Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with the university sector on research and development in universities; and what support her Department provides to help progress the commercialisation of research and development outcomes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Recent engagement between the Department and university sector has focused on improving the sustainability of university research, improving the Research Excellence Framework, strengthening research and innovation partnerships and implementing recommendations from the 2023 spin-out review to accelerate commercialisation.

The Department supports commercialisation with significant investment, including through the £280 million a year Higher Education Innovation Fund. Additional proof-of-concept funding of £40 million over five years helps researchers translate ideas into high-growth businesses, ensuring UK universities remain globally competitive in innovation and knowledge exchange.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham for the installation of retrofit renewable energy.

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

The government implemented the first Integrated Settlements for Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities at the start of the 2025-26 financial year, which includes cover for building retrofits.

For buildings’ retrofit, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities received the first allocation of their combined £302 million devolved retrofit funding in April 2025. This allocation draws from the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Oldham forms part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many community assets were registered by local authorities for each year since 2015.

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

The assets of community scheme is administered by local authorities for their areas. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining and publishing their local list of assets of community value and the Government does not hold a central list of this information. You can find out information about your local scheme by contacting your local authority.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies educational attainment of boys and girls by (a) ethnicity and (b) social class in (i) England, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) Oldham.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed. However, educational inequalities exist across the country and at every phase of education, particularly for white working-class children.

These gaps, whether in Oldham or nationally, are not acceptable.

Through the government’s Plan for Change, we are tackling these inequalities. The department will invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education to close gaps.

The department is rolling out expanded government-funded childcare entitlements and creating thousands of school-based nurseries to increase the provision of quality childcare. We will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority ensuring children and families needing support most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. This includes building on the great work already done by Oldham’s seven family hubs funded in this financial year.

We are expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit from September 2026 and have delivered record increases to early years pupil premium.

This is alongside work to drive high and rising school standards, including regional improvement for standards and excellence attainment conferences with the North-West conference open to schools in Oldham.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to tackle unauthorised advertising adjacent to motorways in England.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department does not permit advertising within the boundary of the Strategic Road Network, and National Highways removes any unauthorised signage from its land.

For adverts on private land adjacent to motorways, enforcement is carried out by local planning authorities under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007. National Highways will continue to notify the relevant authority and raise concerns where an advert poses a road safety risk.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the BBC on levels of remuneration of working class employees.

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

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government. Employee remuneration is therefore a matter for the BBC, and the individuals themselves.

The BBC’s Framework Agreement sets targets for the make-up of its workforce by the end of the current Charter. This includes a target for 25% of the workforce to be from low socio-economic groups. In its Annual Report the BBC reports on its performance against this target, as well as its pay gaps, including the socio-economic pay gap.

As part of the next Charter Review, the Government will engage with the BBC and others to consider how to ensure the BBC thrives well into the next decade and beyond. This will include discussions between the Culture Secretary and the BBC on a range of important issues.

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 drivers of food and non-alcoholic drink price inflation and what steps are being taken to tackle them.

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

The Government monitors food prices closely. As outlined in the UK Food Security Report (December 2024), food price drivers are complex: global commodity prices influence domestic markets through trade and are affected by energy, labour, manufacturing costs, harvest quality, and Sterling exchange rates.

On 19 November, our Secretary of State announced Defra’s collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade to launch a Food Inflation Gateway. This tool will assess the impact of new regulations on food businesses and prices, helping government coordinate and sequence policies to reduce costs, unlock investment, and apply downward pressure on prices.

Alongside this, the Department’s Food Strategy aims to ensure access to affordable, nutritious food and strengthen resilience against short-term supply shocks and long-term risks, reducing the likelihood of future price spikes and supporting fair, stable prices for households.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support the growth of the mutual banking and building society sector.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to supporting the growth of building societies and all mutual financial services in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutual and co-operative sector. HM Treasury has already announced measures to support financial mutuals and is currently progressing these.

For building societies, HM Treasury has committed to progressing further amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986. This follows two statutory instruments being laid in October 2024, which allow building societies to accept deposits from a wider range of SMEs, remove outdated director retirement requirements, and simplify how balance sheets are signed. These will create a more supportive legislative environment for building societies.

To support all financial mutuals, HM Treasury has also asked the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This is expected to be published before the end of 2025. The government also welcomed the establishment of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council to consider mutual and co-operative solutions. The government also published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector and encourages the sector to continue to work in partnership with government to deliver growth. Finally, the government is also supporting the credit union sector by committing to bringing forward a package of growth-focused reforms to the credit union common bond.

The government continues to engage regularly with mutuals to understand the current barriers they face and consider further opportunities to help the sector grow.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the security of the fertiliser and CO2 supply chain.

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

The Ensus CO2 plant went offline for routine maintenance in September, and the Government is in discussions with the company about its future. The UK imports a significant share of its CO2, so most users should remain supplied, though some sectors may face pressure at peak demand. Food businesses are encouraged to engage early with distributors.

The Government continues to monitor CO2 availability and maintain contact with suppliers and consumers. Ensuring a stable fertiliser supply is also critical, and Defra monitors prices and supply chains through engagement with manufacturers and stakeholders.

In addition to domestic production, the UK imports fertiliser from many countries. Established ports support flexible sourcing and a diverse nutrient supply. Sustainable fertiliser use is important for environmental outcomes and long-term resilience. Defra supports approaches that improve nutrient efficiency, expand greener production routes, and diversify fertiliser types and sources.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what measures has the government taken to help ensure that outdoor and indoor markets are sustainable.

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

The Government believes markets have an important economic and social role at the heart of many communities. It is for local authorities, not central government, to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas.

From 2026/27, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000, including markets. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible markets benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

Communities can also choose to invest in markets through the Government’s Pride in Place programme, which will provide £20 million over 10 years to 244 of the most deprived places in the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the cost to taxpayers of additional household, bulky, and garden waste collection charges levied by local authorities in England from 2015 to date.

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

Local authorities have had the option to charge households for a garden waste and bulky waste collections since 1992, as per the Controlled Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2012.

From 31 March 2026, local authorities are required to provide a garden waste collection service, which meets the new requirements set out in amended section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to households where it is requested. As per the Controlled Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2012, they can continue to charge for garden waste services if they choose. Householders will be able to make their own decision about whether they wish to use this service or make other arrangements to dispose of their garden waste.

The previous Government consulted in 2021 on proposals to require waste collection authorities to introduce a free minimum garden waste collection service. However, as set out in the government’s response published in October 2023, the economic and environmental case is not strong enough to proceed with this proposal.

We believe that other Government policies, such as the requirement to collect food waste weekly, now offer higher carbon savings per pound spent than this policy. This includes the far higher savings associated with introducing weekly food waste collections

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of retail businesses that only accept cash.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it and help businesses to continue to accept cash by providing reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.

It is for each business to decide on the forms of payment it chooses to accept. This will be based on a variety of factors, including cost and customer preferences. The Government does not hold data on the number and proportion of businesses who only accept cash.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the level of illegal doorstep lending in England for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Illegal money lenders — more commonly known as loan sharks — are dangerous criminals capable of inflicting terrible harm on their victims. To combat this, the Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) operating across the UK. These teams investigate and prosecute illegal money lenders and offer support to their victims.

