Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential of out-of-home delivery collection points to reduce the carbon footprint of home deliveries in the last-mile logistics sector.

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

The Department for Transport has not made an assessment relating to out-of-home delivery collection points and associated carbon footprint reductions.

Tackling emissions from the freight sector, including last-mile deliveries, will support Government to make Britain a clean energy superpower and to meet the UK’s net zero commitments.

We have recently confirmed that zero emission vans will continue to receive a grant for the 2025/26 financial year worth up to £5,000 depending on the model.

The Department is currently consulting on proposals to reduce regulatory burdens for businesses operating zero emission vans (closes 3 March). This includes vehicles that may be used for last-mile deliveries and seeks views on measures to make it easier to use these vehicles in place of existing fossil fuel vans. The Government is also making it easier to switch to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), by laying legislation on 25 February to amend driving licence rules for heavier ZEVs in line with their petrol and diesel equivalents. Subject to parliamentary approval, this change is expected to come into force in spring.

In addition, through the Freight Innovation Fund the Government has supported EAV Ltd, a UK based SME, to undertake a large-scale trial of its e-cargo bike offer supporting the decarbonisation of last-mile deliveries.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February to Question 29060 on Electric Bicycles: Accidents, whether she plans to require police forces to report on the number of accidents involving an e-bike.

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

Road injury collisions are reported to the Department by the police via a system known as STATS19. While there are no current plans to require forces to identify e-bikes within STATS19, the system is periodically reviewed to ensure that the collection remains relevant while managing reporting burdens for police forces. The identification of collisions involving e-bikes will be considered as part of the next such review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to notify eligible Ukrainians on the Ukrainian Permission Extension scheme.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

To promote and raise awareness of the Ukraine Permission Extention scheme, the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), alongside trusted partners, have run 9 community outreach events in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. The department also engaged directly with stakeholders who have close links to the Ukrainian diaspora in the UK.

This is supported by online guidance published on Gov.uk.

We continue to explore further engagement opportunities where applicable.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for passports for children born outside the UK.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost

Where no further information is required, His Majesty's Passport Office advises that British passport applications from the UK will normally take around three weeks. This includes applications for children, whether they were born in the UK or overseas.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will launch a consultation on extending the eligibility for the Elizabeth Emblem medal to people who are left severely injured and medically retired in the course of undertaking eligible public service.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The government recognises the invaluable contribution of emergency service workers to the people of the United Kingdom. Those that lose their lives as a result of their duties are now rightly honoured with the award of the Elizabeth Emblem.

There are no current plans to alter the eligibility criteria for the Elizabeth Emblem along the lines suggested. The Government is happy to consider the case for any new medal or award, subject to comprehensive assessment across relevant departments. We continue to recognise the outstanding achievements of emergency service colleagues through both our existing honours and gallantry systems, and we would encourage people to make nominations.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who complete the Professional Qualification in Probation then receive one of their preferred work placements as a qualified Probation Officer.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The allocation of trainee Probation Officers (PQIPs) into their first Probation Officer role as a Newly Qualified Officer is completed locally by the Probation Region. We do not hold data on this centrally to share. PQIPs are asked to identify three Probation Delivery Unit preferences and to note any personal circumstances that they would like to be considered. Whilst allocations must be completed in accordance with business need, individual preferences are always considered and as far as possible are granted. Any allocations will always take into account existing policy such as travel and subsistence.

As of Spring 2025, a new, automated system will be used to manage Newly Qualified Officer allocations which will improve efficiency of the process.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow opposite sex civil partners to convert their partnerships into a marriage without requiring a dissolution order.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

In 2019, when civil partnerships were made available for opposite-sex couples in England and Wales, the Government ran a public consultation on the future of conversion rights between marriage and civil partnerships for both opposite and same-sex couples in England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/civil-partnerships-next-steps-and-consultation-on-conversion#:~:text=We%20are%20seeking%20views%20on,be%20brought%20to%20an%20end

This Government is considering all options, and we will update the House in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing DBS checks that are portable for an individual applicant rather than an organisation.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

A DBS certificate is sent directly to the applicant only. Where an individual applies for another role within the same workforce which is eligible and requires the same type of DBS check, they may use their existing certificate if the employer is content to accept it. In this context, it is the employer’s decision whether to use an existing certificate or to request a new one.

