Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to provide support for the electric motorcycle industry after the end of the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant.

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

The Government has committed £7.5 billion over the next decade to support industry and the public as they transition to zero emission vehicles.

Ending the £500 Plug-in Motorcycle Grant is not expected to have a significant impact on uptake of zero emission motorcycles or on riders. The Government will continue to work with industry and monitor the development of the zero emission motorcycle market and the need for any further interventions on an ongoing basis.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what enforcement action his Department plans to take against companies found to be wrongly engaging people as self-employed.

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

Bogus or false self-employment is unacceptable and we are committed to robustly tackling it. HMRC will investigate evidence that suggests companies may have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. Employers can also be taken to an employment tribunal if they seek to deny people their employment rights and avoid their own legal obligations by claiming someone is self-employed when they are not.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the City of Wolverhampton Council's safeguarding standards for obtaining taxi and private hire vehicle licenses.

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

The Department’s statutory guidance sets out a robust set of measures that taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities should act on to safeguard the most vulnerable in society. This recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to undertake an enhanced DBS and barred lists check as part of its licensing processes. The City of Wolverhampton Council has advised that it requires this important safeguard and carries out automated criminality checks on a daily basis.

We undertake regular surveys of all licensing authorities to better understand how all licensing authorities ensure the safety of their passengers. Data from the Department’s 2026 survey of licensing authorities in England, which includes details on safeguarding polices, will be published in summer.

The Government is legislating to tackle inconsistencies in taxi and PHV licensing. As a first step, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords. If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to implement Baroness Casey's recommendation on stopping out of area taxis from the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse report.

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

The Government response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and PHV driver licensing. As a first step, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.

If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

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. The Government is currently consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to undertake an enhanced DBS and barred lists check as part of its licensing processes. All licensing authorities in England have advised that they require this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring licensed taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to obtain a DBS check.

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

The Government response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and PHV driver licensing. As a first step, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.

If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

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. The Government is currently consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to undertake an enhanced DBS and barred lists check as part of its licensing processes. All licensing authorities in England have advised that they require this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of taxi drivers operating outside their licensing area on (a) public safety and (b) compliance monitoring.

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

The Government response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and PHV driver licensing. As a first step, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.

If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

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. The Government is currently consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to undertake an enhanced DBS and barred lists check as part of its licensing processes. All licensing authorities in England have advised that they require this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what legislative steps she plans to take to update taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

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

The Government response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and PHV driver licensing. As a first step, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.

If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.

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. The Government is currently consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to undertake an enhanced DBS and barred lists check as part of its licensing processes. All licensing authorities in England have advised that they require this.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information is being provided to his Department by NHS England on the progress on insourcing previously outsourced services within the NHS.

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

We do not routinely collect data on outsourcing or insourcing arrangements. Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries or material changes to existing subsidiaries are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.

As set out on 26 September 2025, NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of National Health Service staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

Subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department has made representations outlining concerns to NHS England about multiple Trusts and FTs in the North West engaging in activities around the proposed formation of or changes to subcos without following the guidance provided by NHS England in February 2024.

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

Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries, or material changes to existing subsidiaries, including any proposals in the North West, are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.

NHS England wrote to the sector on 26 September 2025 to highlight a change in national policy on subsidiaries given concerns about transferring National Health Service staff into new organisations, which is seen as undermining the concept of a single NHS workforce.

NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of NHS staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

All subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions. This includes any proposals in the North West.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action will be taken against NHS Trusts that do not follow guidance from NHS England around proposals to consider the formation of a subco.

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

Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries, or material changes to existing subsidiaries, including any proposals in the North West, are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.

NHS England wrote to the sector on 26 September 2025 to highlight a change in national policy on subsidiaries given concerns about transferring National Health Service staff into new organisations, which is seen as undermining the concept of a single NHS workforce.

NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of NHS staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

All subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions. This includes any proposals in the North West.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps have been taken to ensure NHS England enforces the guidance around the formation of subcos.

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

Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries, or material changes to existing subsidiaries, including any proposals in the North West, are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.

NHS England wrote to the sector on 26 September 2025 to highlight a change in national policy on subsidiaries given concerns about transferring National Health Service staff into new organisations, which is seen as undermining the concept of a single NHS workforce.

NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of NHS staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

All subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions. This includes any proposals in the North West.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department is collecting to monitor progress towards reducing the level of outsourcing in the NHS.

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

We do not routinely collect data on outsourcing or insourcing arrangements. Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries or material changes to existing subsidiaries are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.

As set out on 26 September 2025, NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of National Health Service staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

Subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects to provide a response to the letter sent by the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough on 12th November 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department attaches great importance to the handling of correspondence from parliamentarians. Correspondence often raises complex and serious concerns, as it has in this instance, and as a department we aim to provide high quality, tailored responses to the points raised. I can confirm that a response to the correspondence of 12 November 2025 from my hon. Friend, the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough was sent on 17 March 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of (a) graduate debt and (b) recent media reports on levels of children from low-income households choosing to study at university.

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

The department is committed to addressing the persistent disadvantage gap in access to higher education (HE) and we are encouraged by the fact that disadvantaged young people continue to choose this pathway.

We are introducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from the 2028/29 academic year. These will be paid on top of existing loan amounts, increasing the cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.

Repayments are based on income, not loan amount or interest. Borrowers earning below the earnings threshold make no repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the term, with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed to family members or descendants.

HE providers intending to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Office for Students approved access and participation plan articulating how they will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including students from low-income backgrounds.

We have gone further and asked Professor Kathryn Mitchell to lead an HE Access and Participation Task and Finish Group to consider how to tackle systemic barriers across the journey into HE for disadvantaged students.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that students from low-income households are encouraged to consider university education.

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

The department is committed to addressing the persistent disadvantage gap in access to higher education (HE) and we are encouraged by the fact that disadvantaged young people continue to choose this pathway.

We are introducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from the 2028/29 academic year. These will be paid on top of existing loan amounts, increasing the cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.

Repayments are based on income, not loan amount or interest. Borrowers earning below the earnings threshold make no repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the term, with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed to family members or descendants.

HE providers intending to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Office for Students approved access and participation plan articulating how they will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including students from low-income backgrounds.

We have gone further and asked Professor Kathryn Mitchell to lead an HE Access and Participation Task and Finish Group to consider how to tackle systemic barriers across the journey into HE for disadvantaged students.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered taking additional steps to facilitate further Parliamentary scrutiny of amending the terms of student loan repayments administrated by Student Finance England.

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

Parliamentary scrutiny is occurring in relation to the student loan system. For example, there has recently been a Westminster Hall Debate, as well as through the various mechanisms of parliamentary questions.

It is worth remembering that these loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and the department is having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable. It is important that we have a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and the taxpayer. We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure this remains the case.

Found: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Justin Madders

Found: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Justin Madders

Found: Liam Byrne (Chair); Dan Aldridge; Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison Griffiths; Justin Madders

Found: Justin Madders is now the chair of the all-party parliamentary group.Martin Boyd: My name is Martin

Submit Evidence (by 18 May 2026)

At a Joint Summit in May 2025, the UK and EU agreed to a Security and Defence Partnership, and published a “Common Understanding”, setting out shared commitments to deepen cooperation. Progress since that initial summit has been limited, with core areas for agreement still to conclude. 

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The Business and Trade Committee is conducting its bi-annual stock take on the UK-US economic and trade agreements, building on its baseline report US Economic Prosperity Deal (HC 1306, 2024–26).