Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's document entitled Consultation on the Introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), updated on 25 March 2026, whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposal for different rates of electric Vehicle Excise Duty on electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars on the level of demand for electric vehicles for the first five years following the commencement of the policy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government remains firmly committed to the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition, and has carefully considered the potential impact of electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) on consumer uptake of electric vehicles.

The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers. Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at Budget 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs.

The Government has set out the expected impacts of eVED and related Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK.

The Government published a consultation which provides further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its implementation, available at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-electric-vehicle-excise-duty-eved. The consultation closed on 18 March 2026 and the Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

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 level of the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the amount of therapy available for adopted children.

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

The revised criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were introduced in April 2025 and were designed to ensure support for all those applying for ASGSF funding. An Equalities Impact Assessment was published in July 2025. More details on this assessment are available at: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2287315/files.

Analysis shows that, in 2024/25, users of the fund had an average spend of £3,170. In 2025/26, the average spend was reduced slightly to £2,537, well within the Fair Access Limit of £3,000. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies may supplement funding where additional support is assessed to be required. There were 22,166 recipients of funding in 2025/26, including nearly 1,800 specialist assessments, demonstrating continued access to support.

The department announced in February the continuation of the ASGSF to 2028, the end of the Spending Review period. A consultation on the longer-term future of adoption support, including a call for evidence, recently concluded, and the department is continuing to assess input and findings.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the requirement to use an existing Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating to determine eligibility for insulation funding where that EPC was produced prior to the subsequent installation of a heat pumps or solar panels.

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

Support is available for households to install insulation, alongside measures such as heat pumps and solar PV, through the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF). These schemes take a whole‑house approach, with assessments carried out by qualified professionals to determine the most appropriate improvements for each property.

Where Grant Recipients of the WH:LG expect that the energy performance of a home has changed since the most recent Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) was produced, they should ensure a new EPC is created to properly assess eligibility.

Government is reforming EPCs to provide a clearer and more accurate picture of a building’s performance, including through the introduction of metrics covering fabric, heating systems, smart readiness and energy costs.

We will launch EPC reforms in the second half of 2027.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether planning provisions allow local authorities to consider existing solar energy generation installations as a material consideration in planning decisions.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

By law, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Local planning authorities may take into account the potential impact of development proposals on existing solar energy installations as a material consideration, as well as the cumulative impact of proposals, where this relates to relevant planning matters. The weight to be given to such matters is a matter for the decision maker, based on the specific circumstances of the case and the evidence available.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included policies relating to renewable energy generation. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

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 how closely the online guidance about equal shared and day-to-day care aligns with the experiences of parents using the CMS system.

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

The Department’s online guidance is intended to provide accessible information for parents that reflects how the requirements of the Child Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 statutory framework is applied in practice, helping them to understand how decisions are made in relation to their individual circumstances.

While the Department seeks to ensure consistency, individual experiences may vary depending on the specific facts and complexity of each case.

CMS continues to seek and act on feedback and insight from parents and has improved its online guidance to support the delivery of a consistent service. Further improvements are planned through 2026/27 to enhance the online journey for parents where there may be equal day to day care in place.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with BT about its duty to maintain or remove disused, dilapidated and eyesore telephone boxes on high streets.

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

There have been no ministerial meetings with BT about Public Call Boxes.

UK public call boxes have fallen from around 92,000 (early 1990s) to around 11,000 in 2025.

My department’s officials are aware of the issues that can occur and are actively having discussions with BT and other government departments to understand and address these issues.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many GWR train services from London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa did not reach Cheltenham Spa because the service terminated at Gloucester since 1 January 2025.

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

Services may be cancelled altogether or terminated short for a number of reasons, including infrastructure issues, trespass, inclement weather, or issues relating to the train operator such as crew shortages.

In most instances, terminating services short at Gloucester will be to minimise wider disruption for customers, and where Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales services run frequently to Cheltenham to allow customers to complete their journey.

Between 1 Jan 2025 and 30 May 2026, 6,357 services were planned to run between London Paddington and Cheltenham. 210 (3.30%) services terminated short, of which 190 (2.99%) were terminated short at Gloucester.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of GWR services from London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa did not reach Cheltenham since 1 January 2025.

