Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 importance of the upgrade to junction 10 of the M5 to the Cheltenham Tewkesbury and Gloucester Strategic Local Plan.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The deliverability of local plans, including in relation to the provision of essential infrastructure, is tested by Inspectors during local plan examinations. It will be for the inspectors to determine the importance of different infrastructure required to deliver the plan.
In my letter to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate on 9 October 2025, which can be found on gov.uk here, I stressed the importance of Inspectors approaching examinations of plans prepared in the current plan-making system with the appropriate degree of flexibility. Expectations around the evidencing of whether the legal and soundness tests have been met should be proportionate to the context in which plans in the existing system are being prepared.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Kalaayan’s entitled 12 Years of Modern Slavery, published on 14 June 2024.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, including Kalaayan, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.
The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of its policies on the right to work for irregular migrants on levels of irregular migration.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has developed new legislation to expand the scope of right to work checks to a wider range of businesses. This activity aims to prevent illegal working and to further reduce the opportunities for individuals in the UK illegally to gain employment. An impact assessment on this legislative change was published on 7 May 2025 and can be found here:
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Fair Work Agency will assist migrant domestic workers experiencing abuse in private households.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency will enhance the UK's ability to respond to exploitation of migrant domestic workers. It will bring together labour market enforcement functions and include new powers to investigate and take action against offences under the Fraud Act 2006. These powers, when operational, will allow the FWA to pursue certain cases of deception, abuse of position or withholding pay, where conduct does not meet the higher modern slavery threshold.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings she has had with expert stakeholders on reviewing the Overseas Domestic Worker visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.
The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of domestic workers who renew their visas each year.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.
The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of overseas domestic workers who have been able to enforce their rights to fair pay and working conditions through an employment tribunal over the last decade.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department publishes regular statistics on Employment Tribunals claims, which includes claims relating to pay and working conditions (such as unauthorised deductions, minimum wage, working time, and equal pay) which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025.
The published data does not break down claims by claimant characteristics (such as nationality or visa status), or the type of work conducted by claimant.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department collects on how migrant survivors of trafficking in the National Referral Mechanism entered the UK.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.
The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many working-age people are on the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract through the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.
The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which department is responsible for making decisions and research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) as part of the Final Delivery Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the overall delivery of the final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
To address the breadth of the ME/CFS research challenge, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, play complementary roles in the United Kingdom landscape by funding research across the research system, with MRC funding aetiological and early-stage translational science and NIHR funding later stage translational and applied clinical work.
The NIHR and MRC are working together to deliver the research actions outlined in the ME/CFS final delivery plan that we published in July.