Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress his Department has made on improving the rights of self-employed workers.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government is enhancing rights and protections for the self-employed in several ways. Measures announced in September 2024 will tackle late payment and long payment terms, including requiring large companies to report on payment performance and the introduction of a Fair Payment Code.

We also plan further consultations, including on extension of health and safety and blacklisting protections, a new right to a written statement for the self-employed, and the extension of measures which void Non-Disclosure Agreements in cases of relevant harassment and discrimination. Furthermore, our review of parental leave and pay will consider the needs of self-employed parents.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposals put forward by the European Commission to restrict exports of UK steel on the steel industry.

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

Steel is a priority for this Government. We are committed to defending our critical steel industry, protecting skilled jobs and supporting economic growth.

The Government is assessing the potential impact of the European Commission’s proposal and is engaging extensively with them to ensure the best possible outcome for UK producers and the wider steel supply chain. We expect the EU to fulfil its obligations under the TCA.

We will set out a long-term vision for the steel sector in our forthcoming Steel Strategy, including support provided to domestic producers to remain competitive in a challenging global market.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating public procurement policy to (a) incentivise and (b) mandate greater use of UK made steel in publicly funded projects.

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

The Government wants to see more use of UK‑made steel in publicly funded projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024–25, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK‑produced.

That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK‑made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022), introduced in June 2025, requires in‑scope organisations to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue for all new relevant steel procurements before making decisions, and encourages them to consider whether the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of recognising dementia as a complex and palliative condition in the Modern Service Framework for Palliative and End of life care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Almost one million people in the United Kingdom are living with dementia, and that figure is expected to rise. Each of those people, alongside their friends, families, and unpaid carers, have their own unique and important story of living with dementia.

The Government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. Everyone with dementia should have meaningful care following their diagnosis. This includes information on local services and access to relevant advice and support on what happens next.

Our health and adult social care system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia and frailty will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework (MSF) for Frailty and Dementia, complemented by a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care MSF. Together these MSFs will drive rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.

The Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life, including those living with dementia, and enable integrated care boards to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.

The MSF for Frailty and Dementia will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and frailty. It will support this by setting national standards for dementia and frailty care, and redirecting NHS and adult social care priorities to provide the best possible care and support. It will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, which is underway and will report this year.

We intend to continue to engage with a range of partners over the coming months to enable us to build a framework which is both ambitious and practical, to ensure we can improve system performance for people with dementia both now and in the future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle substance misuse by inmates in the prison estate.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We recognise that illicit drug use in prison is too high, and are committed to tackling this to improve safety, support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are investing over £40 million in physical security measures across 34 prisons this financial year, including £10 million on anti-drone measures, to help prevent drugs entering prison.

We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug problem and support them into treatment. To create the environment and incentives for prisoners to make the right choices, we have funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons, which provide a dedicated, supportive environment for any prisoner who wants to live drug-free in prison, using regular drug testing alongside incentives. We are also working to increase access to mutual aid fellowships in prison, which can provide vital ongoing support for people in recovery.

To bring together rehabilitative and security focused activity in custody, we have funded 54 Drug Strategy Leads to ensure local drug strategies are effectively implemented, and to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs. We have also recruited 17 new Group Drug and Alcohol Leads, who support work on drugs and alcohol across their prison groups, and establish links with community providers and local authority partnerships.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is undertaking workforce planning to prepare for an increase in demand for heat-pump installations.

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

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan sets out that to meet future heat pump deployment targets the workforce will need to grow from around 4,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) installers today to around 12,000 FTE by 2030. The Government is continuing to support workforce growth through a 3-year, £21 million extension of the Heat Training Grant. Government is also supporting new entrants through the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship. Government also recently established the Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce, which will focus on growing a skilled and resilient net zero workforce.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to develop a (a) national training strategy for heat-pump installers and (b) dedicated heat pump training academy.

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

Government has set out its long-term vision for the net zero workforce in the Warm Homes Plan, and through the Clean Energy Jobs Plan. This includes establishing the Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce, and announcing a 3-year, 21 million extension of the Heat Training Grant, which supports existing heating engineers in upskilling.

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 further support employee ownership in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

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

Employee-owned businesses are a significant part of the UK economy, with 2,470 EOBs in the UK as of June 2025, employing over 335,000 people.

DBT, as part of the Autumn Budget announcements, launched a Call for Evidence on Business Support for Co-operatives and Mutuals, which closed on the 18th February. DBT is now analysing responses and these will inform any potential business support policies to support the growth of the sector.

The government is committed to supporting the growth of the mutuals sector in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which government is now delivering.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of co-operatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the contribution co-operatives make to local communities, to a diverse business sector and a resilient UK economy. In line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operatives and mutuals sector, HM Treasury is taking steps to support the growth nationwide, including in Buckingham and Bletchley.

This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which is exploring options to modernise and update the legislative framework. The review is expected to report in 2026 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding.

At Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures to support the growth of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape. These reports were published in December 2025, and covered co-operatives through the FCA’s role as registering authority.

HM Treasury works with other Government departments on support for co-operatives. This includes on the Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on business support for co-operatives, which was launched at Budget 2025 and closed in February 2026. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government has announced the launch of a co-operative development unit as part of its Pride in Place Strategy.

Together, these actions will help support the growth of the co-operative sector in across the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to reform credit union common bond rules.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to supporting the growth of financial mutuals in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutuals sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which HM Treasury is now delivering.

This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This was published in December 2025 and included measures to support the development of financial mutuals, including the FCA’s establishment of their Mutual Societies Development Unit. The government also welcomed the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council and published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector.

For credit unions specifically, the government announced it is pursuing growth-focused reforms to the common bond in Great Britain. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2025 and followed a call for evidence on reforms. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of business support for financial mutuals.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to supporting the growth of financial mutuals in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutuals sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which HM Treasury is now delivering.

This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This was published in December 2025 and included measures to support the development of financial mutuals, including the FCA’s establishment of their Mutual Societies Development Unit. The government also welcomed the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council and published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector.

For credit unions specifically, the government announced it is pursuing growth-focused reforms to the common bond in Great Britain. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2025 and followed a call for evidence on reforms. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

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 impact of current manufacturing investment incentives on national manufacturing output.

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

Effective monitoring and evaluation is integral to assessing manufacturing policy. Current investment incentives are tracked through operational metrics and economic indicators including business investment, productivity, exports, GVA, labour market outcomes and growth of large UK firms.

Recent impact reports show that major programmes are delivering strong returns; for example, the Advanced Propulsion Centre’s R&D programme generated £2.20 of additional private investment for every £1 of public funding. Together, these assessments help ensure that incentives support increased manufacturing capability and long term national output.

Delivery progress against new Industrial Strategy commitments, including for manufacturing, is captured in regular Quarterly Updates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of government debt over each of the past five financial years has been held by (a) domestic investors and (b) overseas investors.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The ONS publishes estimates of holdings of government debt by sector. The latest available data, as at end 2025 Q3, splits holdings by overseas and domestic investors. ONS data shows a split of holdings between overseas and domestic investors of 28% and 72% respectively in 2021 Q3 and 33% and 67% respectively in 2025 Q3.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of eligible pensioners in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have applied for winter energy payments.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As of winter 2025/26, Winter Fuel Payments are made to all pensioners in England and Wales, with payments subsequently recovered via the tax system from pensioners with an annual income of more than £35,000 who have not previously opted out. This means no lower or middle-income pensioners will miss out, with the vast majority of pensioners – over three quarters – benefitting. Almost all Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically without any need to claim.

A very small number of individuals, for instance those who have deferred their State Pension, may need to contact DWP to claim a Winter Fuel Payment. Claims can be made up to 31 March 2026.

Winter Fuel Payment statistics are published annually, and the next publication for winter 2025/26 will be in September 2026: Winter Fuel Payment statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will assess the potential impact of her debt management policies on pension funds.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Consistent with the debt management objective, the government assesses a range of cost and risk factors when setting its financing plans, in addition to demand considerations and market conditions. HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office regularly consult with gilt market investors, including pension funds, to provide participants with the opportunity to inform decisions on debt management.

The gilt holdings of pension funds will decline in the coming years as most private sector defined benefit pension schemes are closed to new members and will eventually wind down. This trend is well understood by the market – and it remains an important consideration when setting debt management policy. This was reflected in the 2026-27 UK Debt Management Office financing remit, which was announced on 3 March. The remit sets out a balanced and well-diversified gilt issuance programme across the range of maturities, in order to support maintaining an accessible, well-functioning gilt market.

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 the potential impact of UK support on Ukrainian communities in (i) Milton Keynes and (ii) Buckinghamshire.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to understand the integration needs of Ukrainians and how we can work together to ensure positive integration outcomes in local communities.

Homes for Ukraine guests have the right to work and full recourse to public funds with access to public services, including housing, healthcare and education.

Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. We publish funding allocation data each quarter, which is broken down by local authority: Homes for Ukraine funding - GOV.UK.

Councils have the flexibility to use the funding to support households as best suits the local area. This could include measures to support guests to access employment, English language provision and provide integration measures that support Ukrainians to access private rented accommodation.

In addition, MHCLG has provided £11.5 million of funding for language and employment support to over 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the STEP Ukraine Programme. The STEP Programme launched in October 2025 will provide intensive English language lessons and employment support for up to a further 4,000 individuals..

We continue to engage closely with councils and the voluntary and community sector to ensure that we understand the needs of Ukrainians living in the UK and that adequate support is available.

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 barriers to adoption of farm tech among farmers.

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

Farmers need evidence of the benefits and returns from investing in innovation and technology, as well as access to finance. That is why Defra is committing £30m to Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) funding competitions from FY26/27, as announced at the NFU Conference in February. This will help farmers and growers' trial practical solutions and approaches that support productivity, profitability and build resilience.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many agricultural technology projects in Buckinghamshire have received government innovation funding.