Because of the underground nature of illegal money lending, HM Treasury does not have data on the number of victims of illegal money lending each year. However, HM Treasury officials regularly engage with the IMLTs to receive updates on their work, including on prosecutions, support provided to victims, and any key trends. To learn more about the work of the IMLTs, visit the Stop Loan Sharks website: https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of total cash reserves held by (a) schools and (b) colleges.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

In the 2023/24 financial year, reserves in the school system totalled more than £6 billion, and the total value of reserves for the further education college sector was over £1.6 billion.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports of (a) antisocial behaviour towards, (b) sexual harassment of, (c) sexual assault of and (d) physical assault of train staff were made in each of the past three years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the railway in England, Scotland and Wales and have provided the following figures.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much did train operators pay passengers in compensation for delayed journeys for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government produces annual figures relating to the amount of compensation that is paid out by train operating companies.

The data between 2020 and 2024 can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation.

The data between 2015 and 2020 can be found here:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20210904023528/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many days were disabled accessible lifts at train stations recorded as being out of use for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This information is not held by the Department. The Office of Rail and Road publish biannual statistics containing data on passenger lifts at Network Rail owned stations in Great Britain on its data portal at the following link: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk.

This includes information on the number of lifts, lift reliability and lift entrapments.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, of the qualifying journeys, how many claims were (a) made and (b) not made under train operators' delay repay schemes in each of the past three years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

(a) The number of claims received by train operators under train operators’ delay repay scheme in each of the last three years is published in the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) Table 4410 – Delay Compensation Claims, and can be found on the ORR data portal: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger-experience/delay-compensation-claims/table-4410-delay-compensation-claims/

(b) No data exists for the number of claims not made on qualifying journeys under train operators’ delay repay schemes. Data on the proportion of qualifying journeys that are claimed for can be found for selected years here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/654e4ae06a650f000dbf4812/dft-rail-delays-and-compensation-2023-full-report.pdf

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline numbers provided by his Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date.

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

The information requested is not held in the format requested. The NHS England 111 calls offered and abandoned are all published. The NHS 111 Minimum Data Set was the official source of Integrated Urgent Care data from 2011 until the end of March 2021, and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/

The annual national data is provided for each financial year. The Integrated Urgent Care Aggregate Data Collection was published as experimental statistics from June 2019, using April 2019 data, until May 2021, using March 2021 data. This data collection is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent with private sector providers of (a) diagnostic and imaging services (b) elective surgery (c) mental health services (d) community and primary care services for each year from 2015 to date.

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

The information is not held in the format requested, breaking down private sector spend by these exact categories. However, the annual reports and accounts for the Department provide figures for total National Health Service spending with non-NHS, including private, voluntary, local authority, and other, providers. The following table shows the total spend with non-NHS providers and the spend on private providers within that figure, for each year from 2015/16 to 2023/34:

Source: the Department of Health and Social Care annual reports and accounts of activity and services for 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19 to 2023/24, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-annual-reports-and-accounts

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of surface flooding due to inadequate drainage on the M60 motorway.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

National Highways’ data shows the number of reported flooding events have decreased on the M60 motorway in recent years. This follows targeted investigations by National Highways and the implementation of measures to reduce flooding risks.

National Highways undertakes regular inspections and maintenance to keep drainage systems functioning effectively. It has also delivered several improvement schemes on the M60 and plans to start further upgrades later this financial year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether National Highways has included improvement works at Costco, Broadway, Oldham in its capital programme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

National Highways is considering the case for improvements to Junction 21 of the M60 as part of its proposed new National Programme of small scale enhancements to the strategic road network, for possible delivery in the third Road Investment Strategy period, covering 2026-2031.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the government has carried out a review of the effect of highway one way systems on congestion and pollution.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has made no such assessment. Local authorities are responsible for the day to day management of their roads, including decisions on implementing traffic management measures such as one way systems. These are one measure available to them to consider but it is for them to consider if they are appropriate, taking into account local factors such as traffic flow and road layout.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of car weight trends on wear and tear on highways.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of car weight trends on wear and tear on highways. Commercial vehicles (typically those greater than 7.5 tonnes) are the dominant factor in determining road design and contributing to road wear rather than cars.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions have taken place with National Highways since July 2024 on the effectiveness of litter removal and general grounds maintenance of its assets.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department’s officials have held regular discussions with National Highways since July 2024 on these topics. These discussions have generally taken place as part of wider meetings on topics such as reviewing performance against National Highways’s agreed performance indicators (including on litter); planned improvements on the Strategic Road Network; research into driver littering behaviour; and plans to trial innovative interventions such as geofencing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of tool thefts in England have been made in each year since 2015.

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

The Home Office does not routinely collect data on the items stolen in theft offences which are reported to the police.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates of the proportion of theft offences reported to the survey where tools were stolen. This will include incidents which were not reported to the police but will exclude incidents which affected commercial premises.

The most recently published data is presented in the table below

Table 1: Number of incidents and proportion where a tool was stolen, in year ending March 2024

Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) clothes banks and (b) clothes bank users in each year since 2015.

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

The Department does not hold official statistics on the number of registered food banks. Food banks are independent organisations, often run by charities, faith groups, or community organisations, and are not regulated or registered centrally by the Government.

Statistics on food bank use are published annually in the Households below average income statistics report and are only available from 2021/22 onwards. The most recent publication is available here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

The Government is committed to tackling poverty. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of families falling into poverty. Our Get Britain Working White Paper sets out our reforms to the system to enable greater participation, progression and productivity in the labour market.

We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have already introduced the Fair Repayment Rate, reducing the Universal Credit overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s standard allowance, giving 1.2m households an average of £420 per year. In addition, we will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance from April 2026, estimated to be worth £725 annually by 2029/30 in cash terms.

To further support struggling families, we provided £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England until 31 March 2026. Enabling local authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. The Devolved Governments receive consequential funding through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) food banks and (b) food bank users in each year since 2015.

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

The Department does not hold official statistics on the number of registered food banks. Food banks are independent organisations, often run by charities, faith groups, or community organisations, and are not regulated or registered centrally by the Government.

Statistics on food bank use are published annually in the Households below average income statistics report and are only available from 2021/22 onwards. The most recent publication is available here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

The Government is committed to tackling poverty. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of families falling into poverty. Our Get Britain Working White Paper sets out our reforms to the system to enable greater participation, progression and productivity in the labour market.

We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have already introduced the Fair Repayment Rate, reducing the Universal Credit overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s standard allowance, giving 1.2m households an average of £420 per year. In addition, we will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance from April 2026, estimated to be worth £725 annually by 2029/30 in cash terms.

To further support struggling families, we provided £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England until 31 March 2026. Enabling local authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. The Devolved Governments receive consequential funding through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many mobile phones were stolen in the most recent year for which data is available; and how many of those were recovered.

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

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates of the number of people who were the victim of mobile phone theft. In the most recent year for which data is available (year ending March 2024), an estimated 235,000 people in England and Wales were the victim of mobile phone theft in the previous 12 months. Data for previous years is available as part of the Property crime tables (Table 13) published by the Office for National Statistics, at the link below:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables

The CSEW cannot provide an estimate of the number of stolen mobile phones which were later recovered.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of police force forensic analysis capacity and completion times in England.

