Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his department plans to respond to the public consultation on the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation Standard for Ethnicity that concludes on 4 February.

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

The Department is not planning a central response to the public consultation on ethnicity harmonisation standards. However, it is likely that individual statistical production teams will have responded to the consultation. This information is not tracked nor held centrally.

The Department recognises that harmonisation is important for effective and accurate data comparison. Harmonisation standards are “designed to promote alignment across organisations, not to enforce identical approaches”. Therefore, on a team level, statistical producers may have views on how standards apply to their datasets of interest and how ethnicity data collection and reporting should be altered. A formal, central response would not capture the nuances of user need.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the consultation, Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Assessing user needs for additional response options for the new ethnicity harmonisation standard, published on 28 October 2025, whether his Department plans to make a submission.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My department notes plans by the Office for National Statistics for an updated harmonised standard, which will be applied to our departmental statistics where applicable in due course.

This is an open consultation so anyone can provide a response on an individual basis. Those from my department with responsibilities and expertise in this subject are considering the consultation and will respond if necessary.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the consultation, Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Assessing user needs for additional response options for the new ethnicity harmonisation standard, published on 28 October 2025, whether his Department plans to make a submission.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department notes the plan by the Office for National Statistics for an updated harmonised standard, which will be applied to our departmental statistics where applicable in due course.

This is an open consultation due to close on 4 February 2026, and the Department provided a response on 28 January 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Assessing user needs for additional response options for the new ethnicity harmonisation standard.

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

The Government Statistical Service ethnicity consultation has been promoted across the department’s analytical community. While individual staff may submit responses in their own capacity, the department is gathering input from data collection, statistical publication and policy teams to inform any collective contribution it may make to the consultation.

The department welcomes the opportunity to input into updated harmonised standards and expects to implement them across departmental data collections and statistics where appropriate in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the consultation, Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Assessing user needs for additional response options for the new ethnicity harmonisation standard, published on 28 October 2025, whether her Department plans to make a submission.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office notes plans by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for an updated harmonised standard, which will be applied to our departmental statistics where applicable in due course.

This is an open consultation so anyone can provide a response on an individual basis. The Home Office typically gathers views from across the department prior to making any decisions about whether an organisational response is merited ahead of the deadline to respond.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as (i) an ethnic and (ii) a religious group.

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

The department collects information on the ethnicity of pupils annually through the spring school census, in line with the harmonised standards set by the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service.

The department publishes the data code sets that must be used when submitting information as part of the Common Basic Data Set (CBDS). The CBDS ethnicity code set does not include separate categories for Sikhs or Jews.

The department does not collect information on pupils’ religion.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Sikhs and Jews are recorded as (a) ethnic or (b) religious groups by the agencies his department is responsible for.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department adheres to the current harmonised definitions for ethnicity and religion, which are owned and managed by the Office for National Statistics.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment their Department has made of trends in the level of discrimination faced by (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as ethnic groups in the provision of their Department's services.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 July 2025 to PQ UIN 66615.

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 increase standards in and ensure effective regulation of the cosmetic surgery sector.

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

On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.

In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed.  To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.

The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that genocide is not committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 June 2025 to Question 55524.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether data recorded by the department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as religious or ethnic groups.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As is usual practice for public bodies, the data recorded by this department is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) harmonised standard and therefore classifies Sikhs and Jews as religious groups.

The ONS current harmonised standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS, which produces official statistics independently, launched a consultation to gather views on whether additional response options should be included in a future version of the ethnicity standard. This consultation has now closed, and the responses will be considered carefully.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Jewish people in the UK.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle antisemitism.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of implementing retrospective a increase in the 5 year ILR route to 10 years on the wellbeing of children and families currently in the UK.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing transitional arrangements for people on the 5 year ILR route.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the cumulative impact of the extension and retrospective application of settlement requirements, including impacts on (a) workforce retention, (b) industrial productivity and (c) overall economic security.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed Earned Settlement framework on the (a) family stability, (b) day-to-day security and (c) ability to access credit of Skilled Worker visa holders.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the retrospective increase in ILR on skill levels in key industries such as health and social care.

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

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Mission Marigold