Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the research paper entitled Occupational Incidence of Bladder Cancer Amongst Veteran Ammunition Technicians of the British Army, published on 22 March 2025.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

As the hon. Member will know from my recent answer to Question 47566, Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials reviewed with interest the recent British Journal of Urology International research letter on a potentially increased risk of bladder cancer in military personnel exposed to explosive ordnance. This is a complex scientific area, and the MOD has referred this matter to the Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG) for their independent medical advice. The possible link between exposure to explosives and an increased risk of bladder cancer among military personnel will be discussed by the IMEG at their June 2025 meeting and their advice will inform decisions on next steps.

I can confirm that no discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I am advised there is currently a lack of medical evidence to support screening this population for bladder cancer.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of Health and Social Care on introducing regular health screening programmes for military personnel involved in handling explosive ordnance.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

As the hon. Member will know from my recent answer to Question 47566, Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials reviewed with interest the recent British Journal of Urology International research letter on a potentially increased risk of bladder cancer in military personnel exposed to explosive ordnance. This is a complex scientific area, and the MOD has referred this matter to the Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG) for their independent medical advice. The possible link between exposure to explosives and an increased risk of bladder cancer among military personnel will be discussed by the IMEG at their June 2025 meeting and their advice will inform decisions on next steps.

I can confirm that no discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I am advised there is currently a lack of medical evidence to support screening this population for bladder cancer.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many and what proportion of cases did call outs for urgent repairs for standard family accommodation exceed the 48-hour target in each month since January 2024.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation Contracts stipulate that the average time to undertake an urgent repair should be within 48 hours. Both Amey and VIVO are delivering against this performance measure. This allows for more complex works (e.g those requiring scaffolding) to be undertaken safely and to an agreed quality standard.

During financial year 2024-25, 85% of urgent repairs across the UK were carried out within an average of 48 hours.

The total number of urgent repairs for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and those that exceeded 48 hours can be found in the table below:

The average resolution times for urgent repairs for April is not held and will not be available until end of May 2025.

Information on the total number of hours by which the 48 hour resolution time for call outs for urgent repairs for SFA was exceeded, can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The contractual requirement for Urgent Repair tasks is measured on average hours to respond not total hours. In order to provide this detail, a search of all urgent tasks which exceeded 48 hours would be required.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total number of hours was by which the 48 hours target for call outs for urgent repairs for standard family accommodation was exceeded in each month since January 2024.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation Contracts stipulate that the average time to undertake an urgent repair should be within 48 hours. Both Amey and VIVO are delivering against this performance measure. This allows for more complex works (e.g those requiring scaffolding) to be undertaken safely and to an agreed quality standard.

During financial year 2024-25, 85% of urgent repairs across the UK were carried out within an average of 48 hours.

The total number of urgent repairs for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and those that exceeded 48 hours can be found in the table below:

The average resolution times for urgent repairs for April is not held and will not be available until end of May 2025.

Information on the total number of hours by which the 48 hour resolution time for call outs for urgent repairs for SFA was exceeded, can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The contractual requirement for Urgent Repair tasks is measured on average hours to respond not total hours. In order to provide this detail, a search of all urgent tasks which exceeded 48 hours would be required.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many urgent repairs were requested for standard family accommodation in each month since January 2024.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation Contracts stipulate that the average time to undertake an urgent repair should be within 48 hours. Both Amey and VIVO are delivering against this performance measure. This allows for more complex works (e.g those requiring scaffolding) to be undertaken safely and to an agreed quality standard.

During financial year 2024-25, 85% of urgent repairs across the UK were carried out within an average of 48 hours.

The total number of urgent repairs for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and those that exceeded 48 hours can be found in the table below:

The average resolution times for urgent repairs for April is not held and will not be available until end of May 2025.

