Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to hold Royal Mail senior management accountable for statutory delivery performance targets.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough.

The Government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.

Ofcom has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26 and Royal Mail has published a quality of service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.

The government will continue to press royal Mail for improvements in service quality.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a youth triple lock to provide ongoing support for the younger generation, across a range of policy areas.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.

We are working to ensure that every young person has access to learning, training or employment support to help them progress into good work. This forms part of a broader cross-government approach to supporting young people and improving their life chances.

With around one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.

This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department has conducted any research regarding why 96% of the prison population are male, and what measures are being considered to try and reduce the proportion of men offending.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We know that men make up the majority of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system and are disproportionately represented among offenders committing the most serious crimes. As these offences are more likely to attract custodial sentences and longer periods in custody, men make up the overwhelming majority of the prison population.

We are committed to addressing the drivers of offending and reducing reoffending to protect the public and build safer communities. Our approach is guided by the evidence on what works to reduce reoffending, and we work with local services and partners across government to support offenders in custody and the community to secure employment and stable accommodation, access treatment for drug and alcohol misuse, and develop the skills and behaviours needed to move away from crime.

More broadly, the Government’s work to improve outcomes for men and boys across the country is continuing, including in areas such as education, employment, mental health and wellbeing. Supporting positive outcomes across these areas can help address some of the wider factors associated with offending and reoffending.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that local authorities are aware that they can use covert surveillance to tackle fly tippers.

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

Defra has published best practice guidance to support local authorities to make better use of their power to seize vehicles suspected of fly-tipping. This guidance explains the circumstances in which overt and covert surveillance may be used in fly-tipping investigations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the the adequacy of urgent and emergency care services arising from Rugby and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring patients in Rugby have access to timely, high-quality urgent and emergency care services. The Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is developing and delivering an Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme to improve access to care closer to home, reduce avoidable pressure on hospital services, and provide more joined-up care.

Improvements have already been made at Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), including access to general practice (GP) support outside normal practice hours where clinically appropriate. This is helping more patients receive care locally without needing to attend an emergency department.

The ICB is now progressing the next phase of its programme, which will develop an integrated urgent care model to strengthen UTC provision, including evening and weekend services, and establish a single point of access for healthcare professionals to help patients access the most appropriate care.

The new model will also ensure UTCs meet national standards, including provision for patients of all ages and access to GP-led care. The new model is anticipated to be in place by autumn 2027. In the meantime, the ICB will continue to support improvements at Rugby UTC and maximise the use of available GP out-of-hours appointments at Rugby St Cross Hospital.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help improve the efficiency and value for money of defence procurement.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

A substantial programme of work is underway across Defence to improve procurement performance and efficiency. This includes implementing acquisition reform to speed up routes to contract, strengthen contractual levers, improve delivery discipline, and implementing the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Royal Mail's performance in relation to its delivery targets.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26.

The Government will continue to discuss Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, and there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 2026/27 show an improvement.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent research his Department has carried out into the psychological effect on job seekers of employers not responding to their application.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The government recognises concerns about modern recruitment practices raised by young people who contributed to Alan Milburn's interim review of the rise in the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Many reported submitting large numbers of job applications but receiving either no response or only automated rejections.

The government is considering these concerns and will respond to any recommendations arising from Alan Milburn's final review once it is published.

The government is not aware of any jurisdiction that legally requires employers to respond individually to every job application and has no current plans to introduce such a requirement. However, unsuccessful applicants may wish to seek feedback from employers on their application. They may also ask an employer to review a recruitment decision if they believe they have been discriminated against or that the recruitment process was not applied fairly or consistently.

The government has not conducted recent research into the psychological impact on jobseekers of receiving no response to a job application.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what research his Department has conducted on supermarket pricing in recent years.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Department has considered supermarket pricing evidence through its work on the Price Marking Order, including a 2023 consumer survey and public consultation on unit pricing, which showed strong support for helping consumers identify best value. It has also considered Competition and Markets Authority findings on price marking and promotions, which informed recent updates to improve the consistency, visibility and transparency of pricing information. We recently updated the PMO in October 2025 to increase standardisation and transparency across a greater range of goods. These came into effect in April this year.

Additionally, Defra monitors food price inflation and publishes regular statistical reports using sources including the Office for National Statistics. Its in-house econometric model assesses how food supply chain cost changes affect consumer prices, including supermarket prices.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the allocation of an annual budget to Members of Parliament for distribution to good causes in their constituency.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Government does not have plans to provide individual budgets to MPs for local causes. There is an established process for parliamentary approval of local funding via the Estimates process, and IPSA independently of Parliament is responsible for administering MPs’ pay and allowances associated with their parliamentary duties.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking to review the role of Member of Parliaments a) in general and b) given planned changes through local government reorganisation.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Government has no plans for a general review of the role of MPs who, as elected representatives, play an important scrutiny role at a national level. MPs are accountable to their constituents and as office holders are able to perform their role as they see appropriate.

In the Cabinet Statement on 'Rewiring the State' published in July, the Government set out its ambition to deliver growth and the benefits of local empowerment across all parts of the country, while also ensuring “that there is a clear role for Members of Parliament in local accountability, working with mayors and local councillors." The Government will provide further details on this policy in due course.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Royal Mail meets its obligations under the universal postal service in relation to the free delivery of Articles for the Blind; what assessment he has made of the timeliness of those deliveries; and what steps he is taking to improve delivery performance for constituents in Rugby.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

It is important that postal services are accessible and work effectively for all users, particularly those relying on the Articles for the Blind service. The obligation to provide this service is set out in legislation and regulations are overseen by Ofcom, as the independent regulator.

Ministers have met with both Royal Mail and Ofcom to discuss concerns about delivery performance and will continue to make representations to ensure that customers receive the service they are entitled to.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will outline the findings of the consultation on the introduction of an overnight visitor levy in England; whether guarantees will be in place to ensure that, where revenues are collected and distributed by mayoral strategic authorities, all constituencies within those authorities benefit from the scheme; and whether revenues raised through the levy will be ring-fenced for cultural and heritage purposes.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The consultation on the visitor levy has closed and the Government will publish a response in due course. It will be for strategic authorities to decide whether a levy is the right choice for their region and how funds should be reinvested within their areas to drive growth.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what financial support is available to help councils provide ‘meanwhile use’ for the benefit of the community, especially young people, and vacant properties within city or town centres or villages.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Meanwhile use can help maintain footfall on high streets while providing opportunities for creative use of space that would otherwise be empty between tenancies or before redevelopment. There is no dedicated fund for meanwhile use but local authorities have broad powers to subsidise such schemes, and areas receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme could use some of it to support meanwhile use.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her department has a) investigated implementing a basic income for the arts, which provides artists with a weekly income, b) plans to economically support creative artists.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is not considering basic income for artists at this time. We believe that British creators are second-to-none and are committed to giving them security and a regulatory and fiscal environment where creativity can flourish. This is exemplified with our recent Employment Rights Act, our appointment of freelance champions Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump and our 5% uplift to National Portfolio Organisations, giving certainty for staff and freelancers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of recommending the creation of a Minister for the younger and future generations.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, alongside the rest of the ministerial team, have responsibility for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy in England.

Found: John Slinger made representations.