Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the cycle to work scheme available to people who are self-employed.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Cycle to Work scheme is a benefit-in-kind provided by employers to their employees. A benefit-in-kind is a form of non-cash remuneration provided by employers to their employees. Income tax and National Insurance contribution relief is provided on the scheme to both employers and their employees via salary sacrifice arrangements. As a result, the scheme is not open to the self-employed, who are not eligible for salary sacrifice.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing introducing compulsory first aid training for teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The provision of first aid training is a matter for early years, schools and colleges as employers who are best placed to make decisions about the training and development required to meet the needs of their staff and pupils.
The department publishes guidance to support settings to carry out their duties relating to first aid issues both on their premises and off-site.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken by the Building Safety Regulator to process (a) applications and (b) approvals on levels of employment in the construction sector.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department recognises the importance of Gateway 2 approvals to the supply of new homes and the construction sector.
That is why the government announced in June 2025 changes to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). These reforms include delivering operational improvements in the BSR which will allow decisions on applications submitted to the BSR to be made more quickly. The department will continue to work with the BSR to deliver further improvements in its performance in the short and medium term.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the hospitality sector with increased employment costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector across the UK.
The UK hospitality sector is largely made up of small businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year.
To reduce wider burdens for the hospitality sector, we have also established the Licensing Taskforce and will call for evidence on a National Licensing Policy Framework which will set out national direction for licensing authorities to consider economic growth and cultural value. In addition, the English Devolution Bill will protect businesses from upward only rent clauses, and we are introducing a strong new ‘Community Right to Buy’ to help communities safeguard valued community assets.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the Holiday activities and food programme after 31 March 2026.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bristol North East to the answer of 3 October 2025 to Question 73205.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of taking (a) one and (b) two week holidays with family during school term time on the long-term educational performance of primary school children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Research by the Children’s Commissioner in 2023 found that any amount of term-time holiday is associated with lower GCSE results. This research is accessible here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2023/11/CC-REPORT-_-Attendance-and-Attainment-_-Oct-23.pdf.
Recent research conducted by the department in 2025 found that at both key stage 2 and key stage 4, attending an extra two weeks of school is associated with a 30% higher chance of achieving the expected outcome at key stage 2 and a 10% higher chance at key stage 4. This research is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c96d7dd0fba2f1334cf2ed/The_link_between_attendance_and_attainment_in_an_assessment_year_-_March_2025.pdf.
Absence does not just affect the child missing school, it also increases teacher workload. Research published by the National Foundation for Educational Research in 2019 shows that school absence disrupts learning for the whole class. The research is accessible here: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594391.pdf.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 children nearing the end of life can access palliative care at home.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.
To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance requires ICBs to work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. This funding will also help to develop and better outreach services to support people in their own homes when needed.
Additionally, we are providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.
I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, including services provided at, or closer to, home, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. It is our intention to work together with stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need, in the right place, at the right time, at the end of life.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to support children with complex needs whose therapeutic support requirements exceed the maximum funding available for each child specified in the guidance entitled Adoption and special guardianship support fund, last updated on 24 April 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bristol North East to the answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53958.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the treatment of UK citizens detained at foreign airports.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is contactable 24/7 to provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad. Our assistance services are set out on gov.uk, including the help we can give when a British national is detained overseas. We take all reports of mistreatment seriously, and with the individual's consent we raise such incidents with the local authorities.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the likely readiness of hydrogen-powered aircrafts for commercial use at the planned completion of the expansion of Heathrow Airport; and what steps her Department is taking to align aviation decarbonisation initiatives with future airport infrastructure developments.
Answered by Mike Kane
The government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission aircraft using hydrogen could provide. However, construction and operational timelines of any Heathrow Airport expansion remain a matter for the scheme promoter.
The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, climate and environmental obligations. The government will set out detail on plans for meeting legislated carbon budgets later this year, including for aviation.
Also, the Jet Zero Taskforce, convening representatives from government, industry, and academia, has established a dedicated Task and Finish Group to review barriers to the commercial operation of zero-carbon hydrogen aircraft.