data in this area on a more regular basis in future as part of its official statistical publications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 21 May 2026 to Question 2142 on Blood: Donors, how does the number of blood donors with the RO subtype who completed donations in the 12 month period compare with the number of donations completed by this group in the same 12 month period the year prior.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, in order to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.

Between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, 27,984 donors with Ro subtype blood completed at least one blood donation. This data was extracted from NHSBT’s Monthly Collections Dashboard on 20 May 2026.

Between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025, 26,675 donors with Ro subtype blood completed at least one blood donation. This data was extracted from NHSBT’s Monthly Collections Dashboard on 17 July 2026.

It is the intention of NHSBT to start publishing relevant data in this area on a more regular basis in future as part of its official statistical publications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Whether he will provide the gender and ethnicity breakdown of donations a) completed and b) deferred at each donation centre in the UK for the periods between a) 1st June 2024 - 31st May 2025 and b) 1 June 2025–31 May 2026.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need. NHSBT currently operates 79 blood donation "teams" comprising fixed donation sites, known as donor centres, and mobile collection teams that serve venues within a community.

The attached tables show completed donations and deferrals by donation centre or team, broken down by ethnicity and sex assigned at birth.

NHSBT collects donors’ sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. A donor’s sex is recorded as the ways in which blood products are donated and processed differ between those assigned male and female at birth.

For ethnicity, data has been provided at the high-level ethnic group category due to the size of the dataset and the number of records that would otherwise require suppression because of small numbers. A table mapping detailed ethnicity categories to ethnic groups is included in the attached file.

Where values are greater than zero but less than five, they have been suppressed, displayed as “c”, and the associated percentages have been left blank. For each centre, the values for the ethnicity with the next smallest donation or deferral figure have also been suppressed.

During the period covered by this dataset, the following operational changes took place:

• Brixton Donor Centre opened on 16 December 2024;

• Brighton Donor Centre opened on 22 September 2025;

• Brighton Mobile Team ceased operating on 21 September 2025 following the opening of Brighton Donor Centre; and

• Wolverhampton Mobile Team began operating on 17 November 2025.

The source of the statistics is the NHSBT Deferrals Dashboard, extracted 20 July 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, With reference to the answer recieved on the 30th April 2025 to question 45858 on Blood: Donations, whether he will provide a progress update on work to evaluate potential new tests for infections.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation services in England.

Blood donor selection guidelines are developed by the Joint United Kingdom Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC), which reviews evidence on disease outbreaks worldwide, including travel-related risks.

Assessment of a donor’s travel history helps reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections. NHSBT implements JPAC’s guidelines and works with JPAC, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs to ensure blood safety.

NHSBT routinely monitors developments in science and technology to assess whether innovations could further improve blood safety and sufficiency and/or the donor experience.

Since January 2026, NHSBT has been evaluating two new commercial malaria tests to assess whether they may be suitable for blood donor screening. Current UK guidelines require malaria screening using serological testing. Any changes to donor testing or eligibility requirements would need to be supported by robust scientific evidence, a cost-benefit analysis, and consideration through the established UK governance processes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Of the blood donations completed between 1 June 2025–31 May 2026, how many were repeat donors.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need. The following table shows data for repeat donors and all whole blood donors:

Source: NHSBT Collections Dashboard, extracted 20 July 2026.

For this analysis, repeat donors are donors who made at least two whole blood donations between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026. This differs from NHSBT's definition of a regular donor, which is a donor who had made a successful whole blood donation within the two years preceding their latest donation. There were 625,411 NHSBT regular donors who completed 1,207,623 donations between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026. All whole blood donors includes all donors who donated during the period, including first-time and repeat donors. Total donations refers to the number of whole blood donations collected during the period, while total donors refers to the number of unique donors who donated.

It is the intention of NHSBT to start publishing relevant data in this area on a more regular basis in future as part of its official statistical publications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, What steps are taken to encourage women to donate during the follicular stage of their menstrual cycle.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations in England to meet patient need.

NHSBT encourages all eligible donors to donate when it is safe to do so and follows donor selection guidelines developed by the Joint UK Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC), which are regularly reviewed and updated.

The JPAC guidelines do not distinguish between stages of the menstrual cycle, such as the follicular or luteal phase. Instead, donor suitability is assessed on an individual basis, including haemoglobin testing before donation.