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

Forensic turnaround times currently vary with discipline. Time taken by forces to examine digital devices for example varies considerably, but urgent requests are always prioritised.

Chief Constables, and ultimately Police and Crime Commissioners, are currently responsible for forensics procurement and delivery, with some regional coordination. We are exploring the creation of a specialist national capability for police forensics, within the proposed National Centre for Policing, and have recruited a Director of Forensic Services to stabilise and reform forensics in the meantime.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of digital inclusion of children living in temporary accommodation in England.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and disproportionately impacts certain demographics.

That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February, which sets out our immediate actions to boost digital inclusion across the UK. Alongside our actions to widen access to devices, drive digital upskilling, break down barriers to participation and get support to people in their own communities, we are also developing robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the closure of armed forces recruitment centres on enlistment in those areas.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Defence assesses that the wide variety of available recruitment engagement options it provides affords opportunity for candidates to enlist, regardless of the presence of an Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO) in any given geographic location. The Armed Forces regularly review their recruiting activities and associated resource in accordance with the requirement.

Whilst AFCOs continue to provide core support to the Armed Forces' national recruiting activities, their geographic footprint across the UK is complemented by dedicated call centres and online recruiting operations. This ensures that members of rural or isolated communities have the same opportunity to apply to the Armed Forces as anyone else.

In addition, the Services conduct outreach engagement programmes across the whole of the UK, delivering events such as career fairs and roadshows, supported by online services and social media campaigns. These recruitment activities are further supported through strategic partnerships such as with JobCentrePlus, which provides additional face-to-face touchpoints with potential applicants.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria determined the order in which asylum accommodation hotels were prioritised for contract termination since 2023.

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

This Government is committed to closing all hotels accommodating asylum seekers and will do so in a controlled, managed and orderly manner. A range of factors are considered when selecting hotels for closure including contractual arrangements, geographical considerations and operational deliverability.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline numbers provided by his Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This information is not held centrally and would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold to estimate these figures.

Any member of the public can get in touch with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) helplines on +44 (0) 20 4551 0011 or via our website.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the level of (a) heavy goods vehicle and (b) large goods vehicle driver vacancies; and what steps her Department is taking to help (i) train and (ii) retain drivers.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport publishes data on heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver vacancies which is collected as part of the domestic road haulage survey, sent to businesses which operate an HGV. The data releases can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-freight-statistics-2024/heavy-goods-vehicle-driver-vacancies-in-the-united-kingdom-2024

In addition, the Department meets regularly with the road haulage sector through the Freight Workforce Group and Road Freight Industry meetings to discuss industry concerns, including skills shortages.

The Government has confirmed £136 million for Skills Bootcamps in 2025-26 to support more than 40,000 learners, including in HGV driving. Skills Bootcamps are now funded through Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local areas directly, empowering local leaders with greater control over skills development. Local leaders are considering what occupations to prioritise.

The Government also continues to support the sector with skills training through the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driver apprenticeships, and through Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) via Jobcentre Plus.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the impact of social media algorithms on levels of extremism in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Home Office invests resources in understanding extremism and radicalisation, including work with international partners and external academics. Through this we look closely at the impact of social media algorithms on levels of extremism in the UK, but it is difficult to prove empirically or universally. The Online Safety Act requires online platforms to consider, as part of their illegal content and child safety risk assessments, how their algorithms impact exposure to illegal content and content harmful to children.

The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the OSA and remains committed to strengthening our laws if it does not deliver the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment.

The Home Office is committed to countering extremism in all its forms where it divides communities and inflames tensions. Regardless of the worldview it draws from, if an ideology is causing harm by radicalising others into hatred, violence and extremism we will take action to prevent this and to safeguard susceptible individuals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital wards are not in active use in England; and what the patient capacity is of those wards.

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

Data for the occupancy and utilisation rates of clinical rooms in the NHS Estate for the latest period, which was 2023/24, published in December 2024, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has taken place on the post covid trends in levels of concessionary bus travel among pensioners and disabled people; and its impact on health, loneliness and social isolation.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport’s concessionary travel statistics show that there were 624 million older and disabled concessionary bus journeys in England in the year ending March 2025, an increase of 4% compared with the year ending March 2024. While this is still below pre-COVID levels, concessionary bus journeys have been increasing year-on-year since the pandemic.

The Government recognises the importance of local bus services in keeping communities connected, including for concessionary bus passengers. The Government is taking action to help improve local bus services across the country. We have introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. The Act also includes measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of bus networks.

In addition, the Government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Greater Manchester Combined Authority have been allocated £66.4 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, this could include expanding services and improving reliability, which are currently significant obstacles for too many people.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many parliamentary passes were revoked for security reasons in each year since 2015.

Answered by Nick Smith

We are not able to provide the number of parliamentary passes that were revoked for security reasons in each year since 2015. The pass system is a live database with accounts being deleted routinely in line with the data retention schedule, records are therefore not available in the way requested over the period.

The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) can revoke passes on security grounds. This may be because security clearance has been withdrawn, exclusion from the estate is necessary because of the risk to the wider parliamentary community, or because the passholder has exhibited unacceptable security behaviours. For the period that records are held, which is since 5 July 2024, PSD has fully revoked 10 passes on security grounds.

It is worth noting that PSD’s vetting unit also revokes passes at the request of the pass sponsors without requiring or recording a reason. The most common reason would be because the passholder has left employment requiring access to the estate, but if there were security reasons behind their request this may not be specified.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the tax income from (a) domestic (b) commercial energy customer bills for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

VAT is chargeable at the reduced rate of 5% on domestic fuel and power. HMRC publishes estimates of the Exchequer cost of tax reliefs, see https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. The estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs (December 2024) VAT table shows that the cost estimate for the Reduced Rate of VAT on supplies of domestic fuel and power in 2024-25 was £6,500 million. This represents the cost of the 5% Reduced Rate compared to the Standard Rate of 20%, a relief of 15%. The revenue received at the Reduced Rate may be estimated at 5/15ths of the figure of £6,500 million, or £2,200m (rounded). Figures for previous years are shown in the table.

Business consumers of energy may reclaim VAT on their purchases of energy subject to normal VAT deduction rules.

Climate Change Levy (CCL) is chargeable on the supply of electricity, gas and solid fuels for lighting, heating and power by business operating in the industrial, commercial, agricultural and public services sectors, with certain exclusions. Statistics on CCL receipts from 2014 are published here: Environmental Taxes Bulletin - GOV.UK

This Budget reduces the cost of levies on energy bills to save families £150 on average next year. Combined with the measures on freezing rail fares and freezing fuel duty these policies are forecast to directly cut inflation by over 0.4 percentage points next year, pushing down on mortgage rates and up on growth.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many events gambling companies held in the Houses of Parliament for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Nick Smith

This information is not held in a format that would provide a reliable answer.

The House of Commons does not maintain a category for “gambling companies” or “gambling-related events” within its event management systems. Event bookings are recorded under the name of the sponsoring Member and the organising body. Any link to an industry may not be obvious from the organiser name and events are also arranged on behalf of third parties such as industry groups, representative bodies, charities, or All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

Gambling activity is not permitted at events on the parliamentary estate. Only small charitable raffles, which comply with the House’s internal guidance and the relevant legislation, may take place.