Information on the total number of hours by which the 48 hour resolution time for call outs for urgent repairs for SFA was exceeded, can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The contractual requirement for Urgent Repair tasks is measured on average hours to respond not total hours. In order to provide this detail, a search of all urgent tasks which exceeded 48 hours would be required.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many and what proportion of cases did call outs for urgent repairs for standard family accommodation exceed the 48-hour target in the week-commencing 5 May 2025.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The average resolution time for urgent repairs to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) for week commencing 5 May 2025, will not be available until mid-June 2025.

Information on the total number of hours by which the 48-hour target for call outs for urgent repairs for SFA was exceeded, can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The contractual requirement for Urgent Repair tasks is measured on average hours to respond not total hours. In order to provide this detail, a search of all urgent tasks which exceeded 48 hours would be required.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total number of hours was by which the 48 hours target for call outs for urgent repairs for standard family accommodation was exceeded in the week commencing 5 May 2025.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The average resolution time for urgent repairs to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) for week commencing 5 May 2025, will not be available until mid-June 2025.

Information on the total number of hours by which the 48-hour target for call outs for urgent repairs for SFA was exceeded, can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The contractual requirement for Urgent Repair tasks is measured on average hours to respond not total hours. In order to provide this detail, a search of all urgent tasks which exceeded 48 hours would be required.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to expand the designation of vessels considered part of Russia’s shadow fleet to align with (a) the US, (b) Europe and (c) Canada.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This Government has sanctioned 229 oil tankers in Putin's shadow fleet, more than any other partner. On 9 May, we sanctioned 100 oil tankers - our largest single action to date. We work closely with our G7 partners to maximise the impact of our sanctions.

We do not comment on future designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections for billpayers of water services where the agreed environmental standards have not been met.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is strengthening consumer protections by bringing forward secondary legislation to introduce new and increased compensation - double the previous amounts or more - which will be compulsory for water companies to pay customers for poor service, underscoring our commitment to hold companies to account and stand up for consumers. 

Furthermore, our Water (Special Measures) Act delivered on our promise to put water companies under tough special measures, by strengthening regulation as a first legislative step towards improving the sector. As part of the Act, Ofwat has new powers to ban the payment of unfair bonuses if environmental standards are not met.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people receiving Universal Credit have adequate support for accessing (a) employment opportunities and (b) training in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Jobcentre teams work closely with Epsom and Ewell Council, Employers, local colleges and providers to promote employment and training opportunities. The Employment and Partnership Team recently facilitated the Annual Epsom & Ewell Employment Fair with Nescot College, Epsom & Ewell Council and Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership.

The Jobcentre offers Sector Based Work Academy Programmes and Mentoring Circles to give customers the skills to enter employment. Often, customers engage directly with an employer to find out role requirements. For example, working with the Jobcentre, Macro will facilitate a series of Mentoring Circle sessions to help people with mental health impairments move closer to employment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many urgent repairs were requested for standard family accommodation in the week commencing 5 May 2025.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

442 urgent repairs were requested for Service Family Accommodation properties as at noon on 9 May 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication entitled Working together in 2025/26 to lay the foundations for reform, published on 1 April 2025, if he will extend the time in which ICBs have to respond to the Model ICB once it is published.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a critical role to play as strategic commissioners, improving population health, reducing inequalities, and ensuring access to high quality care. NHS England has circulated a draft of The Model ICB - blueprint document to all ICBs, to assist them in shaping their future plans, including which functions they should focus on, as indicated in Sir James Mackey’s letter to the National Health Service trusts, foundation trusts, and ICBs, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/#:~:text=When%20we%20met%20on%2013,the%20last%20few%20tricky%20weeks.

We expect ICBs to adhere to the timelines set out by NHS England on 1 April 2025, to ensure that ICBs are acting as lead strategic commissioners of health and care services and to ensure that cost savings are directed to frontline NHS health and care services.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) improve work coach support and (b) provide tailored employment support for jobseekers.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work. In England, these reforms will include bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.

Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. Providing high-quality personalised support that helps people get into work, support training, and get on at work is a central tenet to the new service.

We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's implementation of the recommendations on stronger clinical leadership and management roles outlined in the paper entitled High Quality Care For All: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report, published in June 2008.

