Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 12892, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on cost, customer convenience and test security of remote delivery models for the Life in the UK test and the Home Office English Language Test.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As part of any procurement exercise, the Home Office considers a range of factors as options are developed, including customer experience, accessibility, value for money, service integrity and security considerations for all its services. The Department also draws on a range of specialist expertise from across government, including cyber security, digital and commercial specialists as well as engagement with the market to inform its approach.

We are currently exploring how we can improve and refine Life in the UK Testing which has undergone Market Engagement and assessment already to determine the best options to enhance the service as a whole. The Home Office Language Test (HOELT) is currently in live procurement. The new service will deliver a modernised, consistent experience for customers with improved accessibility. Enhanced security measures will provide stronger protections against fraud, and a regulated fee will ensure better value for money for applicants and the taxpayer.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 12892, what criteria her Department will use to determine whether alternative delivery models for the Life in the UK test are sufficiently secure; and whether the same criteria have been applied to the Home Office English Language Test.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Any Home Office delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements and principles, including data security, cyber security, accessibility, and fraud risk and prevention, to ensure compliance with Home Office policy and to ensure that the service delivers the fundamental principles underpinning our immigration policies and visa journey. This applies to all Home Office delivery models, including the Home Office English Language Test and Life in the UK Test.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to deliver a new M1 to A6 Link Road near to Streatley in Mid Bedfordshire.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The M1 to A6 Link Road scheme received Full Approval from the Department for Transport in 2021, which confirmed a maximum funding contribution of £32.75 million as part of the Major Road Network/Large Local Majors Programme. The Department's funding contribution is fixed and no further Departmental funding is available for the scheme.

The scheme is promoted by Central Bedfordshire Council, which is responsible for providing the remaining funds as well as delivering the scheme. Decisions on how to deliver the project are a matter for Central Bedfordshire Council and its delivery partners.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what independent assurance her Department has sought from Ofqual, the National Cyber Security Centre or other relevant expert bodies on identity verification, remote proctoring and AI-enabled cheating risks in the Home Office English Language Test.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office English Language Testing procurement places security and integrity at the heart of the digital-by-default solution. The programme has engaged with the National Cyber Security Centre and the HOELT security schedule is aligned to the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Assessment Framework. Bidders are required to demonstrate compliance with data security, cyber security, fraud prevention and accessibility standards before contract award. In addition, the Home Office are committed to working with Ofqual through to mobilisation to protect the integrity of these high-stakes tests, and it is anticipated that the successful bidder will either hold, or apply for, Ofqual recognition.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of findings from high-stakes test providers that have removed or restricted remote testing on security and integrity grounds.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office continues to monitor evidence from national and international comparators, and from other government contexts where digital identity and remote service delivery have been considered or in use. Any departmental delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements and principles including data security, cyber security, accessibility, fraud risk and prevention to ensure compliance with Home Office Policy and ensure that the service delivers the fundamental principles underpinning our Immigration policies and our visa journey.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what experts her Department is engaging on alternative delivery models for the Life in the UK test; and whether those experts have been asked to advise on the security risks of fully remote English language testing for immigration purposes.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office draws on a range of specialist expertise from across government, including cyber security, digital and commercial specialists, when considering alternative delivery models. This expertise is directly engaged to advise on and assess security risks, including those relating to remote testing models, as part of the Department's approach to designing secure and effective delivery models.

Any Home Office delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements and principles, including data security, cyber security, accessibility, and fraud risk and prevention, to ensure compliance with Home Office policy and to ensure that the service delivers the fundamental principles underpinning our immigration policies and visa journey.

The Home Office routinely embeds continuous improvement and collaboration within its procurements, contracts and live services to ensure it can respond effectively to evolving threats and fraudsters. Both Home Office English Language Testing and Life in the UK Testing will continue departmental collaboration to assess and mitigate security risks.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the security risk assessment for the decision to make the Home Office English Language Test fully remote by default, including the assessment of impersonation, collusion, hidden devices and AI assistance risks.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Home Office English Language Testing is currently in live procurement. It would not be appropriate to publish security risk assessments relating to the procurement, as the Department's assessment of risks and vulnerabilities associated with different testing models could inform the commercial positioning of bidders.

The Department will continue to iterate secure by design artefacts, including risk and threat assessments, which will be further developed as a preferred supplier is identified, all the way through to the service going live.

In addition, the Home Office does not routinely publish security risk assessments of services within immigration application routes, in order to protect its ability to assess and respond to the threat posed by fraudsters.

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 data centres on water supplies in the East of England.

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

The data centre sector is expected to grow in the coming year, and Defra is working across Government to determine how to increase water efficiency and reduce data centre water demand, considering the available and emerging evidence on water use in data centres.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she intends to establish a Mayoral Authority covering Bedfordshire.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Our ambition is to ensure that every area in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a Strategic Authority by the end of 2027, with Strategic Authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028. We are continuing to engage with local leaders, including in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, to understand their ambition and how it aligns with the development of the next stage of devolution.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of allowing a private equity firm to use public funds to impose a lower value bid on UK retail shareholders on confidence in the London market and promoting wider share ownership.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is not for the Government to comment on the investment strategies of individual firms. These activities are undertaken within a regulatory framework that provides safeguards for both market integrity and investor protection.

Private equity managers in the UK are primarily regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations (AIFMR). Private equity investment is also shaped by broader UK legislative and regulatory regimes, including the National Security and Investment Act, Competition and Markets Authority oversight, and the Takeover Code.

More broadly, UK public markets operate within a comprehensive regulatory framework overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, including rules designed to protect investors and support confidence in UK capital markets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department is providing to farmers, in the context of ongoing drought conditions.

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

As announced in August 2026, the Government is supporting farmers through a range of measures. These include temporary Environmental Land Management flexibilities and up to £15 million in funding million for on-farm reservoirs.

Defra has announced an extra £50 million for Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 Window 2, which opens later this month. This takes SFI26’s total budget to £290 million and helps more farmers access support.

The Environment Agency is prioritising short-term abstraction licence variations, and the Government is committed to continue working with the farming sector to improve resilience of on-farm water supply to ensure farmers can invest with confidence.

The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the farming and water sectors, taking further action if needed.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of enforcement of restrictions on HGVs using rural roads with weight limits.

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

The department has not made a recent assessment of the adequacy of enforcement of restrictions on HGVs using rural roads with weight limits. The department keeps policies relating to HGVs, including those concerning vehicle weights and dimensions, under review.

Restrictions on the use of specific roads, including weight limits, are determined by the relevant traffic authority, which is responsible for considering local circumstances and whether such measures are appropriate. Enforcement of these restrictions is a matter for the police, supported by the DVSA. DVSA adopts a targeted, intelligence-led approach to enforcement, focusing resources on areas of greatest risk and non-compliance while minimising unnecessary burdens on compliant operators.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make funding available to expand the Chilterns National Landscape.

Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Natural England (NE) has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations, and has no plans to expand the Chilterns National Landscape.

Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding. Since 2025 it has not been affordable for Defra to continue funding the new National Landscapes designations programme. As such, NE have made the decision to stop work on some of the planned programme – including the Chilterns boundary review. The existing boundary for the Chilterns National Landscape is unaffected and remains in place.

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 drought on food price inflation.

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

Annual food and non-alcoholic beverages price inflation was 1.3% in July 2026, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, suggesting drought impacts have not yet fully materialised in food prices.

Defra anticipates that continued drought and future El Niño effects could affect yields and increase production costs, placing some upward pressure on food prices. However, global supply and demand are still expected to remain the primary drivers of UK food prices and any impacts of the drought are likely to take several months to appear in annual inflation figures. Defra continues to monitor effects on the food sector.

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 impact of drought on food security.

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

It is too early to assess the full impact of drought on food production. While some sectors are experiencing impacts both in the UK and abroad, there is currently no indication that UK food security is at risk.

Our diverse and resilient food system, supported by both domestic production and international trade, has historically responded well to withstand localised production shocks. Defra continues to monitor international as well as domestic supply, to identify any potential risks to our supply chains.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and changes to support the housing-with-care sector.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 8 June in response to Question 4726 on the Government’s work in relation to the draft bill.

On the wider issues raised, the Prime Minister has set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme. All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, including housing-with-care, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact on Bedford Borough Council of requirements to provide accommodation and safeguarding support to individuals at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre who are not deemed “significantly over 18”.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Age assessment is a difficult area of work, with no single assessment technique, or combination of techniques, able to determine age with precision. Where an individual claims to be a child without any credible and clear documentary evidence of age, and where there is reason to doubt their claimed age, immigration officers are required to make an initial age decision to determine whether the individual should be treated as a child or an adult. This is an important first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure individuals are routed to the correct adult or child process. Where age is in doubt, the Home Office works closely with local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) to ensure individuals are treated in accordance with their assessed age, and that appropriate care and support arrangements are in place.