Catering Events data is proactively published and available on the Parliament website: Commons Catering events booking data - UK Parliament.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many FTE civil servants there were across Government in England by region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Information on the number of FTE civil servants by region is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found at Table 10 of each of the annual publications data tables available at the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics#annual-statistics

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the government has plans to improve parking, access and customer experience at Mills Hill and Moston train stations; and whether there any plans to bring forward a programme to reopen previously closed stations such as the former Middleton Junction station.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Rail North Partnership between the Department and Transport for the North has regular discussions with Northern, which manages Mills Hill and Moston train stations, on its performance, customer experience and improving services.

There are no proposals or plans regarding the reintroduction of Middleton Junction station. Between 2022-23 and 2026-27, we are providing £1.07bn of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding to Greater Manchester to invest in their local transport network. Beyond that, we have confirmed a £2.5billion Transport for City Regions settlement for Greater Manchester providing funding up to 2031-32. It is for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to decide how to invest the funding locally.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has taken place of the effectiveness of measures to tackle the resale of dangerous part worn tyres.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit works closely with local Trading Standards teams to carry out checks on garages selling part worn tyres, enforcing sanctions where necessary.

Any retailer selling part-worn tyres which fail to meet these requirements is breaking the law under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and could be subject to a substantial fine or prison sentence.

Tyres are safety-critical components and are checked as part of the MOT test, ensuring tyres have adequate tread depth and are free from cuts or bulges. Any vehicle with defective tyres will fail an MOT test and is not permitted to be driven on the road.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS England staff will be employed by successor organisations and other government bodies.

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

Subject to the passage of the NHS Reform Bill, NHS England will be abolished and most of its functions brought together in a new centre. Our ambition is to reduce staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and integrated care boards, which will be largely accomplished through voluntary exits. These reductions will be made by March 2028. The NHS voluntary exit scheme includes clawback arrangements that would compel employees who leave under voluntary redundancy to repay all/some of their voluntary redundancy payment if they are re-employed in the National Health Service, other Government departments or arm's length bodies within six to 12 months of their exit, depending on seniority, size of package and length of time between exit and re-employment.

In general, DHSC is the successor body to NHS England, which means most of NHS England’s functions and staff will be transferred to DHSC. However, some functions could also be transferred elsewhere in the system where there is a strong rationale for doing so. Voluntary exit schemes have been launched to enable us to reduce headcount and meet our targets for a leaner and more efficient center.

We are assessing the full range of current functions across both organisations together with initial appraisal of options for future allocation of functions. At this stage, it is too early to determine what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be, but this work is taking place at pace between the two organisations.

As we progress with returning functions to DHSC, due process will of course be followed, including a comprehensive assessment of any impacts and risks associated with the reforms. We will ensure our decisions are guided by evidence, and above all, focused on improving patient care.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of visitors to live events she expects to benefit from the cap on ticket resales at face value.

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

The measures we have announced relating to ticket resales will protect consumers and improve fans’ access to live events, while ensuring that people have a safe and secure means to resell tickets. They will also ensure that revenue flows back into the live events sector, supporting our world-leading Creative Industries as set out in our Industrial Strategy.

The impact on those attending live events will be set out in an impact assessment to be published alongside the legislation to introduce these measures. We will legislate when parliamentary time allows.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of potential lost tax revenue from international corporations importing large product volumes operating on a direct to consumer basis.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not hold data to estimate tax revenue losses specifically from international corporations importing large product volumes operating on a direct to consumer basis.

Such economic activity can give rise to a range of different taxes and duties, including Corporation Tax, VAT, customs duty and excise duty, and the impact would depend on the specific circumstances of each business and transaction.

HMRC actively monitors compliance with UK tax and customs obligations and uses a range of tools, including risk-based audits and data analytics, to tackle non-compliance.

The Chancellor has reviewed the existing customs arrangements for Low Value Imports, and as a result, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget 2025 the removal of the customs duty relief on goods imported into the UK worth less than £135. In addition to the relief removal, the government is reforming the way these goods are declared into the UK to ensure all goods are appropriately controlled. These changes will come into effect from March 2029 at the latest and are expected to raise c. £500m p.a. in each of the final two years of the scorecard period.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on legal advice for Freedom of Information requests which were first declined and subsequently provided following challenges by (a) internal review, (b) Information Commissioner ruling and (c) first tier tribunal ruling in the last 12 months.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil servants have working class backgrounds.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

As committed in the Declaration on Government Reform and in order to better serve the public, the government must ensure it draws on the talent of people from the widest possible range of geographical, social and career backgrounds. We will make sure that citizens who have experienced disadvantages in their early lives are able to flourish in public service.

According to the Civil Service People Survey 2024, 33% of civil servants responding to the survey come from a working class background. Specifically, based on the NS-SEC index for parental occupation, 30% of respondents to the survey were from a routine background and 3% from a never worked one. To note that these figures are based on the 60% of civil servants that completed the survey in 2024.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding to national park authorities in England.

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

We recognise that the Defra core grant is vital to support England’s National Park Authorities.

In the 25/26 financial year, the government is providing £45.2 million of core funding to the 10 National Park Authorities, with a capital uplift of up to £15 million to support their contribution to protecting 30% of land by 2030. We have also extended programmes such as Farming in Protected Landscapes, providing £30 million to support projects in our National Landscapes and National Parks, until March 2026. We are also committed to working with Protected Landscapes organisations to unleash other income sources.

Defra has invested over £2m in a ‘Green Finance Accelerator’ comprised of National Parks Partnerships and the National Landscapes Association to provide the capacity, tools and expertise needed to increase private investment in nature.

Funding beyond April 2026 is being determined through an ongoing internal business planning process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of trends in the number of battery fires for electric personal mobility vehicles such as e-bikes and scooters for each year since 2020.

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

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available on gov.uk here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved batteries for electric mobility vehicles, such as electric bikes or electric scooters.

Our new Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) is being rolled out and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect covering both the questions and answer categories to capture lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes, and more.

In addition, OPSS publishes data using information available from Fire and Rescue Services on fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters. Updated data now including figures for 2017-2024 was published in June this year on gov.uk here.

MHCLG is working closely with FRS and officials from other Government Departments to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries and PLEVs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adults are assessed as having an unmet social care need in England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs, as set out in the Care Act 2014. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including how local authorities assess people’s needs. Formal assessments commenced in December 2023 and as of November 2025, the CQC has published over 80 local authority assessments. Reports are available on the CQC’s website at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports

The Government is supporting the sector to help people live independent and dignified lives. The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. We are also providing £172 million across this and the last financial year, for approximately 15,000 home adaptations, and are introducing new national standards and trusted guidance for care technologies.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance by (a) mobile phone and (b) WiFi infrastructure installers with the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published on 7 March 2022.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development sets out best practice guidance for mobile network operators and local authorities on deploying wireless infrastructure, including considerations for siting equipment.

It is to complement existing legislation and provide clear, practical advice to support all stakeholders involved in the deployment process.

