Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mitigating the impact of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit for pensioners with incomes just above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Pension Credit provides direct financial support to pensioner households on the lowest incomes, ensuring that they receive a guaranteed minimum level of income – the Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG). The Standard Minimum Guarantee is subject to the Secretary of State’s annual statutory review of State Pension and benefit rates, and it will increase by 4.8% from April.

Pensioners with incomes just above their Pension Credit level may still benefit from a range of wider support, depending on their circumstances, including help with housing costs, Council Tax, health related support, and other means tested assistance available across the welfare system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 98528 on Schools: Speech and Language Therapy, what progress her Department has made in extending the Early Language Support for Every Child programme; and how her Department is assessing the programme's impact on early identification and support for children with speech, language and communication needs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

In partnership with NHS England, the department has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme for the 2025/26 academic year, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

The interim independent programme evaluation, due to be published this month, will assess the programme’s impact and allow the department to explore insights into the effectiveness of ELSEC delivery at a local level.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the student loan repayment system, including interest accrual, on borrowers who take extended periods out of the labour market due to caring responsibilities; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential differential impact of this system on women.

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

Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.

Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI) (currently 3.2%) meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, or when out of the labour market, such as with caring responsibilities, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.

Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.

For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is planned timetable is for a decision on the inclusion of woodland and peatland carbon codes within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

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

The Government is working to integrate greenhouse gas removals into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and is considering whether this should include high integrity woodland, such as Woodland Carbon Units under the Woodland Carbon Code. The UK ETS Authority consulted in May 2024, and in July 2025 set out further evidence on the potential impacts of including woodland. The Authority will make a decision on woodland inclusion in due course. As set out in July 2025, the Authority is not considering peatland restoration for inclusion in the UK ETS.

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 support tailored, small-cohort employability programmes for care-experienced young people that include one-to-one career coaching, work experience opportunities and in-work mentoring.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is committed to improving employment outcomes for care‑experienced young people and ensuring they can access the personalised support they need to move into and stay in work. Our new programme, Connect to Work is a £1 billion voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing complex non-health related barriers to work which includes care experienced young people. The programme will support around 300,000 people across England and Wales by the end of the decade.

Robust international evidence shows that Supported Employment, which provides a holistic approach to supporting individuals with more complex barriers to employment, can be effective in helping these people into sustained employment.

Participants are given a dedicated, specialist employment support adviser who works alongside them to understand their career goals and help them to address any specific barriers to employment. The adviser seeks good labour market matches for the participant. Participants are supported to have conversations with prospective employers, removing the need to go through complex application processes. The employment adviser works with both the employer and the participant to ensure that the transition into work is smooth and that the workplace is inclusive.

Out of Work participants receive one-to-one support from Connect to Work for up to 12 months to help identify and fulfil employment goals that are suitable for their circumstances. In work participants who are at risk of falling out of employment or self-employment due to their disability or complex barriers can receive up to 4 months support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has for the continuation or expansion of the WorkWell programme beyond the current three-year funding period; whether he plans to expand the programme to support more than 250,000 people; whether he plans to expand eligibility for the programme; and what criteria his Department is using to determine whether the programme will be expanded beyond its current rollout.

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

WorkWell is a health and employment support service providing integrated holistic early help for people with disabilities and/or health conditions to address their health-related barriers to work. The WorkWell pilot phase launched in October 2024 in 15 areas in England and so far has supported approximately 25,000 people to stay in and re-enter work.

In January 2026 we announced that following the pilot, WorkWell will continue to be delivered in existing sites and expand across all of England. The expansion is backed by up to £259 million investment over three years and could support up to 250,000 people.

WorkWell is a voluntary service with broad eligibility criteria; participants do not need to be claiming any Government benefits to be eligible and can access WorkWell through multiple routes including employer referrals, GP referrals, Jobcentre Plus, local services, or self-referral.

An evaluation of the pilot is underway to measure the ongoing effectiveness of WorkWell and will include an independent consortium of evaluators using surveys, interviews and econometric measures of success. The evaluation will consider several variables, including reported health conditions (both physical and mental health) and earnings. Outcomes for participants are monitored across the length of the pilot, and for a further 2 years. A final report in Autumn 2028 will aim to give full assessment of impact of the pilot, including potential sustainment of employment impacts. A similar evaluation will be commissioned for the national rollout of WorkWell. The learnings from these evaluations will inform any future expansion decisions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding from the SEND teacher training programme will be allocated to schools and early years settings in Eastleigh constituency; and how many teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in Eastleigh will be supported by that programme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teacher training offer comprises an investment of over £200 million over the course of this Parliament. This significant investment, forms a central pillar of the government’s SEND reform plans, helping to secure a fairer system where effective support is available for every child with SEND from early years to the age of 25.

This training offer will be freely available to all leaders, teachers and teaching assistants working in schools, colleges, childminders and nurseries across England, including those in Eastleigh. Training packages will be developed with the needs of different educators and sectors in mind. Some training will be accessible at any time, while other elements may require registering with a provider. More details on how to access the different packages will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

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 that UK-based firms are able to participate in competitive procurement processes for NHS contracts.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring that public procurement delivers economic growth, supports small businesses, champions innovation and creates high quality jobs across the United Kingdom.

In February 2025, the Government published the National Procurement Policy Statement, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-procurement-policy-statement

The statement sets out clear priorities to maximise the impact of public spending. This came into effect alongside the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023, which modernises the procurement regime to make it simpler, more transparent, and more supportive of UK-based suppliers. The Government has also consulted on further reforms to improve domestic competitiveness and support British business. More information about the consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/public-procurement-growing-british-industry-jobs-and-skills-consultation-on-further-reforms-to-public-procurement

The Social Value Model is a legal requirement on public bodies to consider broader economic, social, and environmental benefits, not just cost, in procurement exercises. All procurements exercises are required to apply a minimum of 10% weighting in the bid evaluation, including those in the National Health Service. This approach aligns with Government policy to support UK growth, jobs, skills pathways, and workforce wellbeing.

NHS England is also committed to improving engagement with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and helping to make it easier for them to do business with the NHS. To help ensure SMEs have a voice within the NHS, NHS England have established an SME Advisory Group, which has worked with NHS England to improve the opportunities for SMEs to engage with and compete for NHS business. In February 2024, NHS England published an SME Action Plan that outlines how the NHS will better engage, communicate with and learn from the SME community, improve visibility of NHS opportunities and encourage SME participation in commercial activity. The action plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/small-and-medium-enterprises-action-plan/

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of changes in UK funding to the World Food Programme since 2024 on efforts to tackle global hunger and food insecurity.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is a longstanding partner of the World Food Programme (WFP) and we are in regular dialogue to monitor the landscape as global funding shifts. As a member of the Global Network Against Food Crises, the UK is also working with WFP to support analysis and reporting to help inform international responses. On levels of UK funding to WFP, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 December 2025 in response to Question HL12148.

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 ensure that the Crisis and Resilience Fund is fully operational by April 2026.

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

My Department has worked closely with local authorities and other stakeholders on the detailed design of the Fund. We published scheme guidance in January, and final allocations have been confirmed to enable local authorities to prepare for delivery.

We are collaborating with local authorities through ongoing implementation activity to support readiness and effective delivery ahead of the Fund going live in April 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of (a) trends in the level of household financial hardship and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the design and funding of the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

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

Trends in the percentage of individuals in relative and absolute low income both before and after housing costs can be found in the Households Below Average Income Official Statistics: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

Between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years, there was an increase in the number of people in relative low income before housing costs and a decrease in the number of people in relative low income after housing costs. Over the same time period there was an increase in the number of people in absolute low income.

These trends informed the decision to launch the Crisis and Resilience Fund and for funding levels to be in line with the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments.

Local Authority allocations for the Crisis and Resilience Fund are determined by deprivation and population size as well as shortfalls and deductions due to the Benefit Cap, Local Housing Allowance and Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy to ensure that funding levels reflect local need and financial hardship in an area.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help halve violence against women and girls in Eastleigh constituency within a decade; how much funding has been allocated for this purpose in Eastleigh constituency; and what metrics her Department is using to monitor progress.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” was published on 18th December 2025 and sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our unprecedented commitment to halve VAWG in a decade. Commitments in the VAWG Strategy apply across England, including in the Eastleigh constituency.

The Strategy is backed by at least £1 billion funding across government over the spending review period. This is alongside much wider investment across the whole of government. Funding for VAWG related services is generally allocated at a national, regional, or local authority level rather than by parliamentary constituency. As such, the Home Office does not hold separate figures for Eastleigh constituency.

The headline metric we are using to measure progress against our ambition is through a combined estimate of the proportion of people aged 16 and over who have experienced any of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the previous 12 months, based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales. We will track supporting headline metrics for female homicide, repeat domestic abuse, and the prevalence of sexual harassment, as well as a further set of sub-metrics to monitor progress across Government, which are detailed in the Strategy.

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 prevent economic abuse of women occurring through child maintenance; what safeguards the Child Maintenance Service has in place to identify and respond to such cases; whether he plans to introduce further measures; and what the timetable is for implementing measures to strengthen protections for affected women and children.

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

The CMS has access to resources which help caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations that support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. All CMS caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process and domestic abuse plan which includes steps to support and recognise domestic abuse, including economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

The Government’s focus is to deliver a policy that meaningfully protects parents who are victims of domestic abuse. We believe the best way to achieve that is through the removal of the Direct Pay service. Under the reformed service, all cases will be managed in a single service where the CMS monitors and transfers all payments. Reforms to the CMS will provide a safer service for victims and survivors by preventing unwanted contact with the other parent and removing opportunities for abuse that currently exist in Direct Pay, including the need for receiving parents to report non-compliance.

