Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were in receipt of (a) Statutory Maternity Pay, (b) Statutory Paternity Pay, (c) Statutory Adoption Pay and (d) Statutory Shared Parental Pay in the (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-2026 financial year.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Counts of employees receiving Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory
Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, and Statutory Shared Parental Pay for tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 are included in the table below.
Table 1 – Claims by Statutory Payment.
| 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
| Statutory Adoption Pay | 4,500 | 4,300 |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay | 22,700 | 27,400 |
| Statutory Maternity Pay | 631,400 | 639,000 |
| Statutory Paternity Pay | 216,400 | 230,100 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in July 2026. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Counts of claims have been rounded to nearest 100.
3) Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Government department is responsible for leading work on climate adaptation in the UK.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra leads the UK Government’s work on climate adaptation. Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the Government is required to produce a Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme setting out how the identified risks will be addressed. The National Adaptation Programme covers areas within the UK Government’s responsibilities in England and its non-devolved functions across the rest of the UK. Although Defra leads this work, climate adaptation is a cross-government responsibility.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support university employees.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware that some providers are making difficult decisions around staffing to safeguard their financial sustainability. Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions, and the government therefore cannot intervene in pay and workforce matters, unlike in other sectors. Nevertheless, we expect providers to work with their staff to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution.
The department remains committed to creating a secure future for our HE sector so it can continue to deliver for students, taxpayers, staff and the economy. Our decision to increase tuition fees annually in line with inflation, demonstrates this commitment.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Health Impact Analysis conducted as part of the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement, how many of the 671 sports and recreational facilities located within a 15km radius of Heathrow Airport are a) playing fields and b) sports halls.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Health Impact Analysis published alongside the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement identified 671 sports and recreational facilities within a 15km radius of Heathrow Airport. The facilities included playing fields, leisure centres, sports clubs, golf clubs, gyms and recreational fields, however the Department does not hold separate counts for those categories.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which capital projects have been (a) cancelled, (b) delayed, (c) descoped and (d) reprofiled to fund the Defence Investment Plan by region, original funding allocation and revised funding allocation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The capital budget for health is due to increase to £15 billion by 2029/30, over 30% higher than 2024/25. We are cutting bureaucracy and speeding up delivery, so taxpayers get maximum value for money. Due to the Government’s record investment, frontline services will be protected. The Department remains committed to the delivery of all schemes in the New Hospital Programme, neighbourhood health centres, and NHS estates programmes. We are working through the detail of future capital spending plans.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has had discussion with (a) Heathrow West Limited and (b) Heathrow Airport Limited on Heathrow expansion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department engages regularly with a broad range of stakeholders across the aviation sector, including Heathrow Airport Limited and Heathrow West Limited on Heathrow Expansion.
Details of ministerial meetings are published in accordance with the Government's transparency requirements. Transparency returns are published periodically, and the published record will be updated in line with the Department's normal publication timetable.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the need for workers from other countries to deliver a third runway at Heathrow airport.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The draft Heathrow Expansion Policy Statement, published on the 18th June, requires any future applicant for expansion to assess the scheme's economic impacts, including labour supply effects. This would include consideration of workforce requirements during construction and operation. The Secretary of State for Transport would consider this evidence as part of any future application and decision for development consent.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what artificial intelligence services and tools are used by her Department; and whether her Department has a contract with providers for those services.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to adopting artificial intelligence in a way that is transparent, responsible and accountable to the public.
Information about algorithmic and AI tools used by government departments to support decisions that affect members of the public, or that have a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect, is published through the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS). The ATRS has been mandatory for central government departments since 2024, and records are published on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/algorithmic-transparency-records. In addition, departments may use other internal tools which do not fall within the scope of the Standard.
In line with public procurement transparency requirements, departments publish contractual information for AI services and tools on Contracts Finder and, where above the relevant threshold, on the Find a Tender Service.
AI services and tools are accessed across government through a range of commercial routes. Departments may contract directly with AI providers, access AI products via intermediated routes such as reseller arrangements where the contractual relationship sits with a partner rather than the underlying provider, or use AI capabilities delivered as features within existing enterprise software and platform contracts (for example productivity, HR or service management tools).
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what training his Department provides on AI; and (a) how many hours and (b) what topics and skills are covered by such training.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office provides a recommended AI training offer for all civil servants across government who are not digital or technical specialists. The training is available online and delivered via Civil Service Learning.
The learning offer provides material to meet a wide range of needs across the Civil Service. In total, around 130 hours worth of training is available. However, most civil servants will only need to complete some modules.
The AI training modules and are intended to build the following AI skills in civil servants:
Foundational AI skills (AI literacy, Assessing AI opportunities, Interpreting AI outputs)
AI Strategy and Implementation
AI Governance and Safety (Applying AI Governance, Using AI Safely).
Digital and AI training will be a top priority for the National School of Government and Public Services when it launches in the Autumn.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which capital projects have been (a) cancelled, (b) delayed, (c) descoped and (d) reprofiled to fund the Defence Investment Plan by region, original funding allocation and revised funding allocation.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to fund this Government’s Defence Investment Plan, helping keep the country safe in an increasingly volatile world.
The Ministry of Justice will set out further impacts on specific policies and programmes in due course.