We expect all parties to follow the principles set out in the Code of Practice, and all major mobile operators have committed to doing so. Concerns about compliance should be raised with Mobile UK, and we continue to engage with the sector in matters relating to the deployment of wireless network infrastructure.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of community pharmacies in England relative to indices of multiple deprivation.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Business Services Authority publishes quarterly consolidated NHS pharmaceutical lists with all community pharmacies in England. As of the end of September, there were twice as many pharmacies located in the lowest two deprivation deciles than there were in the top two.

The data is available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/consolidated-pharmaceutical-list

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the potential implications for her policies of social media platforms (a) hosting extremist content and (b) using algorithms that enable radicalisation, exploitation and grooming of vulnerable users.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act requires services to tackle illegal content, including terrorist content, grooming content, and content which stirs up hatred based on religion or race. They must also protect children from certain forms of legal content, including hateful or abusive material.

Services are required to take proportionate measures to mitigate these harms, including where they are enabled by algorithms. These measures are designed to ensure user safety, particularly for children whilst protecting freedom of expression. The Act requires the Secretary of State to review and report to Parliament on the effectiveness of the regime 2-5 years after the Act is fully implemented.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of instances of (a) antisemitism (b) Islamophobia (c) other forms of race and religion based hate on social media platforms; and what discussions have taken place with platform owners on this issue since July 2024.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must protect all users from illegal abusive and hateful content, and children from abusive content where it does not reach the criminal threshold.

In October, the Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom and asked it to use all its levers to tackle antisemitic content online and hate speech more widely.

The government supports Ofcom’s intention to publish a report in December which will assess the impact of the Act’s duties so far. The government and Ofcom are carefully monitoring the impact of the Act.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the additional capacity Ofcom has provided for the administration of complaints and investigations relating to provisions within the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has ensured Ofcom has the resources it needs to deliver online safety regulation effectively, including its complaints and investigation responsibilities. £72.6 million has been allocated to Ofcom for its online safety functions and approximately 550 full time staff are working in its online safety directorate in 2025/26.

Ofcom regularly reports on its performance and activity, and the Government remains satisfied that it has the capability and capacity to carry out its complaints and investigative duties effectively. We will continue to engage with Ofcom to ensure resources remain proportionate to its remit.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) land and (b) property acquired for the construction of the HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg route from Crewe to Manchester is (1) still held, (2) sale pending and (3) sold.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

208 properties have been acquired for HS2 on the former Phase 2b West route between Crewe and Manchester. These are 16 agricultural units; including land where there are no dwellings, 12 commercial properties and 180 residential properties.

No land or property has been sold or is in the process of being sold, as the department is continuing to review the position we have inherited and potential requirements for new infrastructure in the future.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) land and (b) property acquired for the construction of the HS2 Phase 2 route from Birmingham to Crewe is (1) still held, (2) sale pending and (3) sold.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

337 properties have been acquired for HS2 on the former Phase 2a route between Birmingham and Crewe. These are 122 agricultural units; including land where there are no dwellings, 4 commercial properties and 211 residential properties.

No land or property has been sold or is in the process of being sold, as the department is continuing to review the position we have inherited and potential requirements for new infrastructure in the future.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Israeli government on the impact of food shortages on children in Gaza.

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

The UK is providing £78 million for humanitarian and early recovery support for Palestine this financial year. This includes £9.7 million to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support provision of ready-to-use infant formula, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial services for children, and social protection to children.

In October, the Foreign Secretary spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar about the importance of opening more crossings and removing restrictions on aid to allow food to be delivered to all those in need, and we continue to call on Israel to enable humanitarian relief to reach every child in need of nutritional support, shelter and healthcare.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the trends in local authority funeral and cremation fees and charges since 2015.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Local authority cemeteries and crematoria are managed by individual councils, who are responsible for setting their own budgets and making decisions on local services in line with community priorities. In line with this principle, local authority burial and cremation authorities have the power to set their charges at levels they consider to be appropriate. This allows flexibility to reflect local needs.

The Government provides some support to people who are unable to meet the costs of a funeral. The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme provides a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by recipients of certain income based benefits or tax credits. The scheme pays necessary burial and cremation costs in full, as defined by legislation, plus up to £1000 for other expenses such as the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees, Scotland has a similar scheme, the Funeral Support Payment scheme.

Support for funeral costs for all young people under 18 is provided by the Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.

Interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans and Universal Credit Budgeting Advances can also be used for funeral expenses. Further financial support is available through Bereavement Support Payments which help working age people whose spouse or civil partner dies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients does the government assess will be impacted by its decision to freeze prescription charges in England.

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

Approximately 40% of people who receive prescriptions are not entitled to exemption from National Health Service prescription charges and will therefore benefit from the decision to freeze charges for the second successive year, keeping the cost of a prescription below £10 and the cost of a prepayment certificate at just over £2 a week.

The remaining approximately 60% of patients receiving prescriptions are entitled to exemption from charges. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate the Church has made of the value of community ownership transfer for church asset disposals in England.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

Such an estimate has not been made by the National Church Institutions. Consecrated Church of England church buildings that have been declared closed under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 can only be disposed of under the provisions of that Measure. The provisions of the Localism Act do not apply (even where such buildings have been designated as an Asset of Community Value).

The Measure (and its predecessors) places upon the church authorities the responsibility to find the most suitable alternative use for such buildings, which enables us to dispose of them for less than market value, for uses that continue to serve the local community.

Diocese and parishes are separate legal entities and, in the large majority of cases, the management of their other assets falls outside the remit of the National Church Institutions (except to suggest best practice).

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the number of reported patient safety incidents as a result of prescription medicines being lost in delivery in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Patient safety data is routinely collected by NHS England, including a breakdown of the proportion of incidents linked to community pharmacy. However, the Department does not hold data on the number of reported patient safety incidents that are a result of prescription medicines being lost in delivery.

Community pharmacies, including online pharmacies, are required to dispense all prescriptions with reasonable promptness as part of their National Health Service terms of service, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. This requirement includes prescription medicines that are delivered to patients’ homes. They are also required to report any patient safety incidents to NHS England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) land and (b) property was acquired for the construction of the HS2 Phase 2b Eastern Leg route from Birmingham to Leeds is (i) still held, (ii) sale pending and (iii) sold.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

562 properties have been acquired for HS2 on the former Phase 2b East route between Birmingham and Leeds. These are 20 agricultural units; including land where there are no dwellings, 5 commercial properties and 537 residential properties.

In 2022, 6 of these properties on the former Phase 2b East route were sold as part of a pilot disposal project.

In July, safeguarding was removed along the majority of the former HS2 Phase 2b Eastern Leg. We are now initiating a programme to dispose of properties on the former Eastern Leg that are no longer required. We expect disposals on the open market to begin in 2026. Before then, former owners whose property was acquired under statutory blight will have the opportunity to reacquire their former property at the current market value.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in parcel theft from goods left outside homes by delivery companies.

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

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates on the proportion of theft from outside dwellings by the type of item stolen. It is not possible to separately identify all incidents where parcels left outside by delivery companies were stolen.

Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.

This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has been made of the value of artwork sold by local authorities in England since 2010.

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

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold information on the value of artworks that may have been sold by local authorities since 2010, as local authorities are responsible for the management of their own assets, which are held and displayed in a variety of ways. The Museums Association provides clear guidance to the sector on responsible collections management and the acquisition and disposal of collections. These guidelines, endorsed by major sector organisations, prohibit financially motivated disposals of museum artefacts.

