Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has considered the impact of rising costs on growth in the hospitality sector, including (a) constraints on existing businesses expanding and (b) deterrence of new entrants, in its projections of tax revenues under current VAT levels.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the hospitality sector’s vital contribution to jobs, communities, and local economies across the UK. Given the sector’s seasonal and flexible nature, changes in trading patterns may reflect wider economic conditions and consumer demand. The Government monitors the sector closely, engages regularly with businesses, and considers potential economic impacts during policy development, publishing Tax Information and Impact Notes where appropriate.

The Government has announced a range of measures to support employment in hospitality businesses. It is investing £2.5 billion over three years in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, helping deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. The Employment Allowance was increased to £10,500 and businesses can claim employer NICs reliefs for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered the potential impact of reduced economic activity arising from hospitality businesses operating under limited hours due to increased staffing costs in fiscal projections.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the hospitality sector’s vital contribution to jobs, communities, and local economies across the UK. Given the sector’s seasonal and flexible nature, changes in trading patterns may reflect wider economic conditions and consumer demand. The Government monitors the sector closely, engages regularly with businesses, and considers potential economic impacts during policy development, publishing Tax Information and Impact Notes where appropriate.

The Government has announced a range of measures to support employment in hospitality businesses. It is investing £2.5 billion over three years in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, helping deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. The Employment Allowance was increased to £10,500 and businesses can claim employer NICs reliefs for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if the Government will review housing allocation guidance to ensure that children diagnosed with conditions such as precocious puberty are supported with respect to policies that use age-based criteria for bedroom entitlement, in cases where medical evidence demonstrates a requirement for separate sleeping accommodation on grounds of privacy, dignity and wellbeing.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the hon. Member to Question UIN 117189 answered on 10 March 2026.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the suspension of funding for the Warm Homes Plan on households that had been (a) approved and (b) offered support but were unable to receive the planned works; and whether he plans to (i) reinstate funding for the scheme and (ii) provide alternative funding arrangements to ensure that those households can access energy efficiency and home improvement measures.

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

Funding for the Warm Homes Plan has not been suspended. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) has been extended to 31 December 2026 to allow energy suppliers additional time to complete remediation and their existing obligations.

Support for eligible households will continue through the Warm Homes Plan, including £1.5 billion additional grant funding for energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating, delivered through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes. The government has no plans to reinstate ECO4 and is instead delivering a long-term successor offer through the Warm Homes Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing powers available to airlines and other agencies to prevent and respond to disruptive behaviour by airline passengers; and whether her Department has plans to introduce further measures, including arrangements for information-sharing between airlines.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK has robust laws in place that prohibit disruptive behaviour on an aircraft, this can result in fines and prison sentences.

Air carriers have the right to refuse to carry passengers they consider to be a potential risk to the safety of the aircraft, passengers or crew, and under their terms and conditions can ban passengers from future travel on their airline, either for a specified time or indefinitely.

Disruptive and unruly behaviour whilst travelling by air is completely unacceptable. Government is committed to continuing to work with industry to ensure that the travelling environment for air passengers and staff remains safe and enjoyable.

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 extent to which homelessness affects access to elective and planned medical procedures; and what steps his Department is taking, including in collaboration with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure that patients are not prevented from receiving necessary treatment due to a lack of suitable accommodation for recovery.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Ill health can be both a cause and consequence of homelessness; the health and wellbeing of people who experience homelessness are poorer than the general population and people who have experienced rough sleeping die decades sooner than those who have not. We recognise the importance of understanding how housing insecurity can affect health outcomes and access to care and are working to tackle these and all other health inequalities including through our 10-Year Health Plan.

No one eligible for homelessness assistance should be discharged to the street after a hospital stay, as outlined in the Government's National Plan to End Homelessness and our published guidance, Discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. To help make this happen, every acute hospital has access to a multidisciplinary care transfer hub to manage the discharge of people with more complex needs. These teams work together to plan a person’s discharge, so their health and care needs as well as housing situation are all considered, and the right support is in place when they leave hospital. We are also working with councils and integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve how existing funding streams can be used to fund intermediate care services tailored for those experiencing homelessness, to improve continuity of care and access to post-discharge rehabilitation, recovery and reablement. We are working very closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in this area.

