Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help improve employment opportunities for older people.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement, and we recognise the wealth of skills and experience that older workers bring both to the workplace and the economy. We are committed to supporting workers over the age of 50 through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes age-inclusive employment practices, flexible working, and progression and career development.

We have a dedicated offer for older workers within jobcentres, including our 50PLUS Champions who provide a critical layer of support to ensure the needs of older jobseekers are met. We also offer a Midlife MOT, which helps people to review their health, finances and skills and signpost to suitable support. Our Employer and Partnership Teams in jobcentres work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers.

As part of our plans to Get Britain Working and create a new Jobs and Careers Service, we are committed to reforming employment support to ensure it is inclusive and meets the needs of our customers. We are considering the support we offer to those aged 50 and over so that they can access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of trends in the level of ageism in the media sector.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

There are processes in place to track and monitor diversity data across the media, including a statutory role for Ofcom under the Communications Act 2003 to promote diversity and inclusion in the TV and radio sector.

As part of this, broadcasters provide data to Ofcom on the make-up of their off-screen workforce in terms of age, ethnicity, gender and disability, which Ofcom reports on annually. These reports can be viewed at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/equity-and-diversity/diversity-equal-opportunities-tv-and-radio.

In addition, the Equality Act 2010 contains strong protections for older people against age discrimination in a variety of settings, including work and the provision of services. The Act prohibits both discrimination because of age and harassment related to age.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support older people in financial difficulties.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are committed to helping pensioners with the cost of living and ensuring financial security in retirement. The State Pension will remain the foundation of retirement income and, in line with the government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for the duration of this parliament, over 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, worth up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26, when those on the full new State Pension received a £360 boost.

The Government provides Pension Credit for pensioners with low incomes. Pension Credit is an income-related benefit which targets help at the poorest pensioners. The amount a person gets depends on how much income they have each week and how much they have saved or invested.

The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will also increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for single pensioners and from £346.60 to £363.25 for couples, protecting the poorest pensioners. Over three quarters of pensioners will benefit from the Winter Fuel Payment for the duration of this Parliament, targeting help at those on lower and middle incomes while ensuring fairness for taxpayers.

Pensioners also benefit from free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and bus passes, and some may qualify for means tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Cold Weather Payments.

To help with ongoing cost of living pressures, the government will remove around £150 on average off household energy bills across Great Britain from April 2026 and the government is expanding the Warm Home Discount to an additional 2.7 million households, meaning around 6 million low-income households will receive £150 support with their energy bills.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support (a) entrepreneurs and (b) new business starters.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government published the Entrepreneurship in the UK Prospectus which emphasises the Government’s commitment to supporting start‑ups and scaling firms through improved access to capital, R&D support, regulatory reform, and procurement changes.

The Government also conducted a Call for Evidence on Tax Support for Entrepreneurs, which closed recently.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the total cost to the public purse of universal credit payments for foreign nationals in the last 5 years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will make an assessment on the adequacy of domestic steel production in the context of global (a) conflict and (b) economic challenges.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As part of the forthcoming Steel Strategy, we have commissioned an analysis of future UK steel demand and domestic production capabilities over the next 25 years. This analysis will form part of the evidence base for the Steel Strategy and will be published soon.

Furthermore, the 2025 Defence Industrial Strategy and associated Strategic Defence Review committed Government to introducing Defence Readiness legislation this Parliament. This legislation aims to provide the Government with more robust powers to strengthen supply chain resilience, protect critical national infrastructure (including nuclear), and support the rapid mobilisation of defence industry. The role of domestic steel production in the context of a conflict scenario, alongside other parts of the industrial base, will be assessed as this legislation develops.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help (a) tackle male suicide and (b) improve access to support for men struggling with their mental health.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England identifies middle aged men as a priority group for targeted and tailored support at a national level. There needs to be appropriate support and signposting for suicide prevention from services men commonly interact with, especially primary care, as well as Government agencies, and wider physical and mental health services. This can also include places where people may seek support for risk factors that have been linked to male suicide, including debt, and alcohol and drug misuse.

On 19 November, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community, and family networks and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease.

Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.

We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk of taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App. These services are available to men struggling with their mental health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help raise public awareness of routes for support to prevent male suicide.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England identifies middle aged men as a priority group for targeted and tailored support at a national level. There needs to be appropriate support and signposting for suicide prevention from services men commonly interact with, especially primary care, as well as Government agencies, and wider physical and mental health services. This can also include places where people may seek support for risk factors that have been linked to male suicide, including debt, and alcohol and drug misuse.

On 19 November, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community, and family networks and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease.

Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.

We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk of taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App. These services are available to men struggling with their mental health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure people with (a) disabilities and (b) additional needs receive (i) timely and (ii) effective medical attention.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We want disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs. The 10-Year Health Plan specifically identifies disabled people as a priority group for the development of neighbourhood health care, offering more holistic ongoing support, and noting the health inequalities they face.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a disabled patient or client and the reasonable adjustments to care and treatment that they need, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately and equitably. Under a new information standard, published on 19 December 2025, all publicly funded health and social care service providers must be able to share, read, and write reasonable adjustment data by 30 September 2026.

The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework requires that from 2026/27 all integrated care boards and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all Community Health Services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. It also sets a new target to deliver all urgent general practice appointments on the same day.

The Elective Recovery Plan sets out commitments to tackle disparities in access to and waiting times for elective care, and our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets out clear actions to deliver improvements this winter and make services better every day.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide 24/7 mental health support to prevent suicide.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

The Government has invested up to £120 million to increase the number of crisis assessment centres, which will provide reactive, short term intensive support for people in acute mental health crisis.