The government is committed to working collaboratively with councils, as co-funders of culture. As the government’s recent Pride in Place strategy makes clear, communities deserve vibrant public spaces, and the government is investing new money in shared community assets, including through our £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, supporting regional museums to improve public access to Collections.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police (a) dogs and (b) horses were injured in the course of their duties in each year since 2015.

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

The Home Office does not hold centrally information on the number of police dogs or horses that were injured in the course of their duties.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment her Department of made of the (a) social class (b) regional breakdown of National Lottery customers and the beneficiaries of lottery-funded grant programmes.

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

The Gambling Commission, the regulator for the National Lottery and an arm’s-length body of DCMS, publishes annual data on National Lottery participation rates, including a breakdown by sex, age and region.

A regional breakdown of lottery grant recipients can be found on the National lottery grant database: https://nationallottery.dcms.gov.uk/data. Further analysis on funding is carried out by the twelve lottery distributing bodies, who are independent of Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of pets by type that were placed with animal shelters as a result of (a) pet ownership affordability and (b) tenancy restrictions in each of the past three years.

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

The Department does not hold information on the number of pets placed with animal shelters as a result of the affordability of pet ownership or tenancy restrictions. This information may be collected by individual animal welfare organisations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline number provided by her Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Every year, HMRC answers millions of calls. A call is recorded as ‘answered’ when a customer got through to an adviser after hearing the automated messages and choosing the option to speak to an adviser (this is also referred to as ‘adviser attempts handled’ (AAH) in HMRC published data).

A call is recorded as ‘abandoned’ when a customer hears the automated messages and chooses the option to speak to an adviser, but then hangs up before their call is answered.

Customers may hang up before their call is answered for a number of reasons. For example, they may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time.

The below tables provide a breakdown of calls answered and calls abandoned over the past ten years for HMRC’s main helplines:

Further telephony data is published as part of HMRC’s quarterly performance reports: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

And HMRC publishes a historical data series as part of its annual report and accounts: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Data covering VOA helplines:

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 tackle (a) misinformation (b) foreign influence in the 2026 elections.

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

The Government takes attempts by any country to intervene in our democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes.

The Government addresses these challenges through coordinated efforts led by the Defending Democracy Taskforce and Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit which bring together Whitehall departments, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to monitor and mitigate election security risks, including mis – and disinformation and foreign interference. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit is currently leading on cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the 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 he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement policies to help build community cohesion in areas with segregated communities.

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

The Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government is leading cross-Government efforts to consider a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues.

This Government wants to ensure that all places are further supported to build cohesion and resilience, and that support is in place rapidly, as and when tensions occur. The Common Ground Resilience Fund will provide £2.87m funding to local communities to insulate them against threats to social cohesion.

We also recently announced the expansion of the Pride in Place Programme – this will provide up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade to 244 places across the UK. It focuses on three overarching objectives: building stronger communities; creating thriving places; and helping communities to take back control of their own lives and areas. As part of this, funding will be made available to improve community cohesion.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of new fee paying and charity run religious schools on community cohesion and social mixing among young people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Faith schools have played a longstanding role in, and remain an important element of, our education system. However, we are not expecting an increase in the number of new faith schools. In the current context of falling rolls, we expect there to be less demand for new school places and fewer new schools overall.

Departmental guidance on establishing new state funded schools sets out expectations on considering the impact of new schools on community cohesion. Where proposals for new independent schools are submitted, approvals are needed from the department and Ofsted

All schools have a vital role in promoting cohesion and are required to actively promote fundamental British values, which include mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, essential for building a strong, cohesive society.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 90780 on Prisoners' Release: Housing, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) saturation and (b) clustering of housing facilities for people supervised by the Probation Service on communities.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Statutory responsibility for housing and homelessness provision in both England and Wales lies with local authorities. To supplement this, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) offers a three-tier structure of temporary accommodation, known as the Community Accommodation Service (CAS), for a small proportion of prison leavers and persons on bail. Many offenders leaving custody will have their own accommodation to return to.

CAS properties are sourced according to a demand analysis undertaken by HMPPS, with as wide a geographical spread as possible. They are normally in areas close to local amenities, to assist with effective rehabilitation and sentence management planning. Services have been expanded across the country in recent years to meet demand for places. This serves both to help prison leavers at risk of homelessness and to protect the public.

Other individuals under probation supervision who are in need of assistance on release from custody may be accommodated by the local authority or in accordance with private arrangements. When deciding whether to approve a proposed address, the probation practitioner will make a risk assessment and will also have regard to the offender’s sentence planning objectives

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to question 85843, whether she is considering requiring drivers to register with their home local authority validated by checking council tax, electoral roll and credit reference data.

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

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing drivers to licence with an authority other than that in which they intend to work.

The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

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 trends in cinema usage since 2015; and what steps she has taken to support the industry.

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

The government recognises the hugely important role that cinemas play in the UK's film industry, in our local communities, and in driving economic growth. While we have seen some positive signs in the UK’s box office figures in recent years, we recognise that it has been a difficult time in the sector with box office returns remaining around 70% of pre-pandemic levels.

As part of our support for the cinema sector, we are introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. Through our Independent Film Tax Credit we are also bolstering the slate of films entering cinemas. Furthermore, the British Film Institute, as an Arm’s Length Body of government, supports cinemas and audiences across the UK, including through its Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) and the use of National Lottery funding. This includes research into changing audience habits, such as with their Wider World of Film (2024) report. We continue to engage with the British Film Institute and other sector bodies on how to ensure a strong and successful future for the cinema sector.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many copies of each UK daily newspaper did the government purchase for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many sub postmasters have had claims (a) settled and (b) not settled related to the Horizon issue.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As of 31 October 2025, around 9,300 claims have been settled across the Horizon redress schemes, with around 3,000 claims received not yet settled.

The total number of settled claims includes 71 full and final settlements made under the former Overturned Convictions scheme prior to its closure on 2 June 2025. The 40 Overturned Convictions claims not fully settled are now being administered through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS).

The table below illustrates the progress to date across the schemes and is available on GOV.UK. The Department only reports on claims received, as there is not a fixed cohort of claims across these schemes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take legislative steps to require the promotion of party political content on social media platforms during the regulated period as third party campaign activity that has to be (a) valued and (b) declared in election expense returns.

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

Under existing legislation, spending above £20,000 in England or £10,000 in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland on promoting party political content during the regulated period, whether on social media or other platforms, must be treated as campaign expenditure. This means it must be valued and reported in the relevant spending return to the Electoral Commission.

Both political parties and third-party campaigners are required to account for the costs of paid promotion, such as advertising on digital platforms, in their returns. These costs contribute to overall spending limits and transparency requirements designed to ensure fairness and accountability in elections.

The Government will continue to keep electoral law under review and work closely with the Electoral Commission to ensure that the framework remains effective and proportionate in the context of evolving campaign practices, including digital campaigning.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the transition costs to the public purse of the proposed abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners.

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

There will be a small programme team in the Home Office to oversee the transition of police governance functions from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to Strategic Authority Mayors or, where that is not possible, new Policing and Crime Boards. This will be resourced through the reprioritisation of existing resources.

