Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies on helping disabled people into appropriate employment.

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

The DWP delivers a range of interventions to help disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to find and stay in work. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Connect to Work and WorkWell. Additionally, the Joint DWP and DHSC Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers and continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme.

Evaluation is a key driver in delivering DWP’s priority outcomes and ensuring alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change. As set out in the DWP Evidence and Evaluation Strategy, ongoing evaluation of policies to support disabled people into appropriate employment is crucial in assessing whether they are achieving intended results and informs future policy design.

For example, an evaluation of the WorkWell pilot is underway to assess the effectiveness of WorkWell and is conducted by an independent consortium of evaluators using surveys, interviews and econometric measures of success. The evaluation is tracking several outcome metrics, including reported health and wellbeing and earnings. Outcomes for participants are monitored across the length of the pilot, and for a further 2 years. The first pilot evaluation report has been published here: WorkWell Pilots Evaluation Early Implementation Findings - GOV.UK. A final report in Autumn 2028 will aim to give a full assessment of the impact and effectiveness of the pilot.

A similar evaluation is being commissioned for the national rollout of WorkWell and will explore the feasibility of using a randomised control trial design. The learnings from these evaluations will inform any future decisions on the Programme.

The Connect to Work Business Case, published January 2026 (29 January 2026: Connect to Work - Programme Business Case 1 Summary - GOV.UK), estimates that an additional 22,000 people will be in work over the lifetime of the programme. These, and wider, impacts are being monitored through a comprehensive national evaluation, with a final report expected in 2031.

Other recent policy evaluations include assessments of Additional Work Coach Support (Evaluation of Additional Work Coach Support - GOV.UK) and the Intensive Personalised Employment Support scheme (Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) Programme Evaluation - GOV.UK).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the number of schools with air conditioning installed in each local authority.

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

The department holds information on air-conditioning units identified through the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which surveyed state-funded schools between 2021 and 2026.

The information collected reflects the position observed at the time of the survey visits. The CDC surveys are visual and non-intrusive, and air-conditioning units are recorded only where they are observed during a survey visit.

The department has published a climate change risk assessment for the education sector and is improving climate resilience across the education estate through programmes, including the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme and the school rebuilding programme, which will deliver climate-resilient buildings at more than 750 schools.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the costs of a family visa for a Ukraine family.

Answered by Mike Tapp

The Government’s bespoke Ukraine Schemes for those fleeing the conflict are available to eligible Ukrainian nationals and their family members. Applications under these schemes are free of charge, are exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge and, if granted, provide access to work, public services, healthcare and education, reflecting the UK’s generous commitment to support provided to those displaced by the conflict.

While applications made under the Ukraine Schemes are not subject to an application fee or the Immigration Health Surcharge, a Ukrainian national who has obtained settled status in the UK and subsequently wishes to sponsor a family member under the UK's wider family immigration routes would be required to apply under the general family visa provisions and pay the relevant fees or obtain a fee waiver.

The current fee for a family visa application, which allow partners, parents and dependent children of British and settled sponsors to apply to come or to stay in the UK, is £2,064 and is set at the same level for all applicants. The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is set at £1,035 per person per year and is calculated based on the length of immigration permission granted.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to install air conditioning systems.

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

The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-uk-climate-change-risk-on-the-delivery-of-education/summary-of-findings-in-relation-to-3-climate-risks-overheating-flooding-and-water-scarcity.

We are improving infrastructure and strengthening resilience across the education estate through our Education Estates Strategy. This includes a new £710 million renewal and retrofit programme to improve condition and climate resilience, investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate and investment of almost £20 billion through to 2034/35 in the school rebuilding programme, delivering climate‑resilient buildings at over 750 schools.

The department has recently updated the design standards, covering overheating risk assessments which account for rising temperatures associated with climate change, as well as external shading and cross ventilation. Our improve and renew guidance also outlines measures that could be implemented to mitigate overheating. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improve-and-renew-developing-your-long-term-estates-plan/improve-and-renew-your-long-term-estates-plan.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the number of schools that stop offering hot meals to children during heatwaves.

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

The department has not made an assessment of the number of schools that stop offering hot meals during periods of hot weather.

Beyond the School Food Standards, decisions about catering arrangements are a matter for individual schools and their catering providers. The department’s expectation is that schools remain open wherever it is safe to do so, and schools may make operational adjustments in response to local conditions and risk assessments during period of extreme heat. The department’s guidance emphasises the importance of ensuring pupils have access to food, water and appropriate facilities, while taking practical steps to keep children safe and comfortable in hot weather.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect the wellbeing of children in schools during heatwaves.

