Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a postgraduate student with a valid Student Visa, who has been asked to leave the UK to apply for an Innovator Founder Visa, would have their Student Visa revoked during the assessment process for an Innovator Founder Visa.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Student visa holders do not need to leave the UK to apply for an Innovator Founder visa, provided they have completed the course they were sponsored to study or, if they are studying for a PhD full-time, they must have been studying for at least 24 months.

Applicants must also meet all relevant eligibility requirements to apply for an Innovator Founder visa (https://www.gov.uk/innovator-founder-visa/eligibility).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether postgraduate students already in the UK on a Student Visa can be exempted for the requirement to apply for an Innovator Founder Visa from outside the country.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Student visa holders do not need to leave the UK to apply for an Innovator Founder visa, provided they have completed the course they were sponsored to study or, if they are studying for a PhD full-time, they must have been studying for at least 24 months.

Applicants must also meet all relevant eligibility requirements to apply for an Innovator Founder visa (https://www.gov.uk/innovator-founder-visa/eligibility).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 16191 on Child Trust Fund, if he will provide an update on the work of the CTF taskforce to improve tracing approaches for unclaimed funds.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Child Trust Fund (CTF) Taskforce has met twice. It brings together Government and industry to improve tracing outcomes and encourage more young people to access their matured CTFs. Providers have shared tracing approaches, and the Taskforce is considering how effective practices can be adopted more widely across the sector. Discussions have also focused on improving engagement with account holders, strengthening communications and developing measures to assess progress. This work is being supported by HMRC research into the barriers that prevent some young people from accessing their accounts.

We cannot estimate the proportion of unclaimed CTF accounts registered to (a) currently and (b) previously looked after young people because the information required to identify these accounts is not included in the statistical returns that HMRC receives from providers. Information on CTFs is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics published on Gov.uk:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 16191 on Child Trust Fund, whether he has made an estimate of the proportion of unclaimed Child Trust Fund accounts registered to (a) currently and (b) previously looked after young people.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Child Trust Fund (CTF) Taskforce has met twice. It brings together Government and industry to improve tracing outcomes and encourage more young people to access their matured CTFs. Providers have shared tracing approaches, and the Taskforce is considering how effective practices can be adopted more widely across the sector. Discussions have also focused on improving engagement with account holders, strengthening communications and developing measures to assess progress. This work is being supported by HMRC research into the barriers that prevent some young people from accessing their accounts.

We cannot estimate the proportion of unclaimed CTF accounts registered to (a) currently and (b) previously looked after young people because the information required to identify these accounts is not included in the statistical returns that HMRC receives from providers. Information on CTFs is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics published on Gov.uk:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2025

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) importation and (b) sale regulations in reducing the illegal use of e-scooters on (i) public roads and (ii) pavements.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All e-scooters sold must comply with government importation and sale requirements, including on product safety.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Market Surveillance Unit carries out surveillance of e-scooter retailers to ensure they are being sold lawfully and to hold online marketplaces to account to prevent the sale of non-compliant or unsafe products, including e-scooters.

Enforcement of road traffic legislation, including offences involving the illegal or irresponsible use of e-scooters, remains a matter for the police.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered the potential merits of giving local authorities discretion to permit more than one Section 16A road closure per road each calendar year.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Where more than one Section 16A application is made in a calendar year for the same stretch of highway, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 states the Secretary of State must approve the closure.

The Government has set out its intention to publish a White Paper which will consider further devolution of decision-making powers and functions in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered the potential merits of amending the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to enable multiple events to be included within a single temporary traffic regulation order for special events.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, multiple events can be included within a single temporary traffic regulation order.

The Government has set out its intention to publish a White Paper which will consider further devolution of decision-making powers and functions in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support police enforcement of illegal e-scooter use.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All e-scooters sold must comply with government importation and sale requirements, including on product safety.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Market Surveillance Unit carries out surveillance of e-scooter retailers to ensure they are being sold lawfully and to hold online marketplaces to account to prevent the sale of non-compliant or unsafe products, including e-scooters.