The Home Office will work with Offices of PCCs and local authorities to assess local transition costs ahead of implementation in 2028. Following the approach taken for previous transfers of police governance in mayoral areas, costs are expected to be met locally through existing budgets.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offenders awaiting (a) trial (b) sentencing were removed from the UK under a voluntary agreement prior to the completion of the legal process annually since 2015.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (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.

The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns by return type can be found in Ret_01 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data covers the period 2010 to September 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with BBC on the potential impact of its proposed budget savings on its (a) television, (b) radio, (c) streamed content and (d) website content.

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

The Prime Minister and Secretary of State believe public service broadcasting, and the BBC in particular, are vital British assets that contribute to our national life, and help to shape and define our nation. The Secretary State meets with the BBC leadership regularly to discuss a range of issues.

It is important that the licence fee is used efficiently and the BBC must ensure it is delivering value for audiences. However, as an independent organisation, the BBC’s spending decisions are a matter for the BBC. The Government recognises the BBC faces funding pressures, and we will consider how we fund the BBC sustainably as part of the Charter Review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to question 87366, if his Department will take measures to ensure that the mobility scheme prioritises British made vehicles.

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

Motability Operations, an independent commercial company which delivers the Motability Scheme, has announced plans to support the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The number of British made vehicles purchased by the scheme will reach 25% by 2030, with an ambition of 50% of vehicles registered on the Scheme being made in the UK by 2035.

The Department for Work and Pensions will continue to meet regularly with Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, to discuss the Schemes operation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the provision of non-partisan political and democratic education in schools prior to the introduction of the forthcoming Elections Bill.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Teaching about democracy and elections already forms a central part of the secondary national curriculum for citizenship and can be taught as a non-statutory topic in primary schools.

Education is a vital part of implementing the government's commitment to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 years olds. The government takes empowering and equipping young people with the knowledge and skills they need seriously, and wants to break down barriers and drive participation in our democracy.

Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review recommendations, the department has committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. We will consult on programmes of study next year and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.

The department’s guidance on political impartiality supports schools with teaching about political issues in line with their statutory duties.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she has made on reforming Common Bond provisions for Credit Unions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the role that credit unions play in providing savings and affordable loans to their members, serving local communities throughout the country. This is why the government is taking steps to ensure credit unions are fully supported to grow and scale into the future. This includes running a call for evidence on reforms to the credit union common bond, which closed in March.

After reviewing responses to this call for evidence, the government has committed to a package of growth-focused reforms to the credit union common bond. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy published on 5 November. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to question 78371, whether he plans to increase court numbers in Greater Manchester to deal with the backlog of cases; and if he will prioritise co-location with a new police station and other services in Oldham.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising open caseload of nearly 80,000 criminal cases waiting to be heard in the Crown Court and too many victims waiting years for justice.

Upon entering office, the Deputy Prime Minister took immediate action to allocate an additional Crown Court sitting days this financial year, taking the total allocation to a record 112,500 sitting days, over 5,000 more days than those funded last year by the previous Government. We have also secured record investment of up to £450 million per year for the courts system over the Spending Review period, alongside investing almost £150 million to modernise the court estate, including improvements at Manchester Crown Court. While plans to expand criminal hearing capacity in Greater Manchester remain under review, it is important to recognise that court capacity is determined by more than the number of available courtrooms. Increasing physical space alone will not create additional hearings unless there are also sufficient judges, magistrates, legal advisors, advocates and wider system partners available to support them.

To deliver that, we are accelerating our programme to recruit more new and diverse magistrates over the coming years. We continue to recruit high levels of legal advisers to ensure courts remain resilient. We are also continuing to invest in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members annually across all jurisdictions.

However, demand is currently so high, it is indisputable that fundamental reform is needed. That is why, on 2 December, the Government announced a bold and ambitious criminal court reform package to ensure cases are dealt with proportionately and deliver swifter justice for victims.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to encourage schools in urban areas to visit farms and learn about farming, food and the environment.

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

There are clear benefits of schools in urban areas arranging farm visits for their students to learn about farming, food and the environment. With our educational access actions, farmers and land managers can be funded to host educational visits to their farms and woodland at a rate of £363 per visit, subject to a maximum number of 25 paid visits per year. Officials will continue to engage with Department for Education, including on how we can support schools and farms to promote this. Between 2022 and 2024, the Rural Payments Agency paid for 11,404 instances of educational visits across 1,754 agreements under Countryside Stewardship.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate has been made of levels of glass house food growing capacity for each year from 2015 to date.

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

Defra’s statistical estimate of the total glasshouse area used for growing food (vegetables, salad and fruit) in England on 1 June 2025 is 549ha, down from 671ha on 1 June 2015. The complete timeseries is below and available at Agricultural land use in England - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of lost and missing (a) police warrant cards (b) police uniform items were made for each year from 2015 to date.

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

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on how many police warrant cards or police uniform items are lost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many active Neighbourhood Watch schemes were in place for each year from 2015 to date in England.

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

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of active Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England for each year from 2015 to date.

Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is a long-established, volunteer-led movement that supports safer, stronger and more connected communities across England and Wales.

Schemes are locally run and independent, led by volunteers who decide how best to tackle issues affecting their neighbourhoods. There is no requirement for schemes to register with government, and they operate autonomously.

The Home Office values the important contribution made by volunteers involved in Neighbourhood Watch in helping to reduce crime, improve community resilience, and strengthen public confidence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 20 November to question 90783, if her Department will take steps to ensure that police forces prioritise British made vehicles.

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

The Police vehicle/fleet framework is owned and competed by Bluelight Commercial and goes through Bluelight’s commercial governance.

The vehicle specification requirements are determined by Policing in line with operational Policing requirements and by Bluelight Commercial to meet Procurement Act and existing public sector procurement requirements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress in rolling out additional neighbourhood police in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester.

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

We have made £200 million available in 2025/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this parliament, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.

The Government has committed to publishing neighbourhood policing numbers every six months, alongside the official police workforce statistics, with the next update due at the end of January 2026 setting out the numbers in neighbourhood policing roles as at the end of September 2025.

Based on their £11,556,938 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Greater Manchester are projected to grow by 176 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025/26.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the change has been in NHS waiting lists in Oldham since July 2024.

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

We are clear that the extent of waits for treatment is unacceptable, and cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.

Waiting list data is not available by town. At the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Oldham, the waiting list size has fallen by over 3,000 since the Government took office in July 2024. Patients here are also facing shorter waiting times, with 53.6% of waits within 18 weeks as of September 2025, compared to 52.7% in July 2024.

We are committed to transforming elective services to ensure patients get timely access to the care they need. This includes investing £6 billion additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective, urgent, and emergency capacity in the NHS.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.

We promised change, and we have made good progress. As of the end of September 2025, 61.8% of pathways on the waiting list are within 18 weeks, an improvement of 3.3% since September 2024, and the number of waits over 18 weeks has reduced by almost 320,000 over the same period.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures has the government taken to help ensure the free flow of livestock between NI and GB.

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

Defra has maintained longstanding arrangements to safeguard animal health while supporting the movement of livestock between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. These measures recognise the separate epidemiological statuses of GB and NI and the need to protect against disease risk while supporting trade within the UK internal market.