Information on menstruation and blood donation is available on JPAC and NHSBT websites, at the following two links:

https://www.jpac.org.uk/guidelines/wb/index/periods/

https://my.blood.co.uk/eligibility/health/article/?id=00045p08&title=Menstruation+%3A+Periods

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Whether he will provide the monthly breakdown of blood donation appointments attended between a) 1st June 2024 - 31st May 2025 and b) 1 June 2025–31 May 2026.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.

The following table shows the number of attendances at whole blood donation sessions, regardless of donation outcome, between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025:

In addition, the following table shows the number of attendances at whole blood donation sessions, regardless of donation outcome, between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026:

Source: NHSBT Deferrals Dashboard, extracted 20 July 2026.

It is the intention of NHSBT to start publishing relevant data in this area on a more regular basis in future as part of its official statistical publications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, What was the gender and ethnic breakdown of donations deffered due to low Hb levels for the period between a) 1st June 2024 - 31st May 2025 and b) 1 June 2025–31 May 2026.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, How many blood donations were a)completed and b) deffered between a) 1st June 2024 - 31st May 2025 and b) 1 June 2025–31 May 2026, and whether he will provide the gender and ethnic breakdown of donors.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Online Safety Act 2023's compliance duties on (a) small, (b) community-run and (c) not-for-profit online services; and whether she plans to introduce a (i) proportionate exemption and (ii) simplified compliance route for such services.

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

The Online Safety Act is designed to be proportionate and risk-based. Ofcom is required to take account of a service's size, risk profile and capacity when setting expectations. It would not be appropriate to put in place a blanket exemption, as some of the most serious harms, including child sexual abuse and terrorist content, can occur on small services.

On 2 September, Ofcom published findings of an online safety business survey, which outlines business experience in complying with online safety regulation, and notes ongoing work to support services, including small services. This includes a regulation checker to help providers understand whether the Act will apply to their service, and guidance on what steps they may need to take next.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to give Ofcom enforcement powers against sites who fail to deliver safeguards for under 16s.

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

Protecting children online, particularly those under 16, is a top priority for this Government. Ofcom has strong enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act, including to fine companies up to 10% of their qualifying worldwide revenue. The Government has made clear that robust use of these powers to enforce the social media restrictions and the Online Safety Act more broadly is a top priority.

We have asked Ofcom to publish an enforcement strategy and report regularly to Parliament on progress.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support efforts to recognise gender-based persecution more explicitly as a crime against humanity.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

Persecution on gender grounds is codified as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. In partnership with UN Women and the International Criminal Court, the UK is supporting the development of the Gender Persecution Principles (GPP), an initiative that aims to advance understanding, prevention, and accountability for gender persecution. The initiative will help ensure Governments, humanitarian groups, UN bodies, and civil society adopt a more unified approach to tackling gender-based persecution. The UK launched this collaboration at the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extreme heat on students' exam performance.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published the guidance ‘Hot weather and heatwaves guidance for schools and other education settings’, which is based on UK Health Security Agency advice to support education settings. In most cases, schools remain the safest place for children during hot weather, as staff can monitor pupils, encourage hydration and take steps to keep them comfortable. Schools and colleges are expected to take reasonable steps to provide suitable conditions for students taking exams.

The exam timetable is designed to support the fair and efficient delivery of exams for students across England, and the timing of exams ensures that results are provided to pupils on time in August to support them to progress to further and higher education, employment and training.

Responsibility for the administration of GCSE, AS and A level qualifications, including arrangements for exam timetables and special consideration, rests with the independent awarding organisations. The department does, however, continue to work with Ofqual, awarding organisations, schools and colleges to support the safe and effective delivery of exams and to consider lessons learned from recent periods of extreme weather.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to prepare the NHS for the health impacts of future heatwaves, including measures to improve cooling infrastructure in healthcare settings.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July 2026 in response to Question 17199.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered the potential merits of altering the school exam period to avoid exam dates coinciding with extreme heat waves.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published the guidance ‘Hot weather and heatwaves guidance for schools and other education settings’, which is based on UK Health Security Agency advice to support education settings. In most cases, schools remain the safest place for children during hot weather, as staff can monitor pupils, encourage hydration and take steps to keep them comfortable. Schools and colleges are expected to take reasonable steps to provide suitable conditions for students taking exams.

