Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the £53 million support package to be administered under the Crisis and Resilience Fund for off-gas grid households using heating oil will be allocated to Norfolk.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Of the £53 million of funding to support low-income households reliant on oil for heating, £27 million has been allocated to England and will be delivered via the Crisis and Resilience Fund. This is in addition to £842 million a year that has already been committed through the Crisis and Resilience Fund at Spending Review 2025, which all unitary and upper tier authorities in England will receive to support vulnerable and low-income households facing financial shocks, including rising essential costs such as energy.

Norfolk has been allocated £3,055,625 to distribute to households the local authority considers most in need. Allocations have been published on gov.uk (Crisis and Resilience fund to support low-income heating oil households).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the response of the Minister for Pensions of 23 March 2026, Official Report, column 95, on the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pension Contributions) Bill, whether her estimate of the proportion of contributions over £2,000 that are from additional rate taxpayers also includes higher rate taxpayers.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is taking a pragmatic, balanced approach by introducing a cap which protects ordinary workers and limits the impact on employers, while ensuring that the system remains fiscally sustainable. 87% of pension contributions made via salary sacrifice above £2,000 are forecast to come from higher and additional rate taxpayers.

The £2,000 cap protects 74% of basic rate taxpayers using salary sacrifice. This means that three quarters of those earning up to £50,270 a year who use salary sacrifice will be unaffected.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if it is his policy to make interim payments to valporate and pelvic mesh victims this calendar year.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including options for interim payments.

The Government has deep sympathy for all those affected and recognises the profound impact that these harms have had on individuals and their families.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that he wants to make meaningful progress during this Parliament, although a decision to provide compensation has not yet been made. We recognise how difficult and disappointing this uncertainty is for those affected, and will ensure that the public is kept informed as soon as any decision on redress is made.

I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes since I have been in post, and had a very productive discussion about the ongoing health initiatives led by the Department regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Details of the Government’s work to date are set out in recent letters to the Dr Hughes, which are published on her website.