Enforcement of road traffic legislation, including offences involving the illegal or irresponsible use of e-scooters, remains a matter for the police.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 16191 on Child Trust Fund, whether she has considered the potential merits of requiring social workers with responsibility for looked after young people to provide (a) information and (b) assistance to access unclaimed Child Trust Fund accounts.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

It is important that young people, including looked-after children and care leavers, are able to access financial assets held in their name. Existing statutory guidance already sets out responsibilities for local authorities in relation to Child Trust Funds for looked-after children, including guidance intended for social workers and Independent Reviewing Officers. These arrangements are kept under review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the (a) evidence, (b) analysis and (c) financial modelling underpinning the decision to create four unitary authorities in Hertfordshire.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The proposals and supporting evidence submitted by councils formed the primary basis for assessment, alongside official analysis. Officials drew on sector benchmarking data, evidence from previous reorganisations, Government appraisal guidance and departmental modelling based on published sources. The former Secretary of State considered this material in the round, having regard to all the criteria set out in the invitation and all other relevant information available when reaching his decision on local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire. The Government does not intend to publish the advice and analysis provided to Ministers as part of the decision-making process.

On local government reorganisation more broadly, I refer the Hon. Lady to the Secretary of State’s oral statement on 7 September.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made any assessment of the adequacy of push-fit MDPE water supply piping standards in preventing water leaks in the public water supply network.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside delivering new supply infrastructure. including new reservoirs and water transfers.

Water company Water Resources Management Plans show how companies will close the predicted supply-demand gap, with demand management, including leakage reduction and new water resources infrastructure. The Government has set an interim target to reduce leakage by 30% by 2032, and water companies have committed to halve leakage by 2050.

The Environment Agency has published a summary of water companies’ delivery of their WRMPs, including leakage levels for the 2024/25 period: Water resources 2024 to 2025: analysis of the water industry’s annual water resources performance - GOV.UK

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he raised the case of Jimmy Lai with the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 23 July 2026.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Jimmy Lai's case continues to be a priority for this government. The Foreign Secretary discussed a range of bilateral and international issues with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 23 July, including Mr Lai's ongoing imprisonment. Direct engagement matters because it allows us to raise issues of the utmost importance to the UK and push for progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) longest, (b) shortest and (c) average time taken was from the date an Access to Work application was submitted by teachers to the date a decision was made in 2025-26.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Access to Work does not record application processing information in a way that allows cases to be identified by an individual's job role. As a result, the Department is unable to provide the longest, shortest or average time taken from application to decision for teachers in 2025-26. The processing information across all job roles is:

Shortest duration from application to decision: 1 day

Average duration from application to decision: 100.9 days

Longest duration from application to decision: 755 days

To identify this information would require a manual examination of individual case records and would therefore incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will urgently establish an online support service for teachers to contact his Department about Access to Work changes.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

We are taking steps to make the improvements the Access to Work Scheme requires to ensure that it can deliver a timely, efficient, and value for money service for all customers, including teachers. Reforms are essential to ensure a better service for customers, to help disabled people start and stay in work, to provide clarity in what support should be provided and to ensure we are providing value for money for the taxpayer.

We will continue to work with stakeholders as we begin the next phase of work. Through internal and external stakeholders, we want to connect the expertise of disabled individuals, and those with long-term health conditions, into the design and delivery of health and disability policy. We are keen to ensure Access to Work remains fair and sustainable; Access to Work is critical for the people it supports, so it is important we take the time to get reforms right so we can deliver real improvements.

To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise the small minority of AtW applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks. In 2025, we allocated c. 96% of applications starting work within 4 weeks in 28 days.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with train operating companies about the impact of removing ticket machines from railways stations on the length of ticket queues.

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

The Department engages regularly with Train Operating Companies on ticket retailing provision. Decisions on ticket retailing arrangements are a matter for operators. Where changes are being considered, operators are expected to consider the impacts on passengers, including any potential effects on queuing times, and ensure that appropriate facilities remain available at peak times.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 118642 on Motor Vehicles: Lighting, to provide an update on her department’s engagement with the College of Optometrists about dazzling headlamps.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has completed engagement with the College of Optometrists on headlamp dazzle, and its input helped to better understand some of the issues and inform the second phase of the vehicle lighting glare research. The College raised concerns about the effects of vehicle lighting glare on visual health and road visibility, including for wearers of spectacles and other eyewear, and highlighted the potential relevance of luminance, lens coatings and other optical treatments in glare mitigation.

Second Reading of the Mental Capacity (Duty to Assess) Bill

National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers

Support for hospices

Funding of Jodrell Bank Observatory

Publication of Legal Advice on Local Government Reorganisation