Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recommendations the Motor Insurance Taskforce has made on reducing motor insurance costs.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums. It will look at the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce most recently met on 28 April 2025 and further meetings are being planned. The Secretary of State also met with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Minister for the Economy and officials from the Department for Infrastructure on 6 May 2025, to hear their perspective on the market and relevant policy options.

The Taskforce has yet to make recommendations. The Government will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining (a) bee and (b) pollinator populations on UK food production and what steps he is taking to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.

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

This Government is committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042.

For pollinator species, we are considering lessons learned from a recently completed review of our 2021-24 Pollinator Action Plan, which set out actions to address key risks to insect pollinator populations, including monitoring potential or emerging risks.

Although honeybees face many of the same environmental pressures as wild pollinators, their population is driven largely by the number of beekeepers willing and able to keep bees. Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are quite stable.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators, and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity, and build resilience to climate change.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that farmers have low cost access for disposing of tractor tyres.

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

Every business that produces or deals with waste tyres has a legal duty of care to make sure that their waste is managed appropriately by an authorised person to ensure that risks to the environment are minimised. Any holder of end-of-life tractor tyres is able to check that someone is appropriately authorised to handle that waste through the Environment Agency's or their national equivalent environmental regulator's public register.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what resources she could make available to the (a) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (b) Police Service of Northern Ireland and (c) Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service in the event of a major wildfire outbreak in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I pay tribute to all those who work to tackle and support recovery from major wildfire outbreaks like those seen recently in the Mourne area.

This Government has provided the Northern Ireland Executive with a record £18.2 billion settlement for 2025-26. That translates into over £1.5 billion more in 2025-26 and the largest settlement in the history of devolution.

It is for the Executive to allocate the funding in line with its priorities and to address emerging challenges.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology what safeguards are in place to ensure that his officials do not input (a) sensitive and (b) classified information into artificial intelligence tools.

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

All civil servants are trained in appropriate information management practices for handling sensitive or classified information. We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI usage. For example the AI Playbook for the UK Government, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, and the generative AI framework on GOV.UK which includes a section on using generative AI safely and responsibly.

OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE information can safely be included in prompts to AI tools that are hosted within the DSIT IT eco-system, or by providers with whom the department has an agreement in place around the secure processing of such data. For example, DSIT has an enterprise agreement with Microsoft to provide all staff with secure access to Copilot Chat and 1,500 staff with licenses to the cross-government Microsoft 365 Copilot experiment. Additional tool-specific guidance is provided to individuals at the point-of-use.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) quantity and (b) estimated street value of drugs retrieved from flotation devices at sea have been seized by Border Force in 2025; and what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of those devices for illegal activity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Border Force has made one seizure of drugs so far in the calendar year 2025 that was packaged as an At Sea Drop-Off (ASDOs). The total seizure was 1464kg (Net) Cocaine and would have a street value of approximately £58,560,000 (£40,000 per kg). This was not directly retrieved from a flotation device as Border Force detected and seized before it entered the sea.

Border Force works around the clock to disrupt drug supply chains and will continue working closely with national and overseas partners to identify and prevent the new methods criminals take to smuggling illegal drugs. The collective response in dismantling drug smuggling operations from Police, the National Crime Agency and Border Force is helping the government deliver its safer streets mission by smashing organised crime gangs and saving lives.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to (a) regulate and (b) reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 April to Question UIN 45139.

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 artificial intelligence on availability of jobs in the (a) legal and (b) financial sectors; and what steps he is taking to support workers transitioning to new roles.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In November 2023, the Department for Education published a report showing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on areas within the UK labour market and education The impact of AI on UK jobs and training - GOV.UK. The report noted that professional occupations are more exposed to AI, particularly those associated with more clerical work and across finance, law and business management roles.

The government is committed to ensuring both learners and employers have access to crucial digital and artificial intelligence skills that have the potential to increase productivity and create new high value jobs in the UK economy. To achieve this, the government is reforming the skills system. The government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs.

AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to legal professionals by automating routine work, allowing them to focus on matters of higher value and interest. AI and lawtech is also creating new jobs within the profession, such as legal technologists and tech developers.

Supporting the safe adoption of AI in legal services is essential to ensuring the sector remains world leading. The Ministry of Justice does this via LawtechUK, a grant funded industry led programme created to support the development of lawtech. Across the past year LawtechUK has hosted a series on Generative AI, brining experts in law, technology, and regulation to explore the benefits of AI and how to mitigate any risks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent) [2025] UKSC 16.

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

Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by the Government. The recent Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case has provided much needed confidence and clarity for the National Health Service and adult social care providers to adapt their policies to ensure that same-sex spaces are always protected. This includes NHS England’s review of the Delivering same-sex accommodation guidance, as well as providers’ policies on same-sex spaces for staff.

This is the law, and we expect all public service bodies to comply.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) harassment, (b) sexual assault and (c) misconduct against women in the armed forces; and if he will introduce an independent body to handle serious complaints of (i) harassment and (ii) misconduct.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There is no place for harassment or any form of abuse within the Armed Forces – or anywhere within Defence.

Last month the Minister for Veterans and People announced the formation of a new tri-Service complaints unit for the Armed Forces. The new team will be independent of the single Service chain of command to provide individuals with greater confidence and help ensure that the most serious complaints, including bullying, harassment and misconduct, are dealt with quickly.

The Ministry of Defence is also setting up a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Taskforce which will be supported by a network of regional VAWG Advisors, trained to offer support on topics including domestic violence and sexual offending. These roles will connect with existing networks of multidisciplinary experts to support Armed Forces personnel, including healthcare providers, social workers, and HR advisors, in particular working hand in glove with the Victim and Witness Care Unit. The VAWG Taskforce will provide an escalation route independent from the military chain of command, directly up to ministerial level if required.

The upcoming Armed Forces Bill will also introduce new measures to ensure the Service Justice System protects victims of the most serious offences, including sexual assault. The Government is also establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner as a new independent champion with the power to investigate issues raised by Service personnel and their families.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the suicide prevention strategy; and what steps he is taking to help reduce suicide rates.

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

There has been significant work and progress across the Government, the National Health Service, the police, the voluntary sector, academia, and wider partners to deliver the strategy.

As part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 mental health workers specially trained to support people at risk of suicide, to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

The Government also continues to fund the Multicentre Study of Self-harm, whose work is vital in informing the development of policy, and of clinical practice.

The Online Safety Act puts new duties on social media companies and search services to help protect children and adults from harmful content online.

Between August 2023 and March 2025, £10 million was made available to voluntary, community, and social enterprises in England through the national 2023 to 2025 Suicide Prevention Grant Fund. The Department is now evaluating the impact of the fund, and learning from the evaluation will help to inform the delivery of the Government’s mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs how much and what proportion of the humanitarian aid budget has been allocated to preventing (a) maternal and (b) newborn deaths over the past three years; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in the humanitarian aid budget on future funding in this area.

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

Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure is reported via the Statistics on International Development publications (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development).

We report spending based on OECD Development and Assistance Committee sector codes. The UK takes a multisectoral approach to ending preventable maternal, child and newborn deaths. We do not hold data to accurately estimate the humanitarian aid budget specifically for preventing maternal and newborn deaths. The tables below show bilateral spending on sectors contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health but do not represent that the total of this funding was therefore used on it as it is not possible to disaggregate. Core funding was excluded from these estimates, as it is used flexibly by partners and its contribution to specific sectors cannot be tracked directly.

Table 1: UK humanitarian programme bilateral ODA on sector codes contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH), in £:

Note: figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Based on OECD sector codes: 12110, 12220, 12240, 12250, 12261, 12262, 12263, 12281, 13020, 13040, 14030, 14031, 14032.

The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of GNI on ODA will require significant shifts, building on those already underway as the government implements its modernised approach to development. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support vulnerable people with fluctuations in the cost of energy.

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

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers, including vulnerable individuals, permanently. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

However, we recognise the need to support vulnerable households struggling with their bills as we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the £150 Warm Home Discount to around 3 million households last winter. In February, we published a consultation to expand the Warm Home Discount to bring an extra 2.7 million households into the scheme, which would push the total number of eligible households up to around 6 million households from next winter. The consultation has now closed, and the Department is evaluating responses.

I urge any vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills to contact their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice to see what support they can receive.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal support is available to (a) churches and (b) faith-based charities facing (i) increased energy costs and (ii) a decline in donations.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of supporting churches and other listed places of worship.

Through the National Lottery Heritage fund, churches have access to grants ranging from £10,000 to £10million to support repair work for listed buildings and address issues around workforce and volunteer capability to manage heritage. Alongside this, the Government has extended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, with a budget of £23m until 31 March 2026, and this provides churches and other listed places of worship with grants of up to £25,000. This scheme will continue to enable religious organisations to claim grants covering eligible VAT costs paid towards repairs and renovations.

On support for increased energy costs, in the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

From 19 December 2024 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees can now access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards

Charities may also, depending on their status, be able to benefit from buying their energy through Crown Commercial Service. Crown Commercial Service are a trading fund of Cabinet Office and their frameworks allow charities to benefit from the collective purchasing power of the UK public sector.

More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the mental health needs of veterans in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

This Government is committed to ensuring that veterans can access the appropriate support wherever they live in the UK. We recently announced VALOUR, a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support to ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans. This regional approach, based on a network of VALOUR support centres providing multiple services in one place, together with regional field officers coordinating the provision of local services, will ensure that services are designed to meet the needs of local communities.

Specialist statutory support for veterans who reside in Northern Ireland is delivered by the Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland (VWS NI) to ensure effective and enduring support is available. In April, the VWS NI renewed and expanded its unique medical contracts, providing psychological therapies and physiotherapy to eligible veterans, namely those with conditions attributable to their service.

Veterans who are resident in Northern Ireland can also access a range of UK-wide support, while Government funding via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust supports the Thrive Together Programme, which operates across the UK.

Christian persecution in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Euan Stainbank Sammy Wilson Frank McNally Patricia Ferguson Alex Easton Rosie Duffield Carla Lockhart

Found: Frank McNally Blair McDougall Martin Rhodes Alex Easton Ms Diane Abbott Mary Kelly Foy Carla Lockhart