Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking fiscal steps to help support employment agencies in the context of trends in the level of costs in that sector.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The department recognises the vital role employment agencies play in our labour market. While there are no specific fiscal measures targeted exclusively at employment agencies, the government is conscious about the cost of conducting business. That is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers see no change or gain overall from this package and employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

Employment agencies will also benefit from the new tools to unlock access to finance, action to address late payments and regulatory costs, improve digital adoption and create easier pathways to business support through the Business Growth 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 improve access to Lyft shots prescribed for children with Type 1 diabetes in (a) Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency and (b) England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a specific assessment. Decisions on the prescribing of medicines in England are a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has published advice on the management of Type 1 Diabetes, including advice on managing acute hypoglycaemia. This is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/diabetes-type-1/management/

Glucose gels, such as Lift shots, are available on prescription for Type 1 diabetes hypoglycaemia episodes if deemed clinically appropriate and with regard to national guidance.

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 potential impact of variations between integrated care boards for access to free Lyft shots on the management of Type 1 diabetes; and whether he has plans to ensure equal access to those medicines across England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a specific assessment. Decisions on the prescribing of medicines in England are a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has published advice on the management of Type 1 Diabetes, including advice on managing acute hypoglycaemia. This is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/diabetes-type-1/management/

Glucose gels, such as Lift shots, are available on prescription for Type 1 diabetes hypoglycaemia episodes if deemed clinically appropriate and with regard to national guidance.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of probation staff pay, in the context of the (a) workload and (b) public safety responsibilities of probation staff.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are committed to supporting probation staff and value their hard work, commitment and dedication. We recognise that fair and competitive pay is essential not only for staff wellbeing and retention, but also for maintaining the resilience of the Probation Service in its critical public safety role.

In recent years, we have made significant investments in pay through a multi-year pay deal (2022–2025), which provided certainty in pay increases and addressed longstanding structural issues. In June 2025, we secured exceptional agreement to pay the Competency Based Framework (CBF) Progression element of the award to eligible staff, recognising their contribution during a period of exceptional operational pressure.

We are currently working with senior leaders, ministers and recognised Trade Unions to agree the best possible outcome for the 2025/26 pay award, in line with Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance and our priorities for attraction and retention.

We also recognise the link between pay, workload and public safety. To address workload pressures, we have implemented initiatives such as “Probation Reset” and “Impact” and launched the “Our Future Probation Service” programme, which aims to reduce workload by 25% by April 2027. Recruitment remains a priority, with significant numbers of probation officer trainees onboarded in 2024/25 and a commitment to onboard a further 1,300 by March 2026.

These efforts are supported by a new wellbeing support model across HMPPS, including regional plans such as the Midlands wellbeing strategy, to ensure staff are supported in delivering their vital public safety responsibilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of gluten free prescribing provision for people with coeliac disease.

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

No recent assessment has been made by the Department. However, a review was undertaken in 2019, which confirmed that the position in England remains that gluten free (GF) bread and mixes can be provided to all eligible coeliac patients on a National Health Service prescription. A wide range of these items continues to be listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff.

NHS England developed guidance on Prescribing Gluten Free Foods in Primary Care in 2018 which states that NHS commissioners can restrict the prescribing of GF foods to bread and mixes only. Under the current legislation, integrated care boards may choose to further restrict product choice, or end prescribing of GF foods altogether, if they feel this is appropriate for their population, whilst taking account of their legal duties to advance equality and having regard to reducing health inequalities. NHS England currently has no plans to update the guidance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure registrars receive clear (a) guidance and (b) training on registering births to same-sex couples who conceive after marriage.

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

The General Register Office for England and Wales provides handbooks and e-learning products to registrars. These cover the whole range of registration duties.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage competition between independent MOT testing garages and large national chains.

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

The MOT is a vital part of the regulations that keep our roads safe, and I greatly appreciate the work of skilled mechanics in both independent garages and larger businesses that are essential to testing.