The exam timetable is designed to support the fair and efficient delivery of exams for students across England, and the timing of exams ensures that results are provided to pupils on time in August to support them to progress to further and higher education, employment and training.

Responsibility for the administration of GCSE, AS and A level qualifications, including arrangements for exam timetables and special consideration, rests with the independent awarding organisations. The department does, however, continue to work with Ofqual, awarding organisations, schools and colleges to support the safe and effective delivery of exams and to consider lessons learned from recent periods of extreme weather.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the impact on remote and rural coastal communities of small coast guard teams that face recruitment challenges.

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

HM Coastguard continues to closely monitor leavers, recruitment and retention. The focus of DfT and MCA remains to maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response along the UK coastline.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides to (a) sole traders and (b) volunteer-run online services on the personal financial and legal liability they may face under the Online Safety Act 2023; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure enforcement against low-risk small services is proportionate.

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

Ofcom is providing support to small service providers to help them understand and comply with their responsibilities under the Online Safety Act.

In a July 2025 letter Ofcom’s CEO noted responsibility for regulating a wide range of services, including voluntary groups and individuals. The letter noted that Ofcom will take enforcement action only where it is proportionate and appropriate and will focus on cases where risk and impact of harm is highest. Ofcom has since set out its priorities for action in 2026-27.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he has considered the potential merits of introducing statutory rights for Trade Union Green Representatives.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Government recognises the valuable role of trade unions and their workplace representatives. That is why, through the Employment Rights Act 2025, we have strengthened rights to reasonable paid time off for trade union representatives and trade union equality representatives.

While there is no separate statutory framework for trade union green representatives, where a workplace green representative is also a trade union representative, they may benefit from the new statutory rights relating to trade union representatives.

The Government has no current plans to introduce a separate statutory framework for trade union green representatives.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is planning to use powers under the Online Safety Act to enforce planned minimum age requirements.

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

Following the Government's recent consultation, Growing up in the online world, it was announced in June 2026 that government are banning social media companies from offering their services to under-16s.

We are aiming for regulations on the social media ban to be laid before Parliament under the powers of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 by the end of this year, with the restrictions in effect from Spring 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 July 2026 to Question 15439, which national clinical guideline or professional standard sets out the requirement for healthcare providers to evaluate a patient's comorbidities, psychiatric history and risk of adverse drug reactions before initiating preventive migraine treatment; and where in that guideline or standard the requirement is stated.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline CG150, Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management, explicitly directs healthcare professionals to discuss the benefits and risks of prophylactic treatment with the patient, taking into account the patient’s preferences, comorbidities, and the risk of adverse events, as per Recommendation 1.3.17.

While "comorbidities" and "adverse events" serve as the overarching rule for all preventatives, NICE includes explicit instructions to evaluate psychiatric history and self-harm risks when choosing specific first-line medications, specifically Propranolol and Amitriptyline, as per Recommendation 1.3.18. For clinicians considering Amitriptyline as a preventative option, CG150 directs them to align their evaluation with NICE Guideline NG215, Medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms, requiring a thorough review of the patient's full medical and psychological history before prescribing.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, When the Defence Nuclear Enterprise will be established and whether he plans to publish membership list when established.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) was established in 2023 and is led by the Chief of Defence Nuclear. It brings together the organisations responsible for operating, maintaining, renewing and sustaining the UK's nuclear deterrent. The DNE comprises the Defence Nuclear Organisation, the Royal Navy, Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of using the Making Every Contact Count approach on improving access to (a) HPV vaccination and (b) cervical screening, as part of the Government's ambition to eliminate cervical cancer in England by 2040.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is highly effective at preventing cancer as well as detecting disease early, primarily through the identification and treatment of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and pre-cancerous changes.

On 25 August 2026, the National Health Service in England announced the roll out the new self-testing kits to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency do not routinely report or publish HPV vaccination coverage data for post-school-age catch-up cohorts. Approaches to evaluating the impact of the 2025/26 general practice HPV vaccination catch-up campaign on vaccination uptake among eligible young people are currently being explored.

Health is a devolved matter, and cancer services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of their respective administrations. The National Cancer Plan therefore applies to England only, while we continue to work closely with devolved administrations to share learning and best practice.

