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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of co-operatives in agriculture to food security.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government strongly supports the benefits co-operatives can bring and recognises the important role they play in food security, the resilience of the food sector and as a lifeline for community access to food.

Through the food strategy, Defra is considering how to better support local and place-based initiatives to deliver the changes needed for resilience, including food and farming co-operatives and mutuals.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps to help support the expansion of the number of co-operatives in farming.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government strongly supports the benefits co-operatives can bring and recognises the important role they play in food security, the resilience of the food sector and as a lifeline for community access to food.

Through the food strategy, Defra is considering how to better support local and place-based initiatives to deliver the changes needed for resilience, including food and farming co-operatives and mutuals.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of HMRC mileage rates.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses, tax free, for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (when using simplified motoring expenses), and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.

Employees can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by up to 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported.

The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees.

The Government keeps all taxes under review and the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 13425 on Budget October 2024, whether its definition of working people has changed.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A working person is someone who goes out to work and works for their income.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) social and (b) economic benefits of theatres in towns; and what support the Department has provided to help secure the future of the Oldham Coliseum Theatre.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the vital role of theatre in enriching communities across the country and provides funding primarily through Arts Council England (ACE). Expanding access to high-quality theatre remains a shared priority for the Government and ACE. Across all ACE funding programmes for the financial year 2024/25, ACE awarded around £300 million to theatres/theatre based organisations.

In 2023, Oldham Council secured £1.845 million from ACE to enhance creative and cultural activity in the borough, with a strong focus on theatre. This funding supports a vibrant cultural programme for residents and visitors, delivered in partnership with organisations such as Oldham Theatre Workshop and Oldham Coliseum Theatre. The Council has a four-year business plan to redevelop, reopen, and operate the Coliseum Theatre on Fairbottom Street. This work aligns with Oldham’s Cultural Strategy, the Creating a Better Place Programme, and ACE’s Let’s Create strategy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many vehicles were leased through the mobility scheme in each year since 2020; and how many of those vehicles were British made.

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

Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation with oversight of the Motability Scheme. DWP is responsible for the main disability benefits (excluding Scottish disability benefits) that provide a gateway to the Scheme. If a claimant chooses to join the Scheme, DWP facilitates the transfer of these benefits to Motability Operations.

Whilst the Department works closely with Motability Foundation, responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including the choice of vehicles, sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors. Motability Foundation publish annual reports which set out the number of customers on the Scheme as a whole and can be found on this link: Annual Reports and Accounts | About Us | Motability Foundation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of sewage discharges in the North West on (a) social and (b) economic well-being.

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

Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act will introduce independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill.

We have begun rebuilding the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. In one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country’s history, £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and sewage treatment works across the country.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the cost of asylum properties procured for dispersed accommodation in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham for each financial year from 2015/16 to date.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold financial data in the format required to answer the specifics in the question. However total asylum costs including accommodation are published in the Home Office’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Please refer to page 75 (page 83 on the pdf reader) of 2024-25 Annual Report for the most recent published data.

Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of HMRC mileage rates on health and care workers undertaking home visits.

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

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of HM Revenue and Customs’ mileage rates on health and care workers undertaking home visits. The Department of Health and Social Care looks at pressures on health and care services in the round, both at fiscal events such as budgets and spending reviews, and on an ongoing basis.

The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their terms and conditions independent of the Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of employment costs, based on local market conditions.

Agenda for Change staff and resident doctors in England are reimbursed for travel which is incurred in the performance of their duties in line with their respective terms and conditions. These staff currently receive 59 pence per mile for the first 3,500 miles travelled in a year, before the rate drops to 24 pence per subsequent mile. The NHS Staff Council, which is responsible for maintaining the National Health Service terms and conditions of service, is currently negotiating a new mechanism that will determine a fair reimbursement rate for miles incurred by these staff. Further updates on their work will be made in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department plans to provide for (a) affordable and (b) social housing in (i) England, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) Oldham in each of the next five years.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-2036: MHCLG policy statement to accompany guidance to bidders from Homes England and the Greater London Authority published on 7 November. It can be found on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) rent arrears and (b) tenant to landlord debt in the social housing sector in England.