It is one of the strengths of our testing regime that independent garages across the country provide assurance to millions in their community's while providing value to drivers in a competitive market.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department had with teachers on the removal of the application window for the 2024–25 Student Finance England teacher student loan reimbursement scheme to March 2026, and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this change on teachers’ (a) cash flow and (b) financial wellbeing.

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

In September 2025, the department communicated to eligible teachers that the application window for the Teacher Student Loan Reimbursement (TSLR) scheme was being rescheduled from autumn 2025 to March 2026, so that eligible teachers commit to teaching for the full academic year before they can claim this incentive.

Eligible teachers have always claimed TSLR payments retrospectively, as the policy allows teachers to claim back the student loan repayments they made in the previous financial year if they remain teaching in eligible schools. The rescheduling of the application window to 2 March 2026 is consistent with the policy intent of incentivising teacher retention.

TSLR provides a one-off annual incentive payment on top of the teacher’s salary, which eligible teachers will continue to receive.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing one of the five proposed Clean Energy Technical Excellence Colleges in Northern Lincolnshire.

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

The department is introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces which industry needs in growth-driving priority sectors.

The Post-16 education and skills white paper, confirmed that the government is expanding the TEC programme to a further four sectors: clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital and technologies, and defence. These new TECs, backed by £175 million, will secure the pipeline of skilled workers into these areas. Provider specialisms will be aligned with the priority sectors in the Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change, and in direct response to employer demand for specialist technical skills.

Exact locations are yet to be determined, and colleges will be appointed through a fair and transparent application process. The selection process for these TECs will start by the end of 2025, with delivery planned to begin from April 2026. Further details will be published in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on introducing tougher sentences for repeat (a) motorbike and (b) car theft offenders.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The maximum sentences available for criminal offences are set by Parliament. Theft of a motor vehicle may be prosecuted under different provisions of the Theft Act 1968 (“the Act”). For example, theft of a motor vehicle under section 1 of the Act is a triable either way offence, with a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment.

The independent judiciary will determine the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximums set by Parliament, and in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

The Sentencing Council has issued guidelines on theft of a motor vehicle, which provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. The guidelines also include non-exhaustive lists of aggravating and mitigating factors which can result in an upward or downward adjustment in the sentence. Previous convictions can be taken into account by the Court as aggravating factor, increasing the seriousness of an offence; the guidelines are clear that sentencers must consider their nature and relevance, as well as the time elapsed since the previous conviction(s). The guidelines can be found online at the Council’s website: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/.

Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the guidelines on motor theft, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that it does so.

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Bath) Anneliese Midgley (Labour; Knowsley) Luke Murphy (Labour; Basingstoke) Melanie Onn

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Bath) Anneliese Midgley (Labour; Knowsley) Luke Murphy (Labour; Basingstoke) Melanie Onn

Found: EHC0020 - Elections within the House of Commons Melanie Onn Written Evidence

Found: meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Ms Polly Billington; Torcuil Crichton; Luke Murphy; Melanie Onn

Found: Labour, Gateshead Central and Whickham) (added 28 Oct 2024; removed 3 Mar 2025) 1 of 1 (100.0%) Melanie Onn

Submit Evidence (by 7 Jan 2026)

Following an initial evidence session in Parliament on the role of the UK’s refinery industry in the energy transition, the Committee is launching a new inquiry and call for evidence on the future of UK oil and gas.

Submit Evidence (by 7 Jan 2026)

Ahead of COP 30, where host country Brazil’s Presidency has set a strategic goal to transition from “negotiation to implementation”, the Committee is launching a call for evidence in a major new inquiry on UK climate policy and finance.  

The UK is embarking on an ambitious programme of investment in nuclear energy, seeking to reverse decades of declining capacity. The Government is counting on new nuclear to help deliver energy security and decarbonise electricity generation. Announcing funding for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in June, the Energy Secretary said “we need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance.”