Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to (a) help improve road infrastructure and (b) tackle traffic congestion around the Nantwich Bypass.

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

It is the responsibility of the local transport authority to determine investment priorities for its transport network. The Nantwich Bypass (A51/A500) is a local highway and therefore falls under the jurisdiction Cheshire East Council, the local highway authority. In 2025/26, Cheshire East Council will receive a share of the £1.6 billion in capital funding for local highways maintenance, amounting to £21 million (£15.5 million baseline funding and £5.5 million in new funding).

Cheshire East Council will also receive a share of the £650 million-plus funding for local transport announced in the Autumn Budget 2024. This funding aims to support everyday journeys and improve transport connections in our towns, villages, and rural areas, as well as in our major cities.

Future funding beyond 2025/26 will be considered as part of the multi-year spending review in the spring, aligned with the government's new Integrated Transport Strategy, ensuring we are taking decisions in the long-term interests of the country.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the Land Registry’s backlog.

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

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 23772 on 27 January 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the newly built homes her Department is planning will be smaller than (a) three and (b) four bedrooms in the next four years.

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

As set out in Chapter 5 of the National Planning Policy Framework, it is for each local authority to assess the size, types and tenures of new housing needed for different groups in the community, and reflect this in their Local Plans.

As such, the size and type of new homes securing approval will depend on policies in the adopted Local Plan, and on the decisions the authority makes about individual planning proposals

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to ensure the Integrated Transport Strategy prioritises road safety.

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

The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published this year and set the long-term vision for transport in England, recognising the key role transport must play in driving growth and opportunities. The exact scope of the Strategy is being developed through a series of engagement activities that include a Call for Ideas and Regional Roadshows, but we will look at all modes to understand how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve its users.

Improving road safety is one of my highest priorities. Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Department is developing a road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the consequences will be for landlords who do not raise their EPC rating to C when it is unfeasible to do so.

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

The Government is currently consulting on raising minimum energy efficiency standards to EPC C or equivalent. Current regulations already include a number of available exemptions and we are looking to ensure appropriate exemptions are in place for any new standards. The consultation also sets out proposals about maximum non-compliance fines where no valid exemption applies.

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 help ensure that research into long-COVID is adequately funded.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long COVID.

We are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. We recently held a roundtable on long COVID research on 17 October 2025, led by the Minister responsible for long COVID and co-hosted with the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Lucy Chappell.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to inform members of the teachers pension scheme who are in (a) final salary and (b) career average schemes of their right to retire at 55.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The administrator for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme provides a new starter guide for all new members. The guide can be accessed here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/guides/new-starter-guide-2024.ashx?rev=9c420691700a46cf9d6661890f310aa3&hash=C05F7D56649239746FC32D1E56A96E62.

Page 7 of the guide explains that retirement benefits can be taken from age 55. The department is considering the impacts of the increase to Normal Minimum Pension Age from April 2028 and will communicate any resulting changes to those affected as soon as this is determined.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential contribution of cash ISAs to the economy.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.

The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide.

The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure students who would have benefitted from the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme are still provided with the same opportunities they may have otherwise had.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to ensuring all children and young people have a strong foundation in mathematics, both so they can thrive in the modern economy, and also so that they can understand and participate in modern society to the greatest extent, regardless of background and socioeconomic status. Additionally, advanced mathematics underpins the development of cutting edge artificial intelligence, which my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has set out as a key driver in the Plan for Change, helping to turbocharge growth and boost living standards.

The Advanced Maths Support programme (AMSP) is a government funded programme that has a positive impact on mathematics education across England. The department is currently examining additional and alternative options which would support provision for advanced mathematics.

The department continues to work closely with the AMSP supplier, Mathematics in Education and Industry, to ensure high quality professional development and support remains available to schools and colleges so that all students, regardless of background, can access high-quality level 3 mathematics education. This includes improving level 3 mathematics teaching and providing alternative tuition for level 3 further mathematics students, to increase participation and attainment in advanced mathematics and removing barriers of social injustice.

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Found: Apsana Begum Clive Lewis James Naish Cat Eccles Adrian Ramsay Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith

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Found: Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Apsana Begum Clive Lewis James Naish Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith

Found: Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Apsana Begum Clive Lewis James Naish Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith

Found: Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Apsana Begum Clive Lewis James Naish Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith

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Found: Maskell John McDonnell Mary Kelly Foy Kim Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith

Found: Maskell John McDonnell Mary Kelly Foy Kim Johnson Bell Ribeiro-Addy Maya Ellis Imran Hussain Connor Naismith