Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Royal Mail's NHS option on delivery of health-related correspondence.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises the importance of timely delivery of NHS letters. Royal Mail has introduced an NHS barcode to assist NHS units that continue to rely on post to communicate with patients. In addition, NHS England and NHS Providers have produced guidance for NHS organisations, including a case study, to increase awareness and uptake of the variety of Royal Mail services for the timely delivery of letters.
NHS Providers understand that they must ensure they are sending patients’ post out within the right timeframe and it is for them to determine what service they use to enable that.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to raise concerns regarding the human rights of the Uyghur Muslims in China.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Xinjiang. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations and we raise our concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese government.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the EU's customs charge for small parcels on the (a) comic and (b) wider publishing industry; and whether his Department plans to seek an exemption for published material.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has been following the development of the EU’s customs reforms closely and is aware of the potential impact on the publishing industry. The Government continues to raise the issue of tariff and non-tariff barriers affecting UK businesses through established UK-EU governance channels, including the removal of customs duty relief for low-value imports, to support UK businesses trading in and with the EU. We continue to engage with UK businesses to understand the potential implications for UK exporters and affected sectors. We encourage businesses and representative organisations to continue raising concerns through their established engagement channels with Government and the Commission, and where appropriate, through relevant stakeholder consultations.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Civil Service Pension Scheme, how many (a) formal Stage 1 complaints under the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure have been registered by Capita since December 2025 and (b) formal Stage 2 IDRP complaints are currently being managed directly by her Department.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and GOV.UK.
While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. The Government is taking robust action to hold Capita to account. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita.
To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors have been deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.
Capita has received 137 IDR Stage 1 complaints between December 2025 and July 2026. The data is not yet available for August 2026.
The Cabinet Office has received 114 IDR Stage 2 applications since this date.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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.