Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve endometriosis training, (b) reduce the time taken for diagnosis, (c) improve outcomes and (d) introduce early detection and increased monitoring services.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answers provided on 3 July in response to Questions 12453 and 12458.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will release an estimation of the legal costs incurred in prosecuting school attendance offences in each of the last three academic years.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold data on the legal costs incurred in prosecuting school attendance offences.

Statutory guidance on attendance makes it clear that legal intervention, including prosecution, should be considered only where support has been exhausted, where it has not been engaged with, or in the cases of term-time holidays, where support is not appropriate.

The guidance also sets out clear expectations for how schools, local authorities and wider services should work together to support attendance for all children.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will release figures on the average processing times for VAT repayment claims from newly registered businesses.

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

Identifying which VAT registrations should be considered new, isolating them from those which are not, and reporting the associated average repayment processing times would require significant manual resource to extract and reconcile data from multiple systems, and so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential revenue raised by introducing a voluntary discounted settlement scheme for Plan 2 student loan borrowers whose loans are not projected to be repaid in full.

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

One of the fundamental principles of student loans is that repayments are income contingent and only due when the borrower is earning over the relevant repayment threshold. Outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. These protections exceed what discounted settlement schemes typically offer to borrowers.

Borrowers already have the ability to make additional, voluntary repayments towards their student loan, with no penalty, if they wish to do so.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an a) reduced and b) zero rate of VAT for recognised preventative health services.

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

Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.

The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring that the VAT of independent gyms reflects their contribution to public health.

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

Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.

The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the VAT arrangements applying to a) fitness and b) physical activity services.

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

Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.

The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will consider the potential merits of undertaking a review of the rate of interest paid to businesses on delayed VAT refunds.

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

Interest rates on unpaid and overpaid tax are set by legislation approved by Parliament. The legislation specifies formulae which set the rates and the formulae link HMRC rates to the prevailing Bank of England base rate.

The harmonised interest regime provides a set of rules that applies to all taxes and duties and ensures that interest is consistently and automatically charged and paid in all cases where amounts are paid late or where amounts have been overpaid.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what mitigating guidance HMRC provides to its staff on informing businesses when a case cannot be allocated to a caseworker within the expected timescale.

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

HMRC normally contacts a business about a compliance check once a case has been allocated to a caseworker and the check is ready to commence. Accordingly, there is generally no requirement for specific guidance on informing customers that a case has not yet been allocated.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in England in each year, over the last three academic years.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.

The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in Cornwall in each year, over the last three academic years.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.

The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds any analysis on the potential effects of the national penalty notice threshold, introduced in August 2024, on school attendance rates.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The causes of school absence are complex, and penalty notices are one part of a wider toolkit to help ensure children receive the education they are entitled to. The government remains committed to a support- first approach, with enforcement only used where support is not appropriate, has not been engaged with, or is not proving effective.

Recent data suggests this approach is having a positive impact. In 2024 to 2025, the rate of absence due to unauthorised holidays fell from 0.53% to 0.48%, equating to around 1.3 million fewer missed sessions compared with 2023 to 2024. Penalty notices are primarily targeted at term-time holidays, which accounted for 93% of notices issued in 2024 to 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions for school attendance offences in England in each of the last three academic years resulted in (a) a conviction, (b) a withdrawal, and (c) an unsuccessful outcome.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool shows how many people have been prosecuted and convicted each year, and how many have had their cases withdrawn or received an unsuccessful outcome. The All Offences data tool shows how many cases have been prosecuted and convicted each year. To find school attendance offences, users should select Home Office offence codes 11203 and 11204. Monthly breakdowns can be used to calculate figures for each academic year.

The data does not provide figures specifically for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area. This area covers a wider geographical area than Cornwall and cannot be used to provide a Cornwall-only figure.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions for school attendance offences in Cornwall in each of the last three academic years resulted in (a) a conviction, (b) a withdrawal, and (c) an unsuccessful outcome.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool shows how many people have been prosecuted and convicted each year, and how many have had their cases withdrawn or received an unsuccessful outcome. The All Offences data tool shows how many cases have been prosecuted and convicted each year. To find school attendance offences, users should select Home Office offence codes 11203 and 11204. Monthly breakdowns can be used to calculate figures for each academic year.

The data does not provide figures specifically for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area. This area covers a wider geographical area than Cornwall and cannot be used to provide a Cornwall-only figure.

The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the timeliness of payments owed to former HM Prison Service staff under the Harper Judgement.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Following the Supreme Court judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazel, the Ministry of Justice developed an approach to identify and address cases where individuals may have received an incorrect amount of annual leave.

Guidance issued in 2023 made clear that former employees who considered that the judgment may have affected the amount of annual leave they received while employed by the Ministry of Justice should contact the Department. Former employees were not contacted proactively. Cases raised by former employees have been considered individually to determine whether they were affected and whether any payment is due.

As these cases have been considered on a case-by-case basis, the Department has not undertaken a central assessment of the timeliness of payments made to former HM Prison Service staff.

Second Reading of the Mental Capacity (Duty to Assess) Bill

Nature rights

Devon maternity services

NARPO Love or Money Campaign

Seven-year anniversary of the mixed-aged couples’ rule

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day 2026

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: