Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help terminally ill people with increased energy costs.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting people nearing the end of life. The Department for Work and Pensions’ ‘Special Rules for End of Life', help terminally ill people to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. In addition, everyone with a domestic energy contract will benefit from our action to take money off energy bills to tackle the cost of living. They may also be eligible for support such as the Warm Home Discount and we urge anyone in such a challenging situation to contact their energy supplier or Citizens Advice to see what further support is available. Vulnerable consumers who need extra support are also able to sign up for the Priority Services Register for free.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Consultation outcome for the Green Paper: Future of Post Office, updated on 25 February 2026, what progress has been made with holding joint discussions between the Post Office and banks to expand the range of banking services available at post offices.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the Government response, there was a constructive joint discussion between government, the Post Office and the banking sector in January 2026. Several areas of mutual interest were discussed including banking services, financial inclusion, the need for modernisation and the importance of continuing to improve financial crime safeguards. Attendees agreed to further explore opportunities for continued collaboration on a voluntary basis and to provide an update in six months.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support she plans to offer to UK universities and Gaza students who hold offers to begin their studies in Autumn 2026.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government provided exceptional support to enable the departure of fully funded scholarship students from Gaza, for students whose courses began before 31 December 2025. This support was for students who met the relevant requirements of the Immigration Rules.
The Government is reviewing the impact of the policy and any decision on further support will depend on the evolving international situation. We will continue to keep the policy under review.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department plans to publish the UK-Kazakhstan critical minerals agreement.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK-Kazakhstan Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Minerals Cooperation has not been published and there are no plans to do so. However, it is referenced in UK's Critical Minerals Strategy published in November 2025.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the UK's negotiating objectives are with regard to discussions on investor-state dispute settlement reform led by the (a) OECD and (b) UN.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In line with the Trade Strategy, the UK continues to work with trading partners multilaterally, at the OECD and the UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice, such as promoting transparency in ISDS proceedings. The proposals being discussed at the UN Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the OECD can be found on their respective websites.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proposals UK negotiators have made on the transparency of investor-state dispute settlement arbitration at the (a) OECD and (b) UN.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In line with the Trade Strategy, the UK continues to work with trading partners multilaterally, at the OECD and the UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice, such as promoting transparency in ISDS proceedings. The proposals being discussed at the UN Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the OECD can be found on their respective websites.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support higher education institutions with health research.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of health and care research training. NIHR delivers a comprehensive research career pathway, from internships and predoctoral fellowships through to research professorships, for the full range of clinical and non-clinical academics, providing the skilled research workforce in universities to lead research. The NIHR invests over £220 million each year in research training programmes.
Furthermore, the Department is working with the devolved administrations, other funders, and wider stakeholders to implement the recommendations from the recent Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research reports, to ensure there is a comprehensive, clear, and rewarding career pathway for clinical academics in health and care research. This includes the introduction of Clinical Future Leaders Fellowships, which will expand national support for clinical academic careers.
The Department, through the NIHR, invests in centres of excellence and collaborations, services, and facilities to enable and deliver research in England. Collectively these form the NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure helps to support and deliver research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system, including universities. The NIHR infrastructure supports patients and the public to participate in high quality research. The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
By investing in research across public health and social care, NIHR enables universities to address wider determinants of health, support independence, reduce inequalities, and inform local decision-making. Dedicated NIHR programmes and infrastructure work alongside Higher Education Institutions to conduct research in community, local authority, and other non-clinical settings, ensuring evidence is generated where it is most needed and can be translated into meaningful improvements in care and services.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether consenting determinations for critical energy transmission infrastructure in Scotland will be made in line with the 52 week process needed to support the delivery of Clean Power 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Consenting in Scotland is devolved to Scottish Government. The guidance at Priority Applications for Transmission Infrastructure guidance: Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 - gov.scot is owned and implemented by Scottish Government.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he expects to publish the findings of the responsible business conduct review.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Soon.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (i) people can access Disabled Person’s Trust accounts from high street banks and (ii) public bodies are using powers to ensure access for families of disabled people to those accounts.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can access appropriate financial services and products, which is vital for financial resilience and wellbeing and ensuring that individuals are able to fully participate in the economy.
The provision of services such as trust accounts is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies, and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.
Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty, firms must consider the impact of withdrawing a product and take steps to mitigate harm. However, the FCA cannot compel firms to offer specific products.
The FCA is currently engaging with industry and stakeholders to explore issues around the provision of trust accounts for disabled people, and the Government supports this work.