Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the value of NHS optical vouchers issued under the General Ophthalmic Services in meeting the current cost of spectacles; and whether she plans to review those values.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 18475.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that patients who are eligible for help with the cost of spectacles are aware of their entitlement to NHS optical vouchers and to support under the NHS Low Income Scheme.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 18475.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing exemptions within Temporary Use Bans that permit construction sites and housing developers to use sprinklers to water newly laid lawns during periods of water scarcity.

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

Water companies are responsible for deciding whether to implement a Temporary Use Ban during periods of water scarcity and must do so in accordance with their statutory drought plans and the relevant legislative framework. Temporary Use Bans are intended to reduce non-essential water use while allowing certain exemptions set out in legislation and guidance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides to water companies on granting exemptions from Temporary Use Bans for housing developments and construction sites.

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

Water companies are responsible for deciding whether to implement a Temporary Use Ban during periods of water scarcity and must do so in accordance with their statutory drought plans and the relevant legislative framework. Temporary Use Bans are intended to reduce non-essential water use while allowing certain exemptions set out in legislation and guidance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken by her Department to provide a substantive response to correspondence from hon. Members was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the longest such time was.

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

I refer the honourable member for Maidenhead to the answer of 8 September to Question 25589.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of maintaining the Plan 2 student loan repayment threshold at its 2026-27 level for three years from April 2027 on the disposable income of graduates earning below median earnings.

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

The department has produced the following analysis regarding the impact of freezing the Plan 2 repayment and interest thresholds for three years starting April 2027:

If a borrower is earning above the repayment threshold and their income stays the same, their repayments will remain the same. If a borrower is not earning above the repayment threshold and their income remains the same, they will continue to not be required to make any repayments.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase public awareness of Clare's Law; and whether she plans to work with local authorities, police forces, healthcare providers and community organisations to promote awareness of the scheme.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, also known as ‘Clare’s Law’, enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse, about their partner or ex-partner’s abusive or violent offending.

We know that more needs to be done to make sure the scheme is working well for victims. That is why the Home Office and the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection are working to closely to support more consistent implementation of the scheme across policing.

Through our strategy: Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, we committed to creating a clearer and more consistent framework for disclosures, and to explore the potential to expand ‘Clare’s Law’ to other forms of violence against women and girls. Work on this is underway and we intend to invite views on the current statutory guidance and any potential expansion via a public consultation, which will be advertised widely to the public and key stakeholders.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data the Department holds on mortality, lameness and culling rates in conventional broiler flocks in England in each of the last five years; and what steps the Department is taking to reduce the routine prophylactic use of antibiotics in intensive poultry production.

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

The Government does not hold such data on lameness and culling rates in conventional broiler flocks in England. The government receives data from the Food Standards Agency on Cumulative Daily Mortality Rates (CDMR) for broiler chickens.

The Average Yearly CDMR was 3.57% in 2020, 3.65% in 2021, 3.76% in 2022, 3.53% in 2023, 3.39% in 2024, 3.38% in 2025. The figure for 2023 represents the period of 1 April to 31 December, this is the only Average Yearly CDMR data that the government holds for that year.

The Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations prohibit the routine use of antibiotics to compensate for inadequate husbandry, management or biosecurity, and restrict prophylactic antibiotic use to exceptional circumstances only, under veterinary oversight and subject to additional legal requirements. We continue to work closely with the poultry sector to promote high standards of biosecurity, disease prevention and antimicrobial stewardship.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether HM Courts and Tribunals Service has a procedure for escalating cases where a compensation order has remained wholly unpaid for more than two years despite repeated enquiries from the victim.

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

There is no specific escalation process for cases where a compensation order has remained unpaid for more than two years. However, HMCTS takes the recovery and enforcement of all financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to ensuring impositions are paid. The courts will do everything within their powers to trace those who do not pay and use a variety of sanctions to ensure the recovery of criminal fines and financial penalties.

Court-imposed financial penalties are enforced as a whole, with payments distributed according to a statutory order of priority. This ensures the compensation is paid first to victims, followed by the victim surcharge, before any payments are applied to fines or other financial impositions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance HM Courts and Tribunals Service provides to victims seeking updates on the enforcement of compensation orders; and what service standards apply to responding to such enquiries.

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

Victims can be informed about the amount of compensation awarded, payments received, and any outstanding balance. HMCTS may also explain the enforcement options available where payment has not been made. However, specific enforcement activity and personal information relating to the defendant cannot be disclosed due to legal and operational requirements including the administration of justice and data protection compliance.