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

The number of social rented households self-reporting that they had been in arrears can be found in the English Housing Survey on gov.uk here.

The total amount due in arrears by local authority tenants, both current and previous, can be found in Section H of the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS) available on gov.uk here.

Information on rent arrears owed to Private Registered Providers of social housing can be found in the quarterly surveys published by the Regulator of Social Housing on gov.uk here.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of criminal records amassed in the course of exploitation and abuse on victims of child (a) sexual exploitation and (b) criminal exploitation.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We recognise that criminal records can impact an individual’s opportunity to find work and rebuild their lives, and are committed to helping those with convictions to overcome these barriers and reintegrate into society.

Regarding victims of child sexual exploitation, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ensure it is properly resourced to review the applications of victims of Child Sexual Exploitation who believe they were unjustly convicted when their position as a victim was not properly understood.   We are also legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to disregard cautions and convictions issued to individuals under the age of 18 for the on-street prostitution offence.

We also know that children can be exploited into criminal activity and we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. Where a victim of CCE also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may have access to the statutory defence against prosecution contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of child criminal exploitation interventions in England.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is a form of child abuse, and this Government is clear that tackling CCE is a priority and plays a critical role in delivering on our commitment to halve knife crime in a decade.

As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. A new criminal offence is necessary to increase convictions against exploiters, deter gangs from enlisting children, and improve identification of victims.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and safeguarding criminally exploited children caught up in this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, County Lines Programme partners referred over 3,200 children and vulnerable people to safeguarding services and provided specialist one-to-one support through Catch22’s county lines service to more than 500 children and young people.

Independent evaluation of the County Lines Programme found a causal link to 19% reductions in hospitalisations due to knife stabbings in key exporter force areas – equivalent to 500 fewer knife stabbings per annum or 15% of the national total. The latest Strategic Assessment (for 24/25) by the National County Lines Coordination Centre also found that dedicated policing efforts are impacting the County Lines model and that the number of children reported by police as involved in county lines has fallen by 8% since 23/24.

The Home Office-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service also provides specialist expertise that seeks to ensure potential child victims in the NRM are protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation or re-trafficking, and promote the child’s recovery. Evaluation of the ICTG service has found it to be highly effective in supporting exploited and trafficked children, particularly in reducing risks of re-trafficking.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), established in 2019, aims to reduce serious violence among children and young people across the UK. Its mission is to fund evidence-based initiatives, evaluate their effectiveness, and generate knowledge to inform policy and practice in preventing youth violence. With an initial investment of £200 million from the Home Office, the YEF has supported numerous programmes across the UK. The YEF has funded work reaching over 150,000 of our most vulnerable children. Through its long-term funding model, it has been able to do this while conducting more high-quality evaluations of what works to prevent violence than have ever been conducted in the UK.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of grassroots football on (a) social well-being and (b) contribution to economic value; and what support she has made available to (a) AVRO FC in Oldham and (b) other grassroots clubs in Oldham Borough.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Participation in grassroots sports helps keep people active and creates opportunities for social interaction that bolster mental resilience.

In October 2024, DCMS research showed that the sport and physical activity sector contributed £53.6 billion of direct Gross Value Add (GVA) to the UK economy in 2021. The same research showed that football, throughout the whole football pyramid and grassroots sport, as well as football’s indirect impact on the economy at large, generated £8.71 billion towards the total UK GVA in 2021.

In 2024-25, grassroots clubs in Oldham Borough received £1,902,056 of funding via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which funds projects such as new artificial grass pitches, floodlights and clubhouses. No funding has been provided to AVRO FC.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dual-national offenders whose British citizenship was revoked and who were transferred under prisoner transfer agreements have (a) served their full sentence and (b) been released early in the receiving state.

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

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

When a transfer occurs under a Prisoner Transfer Agreement, the receiving state becomes responsible for the enforcement of the sentence according to their domestic laws, including their relevant release arrangements.

Injury on Duty Award Scheme

Found: In July, the then Minister, Jim McMahon, announced the consultation response and confirmed that the