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 safety of North West Ambulance Service personnel in the context of a trends in the number of violent and abusive incidents directed at frontline NHS staff.

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

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work, including those in the ambulance setting. Trends in violence towards NHS staff have generally stayed at the same levels in recent years and there is in place a zero-tolerance approach to any violent and abusive incidents.

Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including, security, training, and emotional support for staff affected by violence. These measures will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will cover issues that matter most to NHS staff including tackling violence in the NHS workplace.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when her Department plans to lay the Kensington Treaty before Parliament for ratification.

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

The Treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Federal Republic of Germany on Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny shortly after the Christmas recess.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that people with convictions for any sexual offences should be prevented from serving in the police forces.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

One of the Government’s key priorities is to restore public confidence in policing. To achieve this, we must ensure that those who enter policing are vetted in line with standards the public would expect.

That is why, in alignment with our manifesto commitment, we are strengthening the vetting system by introducing new regulations which will place vetting standards on a legislative footing. These regulations will seek to include robust measures which will enable forces to exclude individuals from policing who have a caution or a conviction for relevant domestic abuse or sexual offences.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with AI companies on ensuring that AI chatbots do not promote or encourage self-harming behaviour.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I meet regularly with civil society, industry and Ofcom to discuss online safety, including the risks of AI chatbots.

AI services allowing users to share content with one another or that search the live web are covered under the Online Safety Act and have a duty to protect users from illegal content, and children from harmful content.

To build on this, I have made encouraging self-harm a priority offence under the Act and in-scope chatbots will need to have measures in place to prevent users from encountering this content.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of car sharing clubs on her (a) decongestion and (b) decarbonisation targets.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Government understands the value of car sharing as a sustainable travel option that can offer a flexible, cost effective alternative to private car ownership for drivers. Alongside our actions to deliver excellent public transport, promote active travel and our support for electric vehicles, car clubs can help people get where they need to go, whilst easing congestion. Car clubs often feature newer vehicles, which are more likely to be electric or have lower emissions than many private cars, which helps reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) encourage cyclists to comply with the legal requirement to use appropriate lights and (b) promote the use of (i) reflective and (ii) high‑visibility clothing.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Rule 60 of The Highway Code states that cycles must be fitted with a rear reflector and must have front and rear lights lit at night. Cycling without proper lights is an offence and enforcement is a matter for the police.

Rule 59 of the Highway Code recommends that cyclists should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing to help other road users to see them in daylight and poor light, with reflective clothing and/or accessories in the dark. This advice was made clearer in the updated version of The Highway Code that was published in January 2022.