Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions has he had with organisations that deliver supported accommodation on work for young people living in supported housing.

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

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) living in supported and temporary accommodation.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.

It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to parliamentary question 78887 answered on 20 October, whether freight traction decarbonisation is within the scope of its long-term infrastructure and rolling stock strategy.

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

The main focus of the strategy will be on the future needs for passenger rolling stock, and for associated changes to the railway infrastructure.

However, within the strategy, the approach to decarbonisation will also need to take account of the needs of freight users.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for Child Maintenance Service appeals that proceed to a Tribunal.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Appeals against Child Maintenance Service decisions are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is part of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.

The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of additional Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of new, modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology where appropriate. If an expedited hearing is requested, a Judge or Legal Officer will consider this, taking all the circumstances into account.

We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance of the Tribunal in Child Maintenance Service appeals, and the Social Entitlement Chamber more broadly.

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 ensure the forthcoming HIV Action Plan will strengthen awareness of HIV risk among women.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The new HIV Action Plan, published on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing, and treatment, tackle stigma, and reach our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a focus on women, as we know from the UK Health Security Agency’s latest data that they are not benefitting equally from the progress made on HIV in recent years.

Women will benefit from all of the actions in the HIV Action Plan, including improved testing and prevention services, rapid treatment, and support for those living with HIV. We will commission a new national HIV Prevention England programme backed by a total of £4.8 million of funding from April 2026 to March 2029. This programme supports communities disproportionately affected by HIV, including women, in particular black African and heterosexual women. The current programme delivers National HIV Testing Week, aimed at improving testing and increasing awareness of HIV prevention. In Testing Week 2025, heterosexual women accounted for 30% of all testers compared with 25% in 2024. We will also fund formula milk, and related sterilising equipment, for the infants of women living with HIV, thereby removing financial pressures and reducing the risk of transmission to babies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of compelling online trade directories to require tradespeople to verify and display waste carrier licences.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We recently announced plans to tighten up the regulation of those who transport and manage waste services, moving them from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will give the Environment Agency a greater range of powers and more resources to be able to take action against those operating illegally.

We will announce our further plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department expects all eligible retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to receive their McCloud remedy payments; and what steps she is taking to expedite payments to retired teachers impacted by the McCloud pension remedy.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Capita, as administrator of the teachers’ pension scheme, is processing Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) for retired members affected by the McCloud remedy as quickly as possible. As of 15 October 2025, 69,798 RSSs have been issued to retired members.

Payments are made as soon as possible following the return of completed RSSs. To speed up delivery, the department is working with Capita to increase staffing, automate processes, improve IT systems, and prioritise complex cases. Members will continue receiving their original pension until remedy choices are implemented, and any backdated payments will include interest to ensure no financial disadvantage.

This is a high priority for the department and we are committed to resolving this with Capita and ensuring retired members receive their RSSs as quickly as possible.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to review documentation made public following the expiry of the 20-year confidentiality period relating to gurkha pensions and their alignment to British military standards.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

This Government holds the Gurkhas in the utmost esteem and greatly values their exceptional and lasting contribution to the United Kingdom. Their courage, loyalty, and commitment have been an integral part of the British Armed Forces for more than 200 years. The Government remains dedicated to honouring their service and ensuring they are treated with fairness and respect.

Defence has no current plans to review documentation made public following the expiry of the 20-year confidentiality period relating to Gurkha pensions and their alignment to British military standards. Defence considers the Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS) to be a fair scheme, tailored to the historical circumstances during which it was open. The terms of the GPS have been challenged in a number of judicial reviews, including a case which went to the European Court of Human Rights and, at all levels, the courts have upheld the Government’s position that the scheme is lawful.

Gurkha service in the British Armed Forces was established under the 1947 Tripartite Agreement between Nepal, the UK, and India. The 1948 GPS was designed to support veterans retiring to Nepal, where their families lived. The Brigade of Gurkhas has been based in the United Kingdom since July 1997 and terms and conditions changed over time to reflect this new reality: Since 2006, Gurkhas have served on the same terms and conditions of service as the rest of the British Army, with certain provisions preserving the Brigade’s unique identity.

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 increase support for voluntary and charitable organisations providing dementia support services in Hampshire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), and may include services provided by voluntary or charitable organisations. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

Sinking of SS Tilawa

UK arms export licensing and conflict in Sudan

Convention on Cluster Munitions and preventing UK involvement in their production

Schools Residential Outdoor Education (Scotland) Bill (No. 2)

Changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief in the Autumn Budget 2025

Winter NHS corridor care

Palestinian children in Israeli military detention

McLaren title win for British motorsport

Horton Cemetery

Chalk streams and salmon in Hampshire

Cumulative disruption proposals and the right to protest

Neurodivergent service personnel in the armed forces

Safeguarding pubs, brewers and one million jobs

Access to banks

Tackling van and tool theft

Gambling executives' profits

Fly-tipping and illegal waste dumping by criminal gangs

President Trump’s 20-point peace plan

Mouth Cancer Action Month

Accessible healthcare for deaf people and those with hearing loss

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2025

Matters for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider prior to the Autumn Budget 2025 (No. 3)

110 years of the Women's Institute

50th Anniversary of women’s right to independent mortgages

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day on 20 November 2025

UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement

National Tree Week 2025

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Found: Crime • Bambos Charalambous: Debt cancellation for low income countries • Rebecca Long Bailey, Liz Jarvis

Found: Hampshire) Dr Rupa Huq (Labour; Ealing Central and Acton) Natasha Irons (Labour; Croydon East) Liz Jarvis

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

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

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