No formal assessment of the Making Every Contact Count impact on HPV vaccination or cervical screening is planned although we recognise its importance in encouraging uptake of vaccination and screening services. Uptake of HPV vaccination and coverage of cervical screening will continue to be monitored through established programme arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does the Department plan to publish data on the outcomes of the national 2025–26 GP human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination catch-up campaign; and what assessment has it made of the campaign's effectiveness in improving HPV vaccination coverage among eligible young people.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is highly effective at preventing cancer as well as detecting disease early, primarily through the identification and treatment of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and pre-cancerous changes.

On 25 August 2026, the National Health Service in England announced the roll out the new self-testing kits to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency do not routinely report or publish HPV vaccination coverage data for post-school-age catch-up cohorts. Approaches to evaluating the impact of the 2025/26 general practice HPV vaccination catch-up campaign on vaccination uptake among eligible young people are currently being explored.

Health is a devolved matter, and cancer services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of their respective administrations. The National Cancer Plan therefore applies to England only, while we continue to work closely with devolved administrations to share learning and best practice.

No formal assessment of the Making Every Contact Count impact on HPV vaccination or cervical screening is planned although we recognise its importance in encouraging uptake of vaccination and screening services. Uptake of HPV vaccination and coverage of cervical screening will continue to be monitored through established programme arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what arrangements are in place to enable the sharing of good practice on cervical cancer elimination between the UK Government, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is highly effective at preventing cancer as well as detecting disease early, primarily through the identification and treatment of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and pre-cancerous changes.

On 25 August 2026, the National Health Service in England announced the roll out the new self-testing kits to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency do not routinely report or publish HPV vaccination coverage data for post-school-age catch-up cohorts. Approaches to evaluating the impact of the 2025/26 general practice HPV vaccination catch-up campaign on vaccination uptake among eligible young people are currently being explored.

Health is a devolved matter, and cancer services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of their respective administrations. The National Cancer Plan therefore applies to England only, while we continue to work closely with devolved administrations to share learning and best practice.

No formal assessment of the Making Every Contact Count impact on HPV vaccination or cervical screening is planned although we recognise its importance in encouraging uptake of vaccination and screening services. Uptake of HPV vaccination and coverage of cervical screening will continue to be monitored through established programme arrangements.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of cancelling Housing Revenue Account debt held by local authorities on the economy.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a government, we recognise the pressures facing councils. That is why we have taken action including a ten-year social housing rent settlement, reinstating rent convergence, reforming Right to Buy, and investing £39 billion through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. Through the programme, we will make sure that councils are able to access more of the funding available.

We will continue to work with councils and the wider sector to understand barriers to council housebuilding.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has considered the potential merits of introducing an exemption to the Electric Vehicle Excise Duty for motorists who purchased their vehicles before the removal of the 100% Vehicle Excise Duty exemption in April 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) is designed to ensure that electric vehicle drivers make a fair contribution for their road usage, as petrol and diesel drivers do through fuel duty. Electric cars will pay half the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol or diesel car, with a reduced rate for plug-in hybrids.

eVED will apply to all UK-registered electric and plug-in hybrid cars from April 2028, including vehicles purchased before the Vehicle Excise Duty exemption for zero-emission vehicles ended in April 2025. The Government has no plans to introduce an exemption based on when a vehicle was purchased.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has considered the potential merits of routinely publishing data relating to CMS errors, complaints, system failures, and maladministration; and what assessment he has made of the impact this has on families.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department publishes quarterly CMS complaints statistics, including the number of complaints received and closed, the proportion upheld or partially upheld, and cases considered by the Independent Case Examiner DWP Complaints Statistics - GOV.UK. . Independent scrutiny is also provided through the Independent Case Examiner's annual reports, which set out findings on maladministration and systemic issues identified through complaints.

Additional statistical data is also published in the Child Maintenance Client Funds Accounts Child maintenance: client funds accounts - GOV.UK.

The Department systematically carries out impact assessments on user groups, including within the CMS. It recognises that service issues may affect customers and uses complaints, feedback and operational performance information to identify issues and improve service delivery.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has considered the potential merits of an independent review of the Child Maintenance Service, including its systems, governance and complaints process.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is subject to regular independent scrutiny and review.

