Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 the allocation process for newly qualified doctors in the Foundation Programme is accessible for applicants with disabilities and long‑term health conditions; and whether he is taking steps to review how reasonable adjustments are assessed and applied within that process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England recognises the specific challenges that some applicants face, and the UK Foundation Programme runs a process to accommodate the needs of applicants with exceptional circumstances.
The pre-allocation process allows applicants with a health condition or disability who have an absolute requirement to continue receiving specialist healthcare treatment and ongoing follow-up for the condition in a specific location to apply for a foundation school in that area. All pre-allocation requests are reviewed so that the process is as fair and transparent as possible.
All applicants for the Foundation Programme must also complete a Transfer of Information Guidance form which helps foundation schools identify any support or adjustments needed for doctors with health conditions or disabilities.
If necessary, doctors with a health condition or disability may additionally apply for a transfer to a specific foundation school once allocated, as part of the Inter-foundation School Transfer process.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of youth inactivity; and what steps he is taking to increase participation in education, employment and training among young people.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve. Under the last government, between 2021 and 2024, the number of young people not in education, employment or training increased by 250,000. The latest figures show the proportion of 16-24 year-olds that are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is 12.8% (1 in 8), up 0.1% points on the quarter and down 0.4% points on the year.
This Government has recently announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking the total investment to £2.5 billion over the next three years though the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres. The Gateway will provide 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit a dedicated session and follow-up support to help them move into work, training or education.
This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training, including up to 150,000 work experience placements and up to 145,000 employer designed training opportunities, such as Sector based Work Academy Programmes, which offer participants a guaranteed job interview at the end.
In addition, the Government is taking action to support employers to recruit and train young people, helping to unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities. This includes a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who hire 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small and medium sized employers hiring 16–24-year-old, and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.
The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.
Together these measures demonstrate the Government’s commitment to backing young people, supporting employers, and working with partners across Great Britain to create clear pathways into employment and education for young people.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of investment‑market volatility on retirees using income drawdown arrangements; and if she will conduct a review of (a) pension provider fee structures, particularly charging full management fees during periods of negative fund performance and (b) the adequacy of safeguards for retirees who are reliant on drawdown income.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Individuals do face both investment and longevity risk in today’s Defined Contribution pension landscape, That can include investment risk during retirement. The government is acting to help savers manage these risk, including via the introduction of default pensions through the Pension Schemes Bill. This will ensure that savers in workplace defined contribution schemes have a default solution in place for retirement, helping secure a sustainable income in later life. Trustees and providers will need to consider how the solution they put in place help protect individuals from investment and longevity risks.
FCA rules already require drawdown providers to provide annual statements to consumers which contain enough information for them to review their position. This ensures that consumers can make choices regarding their drawdown arrangements on an informed basis.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to identify and close remaining loopholes in the UK’s sanctions and maritime regulatory regime that allow UK linked shipping companies or insurers to support the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas, whether directly or indirectly.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 5 February 2026 to Question 109565. Since then, the UK has sanctioned a further 6 targets in Russia’s Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) industry including ships, traders and Russia’s Portovaya and Vysotsk terminals responsible for exporting Russian LNG, as part of our most recent sanctions package announced on 24 February 2026.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to regulate the domestic heating‑oil industry; and what steps he is taking to ensure that households, particularly off‑grid rural households, are protected from price surges.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government intends to strengthen consumer protections in the domestic heating‑oil market, informed by the Competition and Markets Authority’s ongoing examination of the sector, which it announced on 20 March. The CMA also announced on 11 March that it is moving quickly to get to the bottom of troubling reports from heating oil customers about cancelled orders and sudden price increases. In parallel, the Government has made available £53M to support low-income families who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help mitigate changes in construction costs and land prices linked to anticipated HS2 development in Crewe; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those changes on local public projects.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Northern Growth Strategy, the government set out its intention to ultimately deliver a North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester. This is not a reinstatement of HS2 and the government is yet to determine exactly what will be delivered and to what specification. Significant further work is required to develop plans before such decisions are made. We will engage with stakeholders, including Local Authorities, as this work takes place.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential combined impact of the 2025 Budget announcement introducing pay per mile charges on electric vehicles, particularly its effect on consumer demand for EVs, and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate on manufacturers; and what steps her Department is taking to balancing these measures to support businesses in the automotive supply chain.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers.
The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers.
Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at Budget 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs. To support manufacturers and the automotive sector supply chain, the Government announced an extension of funding for the Drive 35 (Driving Research & Investment in Vehicle Electrification) programme and a delay to proposed changes to Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS) alongside transitional arrangements.
As set out by the OBR, the estimated net impact of eVED and other Budget measures, including the ECG and ECS, is 120,000 fewer new EV sales across the forecast period. This is against a baseline which assumes EV sales more than triple from 2025-26 levels by 2030-31, which means the net impact of eVED represents only 2% of total new EV sales in the period.
The Government has set out expected impacts from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to increase defence spending alongside a reduction in the international aid budget on spending priorities for global development objectives and international commitments.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the impact of those allocation decisions. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on reducing litter as part of delivering a circular economy; when her Department plans to publish the Circular Economy Strategy, including proposals for litter prevention and the reduction of litter related waste; and what steps her Department is taking through that Strategy to reduce reliance on overseas processing of waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a local issue. The role of central Government is to enable and support local action by providing a clear legal framework of rights and responsibilities and setting national standards. Local councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against littering offenders. Anyone caught littering may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court. Alternatively, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500. To support local councils to make good use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences we have laid new Statutory Guidance, Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them, in Parliament. Local authorities will need to have regard to this guidance when using their powers, which is available at: Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them - GOV.UK
We have also laid the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse statutory guidance in Parliament which outlines the standards expected of local authorities and other duty bodies (e.g. National Highways) with regards to their duty to keep their land clear of litter and refuse. This guidance can be found on: Code of practice on litter and refuse - GOV.UK
This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. This systemic change, with investment in green jobs and vital infrastructure, builds a path to economic growth, progress towards Net Zero, restoration of nature, and a more resilient economy.
We intend to publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. The Plan will set out the biggest opportunities to support growth in sectors right across the economy, including: agri-food; built environment; chemicals and plastics; electrical and electronic equipment; textiles; and transport.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what additional powers, resources and funding her Department plans to provide to local authorities to support enforcement, prevention and community-led initiatives to reduce littering ahead of the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme in 2027.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities already have powers to take enforcement action against littering offenders. Anyone caught littering may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, local authorities may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500. Local authorities also have powers to issue a civil penalty to the keeper of a vehicle from which litter has been thrown. This helps them respond to littering incidents when they cannot identify the specific individual who dropped litter from a vehicle.
To support local authorities to make good use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences, which will reduce littering, we have laid new Statutory Guidance, Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them, in Parliament. Local authorities will need to have regard to this guidance when using their powers. The guidance is available: Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them - GOV.UK
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be issuing a small grant payment to local authorities in England to support them to familiarise themselves with the Litter Enforcement Guidance.
We have also laid the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse statutory guidance in parliament which outlines the standards expected of local authorities and other duty bodies (e.g. National Highways) with regards to their duty to keep their land clear of litter and refuse. The guidance can be found on: Code of practice on litter and refuse - GOV.UK