Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's policy on targets for net migration.

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

This Government recognises and values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK.

But under the previous Government, between 2019 and 2024, net migration almost quadrupled, heavily driven by a big increase in overseas recruitment.

The Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May, sets out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth.

Previous governments have set targets and then not met them, which has undermined the credibility of the system. Instead, we want to restore public confidence with a series of steps to replace our failing system with one that reduces net migration substantially.

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 support the solar industry.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government supports ground mount solar through its Contracts for Difference scheme, which has supported 7.5GW so far. It supports demand for rooftop solar by various means, including favourable tax treatment, permitted development rights, new building standards, the Smart Export Guarantee, and the £13.2bn being made available through the ambitious Warm Homes Plan.

The Government recently published the Solar Roadmap, which set out actions for government and industry to remove barriers to deployment. Progress will be monitored by a Ministerially chaired Solar Council, allowing industry representatives to engage directly on any challenges or opportunities which arise.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department to ensure that 5% of GDP is spent on defence before 2035.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Additionally, under the new NATO Defence Investment Pledge, the government has committed to hitting a headline ambition of 5% of GDP in the Parliament after next (2035-36). The 5% will be split into 1.5% of defence and security related spending and 3.5% of core defence spending with the overall ambition, trajectory and split to be reviewed in 2029.

We will set out our plans for the next spending review period at Spending Review 2027.

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 review NHS outsourcing contracts.

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

All public authorities, including the National Health Service, follow the guidance and principles set out in the Sourcing Playbook when planning and making sourcing decisions to deliver public services in partnership with the private and third sectors. The playbook is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-sourcing-and-consultancy-playbooks

The consultation, Public Procurement: Growing British industry, jobs and skills, is one considering further reforms to public procurement. More specifically, it is proposed that public bodies would be required to carry out a quick and proportionate public interest test, to understand whether that work could not be more effectively done in-house before any service is contracted out. The Cabinet Office will consider the results of the consultation, and the Department will comply with any changes to the law. Details of the consultation are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/public-procurement-growing-british-industry-jobs-and-skills-consultation-on-further-reforms-to-public-procurement/public-procurement-growing-british-industry-jobs-and-skills-html

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of pay for resident doctors.

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

The Government allows the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) to make recommendations on headline pay for doctors, including resident doctors. Within their report they make an assessment on the level of pay with regard to various factors such as recruitment and retention.

We received the latest DDRB report at the end of April and on 22 May 2025, the Government announced the 2025/26 pay awards for National Health Service staff in England. The Government accepted the headline pay recommendations of the DDRB, which meant that resident doctors were awarded an, on average, 5.4% uplift to pay.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has held several meetings with the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee chairs to discuss pay and wider working conditions since the report was received.

Resident doctors received the highest pay award of the entire public sector this year, an average 28.9% pay rise compared to three years ago.

The process for the 2026/27 pay round is already underway, with the Department setting out the remit to the DDRB in July. The DDRB report, which was submitted earlier this year, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-body-on-doctors-and-dentists-remuneration-fifty-third-report-2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of potential impact of the Video Games Expenditure Credit on levels of (a) employment, (b) investment, (c) studio formation and (d) IP development.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the key role they play in driving economic growth. Video games jobs are highly productive at nearly double the average national output, and technology developed by games businesses contributes an estimated £1.3 billion output to the UK economy each year.

Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which provides a tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.

It is too soon to conduct an assessment of VGEC’s impact given it was introduced on 1 January 2024, after which there will be a lag of at least 12 months as accounting periods end and corporation tax returns are filed. An evaluation of the Video Game Tax Relief (VGTR), which VGEC is replacing, was published in July 2017. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/video-game-tax-relief-evaluation.

The government will continue to work with industry to monitor the VGEC and its effectiveness on an ongoing basis.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of developers successfully contesting (a) section 106 agreements and (b) a Community Infrastructure Levy.

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

The Planning Inspectorate publish quarterly data on planning appeals, including data on appeals received, decided, and allowed. This can be found on gov.uk here at table 2.8.

The government has not undertaken a centralised assessment of costs to local planning authorities.

It is right and fair that developers are able to access appropriate appeals processes. A person who considers a Community Infrastructure Levy charge to have been incorrectly calculated can seek a formal review of the calculation by the levy charging authority and may also seek an independent assessment of the calculation through an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency if deemed necessary following review by the authority.

Applicants do not have to agree to a proposed planning obligation (section 106 agreement). However, this may lead to a refusal of planning permission or non-determination of the application. An appeal may be made against the non-determination or refusal of planning permission. In certain circumstances, an appeal may also be made to the Planning Inspectorate against a refusal to change a planning obligation.