The CMS has recently been examined by a range of independent bodies, including the National Audit Office, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and Parliamentary Committees. The Department also commissioned an independent review by Dr Samantha Callan into the CMS's support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and has taken forward a number of improvements in response to the review's recommendations.

The Government welcomes constructive challenge and recommendations from Parliament, independent reviewers, and oversight bodies, and carefully considers their findings when improving the service. At present, the Government has no plans to commission a further independent review of the CMS.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of air-to-air heat pumps through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan sets out measures to support the deployment of air-to-air heat pumps, including providing grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and removing other barriers to uptake, such as amending permitted development rights so that air-to-air heat pumps can also benefit.

There is a role for communications to increase demand, help educate and enable households on their journey to greener, more energy efficient homes. The Government’s ‘Warm and Fuzzy’ campaign will continue to evolve, seeking to build consumer awareness and understanding of the benefits of heat pumps, while promoting the support available through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to prepare for the risk of flash flooding following drought conditions.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Flood Forecasting Centre improves preparedness by providing early warnings of conditions that could trigger flash flooding, through daily flood guidance statements and the new rapid flood guidance service. Longer-term flood outlooks are improving and support flood response planning for emergency responders and the public. The Environment Agency uses the latest weather forecasts from the Met Office, and its flood forecast models to help inform incident management decisions such as issuing Flood Alerts and Warnings. The Environment Agency’s new Forecasting and Warning Service launched in May 2026 has improved our forecasting, modelling, and warning functions. It is supported by major digital updates and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has carried out an impact assessment on the recruitment and retention policy on the operational capabilities of the Coastguard Rescue Service.

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

On 16 July, after hearing the views of Coastguard Rescue Officers, trade unions and members of Parliament, it was confirmed that plans to move to the expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead. Response has remained unchanged in the meantime. The focus of DfT and MCA remains to maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response along the UK coastline.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has considered the potential merits of introducing a paid or part-time model for the Coastguard Rescue Service.

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

The Department for Transport continues to work with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to consider in depth the options for the future of the Coastguard Rescue Service. Our priority is to ensure the service remains safe, effective and sustainable in the long term. Coastguard Rescue Officers make an extraordinary contribution across the United Kingdom, and this Government is incredibly grateful to them for their invaluable public service.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence was used to support the revised model for the Coastguard Rescue Service.

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

A range of factors were considered to reach a professional judgement which at the time was considered the most appropriate option to preserve operational effectiveness.

Since then, my department has undertaken further work to scrutinise the information that was provided. Having done so, I confirmed on 16 July that plans to move to an expenses-only volunteer model in September would no longer go ahead, pausing implementation to consider the right arrangements for Coastguard Rescue Officers.

Our priority is to ensure the service remains safe, effective and sustainable in the long term. Coastguard Rescue Officers make an extraordinary contribution across the United Kingdom, and this Government is incredibly grateful to them for their invaluable public service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making additional funding available to support the work of the Institute of Cancer Research.

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

The Department funds research through the National Institute of Health and Care (NIHR). This includes investment through NIHR infrastructure, programmes, and the NIHR Academy. The Institute of Cancer Research receives funding through its participation in NIHR-funded research infrastructure, its involvement in NIHR-funded research, and through NIHR training and career development awards held by its researchers. For example, the Institute of Cancer Research is a partner in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, which receives over £32 million for the period 2022 to 2028 to support cancer research. The Government keeps the funding of all agencies and institutions under regular review.

Coventry City Council contract with Palantir Technologies

Undercover Policing Inquiry

Birmingham Four

Cammell Laird 37

90th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Passenger safety, security and accessibility on East West Rail

Independent Office for Police Conduct findings on Norman Bettison

Deported Chinese seafarers

50th Anniversary of the Grunwick Strike

Industrial action at V&A Museum

Treatment of security staff employed at the National Gallery

Deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough

Moratorium on new AI data centres

The Home Affairs Select Committee is holding a series of deliberative events with the public where people with different views will discuss how to balance the government’s goal of reducing net migration with the need for businesses and public services to have the workers they need. The Committee is working with Demos and King’s College London to deliver this work.

Submit Evidence (by 27 Oct 2026)

This inquiry will examine work migration to the UK. It will: