Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that employers provide appropriate emotional and practical support to bereaved employees, including reasonable workplace adjustments.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government will publish guidance alongside the implementation of Bereavement Leave to ensure that employees are fully aware of their rights, and employers are aware of their responsibilities to support bereaved employees. We are also committed to improving access to flexible working. Greater flexibility over when, where and how much someone works can provide important practical support following a bereavement and help make the return to work more manageable. The government will continue to explore how we can support bereaved people in employment.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory minimum of paid bereavement leave for employees whose parent or parental figure has died.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has sought to strike a balance by providing meaningful support to bereaved employees and ensuring the entitlement is accessible to those who need it, while also taking account of the costs to employers and the Exchequer. We understand that losing a parent is one of life’s most devastating moments. Bereavement leave sets a statutory minimum, and the government encourages employers to go above and beyond where they can, including by offering paid bereavement leave. The government will assess the policy after implementation to understand how it is working in practice for employees and employers.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the physical condition of the NHS estate in Devon.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Trusts regularly assess the physical condition of their buildings as part of managing their estates. They report this annually through the Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC), including the estimated cost of bringing buildings into an acceptable condition, recorded as backlog maintenance. The latest data, covering 2025-26, was published last week and provides an up-to-date picture of the condition of the NHS estate in Devon and across England.Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which public authority is responsible for determining whether the management of privately owned woodland presents a wildfire risk to neighbouring residential communities.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue authorities have statutory responsibilities to assess fire and rescue related risks within their areas and make appropriate provision for responding to fires, including wildfires. They work with local authorities and landowners to identify and manage wildfire risks to communities.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on whether Multi-Academy Trusts are required to take the highest price offered for a land disposal where that land is the last open green space in a town and used by the community for leisure and sport; and whether social and environmental well-being can be considered as having a value in a disposal.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Multi-Academy trusts wishing to dispose of school land are required under both legislation and the terms of their funding agreements to seek the consent of the Secretary of State. The department publishes guidance on the consent process at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6abcb46c3239bb3cc19f51d5/Involving_the_Secretary_of_State_in_land_transactions.pdf .
For disposal of school playing fields, the department would ask for details of local consultation, and how any existing community use of the land would be affected.
Where land is being disposed of, the guidance includes that multi academy trusts must provide “an explanation of how you have assured yourself that the consideration received represents best value” and then clarifies that “best value, in this context, will normally be the best price reasonably obtainable in the market or the open market value, but may, exceptionally, include other benefits which can be assessed in monetary terms”. Social and environmental well-being can therefore be factored into an assessment of value for a disposal, depending on the circumstances.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on the number of Regulation 261 compensation claims that were wrongly rejected by airlines in each of the past 5 years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The assessment of compensation claims is a matter for airlines. The Department does not collect data on individual claims and therefore does not hold data on the number of compensation claims made under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (‘Regulation 261’) or the outcome of those claims.
Where a claim for compensation is rejected, CAA guidance states that airlines should clearly set out the reasons for that decision.
Passengers who disagree with an airline's compensation decision may escalate their complaint to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, where the airline is a member, or to the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) where the airline is not a member.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications (i) are currently under consideration and have been so for more than (ii) six months, (iii) twelve months and (iv) twenty four months.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The majority of visa applications are decided within published processing times. Further information on the visa processing times: applications inside and outside the UK is available at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK which is regularly updated.
All visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and some cases require longer consideration, for example where further information is required before a decision can be made. Where this is the case, applicants are contacted to advise them that their application is taking longer than the published processing time.
If an application has exceeded the published processing time and the applicant has not been contacted, they are advised to seek assistance through https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk .
Statistics on UK Visas and Immigration applications are published in table VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress on GOV.UK in the publication 'Visas, status and immigration data: April to June 2026', as part of the Migration Transparency Data. The information displayed goes back to 2019.
The VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress data table provides data on the volume of overseas and in-country applications received and output for each route, performance against service standards for each route, and the number of applications that remain outstanding (work in progress).
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what service standards apply to visa applications when repeated enquiries fail to produce a substantive response.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The majority of visa applications are decided within published processing times. Further information on the visa processing times: applications inside and outside the UK is available at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK which is regularly updated.
All visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and some cases require longer consideration, for example where further information is required before a decision can be made. Where this is the case, applicants are contacted to advise them that their application is taking longer than the published processing time.
If an application has exceeded the published processing time and the applicant has not been contacted, they are advised to seek assistance through https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk .
Statistics on UK Visas and Immigration applications are published in table VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress on GOV.UK in the publication 'Visas, status and immigration data: April to June 2026', as part of the Migration Transparency Data. The information displayed goes back to 2019.
The VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress data table provides data on the volume of overseas and in-country applications received and output for each route, performance against service standards for each route, and the number of applications that remain outstanding (work in progress).
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration has been given to introducing a limit on the length of time a visa application may remain under consideration.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The majority of visa applications are decided within published processing times. Further information on the visa processing times: applications inside and outside the UK is available at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK which is regularly updated.
All visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and some cases require longer consideration, for example where further information is required before a decision can be made. Where this is the case, applicants are contacted to advise them that their application is taking longer than the published processing time.
If an application has exceeded the published processing time and the applicant has not been contacted, they are advised to seek assistance through https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk .
Statistics on UK Visas and Immigration applications are published in table VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress on GOV.UK in the publication 'Visas, status and immigration data: April to June 2026', as part of the Migration Transparency Data. The information displayed goes back to 2019.
The VSI_03 Migration Work-In-Progress data table provides data on the volume of overseas and in-country applications received and output for each route, performance against service standards for each route, and the number of applications that remain outstanding (work in progress).
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award on halving the participation gap in enrichment activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers by 2035.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
For over 70 years the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) has played a significant role in providing young people with enriching activities and enabling young people to learn new skills, develop confidence and make new friends
DCMS provided almost £6 million of funding to the DofE between 2022/23 and 2025/26 and the Department for Education also provided a further £3.4 million as a joint investment. This funded over 50,000 participant places via licences to over 700 settings, including mainstream and SEND/Alternative Provision schools, breaking down barriers for disadvantaged young people. This investment has created a long-term legacy as the DofE will continue to provide training, safeguarding support and resources to licensed organisations..
We continue to work closely with the DofE on enrichment policy, including the new Enrichment Framework. This framework supports schools and colleges in developing strategic and intentional enrichment offers for all students. The DofE aligns with this framework, contributing to our ambition to halve the participation gap in enrichment activities for disadvantaged young people.