Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has been made of how the Employment Rights Act will help reduce economic inactivity.

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

The Employment Rights Act will support a reduction in economic inactivity by improving job security, job quality and working conditions, particularly for those in lower paid and insecure roles, who are concentrated in more deprived areas of the UK. Over 18 million employees are expected to benefit in some way from the Act’s new protections, with the greatest gains for workers in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail, where low pay and irregular hours are most prevalent.

By strengthening protections for those at the margins of the labour market, the Act helps make work more stable, predictable and attractive. This is expected to encourage more people to enter or return to the labour market, supporting higher participation and reducing inactivity over time.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will confirm that ticket sales for prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes – as set out by the voluntary Code of Conduct published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – are subject to VAT under the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC confirm that prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes are not eligible for VAT exemption and paid entries will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure individuals with large liabilities under the Loan Charge are given adequate support, particularly in cases involving financial and personal distress.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognised that concerns continued to be raised about the loan charge and that some felt strongly that it had not been handled appropriately. The Government therefore commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who had not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities.

The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further. The Government’s decision to write off £5,000 from everyone’s liability will mean that around a third will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most people will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.

HMRC will continue to work with taxpayers to resolve their cases in line with existing legislation and case law. HMRC is committed to working sensitively and pragmatically with taxpayers to reach settlement. This includes offering flexible payment terms where people need more time to pay their liabilities.

The Government takes the wellbeing of all taxpayers very seriously. Vulnerable customers can make use of HMRC’s well-established Extra Support Service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the enforcement of Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office maintains a rigorous approach to enforcing Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), which embeds the statutory principles of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). All applications proposing the use of animals undergo a robust assessment to ensure that non-animal alternatives have been fully explored, that any animal use is fully justified and that potential harms are minimised. Compliance with the 3Rs is actively monitored by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit through a programme of audit and enforcement activity.

All establishments which test on animals are required to establish an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). AWERBs have a statutory responsibility under ASPA to advise on the application of the 3Rs within establishments. The Home Office has commissioned the Animals in Science Committee for advice on strengthening the effectiveness of AWERBs.

In November 2025, the Government published “Replacing animals in science: a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”. This strategy commits to delivery of recommendations published in the ‘Rawle Report’, which involve strengthening Home Office processes for assuring full implementation of the 3Rs. The report is available here: https://nc3rs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/Rawle%20project%20report.pdf.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the non-technical summaries for project licences granted in October – December 2025, what steps she is taking to phase out the use of animals in science.

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

On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods(opens in a new tab) ).

The Home Office publishes non-technical summaries (NTS) for every project licence granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The non-technical summaries include the species and number of animals expected to be used over the duration of the project licence.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to monitor contractual performance for the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Capita prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.

Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.

To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates

100th anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Together Alliance

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

Found: Members in attendance were: ● Maureen Burke MP ● Dave Doogan MP ● Lillian Jones MP ● Mr Angus MacDonald

Found: Attendance Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow West) (Chair) (added 12 Sep 2024) 45 of 48 (93.8%) Maureen Burke

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Patricia Ferguson (Chair); Maureen Burke; Harriet Cross; Dave Doogan

Found: Q13 Maureen Burke: Excuse me, I have a sore throat this morning.

Found: Current membership Patricia Ferguson (Labour; Glasgow West) (Chair) Maureen Burke (Labour; Glasgow North