Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on the research into the decline in road adoption rates across England; and when she expects to publish the findings of that research.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is continuing its dedicated research into the decline in road adoption rates across England. This includes gathering evidence from local highway authorities and wider stakeholders to understand current challenges and assess options to improve and streamline the adoption process. The findings from this work will inform any future policy or legislative considerations. We expect to publish the findings later this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen protections for freeholders living on estates with unadopted roads; and to help ensure developers and utilities providers act quickly to make roads and estates safe.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce measures for tracking spoken language skills alongside existing literacy assessments.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department recognises the importance of speaking and listening skills, which has been very clearly set out by the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review. As part of our English curriculum reform, we will make sure that communication skills inherent in curriculum subjects are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will revise the English and drama programmes of study to add more clarity and specificity in speaking and listening, as well as ensuring that the reformed English language GCSE focusses on the features and use of language as a form of communication.

We will also create a new oracy framework to sit alongside the national curriculum that will support primary teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers. We will also publish a combined secondary oracy, reading and writing framework that brings together guidance on these topics, to support teachers to connect and use all three in their teaching and to embed literacy and oracy across the entire curriculum as part of a whole school strategy. We will consider assessment approaches as part of this.

We want a record 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028. To achieve this, children will need to meet the Communication and Language Early Learning Goals.

Workers Memorial Day

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Rushanara Ali; David Baines; Lee Barron;

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); David Baines; Lee Barron; Johanna Baxter