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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to increase funding for women and girls in sports.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.

The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active. 1.6 million women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.

We are committed to delivering best in class facilities, with the significant investment of £98 million in 2025/26 and a further £400 million over the next four years in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities. We are expecting to more than double the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams at Government-funded facilities across England over the next five years, with a clear long-term target of reaching equal access as demand grows.

We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport, kicked off by the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and we are using the Women's Football Taskforce and Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector.

Further to this, we are increasing visibility of women’s sport, including delivering a drumbeat of UK hosted major events, including this year’s Women's T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 and the Tour de France/Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart 2027, while also supporting the bid for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup.

We want to support women and girls at every stage of their lives to get involved in sport.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory nutrition and practical cooking education in all schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Mandatory nutrition and practical cooking education is already included within the national curriculum. Additional elements of nutrition education can also be covered within science and relationships, sex and health education. The national curriculum aims to teach children how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. Schools also have flexibility within the broad framework of the national curriculum to tailor curriculum subjects to meet the needs of their pupils.

In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department has set out that we will enhance the identity of food education by clearly distinguishing cooking and nutrition, which will be renamed food and nutrition, as a distinct strand within design and technology. We are also legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require academies to follow the national curriculum, to ensure that pupils in academy schools also benefit from these changes alongside those in maintained schools.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed cap on salary sacrifice benefits on younger workers' pensions.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

Everyone using salary sacrifice will still benefit from the tax advantages available up to the £2,000 cap. The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Of employees making pension contributions through salary sacrifice, those under the age of 30 are far more likely to be protected by the £2,000 cap than those above the age of 30.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she made of the potential impact of electric shock collars on the welfare of dogs.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is concerned about the possible welfare implications of the use of electric shock collars.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will consult on whether to ban the use of electric shock collars later in this Parliament.

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 redundancy arrangements for NHS staff who take partial retirement.

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

This specific assessment has not been made. Where National Health Service staff have taken partial retirement, they retain continuous service. As a result, some staff may be entitled to receive a statutory redundancy payment that exceeds their contractual redundancy entitlement, in which case, the statutory payment will apply. Entitlement to redundancy payments ultimately depends on what is set out in an employee’s employment contract and whether their contract refers to Section 16 of the Agenda for Change terms. Different rules may apply to NHS staff who are not employed on Agenda for Change terms in England.

Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.

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 merits of a) waiving and b) subsidising the cost of the first six to eight (i) preliminary and (ii) core examinations for junior doctors.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

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 long working hours and workforce burnout on staff wellbeing, retention and safe staffing levels within the NHS.

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

We know from engagement on the 10-Year Health Plan that many National Health Service staff feel disempowered and overwhelmed. Tackling this and providing proper support for staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will have a focus on supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. This includes the development of a new set of staff standards for modern employment, which will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention and are likely to focus on flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. Additionally, we will roll out Staff Treatment Hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

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 reduce diagnostic waiting times for gynaecological conditions in Nottingham; and if he will make additional funding available to support gynaecological services.

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

Reducing diagnostic waiting times, including for gynaecology, is a key part of the Government’s health mission. That is why we are transforming diagnostic services and are taking steps to support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including those tests typically used in gynaecology services such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan, we plan to build up to five more community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as part of £600 million capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations. In August 2025, we confirmed that 100 CDCs were delivering these extended services.

There are already two CDCs located within the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board. These are Broad Marsh CDC in Nottingham and Mansfield CDC in Mansfield, which offer patients across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire key diagnostic tests, including MRI and ultrasound.

More generally, to support gynaecological services, we are prioritising gynaecology pathways as part of the launch of NHS online. This will give people on certain pathways, such as those with severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems, the choice of getting specialist case from their home and provide additional capacity to cut waiting times.

Public inquiry into Epstein links

Funding for fire and rescue services

Government contract with Palantir Technologies

Government response to Israel’s West Bank annexation plan

Surveillance and political intimidation of journalists

Securing the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme

Essentials Guarantee

Together Alliance

15th anniversary of the Bahrain pro-democracy uprising

Relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

British couple detained in Iran

NEU dispute and strike action at Access Creative College

Billy Bremner Raploch statue

New US sanctions on Cuba

Heart Unions Week and the contribution of trade unions

Civil service pension scheme

Situation of Kurdish people in Syria

Right To Food UK Commission

Local news journalism and STV regional broadcasting

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome

Found: Q1 Nadia Whittome: How does the UK regulatory framework differ from that of other countries?

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Rachel Taylor (Labour; North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Nadia Whittome