The DBS Update Service, launched in June 2013, supports the portability of an individual’s certificate by ensuring the information is up to date. Once an individual joins the Update Service, they are able to keep their certificate up to date by giving employers permission to check if anything has changed on their certificate, as long as the role is in the same workforce and eligible for the same level of check as the existing certificate.

The Update service allows existing and new employers to undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates with the individual’s consent, thus saving time and money. The applicant would only need to obtain a new certificate in cases where there has been a change in recorded information, or in cases where they need to apply for a different type of criminal record check. The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January to Question 25639 on Surrogacy, whether he plans to respond to the Law Commission’s report on surrogacy in this Parliament.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health will be writing to the chairs of the Law Commissions of England and Wales and Scotland shortly, to follow up their meeting on 5 November.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2024 to Question 8712 on Animal Welfare, what steps he plans to take to help improve animal welfare.

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

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. In our manifesto we laid out that we will ban trail hunting, ban the importation of hunting trophies, end puppy smuggling and farming and ban the use of snare traps.

The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Bertin Review will consider the differences between the online and offline regulation of pornographic content.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Independent Pornography Review assessed the effectiveness of current pornography legislation, regulation and enforcement. This included considering the difference in regulation for pornography online versus ‘offline’.

The Review has now concluded, and the report has been published. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creating-a-safer-world-the-challenge-of-regulating-online-pornography.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for new-born out of country passport applications.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost

The published processing guidance for children by country of application is identical for all persons applying from that country who are under 16 years old.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 25911 on Fractures: Health Services, if he will set targets for making fracture liaison services available for all NHS trusts.

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

Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are a globally recognised care model and can reduce the risk of refracture for people at risk of osteoporosis by up to 40%. They can play a vital role in improving quality of life and increasing the number of years that can be lived in good health.

We remain committed to rolling out FLS across every part of the country by 2030. Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.

In the meantime, we are investing in 14 high-tech DEXA scanners, which are expected to provide an extra 29,000 scans to ensure that people with bone conditions get diagnosed earlier.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who complete the Professional Qualification in Probation remain in the Probation Service for at least five years after qualifying.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

There were 648 staff who completed their Professional Qualification in Probation (PQIP) qualification between January 2018 and December 2019. 571 (88%) of these could be matched to subsequent HMPPS employment records. 415 (73%) of those that could be matched were still employed by the Probation Service 5 years after they completed their course. A further 32 (6%) were still employed within HMPPS but had moved outside of the Probation Service.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of times Capita has made overpayments in relation to (a) tax-free lump sums and (b) regular pension payments for people taking their pension benefits from the Royal Mail Statutory Pensions Scheme following a calculation error in each year since 2018.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Capita, the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme administrator, has made the following overpayments:

Capita has carried out several data correction exercises which required member benefits to be rectified. These data exercises account for the increased number of overpayments in certain years.

The earliest data Capita holds is from March 2019.

In terms of support, Capita contacts all impacted members and provides a full update including the reason for the overpayment and the corrective action that will take place. All members are encouraged to contact the Capita team to discuss the error and agree on the appropriate recovery actions. Where possible a repayment timeline will be agreed directly with the member which will consider their personal circumstances and affordability. Members are also guided through the review process that they can follow and are kept informed of any decisions made during this process and the next steps that are available to them.

There is a robust process in place to manage the performance of this contract.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on rent increases for those shared ownership properties not purchased from a registered social landlord.

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

The government requires that all leases for shared ownership properties funded with government grant, regardless of whether the shared ownership provider is a registered social landlord, must include a clause limiting rent increases to a maximum of RPI +0.5% for leases prior to October 2023, or CPI +1% for leases from October 2023.

Convoy of Hope partnership for Ukraine

Mobile phone usage in schools

Treatment of Israeli hostages

West Bank

Changes to Overseas Development Assistance

Regional Inequalities in energy pricing

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