The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many video games studios have received (a) Video Games Tax Relief and (b) Video Games Expenditure Credit since they were introduced.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the key role they play in driving economic growth. Video games jobs are highly productive at nearly double the average national output, and technology developed by games businesses contributes an estimated £1.3 billion output to the UK economy each year.

Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which was introduced on 1 January 2024 and provides a tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs. All new games must claim VGEC from 1 April 2025 and VGTR will expire in April 2027.

HMRC publish annual creative industry tax relief statistics on gov.uk, that can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/creative-industries-statistics

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds information on the number of students that undertook undergraduate degrees in Games and Animation in the (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2023-24 academic years.

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

In the 2023/24 academic year, there were 15,450 undergraduate enrolments across all UK higher education (HE) providers in the subject area ‘Computer games and animation’ (common aggregation hierarchy (CAH) subject code 11-01-06).

In the 2013/14 academic year, there were 4,065 undergraduate enrolments across all UK HE providers in the subject areas ‘Games’ (Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) subject code I6) and ‘Computer generated visual & audio effects’ (JACS subject code I7).

In 2019/20, a new subject classification system, the Higher Education Classification of Subjects and the CAH, was introduced to replace the JACS. Subjects in both systems have been chosen to match as closely as possible, but counts of enrolments may not be directly comparable between the two systems.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage students to study video game design degrees.

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

The government is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects, including computer games design courses, which are vital to the UK’s research base, innovation capacity and Industrial Strategy.

For the 2025/26 academic year, two-thirds of the £1.3 billion Strategic Priorities Grant recurrent funding to higher education providers is allocated to support the provision of high-cost subjects. From this funding, the Office for Students is allocating £289.50 per full-time equivalent student to providers for computer games design students.

The department continues to invest in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the quality of computing teaching and increase uptake of computing qualifications. To raise awareness of further study and careers in computing and digital, the NCCE facilitates industry-led outreach events. In July 2025, over 3,000 students attended an NCCE webinar focused on careers in the games industry and further events are being planned in collaboration with partners including British Esports.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what grant funding is available to help support training in small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games development sector.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK Games Fund (UKGF) provides grant funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector for development of new intellectual property, as well as development programmes for new graduate talent. As part of the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government announced the £30 million Games Growth Package, including an expansion of the UKGF over the next three years.

Since its inception in 2015, the UKGF has supported 440 companies with grant funding, and over 200 teams through talent development programmes Tranzfuser and DunDuv.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector have also benefited from other support provided by DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many video games studios have been supported by the UK Games Fund.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK Games Fund (UKGF) provides grant funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector for development of new intellectual property, as well as development programmes for new graduate talent. As part of the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government announced the £30 million Games Growth Package, including an expansion of the UKGF over the next three years.

Since its inception in 2015, the UKGF has supported 440 companies with grant funding, and over 200 teams through talent development programmes Tranzfuser and DunDuv.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in the video games sector have also benefited from other support provided by DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of Video Games Expenditure Credit on levels of inward investment into the video games industry.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Video Games Expenditure Credit was introduced in 2024 to replace the Video Game Tax Relief, modernising the reliefs and ensuring they continue to work as intended to support the video games industry.

As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector. My department engages regularly with His Majesty’s Treasury on a range of issues to deliver this objective, including the Video Games Expenditure Credit.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the provision of specialist (a) wheelchairs, (b) beds and (c) armchairs for tall disabled people.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services. National Health Service trusts work with the patient and wheelchair supplier to best meet the patient’s needs and requirements.

A typical hospital bed is 200 centimetres long and can be extended by 20 centimetres with pressure relieving infills available. With regards to armchairs, the NHS Supply Chain works with customers and suppliers if any bespoke products are needed in the market.

Equipment provision, where required for use in peoples’ own homes, is typically through a community equipment service; these are usually funded through a combination of the local authority and local NHS and provided via an outsourced provider or a locally-run service.

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 deliver a pay restoration framework for resident doctors.

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

Each year the Government allows the independent Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) to make recommendations on headline pay for doctors, including resident doctors.

In May 2025, the Government announced the 2025/26 pay awards for National Health Service staff in England, accepting the headline pay recommendations of the DDRB, for consultants, specialty and specialist doctors, and resident doctors for the 2025/26 period.

Resident doctors received one of the highest pay awards of the entire public sector this year, meaning an average 28.9% pay rise compared to three years ago.

The DDRB has been remitted and the process for 2026/27 pay is already under way.

Equitable national prostate cancer screening

Naloxone

Farmers, growers and the supermarket supply chain

Found: freeholder’s agent, our buildings’ Developer - Lendlease, our former MP Alex Chalk, our current MP Max Wilkinson