Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of issuing retail bonds to support increased defence investment.

Answered by James Murray - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The majority of government borrowing is financed through the issuance of UK government bonds (known as gilts) by the UK Debt Management Office (DMO). In addition, some of the government’s financing is raised in the retail savings market through products offered by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Finance raised via gilts or NS&I products is generally not tied to specific areas of government spending, in order to offer the best value-for-money for taxpayers.

The government keeps the introduction of new debt financing instruments under regular review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of community-led housing in breaking down discrimination in access to housing.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that the community-led housing sector delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.

In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.

The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme seeks to support an increase in the delivery of community-led and rural housing. The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of electricity cost reductions on the competitiveness of manufacturers located in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

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

The British Industry Supercharger is already supporting the competitiveness of around 550 of the most electricity and trade-intensive firms across Great Britain, including in Buckingham and Bletchley, by reducing electricity costs by on average approximately £65 – £87 per megawatt hour.

From 2027 the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 10,000 eligible manufacturing businesses. This will help bring electricity costs more in line with other European economies and help support investment and economic growth across Great Britain including in Buckingham and Bletchley.

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 support the recruitment, training and retention of Parkinson’s nurse specialists.

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

The Government recognises the vital role that Parkinson’s nurse specialists play in supporting people with Parkinson’s disease, providing expert clinical input, coordinating care, and helping patients and families manage a complex, progressive condition.

Responsibility for workforce planning, including the recruitment, training, and retention of specialist nurses, such as Parkinson’s nurse specialists, lies with the National Health Service. Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing local population need and ensuring that appropriate specialist services, including neurology and nursing support, are in place to meet that need.

At a national level, the NHS is supporting service improvement and workforce development for Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions through a range of programmes. This includes the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. Both aim to reduce unwarranted variation, promote best practice, and support more consistent access to specialist expertise across England.

The forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will support the recruitment and retention of specialist nurses by setting out a long‑term approach to growing, training, and supporting the NHS workforce, with a focus on ensuring that staff have the right skills, career development opportunities, and working conditions to deliver high‑quality care. By improving education and training pathways, promoting advanced and specialist roles, and supporting flexible and multidisciplinary ways of working, the plan will help the NHS build a sustainable workforce able to meet future patient needs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the volume of private capital that could be unlocked through partnerships with venture capital firms in the defence sector.

Answered by James Murray - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Government recognises the important role that venture capital and other private investors play in backing innovation across the economy. The forthcoming Defence Finance Investment Strategy will be the Government’s blueprint for how we increase the capital available to improve warfighting readiness while also driving UK growth.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to provide development support for co-operative businesses located in (i) Milton Keynes and (ii) Buckinghamshire.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to supporting diverse business models and doubling the size of the co-operative and mutual sector. We have received strong engagement from the sector through our Call for Evidence and are now analysing responses to shape future business support, including what can be achieved within existing support services such as the Business Growth Service and Growth Hubs.

Cooperatives play a vital role in Buckinghamshire’s agricultural sector and Government is developing the new Farmer Collaboration Fund to unlock the broader benefits of this sort of collaboration.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled The Erasmus+ programme, published on 17 December 2025, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) schools and (b) other participating organisations listed in that guidance to engage with the Erasmus+ programme in advance of the UK rejoining the scheme.

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

The government will work closely with organisations and young people to maximise take-up, particularly among disadvantaged groups. The British Council is set take on the role of the UK National Agency.

The National Agency will be in charge of managing the implementation of the Erasmus+ Programme in the UK. The National Agency will have a dedicated website, and will issue guidance to applicants in advance of the 2027 funding call.

Alongside this, there will also be a broad range of sector outreach activities to increase awareness and engagement, such as webinars and targeted communications to schools, colleges and other eligible organisations. There will also be support for schools who wish to apply and make the most opportunities across Europe.

Schools can find guidance about the Erasmus+ programme on the Erasmus+ GOV.UK pages.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps the Government is taking to support developing countries facing sovereign debt crises.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 April in response to Question 122705.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure the UK remains internationally competitive in financial technology innovation.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The UK is a world leader in Fintech, and attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025, second only to the US. The Government is committed to making the UK the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre, and remaining a leading jurisdiction for Fintech firms to start, scale, list, and stay.

In addition to measures announced in the Financial Competitiveness and Growth Strategy and at Budget, the Government set out at UK Fintech Week 2026 further detail on how it intends to modernise payment services regulation and update it to support new innovations in money and payments, ahead of soon publishing a consultation inviting the payments sector to feedback. This includes improving the regulation of payment services and electronic money by better integrating it with the UK’s core regulatory approach for financial services; regulating stablecoins for their use in payments, where these stablecoins have been issued under the forthcoming new regulated activity for stablecoin issuance in the UK; exploring how the regulation of payments services should adapt to payments conducted by AI agents; and providing the FCA new powers to regulate the future of Open Banking. The Government also published as part of the package draft secondary legislation to cut administrative burdens for companies wanting to provide stablecoin payments.

The Government has also appointed Chris Woolard CBE as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, to provide market leadership and support industry progress on the development of a tokenised wholesale financial markets ecosystem.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the role of employee-owned business models in reducing the gender pay gap.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international financial institutions on mechanisms to mobilise private capital to support developing economies.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government firmly believes that mobilising private capital is critical to raise the finance needed to achieve our development and climate objectives and helping drive economic growth both in developing economies and at home here in the UK. That is why the UK is shifting from donor to investor and the International Financial Institutions are among our most important partners for mobilising private capital at scale.

We have regular engagement with them both through our representation on their Boards and through Ministerial engagement, such as at the recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings, which the Chancellor and Minister for Development both attended.

We want to support Multilateral Development Banks to reform their business model to further scale financing to developing countries, help build strong project pipelines and mitigate risks to attract more private capital. We also want them to help improve investment conditions and build local financial sector and local currency markets and to share more data on their investments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role the UK is playing in international efforts to reform global debt frameworks.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 April in response to Question 122705.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support energy security through international co-operation following discussions at the IMF Spring Meetings.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.