To strengthen access to urgent mental health support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through a mental health option on NHS 111. This integrated service can give patients of all ages the chance to be listened to by a trained member of staff who can help direct them to the right place.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve support for families affected by suicide.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Evidence suggests that those who are bereaved by suicide may have a risk of dying by suicide up to three times higher than the general population. The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England identifies eight priority areas for targeted and tailored support, one of which is to provide compassionate, timely, and effective support for people bereaved by suicide. Our actions are to better understand the personal experiences of people bereaved by suicide including through learning from our voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector (VCSE) partners, to explore opportunities to improve access and support for those bereaved by suicide and to engage with new evidence around bereavement.

Bereavement services and support should consider the needs of different groups and communities to ensure the widest range of people receive the support they need, wherever they live. The Government, local authorities, police, coroners, the National Health Service, schools and universities, and VCSE organisations all have an essential role in providing effective and timely bereavement support to.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will outline the nature of the joint process between NICE and MHRA referenced in 2026 National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.

The joint process between the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the MHRA, as mentioned in the National Cancer Plan for England, published in February 2026, refers to the commitments of the two organisations to align decision timeframes for new medicines and new indications, as outlined in the Government’s Regulatory Action plan, England’s 10-Year Health Plan, and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, in action 27, all published in 2025. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688c90a8e8ba9507fc1b090c/Life_Sciences_Sector_Plan.pdf

This joint information-sharing initiative aims to deliver both MHRA licensing decision and NICE guidance publication at the same time. It will mean more medicines receive approval for use on the National Health Service in England at the same time as they are authorised for use in the UK. This will ultimately benefit patients in the UK as it is anticipated that new medicines will reach UK patients three to six months faster as a result. This initiative was announced by the MHRA and NICE in August 2025, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/patients-will-receive-medicines-3-6-months-faster-under-10-year-health-plan-as-regulators-set-out-plans

Action 27 of the Life Sciences Sector Plan also introduces an integrated scientific advice service, launching in March 2026, where the two organisations will work together to provide medicines developers with advice to support this aligned approach.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people with disabilities do not experience long wait times for medical appointments.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We want disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs. The 10-Year Health Plan specifically identifies disabled people as a priority group for the development of neighbourhood health care, offering more holistic ongoing support, and noting the health inequalities they face.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a disabled patient or client and the reasonable adjustments to care and treatment that they need, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately and equitably. Under a new information standard, published on 19 December 2025, all publicly funded health and social care service providers must be able to share, read, and write reasonable adjustment data by 30 September 2026.

The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework requires that from 2026/27 all integrated care boards and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all Community Health Services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. It also sets a new target to deliver all urgent general practice appointments on the same day.

The Elective Recovery Plan sets out commitments to tackle disparities in access to and waiting times for elective care, and our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets out clear actions to deliver improvements this winter and make services better every day.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve research into (a) the causes of respiratory conditions and (b) the adoption of new medicines for respiratory conditions.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with respiratory conditions, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments. Between 2020/21 and 2025/26, the Department, through its research delivery arm the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £7.4 million for research into the causes of respiratory conditions and £33.5 million for studies on the adoption of new medicines for these conditions. The NIHR accepts applications across all areas of human health, including respiratory diseases. Further information on the NIHR’s work on respiratory conditions can be found at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/support-and-services/support-for-delivering-research/specialties-and-settings/specialties#tab-respiratory

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development and approval of personalised cancer vaccines.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has completed a public consultation on its draft guideline on individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies, a new type of personalised cancer treatment. These technologies use cutting-edge science such as artificial intelligence to design a medicine tailored to each patient’s unique tumour profile. The MHRA’s public consultation on its draft guideline on individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-guidance-on-individualised-mrna-cancer-immunotherapies

The MHRA received positive responses from across the life sciences community, the National Health Service, patient groups, academics, and international regulators. Feedback recognised the United Kingdom’s leadership in this area, while calling for greater clarity in some aspects of the guideline.

In response, we will refine the guideline to ensure regulatory expectations are clearly articulated, without hampering innovation. This will facilitate faster access to these promising new therapies, while upholding our standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The final version of the guideline will be published in the coming months, with future updates anticipated as regulatory experience evolves in this rapidly developing field.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the long-term financial viability of animal rescue centres and sanctuaries which are not registered charities.

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

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations. This consultation will consider the potential impacts on the sector, including any financial implications.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of taxation policy on animal rescue centres and sanctuaries.

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

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations. This consultation will consider the potential impacts on the sector, including any financial implications.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support animal rescue centres and sanctuaries.

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

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations. This consultation will consider the potential impacts on the sector, including any financial implications.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Our Small Business Plan sets out how government will support high street businesses in the everyday economy. Later this year, MHCLG will publish a new High Streets Strategy setting out how we can support high streets to thrive.

This will build upon MHCLG's £5 billion Pride in Place Programme to renew our neighbourhoods and high streets. Kirkby-in-Ashfield was announced in the first 75 places to receive up to £20 million over the next decade as part of the Pride in Place programme and Ashfield will be in receipt of £1.5 million as part of the Pride in Place Impact Fund.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help SMEs to increase employment opportunities.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are helping SMEs grow and employ more people through our largest ever injection of capital into the British Business Bank. Over the next five years, the British Business Bank will increase annual deployment by two-thirds, aiming to unlock around £26 billion of private capital alongside £13 billion in public funding, and enable up to an additional £10 billion in small business lending through guarantees.

The Government protected the smallest businesses from the changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this tax year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.

At Autumn Budget 2025, we announced that we are supporting SMEs by changing the rules to fully fund SME apprenticeships training costs for eligible people under the age of 25.