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

There are no current plans to assess implementation of the 2008 High Quality Care for All report.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the National Health Service has strong and effective leadership in place. As Lord Darzi stated in his recent independent report on the NHS in 2024, “the NHS has many strong and capable leaders”, although we know there is more work to do to strengthen NHS leadership. That is why there is a significant programme of work underway to improve NHS management and leadership, including our commitment to establish an NHS College of Executive and Clinical Leadership and to introduce professional standards for, and regulation of, NHS managers. This builds on a wider programme of work being led by NHS England to develop standards, a code of practice, and a curriculum for NHS managers and leaders.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her timeline is for (a) consultation and (b) implementation of the updated Decent Homes Standard.

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

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of qualified medical professionals unable to progress in their training pathways in the most recent period for which figures are available.

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

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. It is not possible, from the data held, to consistently and accurately identify unique applicants, as many applicants will apply to more than one specialty training pathway

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.

Post graduate medical training consists of several different phases of training courses, depending on the speciality choices a doctor makes. After graduating, doctors will typically do a two year foundation programme, followed by speciality training. Speciality training can be a single “run through” programme or can be core training followed by competitive entry into higher speciality training. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/training-doctor

In 2024, there were 59,698 total applications across all medical specialty training pathways in the United Kingdom, for the 12,743 speciality training posts that were available. This data covers all round one and round two specialty training pathway programmes. The Department does not hold information on the number of individual, or unique, applicants that this comprises of in order to make and estimate on the specific progression of medical professionals. The timing of progression, from foundation years training to medical specialty training, will depend on a wide variety of factors, including personal preferences for future specialty training programmes, development of current strengths and skills, personal factors influencing the timing of progression, and the NHS’s demand for specialty training roles.

Once medical professionals have entered a training pathway, progress outcomes within that pathway are collected and reported by the General Medical Council in its Annual Review of Competency Progression reports. This information is available at the following link:

https://edt.gmc-uk.org/progression-reports/arcp

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the Claimant’s costs paid by the NHS in all clinical negligence claims under £25,000 in 2023-24 were (a) legal costs, (b) disbursements and (c) VAT.

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

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the national Health Service in England. The following table shows the total legal costs paid for claimants due to clinical negligence claims closed in the financial year 2023/24, where damages were paid up to £25,000:

Claims closed in 2023/24 will often have been settled in previous years, as costs can take some time to finalise after an agreement on damages. NHSR does not record a breakdown of claimant legal costs between profit costs and disbursements in its claims management system. It also does not record a breakdown for expert fees.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the Claimant’s legal costs paid by the NHS in all clinical negligence claims under £25,000 in 2023-24 were expert fees.

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

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the national Health Service in England. The following table shows the total legal costs paid for claimants due to clinical negligence claims closed in the financial year 2023/24, where damages were paid up to £25,000:

Claims closed in 2023/24 will often have been settled in previous years, as costs can take some time to finalise after an agreement on damages. NHSR does not record a breakdown of claimant legal costs between profit costs and disbursements in its claims management system. It also does not record a breakdown for expert fees.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing fixed recoverable costs in lower-value clinical negligence cases on patients’ access to legal expertise.

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

Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on a wide range of matters relating to clinical negligence reform, and we will announce our position in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data is held by NHS Resolution on the breakdown of Claimant costs in clinical negligence claims under £25,000.

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

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the national Health Service in England. The following table shows the total legal costs paid for claimants due to clinical negligence claims closed in the financial year 2023/24, where damages were paid up to £25,000:

Claims closed in 2023/24 will often have been settled in previous years, as costs can take some time to finalise after an agreement on damages. NHSR does not record a breakdown of claimant legal costs between profit costs and disbursements in its claims management system. It also does not record a breakdown for expert fees.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of energy efficiency measures were funded by the (a) Energy Company Obligation, (b) Great British Insulation Scheme, (c) Home Upgrade Grant, (d) Warm Homes: Local Grant and (e) Warm Homes: Social Grant in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department publishes Household Energy Efficiency Statistics reports which provide detailed breakdowns of measures installed under various government support schemes.