Our intention remains to remove Direct Pay, and we will do so as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, we are strengthening our support for victims/survivors, for example by making it easier for parents to switch to the Collect and Pay service and being clearer in our communication about what support is available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and how to access it.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of immigration enforcement activity undertaken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the 2026 FIFA World Cup on (a) the safety and welfare of British nationals attending matches and (b) levels of attendance by British supporters; and what steps her Department is taking to provide guidance and reassurance to UK citizens travelling to the tournament.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November 2025 in response to Question 87175.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making play-based learning and continuous provision statutory in England's Key Stage 1 Curriculum.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Curriculum and Assessment Review considered the extent to which the curriculum and the assessment system in England is fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people. The government’s response set out key reforms to the national curriculum that we will be taking forward. The purpose of the national curriculum is to outline what must be taught in schools rather than how.

There are no plans to legislate to make play and continuous provision statutory in the key stage 1 curriculum. However, we will continue to back educators to apply their professional judgment and creativity to meet the needs of their pupils, meaning children will be able to benefit from play-based learning throughout their primary education where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of distribution of Best Start Family Hubs across local authorities; and how much funding is expected to be allocated to Eastleigh.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department has set a clear ambition for 70% of hubs to be in the 30% most disadvantaged areas. From April we will be rolling out hubs nationally meaning that they will be in every single local authority by 2028. We are setting a clear expectation that support to families and neighbourhoods under the greatest pressure should be prioritised. Councils know their communities best, and we will work closely with them to make sure this happens.

Provisional funding allocations were shared with Hampshire County Council for the programme during the 2026/29 financial years on 7 November 2025. Payments are subject to local authorities meeting the expectations of the programme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed cap on branded uniform items on curricular and extracurricular PE participation; and whether her Department has considered allowing a longer implementation period for changes to school uniform policy.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The assessments made in relation to the limit on branded school uniform and PE kit contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including consideration of implementation timings, have been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.

In order to support schools to implement the proposed limit by September 2026, we published our statutory guidance ‘Cost of school uniforms’ and have committed to updating it following Royal Assent for the Bill. This guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in (a) recognising and applying court-ordered shared care arrangements when determining maintenance liability, (b) ensuring that submitted evidence of changes in care arrangements is reviewed and acted upon within reasonable timeframes, (c) reviewing continued collection of maintenance payments where administrative error has been identified, (d) supporting service users experiencing prolonged disputes or repeated reassessments and, (f) resolving complaints in a timely manner.

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

Where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is satisfied that both parents have equal day-to-day care for the child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance. There is no statutory definition of day-to-day care; the CMS’ definition is broadly aligned with that of Child Benefit, where an ‘overall care test’ is used. This provides consistency across government and receipt of Child Benefit is regarded as a good indicator of who is entitled to child maintenance payments. Where shared care exists for at least 52 night per week, the CMS will reduce liability.

If a dispute on the amount of care provided by each parent does arises, the CMS will seek to collect evidence from parents, allowing both a reasonable time to submit the evidence before we review. It will give greatest weight to evidence of a formal agreement or court order directing shared care arrangements.

When CMS backdates a change of circumstances, it will increase or decrease liability depending on the outcome of the decision.

The CMS works to ensure that liability adjustments following changes in care arrangements are processed as quickly and accurately as possible. These changes can vary in complexity, and the time taken depends on factors such as the availability of corroborating information from both parents and whether there is agreement on the new arrangements.

Where there is disagreement or insufficient evidence, additional checks are required, which can extend the timescale.

Through its Service Modernisation Programme CMS is expanding digital channels and self-service options to provide greater choice and flexibility to allow parents to submit information more quickly, helping reduce delays.

CMS has enhanced customer communications by increasing the use of SMS text and email and simplifying letters to make them clearer and easier to understand. Online services, including Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance and My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC), allow parents to access advice and manage their case 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has also introduced online messaging for certain processes, enabling customers to respond to requests for information at a time that suits them, with plans to extend this functionality further. By promoting self-service, CMS frees up resources to support customers who need to speak to it by telephone. Recent improvements to call routing ensure more calls go directly to case-owning teams, providing a faster and more responsive service.

The DWP aims to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint or when they can expect a response if it will take longer.

Buying community energy locally

NHS access to medical cannabis for children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

UNESCO World Heritage status for chalk streams in England

Energy prices for households and businesses

Endometriosis Awareness Month 2026

Heating oil prices

Outdoor learning

Cancer care in Gaza

Temporary accommodation and its impact on neurodivergent children

Eating disorder services

Fundraising for brain tumour research

NHS dentistry

International Women's Day 2026 and women’s inclusion in placemaking

Conduct of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

World Hearing Day 2026

Funding for rural fire and rescue services

National Keep Britain Tidy Campaign

Curlew populations

Covid Day of Reflection 2026

Cardiac risk in the young

Palantir and the NHS

Recognition of Ukrainian driving licences

Dual nationals without British passports

Found: present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Liz Jarvis

Submit Evidence (by 17 Apr 2026)

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is inviting written submissions on the future of the BBC as part of a new inquiry into the Royal Charter Review.