Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the claimant count is for people receiving unemployment-related benefits.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The independent Office of National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance and out of work Universal Credit. This can be found here: CLA01: Claimant Count - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including community pharmacies in the roll out of migraine services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of minor illness consultations, pharmacists can already provide advice and recommend over-the-counter treatments for migraines. Pharmacists can also supply emergency medicines to patients already prescribed regular migraine medication as part of the urgent medicine supply element of Pharmacy First.
NHS England keeps the clinical scope of all pharmacy services under regular review, including Pharmacy First, and any changes to the conditions covered by the seven clinical pathways would be subject to consultation with Community Pharmacy England.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for new claims for Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Monthly Universal Credit payment timeliness statistics for new claims are published in UC Households 6 - Payment Timeliness New Claims table in the Households on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to February 2026.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal incentives are available to encourage private investment in infrastructure.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government will continue to work with the private sector to unlock the significant increase in private investment required to deliver the full ambition of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and to maximise the value of the extensive public investment underway.
The government has set out the Corporate Tax Roadmap, offering investors certainty and stability by maintaining the elements of the UK's corporate tax offer.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to encourage greater levels of household savings for retirement.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an incomethroughout retirement. This is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free. This makes pensions tax relief one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system, costing £78.2 billion in 2023/24.
The Government recognises the importance of promoting confidence in pension saving and is committed to ensuring future generations of pensioners have security in retirement. This is why the government announced a landmark two-phased review of the pensions system days after coming into office. The first phase, the Pensions Investment Review, focused on reforming the pensions landscape to boost savers’ pension pots. These reforms have been enacted through the Pension Schemes Act 2026. The second phase – the independent Pensions Commission – is building on these foundations and will make recommendations to the government on the broader questions of adequacy, fairness, and sustainability to guide the long-term future of our pensions system.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Bank of England on inflation and interest rates.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss economic developments. There are also regular discussions between the Bank of England and the Treasury on the drivers of inflation at official level.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households receiving Universal Credit are subject to deductions for advance repayments and other debts.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics related to deductions for households on Universal Credit are published. The relevant figures can be found in tables 6 and 7 of the Universal Credit deductions statistics March 2025 to February 2026, supplementary data tables here: Universal Credit quarterly statistics, 29 April 2013 to 12 February 2026 - GOV.UK
A narrative supporting the published deductions statistics is also available at Universal Credit deductions statistics March 2025 to February 2026 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration his Department has given to the potential impact of a respiratory Modern Service Framework on health inequalities in long-term respiratory conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and will then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.
The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Pakistani counterpart on the protection of minority girls from abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 13 October 2025 in response to Question 77037.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving value for money in public spending programmes.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This government is committed to ensuring that every penny of public money is spent wisely, driving out low value spending and ensuring the state becomes more productive.
At Spending Review 2025, the government announced that it would deliver total annual efficiency gains of almost £14 billion by 2028-29. It published departments’ efficiency targets and plans, allowing external scrutiny and public accountability.
At Budget, the government committed to going further on efficiency and savings by delivering an additional £2.8 billion savings in 2028-29 and £5 billion by 2030-31. Alongside this, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is leading a suite of reviews to drive value for money across government spending.
The government published an updated Green Book in February. This sets out the UK government guidance on appraisal and value for money. The government has also started to publish business cases for major projects, meaning the public can be confident that taxpayers’ money is being spent on projects that deliver best possible value.