Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to respond to calls from more than 100 organisations for a Good Food Bill to help improve access to healthy and affordable food.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and breaking down barriers to opportunity.

We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. We are taking decisive action to drive down poverty by ensuring that over half a million disadvantaged children receive the support they need in school to be healthy, get the most out of their education, and enjoy lifelong success. This action will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets.

The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Free breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunity by offering primary school children, no matter their circumstance, a supportive start to the school day.

These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.

Additionally, we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add support for the outcomes of their Government Food Strategy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will review best practice guidance for play-based learning for five to seven year-olds.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 117074.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to make it easier for current and former start-up employees to realise the value of their equity, including through secondary share sales.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken significant steps to allow more employees to acquire shares in their employer's company.

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced a major expansion of the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme eligibility limits, which is expected to support around 1,800 high-growth scale-up companies and allow them to reward an estimated 70,000 employees with tax-advantaged share options.

In May 2025, the government legislated to establish PISCES, making private secondary markets more transparent and efficient, enabling employees, founders and early-stage investors to realise and reinvest their gains.

The Government also legislated in the 2026 Finance Bill to allow employers, with employee consent, to amend existing EMI and CSOP contracts to allow employees to exercise their share options on PISCES platforms while retaining the tax advantages of EMI and CSOP.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of speeding in Surrey on residents.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of the impact of speeding in Surrey on residents. Responsibility for assessing local road safety issues, including the impact of speeding, sits primarily with local authorities and police forces, who are best placed to understand local conditions, concerns and collision data.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support her Department is giving to local authorities to tackle speeding.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Local authorities are responsible for decisions on the roads they manage, including setting local speed limits and introducing traffic‑calming measures, based on local conditions. The Government supports this through national guidance to ensure limits are consistent and appropriate. The Road Safety Strategy published on 7 January 2026 committed to update current guidance on local speed limits and speed‑camera use.

Local authorities receive direct and indirect funding that can be used to address speeding: Local Transport Plan and Highway Maintenance funding from the Department for Transport which can support speed‑management measures such as traffic calming, safer road layouts, signage and speed‑limit schemes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase road safety.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.

Road safety is a shared responsibility, and this strategy reflects that. It considers action needed by government, local authorities, industry, emergency services and communities to tackle the causes of collisions and save lives. By investing in infrastructure, education, and enforcement, we are taking decisive steps to make our roads safer for everyone.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make explicit protections for current visa-holders, those mid-application, and those with existing university offers for students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We value the contribution of the higher education sector and continue to engage regularly with representatives, including Universities UK and the Russell Group, on the challenges the system faces. The visa brake is a temporary, evidence‑led measure and will be lifted only when the Government judges it appropriate to do so.

The brake does not apply to those who already hold a valid Student visa, nor to applications submitted before it came into force on 26 March. In order to allow those prospective students with an offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) to apply for visas, we provided 21 days’ notice of the implementation of the visa brakes. There are no plans for any further exceptions to the brake.

The decision to introduce the visa brakes was driven by clear evidence of high levels of visa‑linked asylum claims across all four nationalities. In the case of Sudan, in the year ending September 2025, the proportion of asylum claims to visas issued on the student route was 46%, constituting one of the highest visa-linked asylum conversion rates, consistent with a rise across the past five years. This continued and rising asylum risk from this cohort necessitated swift and decisive action through the introduction of a visa brake.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what conversations her Department has had with Universities UK and the Russell Group in regard to the suspension of student visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We value the contribution of the higher education sector and continue to engage regularly with representatives, including Universities UK and the Russell Group, on the challenges the system faces. The visa brake is a temporary, evidence‑led measure and will be lifted only when the Government judges it appropriate to do so.

The brake does not apply to those who already hold a valid Student visa, nor to applications submitted before it came into force on 26 March. In order to allow those prospective students with an offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) to apply for visas, we provided 21 days’ notice of the implementation of the visa brakes. There are no plans for any further exceptions to the brake.

The decision to introduce the visa brakes was driven by clear evidence of high levels of visa‑linked asylum claims across all four nationalities. In the case of Sudan, in the year ending September 2025, the proportion of asylum claims to visas issued on the student route was 46%, constituting one of the highest visa-linked asylum conversion rates, consistent with a rise across the past five years. This continued and rising asylum risk from this cohort necessitated swift and decisive action through the introduction of a visa brake.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made, in regards to Sudanese student visas, of the potential merits of implementing targeted enforcement based on individual risk assessment rather than a blanket nationality-based suspension.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We value the contribution of the higher education sector and continue to engage regularly with representatives, including Universities UK and the Russell Group, on the challenges the system faces. The visa brake is a temporary, evidence‑led measure and will be lifted only when the Government judges it appropriate to do so.

The brake does not apply to those who already hold a valid Student visa, nor to applications submitted before it came into force on 26 March. In order to allow those prospective students with an offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) to apply for visas, we provided 21 days’ notice of the implementation of the visa brakes. There are no plans for any further exceptions to the brake.

The decision to introduce the visa brakes was driven by clear evidence of high levels of visa‑linked asylum claims across all four nationalities. In the case of Sudan, in the year ending September 2025, the proportion of asylum claims to visas issued on the student route was 46%, constituting one of the highest visa-linked asylum conversion rates, consistent with a rise across the past five years. This continued and rising asylum risk from this cohort necessitated swift and decisive action through the introduction of a visa brake.

Access to GP appointments

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance

GP access

Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday

Hope House Children's Hospices

Changes to IVF support in Greater Manchester

A&E corridor care

NHS maternity services

Celebrating the Berin Centre and community engagement in Berinsfield

Meta and YouTube and legal liability for addictive design and online harms

Princess Alice Hospice

Impact of the Iran war on transport costs

Supporting UK hauliers and reducing border friction through UK–EU cooperation

Cecil Hepworth Playhouse

US sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court

Waste crime

Water sector reform

Outdoor learning specialist apprenticeships