Public bodies specified under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 including hospitals, emergency departments and social services have a duty to refer service users who they think may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to local authority homelessness/housing options teams. To build on this, the Government is committing to a new Duty to Collaborate which will strengthen and improve co-operation, early identification and information sharing between health, housing, and social care services.

NHS England recommends consideration of specialist intermediate care pathways for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness; this is set out in the guidance, Intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge.

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the extent to which homelessness affects access to elective and planned medical procedures. We are seeking to improve data collection in this area, however. As part of the Government’s plan, Reforming Elective Care for Patients, NHS England's plan to reform elective services, ICBs and National Health Service providers is expected to improve the completeness and accuracy of coding and recording practices, including housing status coding, through the use of relevant SNOMED codes, a standardised clinical coding system used in health records. NHS England's Statement on information on health inequalities also reiterates the expectation that ICBs, trusts and foundation trusts should consider how recording housing status can support the upstream identification of health inequalities, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on integrated health and care for people experiencing homelessness.

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 ensure that patients experiencing homelessness are able to access planned medical treatment, including surgery, where a lack of stable accommodation may otherwise prevent procedures from going ahead; and whether he has assessed the impact of housing insecurity on patients being delayed or excluded from non-emergency care.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Ill health can be both a cause and consequence of homelessness; the health and wellbeing of people who experience homelessness are poorer than the general population and people who have experienced rough sleeping die decades sooner than those who have not. We recognise the importance of understanding how housing insecurity can affect health outcomes and access to care and are working to tackle these and all other health inequalities including through our 10-Year Health Plan.

No one eligible for homelessness assistance should be discharged to the street after a hospital stay, as outlined in the Government's National Plan to End Homelessness and our published guidance, Discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. To help make this happen, every acute hospital has access to a multidisciplinary care transfer hub to manage the discharge of people with more complex needs. These teams work together to plan a person’s discharge, so their health and care needs as well as housing situation are all considered, and the right support is in place when they leave hospital. We are also working with councils and integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve how existing funding streams can be used to fund intermediate care services tailored for those experiencing homelessness, to improve continuity of care and access to post-discharge rehabilitation, recovery and reablement. We are working very closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in this area.

Public bodies specified under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 including hospitals, emergency departments and social services have a duty to refer service users who they think may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to local authority homelessness/housing options teams. To build on this, the Government is committing to a new Duty to Collaborate which will strengthen and improve co-operation, early identification and information sharing between health, housing, and social care services.

NHS England recommends consideration of specialist intermediate care pathways for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness; this is set out in the guidance, Intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge.

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the extent to which homelessness affects access to elective and planned medical procedures. We are seeking to improve data collection in this area, however. As part of the Government’s plan, Reforming Elective Care for Patients, NHS England's plan to reform elective services, ICBs and National Health Service providers is expected to improve the completeness and accuracy of coding and recording practices, including housing status coding, through the use of relevant SNOMED codes, a standardised clinical coding system used in health records. NHS England's Statement on information on health inequalities also reiterates the expectation that ICBs, trusts and foundation trusts should consider how recording housing status can support the upstream identification of health inequalities, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on integrated health and care for people experiencing homelessness.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many defendants have successfully used the defence of automatism in cases arising from road traffic collisions in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the impact of those cases on victims and their families.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on defendants dealt with at criminal courts in England and Wales for a variety of offences including road traffic offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

However, information is not centrally held on the specific legal defences raised or successfully relied upon by defendants in criminal proceedings arising from road traffic collisions.

The Government recognises the profound impact and trauma experienced by victims and their families as a result of fatal or serious road traffic collisions. The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific assessment of the impact on victims and their families in cases where a defendant has raised or relied upon the defence of automatism.

In its 14^th Programme of Law Reform, the Law Commission will consider – as part of its review of the law of insanity - the circumstances in which a person should not be criminally liable because of a mental condition at the time of an alleged offence. This will include consideration of the relationship between insanity and automatism.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the business case for the HS2 link between Birmingham and Crewe, and if she will publish an update on the economic, connectivity and regional growth merits considered as part of that assessment.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Northern Growth Strategy set out the Government’s long-term intention to build a new line between Birmingham and Manchester, following the delivery of HS2 Phase One and Northern Powerhouse Rail. We are learning lessons from HS2 and undertaking further feasibility work to assess in detail the wider economic benefits different route options provide. Feasibility work is expected to conclude in 2028.