The Home Office is currently providing a range of support to affected local authorities. This includes regular bilateral engagement with the impacted authorities, and support from the NAAB. In Bedford's case specifically, the NAAB has prioritised support for conducting age assessments and bespoke training for local authority social workers to increase local assessment capability and capacity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact on Bedford Borough Council of age assessments associated with the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Age assessment is a difficult area of work, with no single assessment technique, or combination of techniques, able to determine age with precision. Where an individual claims to be a child without any credible and clear documentary evidence of age, and where there is reason to doubt their claimed age, immigration officers are required to make an initial age decision to determine whether the individual should be treated as a child or an adult. This is an important first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure individuals are routed to the correct adult or child process. Where age is in doubt, the Home Office works closely with local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) to ensure individuals are treated in accordance with their assessed age, and that appropriate care and support arrangements are in place.

The Home Office is currently providing a range of support to affected local authorities. This includes regular bilateral engagement with the impacted authorities, and support from the NAAB. In Bedford's case specifically, the NAAB has prioritised support for conducting age assessments and bespoke training for local authority social workers to increase local assessment capability and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will direct the Central East to locate a new Neighbourhood Health Centre in Mid Bedfordshire.

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

The Department has engaged with all integrated care boards (ICB), including the Central East ICB, as part of the process for developing the future pipeline of neighbourhood health centres.

Proposals are currently being assessed against published criteria, as set out in the Neighbourhood Health Centre Guidance, with final decisions on future schemes yet to be confirmed. Projects that meet the criteria will be invited to develop detailed business cases before any final funding decisions are taken.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she intends to publish the National Visitor Economy Strategy.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is working with industry on a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy which will set out an long-term, place-based plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth across regional visitor economies - driving growth and opportunity in every postcode. The strategy will be published when that work has concluded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current maintenance backlog is at a) Bedford Hospital and b) Luton & Dunstable Hospital.

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

National Health Service trusts are legally responsible for managing and maintaining their estates using their operational capital allocations, and as part of this, they regularly assess the physical condition of their estate.

The NHS England Estates Related Information Collection (ERIC) survey collects data from trusts on the condition of their estate annually, including backlog maintenance and the projected cost of bringing all the buildings on each NHS site into acceptable condition. The latest data, for 202/25, including from trusts in the East of England, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2024-25

Repairing and rebuilding our NHS estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan. The Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out 10 year maintenance budgets for the public estate, confirming £6 billion per year for maintenance and repair of the NHS estate up to 2034/35.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will support plans to build a new Children’s Hospital in Cambridge.

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

The Department remains committed to working with the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on this topic, as funding of approximately £100 million has been made available centrally via the Hospital Upgrades Programme with the Department for the Children’s Hospital. We continue to work closely with our NHS England counterparts to deliver this.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department encourages schools to join Multi-Academy Trusts.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

We are at the early stages of the development for the new technical education pathways and will encourage schools to consider joining high-quality Multi-Academy Trusts, because collaboration between schools is an important means of improving standards and outcomes for children and young people.

As set out in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper, high-quality trusts enable schools to work together to spread excellence, build workforce capacity and secure continuous improvement, ensuring that children benefit from the collective strength of the school system.

Trusts can support schools by enabling the sharing of expertise, resources and effective practice, strengthening leadership and professional development, and helping schools manage challenges collectively. Evidence also shows that schools can benefit from improved educational outcomes and greater resilience when participating in strong trusts.

Our best trusts have shown that collaboration can drive excellence and innovation across the system. However, we are not setting a timescale for this transition, nor will we compel successful schools to move into trusts.

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 risk that delays to landfill gas transitional support leading to increased waste crime, site abandonment or breaches of environmental permit conditions.

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

Defra is working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to bring forward potential proposals to support the transition of the landfill gas to energy generation sector, after support ends for the Renewable Obligations scheme. Defra remains committed to the development of long-term solutions for landfill gas capture, which are environmentally and economically sustainable.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action she is taking to increase capacity on Thameslink services.