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

Services may be cancelled altogether or terminated short for a number of reasons, including infrastructure issues, trespass, inclement weather, or issues relating to the train operator such as crew shortages.

In most instances, terminating services short at Gloucester will be to minimise wider disruption for customers, and where Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales services run frequently to Cheltenham to allow customers to complete their journey.

Between 1 Jan 2025 and 30 May 2026, 6,357 services were planned to run between London Paddington and Cheltenham. 210 (3.30%) services terminated short, of which 190 (2.99%) were terminated short at Gloucester.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of of (a) paying compensation and (b) related legal advice for claims for damages attributed to road conditions in each of the last five years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of their networks, including handling claims and any associated expenditure. Information on compensation payments and legal costs is therefore held locally and is not collected by the Department for Transport.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what factors may be considered when assessing child maintenance claims made in cases where parents have a court-sealed 50/50 custody arrangement.

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

In the child maintenance system, shared care is reflected in the maintenance calculation. Where a child stays overnight with the paying parent for at least one night a week on average, the amount of maintenance due is reduced to reflect the care provided.

Where there is a dispute about the level of shared care, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will consider all available evidence to determine the actual pattern of care. This may include a current court order providing for contact, a formal written agreement between parents (for example one drawn up by a solicitor), or other official documentation such as reports from Social Services or the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).

If the Child Maintenance Service is satisfied that both parents exercise 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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department will take to help ensure that the roles gained through the Youth Guarantee or Youth Jobs Grant by young people not in education, employment or training lead to ongoing employment.

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

The Department is committed to helping young people move into employment, education and training through the Youth Guarantee. The Youth Jobs Grant and Jobs Guarantee are central parts of the Youth Guarantee, supporting young people at different stages to progress into sustained employment.

The Youth Jobs Grant will provide £3,000 to employers who take on an eligible young person aged 18 to 24 who has been unemployed and on Universal Credit for six months or more. This funding is designed to incentivise employers to recruit young people by offsetting the upfront costs of recruitment and initial training, encouraging earlier intervention to prevent long-term unemployment and supporting more young people to take their first step into sustained employment.

For young people aged 18–24 who have been claiming Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months, the Jobs Guarantee will provide a fully subsidised six month paid job. This will include a range of tailored support to help them succeed and transition into sustained employment. This will be specific to the needs of the young person and the employer, and is likely to include job coaching, role-specific training, mentoring sessions, goal setting, and interview preparation.

At the end of the scheme, Delivery Partners will work with the young person and their employer to identify onward employment, further education or formal training opportunities.

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 employers to meet the needs of young people who require additional support in roles gained through the Youth Guarantee or Youth Jobs Grant.

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

The Department is committed to helping young people move into employment, education and training through the Youth Guarantee. The Youth Jobs Grant and Jobs Guarantee are central parts of the Youth Guarantee, supporting young people at different stages to progress into sustained employment.

The Youth Jobs Grant will provide £3,000 to employers who take on an eligible young person aged 18 to 24 who has been unemployed and on Universal Credit for six months or more. This funding is designed to incentivise employers to recruit young people by offsetting the upfront costs of recruitment and initial training, encouraging earlier intervention to prevent long-term unemployment and supporting more young people to take their first step into sustained employment.

For young people aged 18–24 who have been claiming Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months, the Jobs Guarantee will provide a fully subsidised six month paid job. This will include a range of tailored support to help them succeed and transition into sustained employment. This will be specific to the needs of the young person and the employer, and is likely to include job coaching, role-specific training, mentoring sessions, goal setting, and interview preparation.

At the end of the scheme, Delivery Partners will work with the young person and their employer to identify onward employment, further education or formal training opportunities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people not in education, employment or training do not claim Universal Credit or Jobseekers Allowance for the latest period for which data is available.

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

The ‘Young people and work: interim report’ by Alan Milburn estimated that in England out of 678,000 18- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, around 314,000 were not claiming any benefits in the financial year ending 2024, the latest period for which an estimate is available. These analytical findings can be found here: Young people and work: interim report analytical annex - GOV.UK.

As of March 2026, across Great Britain, there are now over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

Public disorder in Southampton and Belfast

Safety of British nationals following the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla

National Emergency Briefing