Statistics for 2023 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2023

Statistics for 2024 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2024

The Warm Homes: Local Grant has started delivery this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government's response to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Regulations consultation, published in March 2024, whether the Boiler Upgrade Scheme budget will rise in line with the figures on page 21 for scheme years (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Following the conclusion of the first phase of the Spending Review on 30 October 2024, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has a committed budget of £295 million for this financial year (2025/26).

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a critical element of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan. A decision on funding for 2026/27 onwards will be confirmed as part of the second phase of the multi-year Spending Review, which will conclude in June this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress his Department has made on developing an online consumer advice service for retrofit.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is working to enhance our existing digital consumer advice offer on gov.uk by streamlining services into a single access point for all domestic consumers (homeowners, landlords and tenants. This will simplify the user experience and enable consumer to begin and progress their home upgrade and clean heat journeys. It will bring information, advice, sources of funding and links to trusted installers into one place and will consolidate existing services that enable consumers to create their own energy efficiency action plans and create direct referrals to grant scheme providers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to continue the Energy Company Obligation after April 2026.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We are committed to meeting fuel poverty and Net Zero targets, and we are currently considering what policy mix will best achieve that, including what role energy company obligations should play post-2026. We will ensure that lessons learned from the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) form part of these considerations and that any successor schemes are confirmed once decisions have been made.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department monitors levels of furniture poverty.

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

My Department engages actively with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.

People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.

The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.

The government will consult later this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy companies on policy cost rebalancing on energy bills to incentivise the uptake of low-carbon technologies.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will add young carers to the Daily Attendance reporting programme.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​​​This government is committed to breaking down barriers of opportunity for all young people, including young carers who provide a critical role caring for their loved ones.

Young carers were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. This change has raised both awareness and the profile of young carers in schools by, for the first time, providing hard data on both the numbers of young carers in schools and their education. The number of schools returning data on young carers as part of the census has been low. The last annual spring census showed that 72% of schools did not record any young carers in 2024, which is an improvement on the 79% of schools with zero returns in 2023. The department recognises that this is not good enough, and we hope to see an improvement in coverage and quality in the next spring census, due in June. We will monitor the quality of school census data on young carers for consideration for future inclusion in the daily collection. In the meantime, we are continuing to work closely with the sector to encourage better identification, recording and support for young carers in schools.

​Absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing, including where pupils may have caring responsibilities at home. The department’s statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ takes a ‘support first’ approach where pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking improve training pathways for medical professionals.

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

In February this year, NHS England launched an extensive engagement and listening exercise to help shape the future of postgraduate medical training. The review will hear about best practice, listen to concerns, including issues around training pathways and the capacity, quality, and inclusivity of training, and will explore ideas and thoughts about how postgraduate medical training could evolve for the future. An engagement exercise will run through to June this year, with findings reported in the summer.

To reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of untreated sewage overflows on levels of (a) microplastic, (b) nano plastic and (c) macro plastic pollution in rivers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Tackling marine litter and plastic pollution is a priority for the UK Government, which is why we are working domestically and internationally to implement measures that will prevent plastic and other litter from reaching rivers and ocean in the first place.

As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels through the £22.1 billion Water Industry National Environment Programme. This includes over £11 billion to improve nearly 3000 storm overflows across England and Wales. This will help to reduce discharges of raw sewage which can contain organic pollutants, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, nutrients, and heavy metals, as well as visible litter that is flushed down toilets.

We are also taking forward investigations through the Chemical Investigations Programme, to understand how we can reduce the levels of microplastics entering the water environment through wastewater. Microplastics have been recognised as a significant standalone issue and the water industry are funding six further investigations between 2025 and 2030.