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

All train operators, including the operator of Thameslink services, are required to plan services and timetables to meet current and future passenger demand while providing value for money. The operator’s long-term demand modelling considers growth arising from the proposed Universal Studios development in Bedfordshire, Luton Airport expansion and planned housing. It is working with Network Rail and local partners to develop business cases for the timetable, rolling stock and infrastructure improvements required to increase capacity. Great British Railways’ directing-mind function will also support the coherent development of future services and timetables across the network.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether the Government is taking steps to protect retail shareholders in circumstances where a majority shareholder uses its blocking stake to prevent minority shareholders from accepting a higher competing takeover offer.

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

There are protections in Part 30 of the Companies Act 2006 that allow a shareholder to apply to the court for a remedy if the company’s action (or inaction) is unfairly prejudicial to the interests of that member, or a larger set of shareholders that includes them. The Government is committed to implementing legislation over the course of this Parliament to improve how retail shareholders can exercise their rights through intermediaries, in line with the recommendations of the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT), chaired by Mark Austin CBE.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the steps the Government are taking to invest in the specialist SEND workforce, including QTVIs and habilitation specialists.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is investing around £1.8 billion over three years to develop Experts at Hand, giving mainstream education settings access to specialist support from professionals including speech and language therapists (SaLTs), occupational therapists, educational psychologists and assistants, and specialists such as Qualified Teachers of Children and Young People with Vision Impairments. We will help settings access wider specialist support where appropriate, including for sensory impairment and habilitation.

Experts at Hand will support mainstream settings better identify and meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through dedicated professional expertise delivered alongside setting staff. It will support earlier identification of need, strengthen workforce confidence and capability, and provide timely, evidence-based support within everyday learning environments.

We are investing over £40 million in the specialist workforce over the next three years, including £26 million to train educational psychologists, £15 million to enable SaLTs to work in education settings, and will invest in upskilling speech and language support workers.

We are supporting the wider education workforce through a new inclusion training package, backed by over £200 million of investment over three years, helping teachers and leaders build skills and confidence to support children and young people with SEND in mainstream settings.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve reliability on Thameslink services.

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

Thameslink services transferred into public ownership on 31 May 2026. The new public sector operator has committed to a range of measures intended to improve reliability and reduce cancellations, including recruiting additional drivers, completing the Thameslink automatic train operation training programme and introducing further operational improvements across the network.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a comparative estimate of the level of taxation (a) collected in 2024-25 and (b) expected from Budgets for that tax year.

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

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its Forecast Evaluation Report in June 2026 which compares its economic forecasts, including forecast tax receipts, with the outturns for 2024/25. The report can be found online here:

Forecast evaluation report 2026

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made a recent assessment of waiting times for responses to Ministerial correspondence.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department continues to respond to correspondence from Members of Parliament, although increased volumes and the need for detailed investigation in some cases can affect response times.

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.

As a result of these measures, the Department has begun to reduce outstanding backlogs and increase case-handling capacity, helping to improve response times for hon. Members.

The Department’s aims to respond to complaint within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 days to respond to, set a resolution plan with the customer where cases are complex and may take longer. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how we will address and resolve a complaint. It sets out what actions will be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing these actions.

The Department is committed to ensuring that hon. Members receive timely and accurate in-formation on behalf of their constituents and is taking urgent action to restore performance to expected standards.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the impact of increasing the price of Electronic Travel Authorisations in 2025 on the UK economy.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes to those fees.

The latest assessment, published alongside changes which came into effect in April 2026 and which included the fee for an Electronic Travel Authorisation, is available here:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/44/pdfs/ukia_20260044_en.pdf

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an assessment of the level of investment generated by the GREAT Campaign in 2025/26.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Evaluation results for the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign have not yet been finalised for financial year 2025/26. We expect initial economic returns generated by the campaign in 2025/26 to have been assessed and validated before the end of the year.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide an update on the progress in delivering a new LVEP in Bedfordshire.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

LVEPs are place-led and can bring a range of benefits to both businesses and visitors. Both DCMS and VisitEngland would welcome an application to form an LVEP from those places yet to form one, including Bedfordshire.