There are currently no formal service standards or published guidelines setting out response times for general enquiries. However, the expectation is that enquiries will normally receive a response within five working days. Where a matter is submitted as a formal complaint, a defined service standard applies and a response should be issued within ten working days.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to set a target for reducing the number of households using food banks.

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

We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing the need for emergency food support. The Households Below Average Income and Family Resources (HBAI) publication provides annual high-quality official statistics which are used to track a range of measures, including poverty, food security and food bank use. Statistics on the number of individuals living in food insecure households in the UK were first introduced in 2019/20.

Both our Child Poverty Strategy and action to address the manifesto commitment to reduce reliance on emergency food parcels draw on high-quality data produced in the HBAI that covers poverty, food insecurity and food bank use.

Furthermore, we have taken action to address poverty and to reduce the need for emergency food support through targeted social security measures. This includes the removal of the two-child limit in Universal Credit which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, and the expansion of free school meals to all households receiving Universal Credit which is expected to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British nationals have been the victims of homicide abroad in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the case for appointing an Envoy for Complex Consular Homicides, given the recent appointment of an Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Terms of Reference for the UK Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions are published on GOV.UK. The Envoy's remit is limited to cases involving consular detention overseas and does not extend to non-detention consular cases.

We provide support to families bereaved by homicide through a specialist team in Consular and Crisis Directorate.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the remit of the newly appointed Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions extends to cases involving the homicide of British nationals abroad.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Terms of Reference for the UK Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions are published on GOV.UK. The Envoy's remit is limited to cases involving consular detention overseas and does not extend to non-detention consular cases.

We provide support to families bereaved by homicide through a specialist team in Consular and Crisis Directorate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the index used to calculate interest rates on Plan 2 student loans.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government, and the costs were based on the RPI measure.

In April, interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans were capped at 6% for this academic year, to protect graduates from high interest rates.

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that it will bring the methods and data sources used to calculate CPIH into RPI from February 2030.

This Government will continue to look for ways to make the system fairer, but any changes must be fiscally responsible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of scientifically validated alternatives to the use of dogs in procedures licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and what steps her Department is taking to encourage their adoption.

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

DSIT’s most recent assessment is set out in its November 2025 strategy, Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. This reports that alternative methods can already replace some uses of animals and that advances including organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems and computational approaches offer significant further potential. However, the maturity and regulatory acceptance of alternatives vary, and scientifically satisfactory non-animal methods are not yet available for all purposes for which dogs are used.

Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, a project involving dogs may be authorised only where its purpose cannot be achieved by a scientifically satisfactory method that does not use protected animals. Applicants must demonstrate how they have applied the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, and the availability of alternatives is considered during the project licence assessment.

DSIT is supporting wider adoption through its £75 million strategy programme, including investment in the development and validation of alternative methods, action to increase regulatory confidence and acceptance, and new infrastructure and partnerships to support their use. This is intended to accelerate the replacement of animal procedures, including those involving dogs, wherever scientifically robust alternatives become available.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness and independence of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit in overseeing licensed establishments under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

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

The Home Office keeps the effectiveness of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit under review. The Home Office has expanded the inspectorate, introduced additional expertise in data analysis and quality management, and is developing a revised, risk-based audit programme, including greater use of unannounced audits. A new governance board is also being established to provide additional support and scrutiny of regulatory performance, which will be operational later this year.

ASRU is independent in its regulatory decision-making. Its inspectors assess licence applications and compliance matters on their merits, applying scientific and professional judgement within the statutory framework of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. ASRU remains accountable to the Home Office for its overall performance, but Ministers do not direct individual regulatory decisions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Ofsted on the inspection of multi-academy trusts' handling of permanent exclusions of pupils with special educational needs.

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

Trust inspection will consider how trusts drive educational quality, and how they contribute to an inclusive, collaborative system. Officials in the department and Ofsted are working together, and with the sector, to ensure the system works well and delivers the benefit that we expect including addressing the needs of pupils with special educational needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead were permanently excluded in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those pupils had identified special educational needs but no Education, Health and Care Plan.

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

Statistics on permanent exclusions by local authority are published in the department’s suspension and permanent exclusions statistical release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2024-25.

This information has been available since 9 July 2026. Data can be accessed using the publication’s ‘Create table’ function. The relevant table produced using this function is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a3216df4-c96d-477a-2e38-08df07a6df71.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers she has under academy funding agreements to intervene where a trust does not convene a governing board meeting to consider reinstatement of excluded students within 15 school days.