Defra has agreed technical easements to enable the flow of livestock. For example, livestock moving from NI to GB are not subject to residency requirements, if hosted at an APHA approved centre and returned to NI within 15 days. We will continue to work closely with the livestock sector and with Devolved Governments to facilitate movement and market access between UK nations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ofwat on its effectiveness at regulating (a) bonuses (b) dividends (c) inter company management charges (d) company debt (e) consumer bills for water customers in England.

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

The Secretary of State regularly meets with stakeholders including Ofwat to discuss a range of issue, all of which is published on gov.uk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports have there been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores for (a) cash (b) drugs (c) weapons (d) jewellery (e) electronic goods (f) personal ID documents for each year from 2015 to date.

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

The Home Office does not hold central information on the number of reports there have been of lost or missing items from police force evidence stores. The information may be held by individual police forces.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to question 92073, what steps her Department is taking to ensure maximum resale value for commercial assets held by the DVLA.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been selling previously unissued vehicle registration numbers since 1989. In that time more than nine million registration numbers have been sold, generating £4.1 billion in revenue.

Vehicle registration numbers that have been previously issued and displayed on a vehicle or held on a certificate of entitlement and allowed to expire are not resold.

The DVLA is currently developing a strategic plan which is designed to enable and optimise sustainable growth and ensure that annual sales income targets are consistently met or exceeded.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new buses her Department funded annually since 2015; and how many of those were made in the UK annually since 2015.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programmes, the Department has provided funding which has procured 1300 buses through ZEBRA 1, 1,955 buses through ZEBRA 2 and a further 319 buses due to scope increases. These buses were funded in 2021, 2024 and 2025 respectively and around 60% of these are from UK manufacturers.

The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing, and earlier this year launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. The Panel brings together industry experts and local leaders to achieve three key objectives of supporting growth in UK bus manufacturing, developing a pipeline of future bus orders and prioritising passenger-centric bus design.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of self service check outs at supermarkets and convenience stores on the number of jobs in those sectors since 2015.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade has no plans to assess the impact of self-service checkouts on employment levels in the retail sector since 2015.

Decisions about in-store services in supermarkets, including provision of staffed and self-checkout tills are rightly a matter for individual retailers. The Government recognises that the retail sector continues to be an important employer in the UK economy and while technological changes may alter the nature of some roles within the sector, they can also create new opportunities and job types across the retail industry.

The Government continues to engage with the industry, including through the Retail Sector Council, which brings together employers, unions and other stakeholders to address challenges and opportunities.

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 level of unlicensed dumping of commercial waste in England for each year from 2015 to date; and what steps she is taking to help tackle it.

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

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents, including commercial waste, to Defra, which the department has published annually since 2012.  Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected.

The Government has announced plans to move the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. Reform will mean those transporting or making decisions about waste will have to demonstrate they are competent to make those decisions to obtain a permit, rather than simply just registering, ensuring waste is managed by authorised persons only and in a safe manner. The environmental permitting regime gives the Environment Agency more powers and resources to ensure compliance and hold operators to account.

Mandatory Digital Waste Tracking will help to reduce waste crime, including fly-tipping, and this service will be in place from April 2026.

Defra is also conducting a review of local authority powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping, to identify how we can support them to make better use of this tool.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal prosecutions in England and Wales collapsed due to (a) lost (b) missing and (c) damaged evidence for each year from 2015 to date.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on criminal court prosecutions that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The Ministry of Justice cannot provide data on cases that are not progressed due to lost, missing or damaged of evidence. This information would only be held in the individual court records and examination of these records would be of disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of average speed cameras on the number of accidents and casualties.

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

A 2016 study conducted by the RAC Foundation in partnership with Road Safety Analysis examined 50 Average Speed Camera (ASC) sites across Great Britain.

After adjusting for factors such as regression to the mean and national casualty trends, the analysis found:

• 36.4% reduction in fatal and serious collisions (KSI)
• 16% reduction in all injury collisions

The full report is available at

Average_speed_camera_effectiveness_Owen_Ursachi_Allsop_September_2016.pdf

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate has been made of the number of (1) grass and (2) artificial football pitches in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham for each year since 2015.

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

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 59,794 grass football pitches and 6,634 artificial grass pitches in England. In Greater Manchester, there are 1,796 grass football pitches and 380 artificial grass pitches. In Oldham, there are 113 grass football pitches and 30 artificial grass pitches.

The Government is investing £98m in grassroots facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26, funding projects such as new artificial grass pitches, grass pitch improvements and pitch maintenance equipment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the pull and push factors driving taxi license holders from obtaining licenses out of their area of residence and operation, such as to Wolverhampton Council.

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

Ministers and officials regularly engage with the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Differing licensing requirements, processing times and costs are often cited as reasons why licences are sought from authorities other than that in which the applicants intend to work.

Though there is a high degree of consistency in requirements relating to safety, for example all licensing authorities in England require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service and barred lists check for drivers, the Government is taking action to ensure even greater consistency in licensing.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing out-of-area working.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions have taken place with highway authorities in England on the potential impact of yellow box enforcement on congestion and pollution on the road network.

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

No such discussions have been held with highway authorities. Primary legislation requires local authorities with designated powers to have regard to the Secretary of State's statutory guidance on moving traffic enforcement, which includes box junction markings. This guidance includes measures to reduce congestion, enabling walking and cycling, reduce rat-running, create more pleasant places to live and work in and improve road safety.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to support the rebuilding of Ukraine through UK to Ukraine economic trade expansion.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

My department is working to match British business expertise with Ukraine’s reconstruction needs, including through commitments in the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership Agreement.

We extended tariff-free trade under our bilateral Free Trade Agreement on most goods until 2029, offering the most generous tariff concessions of any country. The UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement has updated our digital trading arrangements for the modern age to help Ukraine rebuild its economy. Additionally, we continue to work with the Government of Ukraine to address market access barriers and identify and address priority reconstruction needs through the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce and our Project Development Programme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of recent trends in levels of illegal agriculture red diesel use.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Rebated fuels must be supplied by Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil who are approved by HMRC to ensure that fuel is only obtained by those entitled to use it.

Rebated fuels can only be used in eligible vehicles and machines when they are being used for a qualifying purpose, which includes agricultural activities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support has government provided to grass roots rugby in encouraging the participation of young people.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including rugby, providing more opportunities for young people to be active.

Sport England provides long term investment to the Rugby Football Union (£13.9 million from 2022-27) and Rugby Football League (£11.9 million from 2022-25), the National Governing Bodies for rugby to support grassroots participation.

Since last summer, the Government has also provided £6.7 million into the Women’s Rugby World Cup Legacy Programme Impact 25 which has benefited 850 clubs across the country. These clubs have received investment which goes towards supporting girls of all ages to get involved in rugby.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total capital cost to the government of customs check posts since the UK EU withdrawal.

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

The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her department holds on musical instrument take up by secondary school children by social class in England.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The information requested is not held centrally.

To support music education, the government has committed £76 million per year grant funding for the Music Hubs programme, including the 2025/26 academic year. The 43 Music Hub partnerships across England offer a range of services, including instrumental music tuition and instrument loans. To widen access to instruments, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the government intends to review planning laws to increase support for farming business diversification in rural areas.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 95296 on 4 December 2025.