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

The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment. We continue to support responsible bodies and schools to provide education in a safe environment.

To support them, the department has also published guidance to support education settings during hot weather, available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This advice draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. In most cases, schools are the safest place for children during hot weather, as staff can actively monitor pupils, ensure regular hydration, and make adjustments to keep them cool. Children may also not be any cooler at home than in school, as recent analysis by the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing shows that 1.6 million children are currently living in overheated homes.

We are improving infrastructure through the Education Estates Strategy, including a £710 million renewal and retrofit programme to 2029/30. We are also investing almost £3 billion annually by 2034/25 in capital maintenance and almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme to rebuild over 750 schools with buildings that are future proofed against the risks of climate change.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour on the high street.

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

The Government’s police reforms will protect and strengthen neighbourhood policing by freeing local forces, including Thames Valley Police, from national responsibilities so they can focus on issues that matter most locally, like anti-social behaviour (ASB). Every police force in England and Wales now has an ASB lead in place who will work with communities, stakeholders and the general public to implement their individual ASB Action Plans, which were published at the start of April. Further information on the Thames Valley Police ASB Action Plan can be found here: https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/asb/asb/antisocial-behaviour/antisocial-behaviour-action-plan/

Through the Crime and Policing Act, we are making our streets and neighbourhoods safer by strengthening the powers available to the police and other agencies to tackle ASB. Our new Respect Orders will give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most relentless adult ASB offenders.

We are also strengthening the powers available to the police and other local agencies by increasing the upper limit for fixed penalty notices for breaches of CPNs and PSPOs from £100 to £500, increasing the time a dispersal direction can be implemented for from 48 to 72 hours and giving registered social housing providers the power to issue closure notices, amongst others.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase police presence in town centres.

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

As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Government has committed to delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of this Parliament.

By February 2026 we delivered 3,123 additional full-time equivalent (FTE)
police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles since March 2025 as part of a drive to tackle the crimes that blight town centres.

This Government continues to support forces to increase the overall number of
neighbourhood policing personnel, with total growth expected to
reach 4,750 neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2027.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure consultations on disability benefits reforms are accessible for disabled people.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

This Government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions in addition to the representative organisations and people that support them.

That is why we brought forward a Green Paper and opened a public consultation – which received over 47,500 responses before closing on 30 June 2025. The consultation was published in a range of accessible versions including braille, audio, British Sign Language (BSL), Welsh language, Easy Read, large print and web-accessible formats. In addition to the public consultation, we ran a programme of accessible public events to further facilitate input. The series of both virtual and in-person events across the country helped us to hear from disabled people and representative organisations directly.

Our conversations with disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as experts, shaped and informed the Green Paper. We are committed to continuing this dialogue and drawing on a wide range of insights and experiences to get these reforms right. We published our summary to the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation responses on 30 October 2025. We are considering feedback on these proposals as we develop them further.

The Timms Review is being co-produced by disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts. The steering group is committed to ensuring the Review is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences, and to making engagement accessible. The steering group agreed to use a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data and workshops across the UK to gather evidence.

The Review has run a Call for Evidence and ‘Workshop in a Box’ sessions to gather input from individuals and organisations with a full suite of accessible versions, including British Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Welsh versions. The Call for Evidence received over 38,000 responses. A summary of these findings was published alongside the Interim Report on 9 July. The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for final decisions by autumn 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department intends to convene a meeting of stakeholders involved in preparing for the commencement of East-West Rail passenger services.

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

The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow. For passenger services to commence, trains will need to have been modified and fully tested, future staffing arrangements to be put in place, and driver training will need to have been completed. A start date for the first East West Rail services will be announced as soon as it is possible to do so and engagement with stakeholders will proceed once appropriate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons East-West Rail passenger services have not yet commenced.

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

The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow. For passenger services to commence, trains will need to have been modified and fully tested, future staffing arrangements be put in place and driver training will need to have been completed.

Potential merits of a knighthood for Harry Kane

Local Housing Allowance rates

National day to recognise the contribution of Sir David Attenborough

Seven-year anniversary of the mixed-aged couples’ rule

US sanctions on Cuba

Protection and restoration of ancient woodland

Retirement of Godfrey Asare and Margaret Labulo from the Members' Tea Room

Touring artists mobility arrangements

Russian sanctions

International Court of Justice's July 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Indefinite Leave to Remain changes

Impact of Israel’s ingress into Palestinian territory on maternal care

Communications blackout and human rights in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Enhertu for metastatic breast cancer patients

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