Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, what estimate his Department has made of the compliance costs to employers arising from thresholds of (a) 8, (b) 12, (c) 16, (d) 20 and (e) more than 20 guaranteed hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course as we implement these measures.
The government has published its consultation to understand further the impacts that different options could have on employers and workers.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, whether his Department has assessed the likelihood of employers restructuring contracts in order to remain below any hours threshold adopted under the proposal.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course as we implement these measures.
Our consultation on zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, seeks to gather further insight on potential changes in employers’ behaviour in light of the measures.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, how many meetings with businesses his department had during the drafting of the consultation.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have engaged extensively with business, trade unions and representative organisations on the zero hours measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025, informing the development of the consultation.
We have held over 17 meetings with businesses on these measures and over 11 meetings with trade unions, alongside wider engagement on Make Work Pay, and continue to meet regularly with business representative organisations and trade unions.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enhancing the regulatory oversight of the harm-benefit analysis process for service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including those for regulatory testing are assessed on a case-by-case basis by trained Home Office Inspectors. Licences are granted only where the likely harms to animals are justified by the expected benefits, and where the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement have been fully considered.
Inspectors consider the scientific purpose of the proposed studies, the regulatory questions they are intended to address, and whether suitable non-animal alternatives are available. These studies apply standardised methods to generate evidence required to support the safe development and use of medicines and other products, meaning the benefits of the work are clearly defined in advance.
Authorised work must remain within the scope, severity limits and conditions of the licence, and it is subject to ongoing oversight by the Home Office Regulator, including through inspection and compliance activity.
Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs) at establishments also have an important statutory role to continually advise on the application of the 3Rs and regularly review projects to ensure the scientific objectives are met. The Animals in Science Committee has been commissioned for advice on strengthening the role of AWERBs in order to further enhance review mechanisms within the regulatory system and standards of animal protections.
The Government is also taking forward the Replacing animals in science strategy, published in November 2025. This contains commitments to accelerate the development and regulatory acceptance of non-animal alternatives, including the creation of a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit accurately assess the harms and benefits of the tests they authorise.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including those for regulatory testing are assessed on a case-by-case basis by trained Home Office Inspectors. Licences are granted only where the likely harms to animals are justified by the expected benefits, and where the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement have been fully considered.
Inspectors consider the scientific purpose of the proposed studies, the regulatory questions they are intended to address, and whether suitable non-animal alternatives are available. These studies apply standardised methods to generate evidence required to support the safe development and use of medicines and other products, meaning the benefits of the work are clearly defined in advance.
Authorised work must remain within the scope, severity limits and conditions of the licence, and it is subject to ongoing oversight by the Home Office Regulator, including through inspection and compliance activity.
Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs) at establishments also have an important statutory role to continually advise on the application of the 3Rs and regularly review projects to ensure the scientific objectives are met. The Animals in Science Committee has been commissioned for advice on strengthening the role of AWERBs in order to further enhance review mechanisms within the regulatory system and standards of animal protections.
The Government is also taking forward the Replacing animals in science strategy, published in November 2025. This contains commitments to accelerate the development and regulatory acceptance of non-animal alternatives, including the creation of a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit do not require information on the exact substance that is being tested in the tests they authorise.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), project licences for regulatory testing may authorise a defined programme of standardised studies where the scientific purpose and regulatory question are clear even if the individual substance to be tested is not identified at the point the licence is granted. This reflects the nature of regulatory testing, where established methods are applied across multiple substances to generate data required to assess safety and meet statutory or regulatory requirements.
Licences are considered on a case-by-case basis by trained Home Office Inspectors and are granted only where the legal requirements of ASPA are met, including a harm-benefit analysis and full application of the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs). The authorised work must remain within the scope, severity limits and conditions of the licence, and is subject to ongoing oversight by the Home Office regulator and review by local Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies.
The Government is also taking forward the Replacing animals in science strategy, published in November 2025. This contains commitments to accelerate the development and regulatory acceptance of non-animal alternatives, including the creation of a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of HMRC-recognised software available for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment, including the availability of free and low-cost options; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of HMRC providing free software for this purpose.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has worked closely with the software industry to ensure the availability of a broad range of MTD-compatible products to suit different needs and budgets.
This includes free products supporting those with the simplest affairs, low-cost bridging software for those who prefer to continue using spreadsheets and more sophisticated products that integrate with other business software.
Currently, there are more than 20 free products (excluding free trials) covering a range of different scenarios including bookkeeping, quarterly updates and end-of-year submissions.
HMRC is not providing its own MTD solution because commercial software providers are able to provide a broad range of products to meet the differing needs of businesses and landlords, in a way that HMRC is not.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether regarding the reduction of food waste, (a) her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of current requirements for the legibility of use by and best before dates on food packaging, and (b) her Department has plans to review minimum font size or contrast standards.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra funds the UK Food and Drink Pact, an industry agreement to tackle food waste. Through the Pact, we support food businesses to ensure their packaging design and labelling information encourages consumers to waste less food.
UK food labelling rules require that mandatory information, including use by and best before dates must be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. Mandatory information must also be printed using a font with a minimum x-height of 1.2mm, or where applicable, a minimum x-height of 0.9mm. There are no current plans to review requirements for minimum font size or contrast standards.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the cut-off date for eligibility for receipt of winter fuel payment is in June.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Winter Fuel Payment is an age-related payment payable to everyone who has reached State Pension age on or before the end of the qualifying week and is ordinarily resident in England or Wales. The qualifying week is set out in legislation and is the third full week of September, for winter 2026/27 that is 21 to 27 September 2026.
The State Pension age for men and women will increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028. People born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 will reach their State Pension age at 66 years and the specified number of months, depending on the exact date they were born.
Therefore, a person needs to be born on or before 27 June 1960 to have reached State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week to be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2026/27.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet with the UK plastics recycling industry to discuss the exclusion of UK recyclate from the End of Life Vehicles regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are monitoring ‘European preference’ and ‘Made in Europe’ clauses included in legislation and strategies. We are working across government departments and with key industry stakeholders to understand potential impacts. The government is also reviewing the new EU circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles to determine the potential impacts for UK businesses. We recognise the interconnected nature of the automotive industry between UK and EU markets, and we will work with industry and other key stakeholders to assess the implications of the EU’s new regulations, particularly on end-of-life vehicles.