The technology for accurately measuring such small, nanometre-sized particles in complex samples such as river water is scientifically challenging. My officials are maintaining a close watch on emerging scientific evidence reporting the presence of nano plastics and the possible risks which they may pose in the water environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce microplastic pollution from combined sewer outflows.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Tackling marine litter and plastic pollution is a priority for the UK Government, which is why we are working domestically and internationally to implement measures that will prevent macro-sized plastic litter which are sources of microplastics from reaching rivers, seas and the ocean in the first place.

As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels through the £22.1 billion Water Industry National Environment Programme. This includes over £11 billion to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales which OfWat expects will reduce storm overflow discharges by 45% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels. This will help to reduce discharges of raw sewage which can contain organic pollutants, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, nutrients, and heavy metals, as well as visible litter that is flushed down toilets.

We are also taking forward investigations through the water industry’s Chemical Investigations Programme, to understand how we can reduce the levels of microplastics entering the water environment through treated wastewater. Microplastics have been recognised as a significant standalone issue and the water industry are funding six further investigations between 2025 and 2030.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on (a) benefits advisory services and (b) charities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

There will be no immediate changes. Changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility and the rebalancing of Universal Credit (UC) are not coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed welfare reforms on the capacity of the Household Support Fund.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The Government has extended the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will ensure vulnerable households in the most need can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with the Office for Students on introducing greater flexibility for specialist conservatoire-style performing arts institutions.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All registered providers are expected to meet the same conditions of registration. It is important that all students benefit from the same level of protection, no matter where or how they choose to study. The Office for Students (OfS) takes a provider’s context into account when making its regulatory judgements.

The OfS welcomes specific feedback from providers where they feel they are experiencing disproportionate regulatory burden to ensure they can find the right balance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Level 6 Trinity Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre will be in scope of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement when it is introduced.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system to create a single funding system.

The LLE will replace higher education student finance loans and eventually replace the Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) scheme for levels 4 to 6. In the first instance, some courses will transfer from being ALL-funded to being LLE-funded upon the LLE’s introduction. This is the case for the Level 6 Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre, which will transfer and therefore be in scope for the LLE. For courses which are being transferred for LLE launch, the relevant providers, including the awarding organisation, Trinity College London, were notified of the transfer outcomes in March 2025.

The ‘List of Qualifications approved for funding’ can be found at the following link by filtering by LLE: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing flexibility within Universal Credit to enable greater labour market engagement.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government committed in its manifesto to review Universal Credit, to reduce poverty and make work pay. We believe that work continues to be the best way out of poverty, and growing the economy and driving up living standards across the country is this Government’s number one mission in our Plan for Change. This requires as many people as possible to realise the benefits of good work, and Universal Credit has a critical role to play in achieving this goal. The review will consider changes to Universal Credit which could increase labour market engagement.

We have already taken positive steps through the Get Britain Working White Paper which set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation and we are giving people on health benefits the opportunity to try work by legislating to guarantee that work in and of itself will never lead to a reassessment.

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Found: 15 COMMITTEE STAGE Thursday 22 May 2025 Not called_122 Gideon Amos Olly Glover Tom Morrison Helen Maguire

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Found: Kim Johnson Naz Shah Andrew Cooper Ruth Cadbury Adrian Ramsay Jodie Gosling Kate Osamor Helen Maguire

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Found: 15 COMMITTEE STAGE Tuesday 20 May 2025 Not called_122 Gideon Amos Olly Glover Tom Morrison Helen Maguire

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Found: _NC21 Zöe Franklin Daisy Cooper Caroline Voaden Tessa Munt Helen Maguire Chris Coghlan Gideon Amos

Found: _NC21 Zöe Franklin Daisy Cooper Caroline Voaden Tessa Munt Helen Maguire Chris Coghlan Gideon Amos

Found: 15 COMMITTEE STAGE Thursday 15 May 2025 Not called_122 Gideon Amos Olly Glover Tom Morrison Helen Maguire

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Found: Letter dated 12/05/2025 from Maria Eagle MP to Helen Maguire MP regarding a correction to a date given

Found: Letter dated 09/05/2025 from Alistair Carns MP to Helen Maguire MP in response to a Written Parliamentary