The decision to submit an application lies with Bedfordshire Council and local leaders, to date we have not received an application. We will continue to work closely with Bedfordshire to provide any support required to develop their application.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing (a) vouchers and (b) tax rebates to parents who send children to independent schools of a value less than the cost to the public purse per year of putting a pupil through a state school on (i) the cost to the public purse, (ii) class sizes in state schools, (iii) the wellbeing of state school pupils subject to bullying and (d) pupils with SEND.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

This Government is committed to fair treatment for all pupils, whether they attend state or independent schools.

At Budget 2024 the Government made changes to policy on tax exemption for parents who wish to send their children to independent schools. The removal of VAT exemption for independent schools raises revenue to ensure high-quality education for every child.

The Government has increased school funding by £2.3 billion in 2026-27.

This investment will help to support our commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers, to support our national attendance and behaviour programme, and to build a genuinely inclusive mainstream education system that will deliver positive outcomes for all pupils and parents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action she is taking to tackle the illegal a) inhalation and b) sale of nitrous oxide canisters.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises that the abuse of nitrous oxide is dangerous to people’s health. Nitrous oxide is controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It is an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess, possess with intent to supply, import or export nitrous oxide, subject to exemptions for legitimate uses. These exemptions do not apply where a person knows, intends or is reckless as to whether the nitrous oxide will be wrongfully inhaled.

The maximum penalty for unlawful possession is two years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. The maximum penalty for supply or production is 14 years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. The legislation applies to nitrous oxide canisters of all sizes.

Producers, suppliers and importers are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure that their products are supplied for legitimate purposes. This can include verifying the intended purpose of a purchase, limiting quantities sold and not selling paraphernalia that could be used to inhale nitrous oxide. The police are operationally independent and have the powers necessary to enforce the law proportionately.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to review funding arrangements for Bedfordshire Police.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring that policing has the resourcing it needs. This year, all police forces will receive a real terms increase in their funding.

Decisions on police funding are made annually at the Police Funding Settlement. In 2026-27 Bedfordshire Police will receive up to £178.0 million of funding, an increase of up to £8.6 million compared to 2025-26, which equates to a 5.1% cash increase.

In January, the Home Secretary announced plans for the most ambitious reforms to policing in nearly 200 years. The Police Reform White Paper confirmed that we will review the police funding formula as part of our programme of police reform so that the new formula reflects new police force structures. We are working in partnership with policing to explore how the police funding settlement can be better aligned with the Government’s policing priorities in the short term.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support she is providing to Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Police to tackle backlogs in processing shotgun licences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The issuing of firearm and shotgun certificates, resourcing of firearms licensing teams and the processing of licensing applications are matters for individual Chief Officers of Police and Police and Crime Commissioners.

On 9 January 2026, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) issued an accelerated cause of concern notice to the Chief Constables of Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary, who are involved in a tripartite firearms licensing arrangement. The three Chief Constables responded to HMICFRS’ request and they set out in an action plan how they intended to address the issues set out in the notice within 28 working days. We expect delivery of this action plan to lead to continued improvements in reducing firearms licensing delays across the three force areas.

The Government has taken action to increase firearms licensing fees to provide full-cost recovery for licensing applications considered by police forces. The increases took effect on 5 February 2025 and this was the first increase in fees for ten years. The Home Office wrote to all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to make clear that the increased fees must be used to support improvements in firearms licensing by police forces The Government has also committed to more regular reviews of licensing fees, and for the first time there will be increases based on the annual Consumer Price Index, and on this basis, the most recent increases in licensing fees came into effect on 6 June 2026.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing now publishes quarterly performance data for all police forces in England and Wales, including performance against an expectation that applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates should be completed within four months. We welcome this greater transparency and efforts to improve performance, while recognising that public safety must remain the priority and all suitability checks must be completed properly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Government brings in measures to help tackle child poverty, published 3 December 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Government’s measures on baby formula on research and investment in the sector.

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

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the impact of these measures on research and investment in the infant formula sector.

Found: Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne (Labour; Chatham and Aylesford) Michael Payne (Labour; Gedling) Blake Stephenson

Found: Julia Buckley; Jonathan Davies; Barry Gardiner; Sarah Gibson; Adrian Ramsay; Martin Rhodes; Blake Stephenson

Submit Evidence (by 21 Oct 2026)

In its latest advice to the government, the CCC said that climate change is already disrupting life in the UK and said that the UK’s national approach to climate adaption is “not fit for purpose”. It has also argued that the government’s third National Adaptation Plan (NAP3) is not adequately preparing the UK for climate change.