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

Twelve projects in Buckinghamshire delivered by nine organisations have been awarded a total of £2.4 million to date through the Farming Innovation Programme.

Further information on this is not within Defra's remit and therefore the department would recommend reaching out to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as the department responsible for this policy area.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of national water efficiency funding has been allocated to projects in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

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

At PR24 final determination, Anglian Water was allocated £167m to support smart metering, leakage reduction, and other water efficiency activities across the 2025-2030 period. Companies may choose where to spend allocated money within their regions, such as by targeting specific locations or spreading it evenly across their area.

Additionally, Ofwat leads a £100m Water Efficiency Fund. A national campaign will launch later this year.  Winners of the first innovation competition will be confirmed in June 2026, and the money will be to the benefit of all consumers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the trends in the level of demand for construction-related skills in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency over the next three years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold up to date data on the projections of construction-related skills at a constituency level. The CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) does produce the Construction Workforce Outlook which projects the growth in construction from 2024 to 2029 and is available at a national and regional level here: https://www.citb.co.uk/cwo/index.html.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps are being taken to ensure that small and medium-sized manufacturers located in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes can access innovation funding.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to supporting innovative SMEs and delivers innovation funding through Innovate UK.

Since 2020/21, SMEs in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes have received over £43 million across more than 200 Innovate UK-funded projects.

Innovate UK works with local authorities on innovation initiatives such as MK Tech Week 2025 and Innovate Local Buckinghamshire 2024. Regional Catapults, including the Satellite Applications Catapult at Westcott and the Connected Places Catapult in Milton Keynes, support SMEs to develop advanced technologies, whilst Innovate UK’s Talent & Skills Connect strengthens workforce pipelines. Innovate UK Business Growth and Innovate UK Business Connect provide embedded local support for innovative SMEs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how her Department tracks the exposure of financial institutions to UK sovereign debt.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The ONS publishes estimates of holdings of government debt by sector. The latest available data, as at end 2025 Q3, can be found here - UK Economic Accounts - Office for National Statistics - via the July to September 2025 dataset.

HMT works closely with the Bank of England (“the Bank”), including through its membership of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC), to monitor and manage risks to UK financial stability, including any risks that may occur from the exposure of financial institutions to UK sovereign debt.

As part of this the FPC conducts regular stress tests of the banking sector, which assess how banks’ capital and liquidity would withstand a severe macroeconomic shock, ensuring institutions are able to continue to provide core financial services through severe economic shocks which may impact the value of their UK sovereign debt holdings. You can read more about the Bank’s approach to stress testing and the results of the latest stress tests here.

We also work closely with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which supervises individual firms, to understand the risks arising from those individual firms exposure to UK sovereign debt and ensure that these are managed prudently within the regulatory framework. You can read more about the supervision of financial institutions here.

In 2024, the Bank conducted a world first System‑Wide Exploratory Scenario (SWES), to explore how a broad range of financial institutions (including banks, insurers, pension funds and other non‑bank financial intermediaries) would respond to a severe market shock. The 2024 SWES focused on the functioning and resilience of key markets such as the gilt and gilt repo markets. It sought to understand the behaviour of firms in stress, and how market dynamics can amplify a shock. The Bank’s final report found that actions following previous market shocks have improved gilt market resilience, with the broader financial system showing an improved ability to absorb large price swings in assets, including sovereign bonds, while also highlighting areas for further policy work. You can see the final report from the SWES here.

Taken together these actions – HMTs work with the FPC, regular bank stress tests, PRA supervision, insights from the SWES and ongoing monitoring – ensure that risks arising from financial institutions exposures to UK sovereign debt are well understood and effectively managed.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of national manufacturing research and development grants are allocated to SMEs.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to delivering record R&D funding, and recognises the significant impact of innovative SME’s on the UK’s economic growth. The government delivers grant funding to innovative businesses through Innovate UK, which is a part of UK Research and Innovation.

Since 2023/24, 84% of Innovate UK’s manufacturing research and development grants awarded directly to businesses have been allocated to SMEs. If including the grants awarded to universities and other research partners collaborating with businesses, 58% of all of Innovate UK’s manufacturing research and development grants since 2023/24 have been allocated to SMEs.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK businesses have participated in Ukraine trade support programmes.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Under the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership, the Department for Business and Trade has provided trade support to hundreds of UK businesses in Ukraine through:

• The Free Trade Agreement and tariff liberalisation to simplify trade;
• Tackling market access barriers which reduce or prevent trade;
• Maintaining up to £3.5bn in UK Export Finance cover through UKEF;
• DBT’s Project Development Programme to embed British involvement in reconstruction projects;
• A procurement dashboard providing easy access to World Bank, EIB, and EBRD opportunities;
• Business promotion and introduction opportunities such as trade missions, round tables, and international conferences including the ReBuild Ukraine Expo.