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

Academy trusts must have regard to the statutory Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance. The guidance is clear that, where a pupil is permanently excluded, and where a suspension would take the pupil’s total number of suspended school days above 15 in a term, or where the pupil would miss a public examination or national curriculum test, the governing body must consider and decide on the pupil’s reinstatement within 15 school days of receiving notice of the exclusion.

Academy trusts must comply with their legal and contractual obligations. Where a failure amounts to a breach of the relevant funding agreement, the department may use the intervention powers available under that agreement. Depending on the circumstances and the precise terms of the trust’s funding agreements, this may include requiring remedial action, issuing a termination warning notice and, ultimately, terminating the agreement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish more detailed inspection reports for establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including MBR Acres, with fewer redactions where this would not compromise security or personal data.

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

The Government has no plans to introduce the routine publication of audit or inspection reports for licensed establishments. Requests for information, including information relating to inspections and audits, are considered on a case-by-case basis. Decisions are made in accordance with the statutory framework governing information obtained under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, data protection legislation and other applicable legal obligations. This protects the effective operation of the UKs rigorous and robust regulatory regime.

The Government is committed to transparency and publishes a range of information about animals in science regulation, including: annual statistics, non-technical summaries of each and every licensed project, an annual regulator’s report that includes the outcomes of all non-compliance investigations, Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act and the Code of Practice. The Regulator also regularly publishes technical advice notes. Further, reports of the Animals in Science Committee are routinely published and this Government has committed to publication of additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of transparency arrangements relating to licensed establishments under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including the publication of information on animal use, welfare outcomes and inspection findings.

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

The Government is committed to transparency in the regulation of animals in science and keeps the relevant arrangements under review. A substantial amount of information is already published, including annual statistics on scientific procedures involving protected animals, non-technical summaries of licensed projects, retrospective assessments of relevant projects, and the Regulator’s annual reports. The annual reports include information on audit activity, including the number and types of audits undertaken, as well as summaries of all cases of non-compliance, the number of animals involved, and the regulatory action taken. The Government also publishes Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to explain how it administers and enforces the law and a Code of Practice that sets out care and accommodation requirements of animals under ASPA. The Regulator also publishes all technical advice notes.

The Home Office has committed to restarting the collection of additional statistics on animals used in science. Annual publication is planned from 2028, using data collected during 2027.

In May 2026, the Government accepted recommendations from the Animals in Science Committee on improving the transparency and clarity of non-technical summaries and retrospective assessments. The response, and delivery plan for taking this work forward, are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-technical-summaries-and-retrospective-assessments-response-from-lord-hanson.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on (a) the number of beagles bred, (b) the number used in regulated procedures, (c) the number euthanised before use in regulated procedures, (d) the reasons recorded for euthanasia, and (e) the number rehomed by MBR Acres in each of the last five years.

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

Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, licensed establishments must maintain records of the source, use and final disposal of all protected animals bred, kept or used at the establishment for regulated activity. These records must be available to Home Office Inspectors on request.

The Home Office does not centrally hold annual establishment-level data on the number of beagles bred by MBR Acres, the number euthanised before use in regulated procedures, the reasons for euthanasia, or the number rehomed.

The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of animals in scientific procedures, which include information on procedures involving dogs. These statistics are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals. However, these statistics do not provide the requested figures for animals re-homed.

In addition, project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are required to include prospective estimates of the number of animals expected to be used. This information is included in the published non-technical summaries of project licences granted available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/non-technical-summaries-of-projects-granted-under-aspa.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the potential financial impact of giving dentists access to the single patient register.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 22 September 2026 in response to Question 25184.

Nigel Bevan and Berkshire Scouts

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescue operations

Battle of Britain Day 2026

UK firefighters attending the Terry Farrell Patriot Memorial Stair Climb

Support for retired service animals

Contribution of women to the Bayeux Tapestry

Publication of Legal Advice on Local Government Reorganisation

Support for hospices

World Suicide Prevention Day 2026

Road fuel prices

Claudia Adolphus-Green

Employer National Insurance contributions

Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve awarded 20th consecutive Green Flag Award

Cosmetic specifications for fresh produce and national food security

Society lottery limits

Furniture poverty and access to essential household goods

La Fish Chichester: 45th anniversary

Chichester Community Development Trust: 15th anniversary

2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive

Merchant Navy Day

Found: Mr Joshua Reynolds MP raised fake power-saving devices available on both eBay and Amazon.

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds