Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI on (a) graduate employment, (b) employment in labour intensive industries, (c) employment in capital intensive industries and (d) overall employment.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much VAT was refunded to international visitors as a result of the Government's Shop and Ship retail export scheme in 2019, 2023 and 2024.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Goods purchased in the UK and subsequently exported outside the UK, whether by the business or the consumer, may be eligible for VAT zero-rating, provided that the relevant conditions are met, and appropriate evidence of export is retained. However, as such transactions are accounted for at the zero rate on VAT returns, they do not generate a separate refund and are not separately identifiable in HMRC’s systems. Therefore, HMRC does not hold data on the volume or value of such exports for which VAT has been zero-rated.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the correspondence of 6 July 2025 from The Restart Project’s on (a) product design codes, (b) the right to repair, (c) VAT on repairs, (d) reuse targets and (e) waste reduction.

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

The Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy. The Circular Economy Taskforce, composed of experts from industry, academia, and civil society, is helping to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, which we plan to publish proposals for in due course. The outputs will aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero.

The strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Circular Economy Taskforce will start with six sectors: agri-food; built environment; chemicals and plastics; electrical and electronic equipment; textiles; and transport.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. The Circular Economy Taskforce will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy throughout the development of the strategy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to work with (a) Swim England and (b) other stakeholders to prioritise swimming pool provision as part of the £400 million grassroots sport investment.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the role of swimming pools in delivering (a) health, (b) wellbeing and (c) community cohesion outcomes.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the £400 million funding for grassroots sport facilities she plans to allocate to support the (a) development, (b) refurbishment and (c) sustainability of public swimming pools.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the £400 million grassroots sport funding supports swimming pools in areas with limited access to aquatic facilities.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the £400 million funding for grassroots sport facilities includes funding for energy efficiency upgrades in swimming pools.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on public expenditure.

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

The primary focus of the government’s analysis has been to assess the potential for AI to enhance public sector productivity and efficiency, which are key determinants of future spending levels. Analysis by DSIT for the State of Digital Government Review found an estimated £45 billion per year in unrealised savings and productivity benefits in the public sector, 4-7% of public sector spend, which could be achieved through full digitisation of public sector services. Opportunities are based predominantly on process simplification, AI-driven automation of manual tasks, greater availability, adoption of low-cost digital channels and reduced fraud through compliance automation.

Of this, £36 billion in potential annual savings are from using AI to simplify and automate delivery across the public sector. This was estimated through a detailed analysis of 350,000 public sector roles using Civil Service data, scaling productivity savings from automating or augmenting routine tasks to the wider public sector workforce.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to make adherence to the Service Charge Residential Management Code mandatory for residential leasehold property managers.

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

The current edition of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Service Charge Residential Management Code, approved in 2016 using powers under Section 87 of the Leasehold Reform and Urban Development Act 1993, may be used as evidence by the First-tier Tribunal or County Court in any decisions they make. Failure to comply with the Code alone does not make a managing agent or landlord liable to court/tribunal proceedings.

We intend to strengthen the regulation of managing agents by introducing mandatory professional qualifications that will set a new basic standard that managing agents will be required to meet. Proposals to that effect are set out in our consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services, which can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of multi-occupancy residential buildings insurance premiums.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator of financial services, carried out a review into insurance for multi-occupancy buildings in 2022. The FCA had concerns about how certain elements of the market were working and in 2023 it introduced a number of regulatory changes to enhance consumer protection and improve the functioning of the market. The FCA has robust powers to take action against firms that do not comply with its rules.

The government continues to engage with relevant stakeholders, including the regulators, insurers, leaseholder representatives and trade bodies, to keep the market under review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people claiming housing benefit in Gosport in each of the last three years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Monthly statistics for the number of Housing Benefit claimants in Great Britain are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, The statistics are available for various geographies, including local authority and parliamentary constituency, and are currently available to May 2025.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average increase in social housing rents was in Gosport constituency in 2024-25.

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

Government policy limits how much rents are permitted to increase each year for Social Rent and Affordable Rent homes let by registered providers of social housing.

In 2024-25, these rents were permitted to increase by up to CPI+1% based on the CPI rate in September 2023 (6.7%), which meant that rents were permitted to increase by up to 7.7%.

The Regulator of Social Housing collects annual data from registered providers of social housing regarding their rents, which can be viewed by local authority area. Data for the year 2024-25 is scheduled to be released on 28 October. Statistics for previous years, along with a look-up tool, can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer patients have access to radiotherapy in (a) Gosport, (b) the South East and (c) England.

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

All cancer patients have access to radiotherapy treatment. Decisions about cancer treatment are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that every cancer patient who needs it has access to modern and timely radiotherapy cancer treatment.

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

The Government is taking decisive action to get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster.

We have invested £70 million in replacing outdated radiotherapy machines across the NHS with cutting-edge technology that will speed up treatment for thousands of patients. These new machines are being rolled out across the country.

Found: Letter from Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Committee Chair, to Craig Guildford, Chief Constable, West Midlands

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa

Found: Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: enquiries@dcms.gov.uk www.gov.uk/dcms Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: to complete this special inquiry committee’s work by November 2026, Additional comments Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa

Found: Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: enquiries@dcms.gov.uk www.gov.uk/dcms Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: Dame Caroline Dinenage MP Chair, Culture, Media and Sport Committee House of Commons London

Found: Watch the meeting Culture, Media and Sport Committee members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair)

Found: and Policing Bill: Division 235’, 18 June 2025. 49 • New clause 121 tabled by Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Dr Rupa