Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 121184 on Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Apprentices, how many of the Department's 57 apprentices were recruited in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department offers apprenticeships to internal staff as part of our learning and development offer. Since the original PQ, our records have updated to reflect an additional apprenticeship completion in 2025. We therefore now have 58 members of DSIT staff that are either currently undertaking an apprenticeship or have completed an apprenticeship between 2023 and 2025. (GOV.UK). This information is obtained from our Apprenticeship Employer Account on GOV.UK.
Year by year breakdown:
Year | Apprenticeships (live and completed) |
2023 | No records due to creation of the department from fBEIS, CO and DCMS |
2024 | 7 |
2025 | 51 |
Total | 58 |
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of Modern Slavery with a positive conclusive grounds decision were eligible for local authority housing during the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold or publish data on whether victims of modern slavery with a positive Conclusive Grounds decision were eligible for local authority housing, as housing eligibility decisions are made by local authorities and are not recorded in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) datasets.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the number of nurseries in England restricting free childcare hours due to cost and availability; what steps her Department is taking to ensure parents receive the full free childcare hours they are entitled to; and what support her Department is giving with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to nurseries to sustainably deliver funded places.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure free early education and childcare for eligible children in their area. Eligible children are entitled to 570 or 1,140 hours of free early education and childcare over the calendar year from when they become eligible.
Providers should set out how many free hours parents are getting per day and per week, to ensure parents understand what free hours they are receiving over the calendar year from when their child first becomes eligible.
Providers can also charge parents for any additional, private paid hours according to their usual terms and conditions provided taking up private paid hours is not a condition of accessing a free place.
In 2026/27, we are expecting to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, investing over £1 billion more this year compared to 2025/26 to deliver a full year of the expanded entitlements and an increase to entitlements funding rates.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to introduce additional incentives for non-domestic buildings to use building energy management systems, with consideration to energy costs, carbon emissions and building occupants health.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Building Energy Management Systems can help landlords meet their obligations under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015.
The Energy Systems Catapult has guidance on Building Energy Management Systems, available to all public sector organisations at https://es.catapult.org.uk/tools-and-labs/public-sector-decarbonisation-guidance/all-tools-and-tutorials/
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 introduce minimum animal welfare standards for all food imports that are in line with British animal welfare standards for domestic farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given to Mr Lee Dillon on 4 February 2026 to PQ UIN 109910.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that efforts by local authorities to encourage the restoration of empty dwellings by providing exemptions from long-term empty home premiums do not result in buildings becoming more derelict.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have discretionary powers to change additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The Government recognises that there are circumstances where it may not be appropriate for a premium to apply and we have introduced a number of statutory exemptions to premiums. These include 12 months exemption for empty homes undergoing major repairs or structural alterations to support bringing empty homes back into use and to prevent buildings becoming more derelict. The taxpayer will have to apply for the exception, and provide supporting evidence to the relevant local authority.
It is for the local authorities to decide where it is appropriate to apply the premium, taking into account a number of factors, including local circumstances and government guidance.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department is taking steps to develop a dedicated lung health plan for respiratory conditions and lung disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are rolling out lung cancer screening, and the world-leading Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom. We are also expanding access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres to enable faster diagnosis of lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprentices her Department recruited in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The number of apprentices enrolled on apprenticeship programmes within the department in each calendar year is as follows:
Note this reflects a combination of new apprentices joining the department and existing staff embarking on apprenticeship programmes as part of their career development.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many apprentices her Department recruited in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department did not exist in 2022 and although we have not undertaken external apprenticeship recruitment between 2023 and 2025, we recruit apprentices from within. 57 existing members of DSIT staff are undertaking an apprenticeship or have completed an apprenticeship between 2023 and 2025.(GOV.UK)
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposal for unused pension funds and death benefits to be subject to Inheritance Tax on beneficiaries; and if she will make it her policy to cap the level of Inheritance Tax paid on such funds and benefits.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions.
The Government has published a tax information and impact note, which is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-unused-pension-funds-and-death-benefits/inheritance-tax-unused-pension-funds-and-death-benefits.
The legislation for this reform is included in Finance Act 2026. A cap on the level of inheritance tax related to unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension would be inconsistent with the policy objective and reduce the revenue to help fund public services. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth.