Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will broaden the eligibility criteria for the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme to include more food manufacturing businesses.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Energy-Intensive Industries (EII) Compensation Scheme compensates eligible businesses for the indirect costs of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Price Support Mechanism, targeting businesses at high risk of carbon leakage, the offshoring of production overseas to countries with fewer climate change policy controls. The Government intends to review the scheme this year and publicly consult on the eligibility criteria. However, any changes to the scheme are subject to available budgets and ministerial approval. I encourage food manufacturing businesses to engage with this review when the opportunity arises.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with the AQA exam board on staff pay and conditions.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Ofqual, the independent regulator of exams and assessments in England, oversees awarding organisations, including AQA, by conducting readiness reviews, evaluating their governance and ability to manage key delivery risks.

The department has received assurances from Ofqual that AQA has contingency processes in place to mitigate any risks to exam delivery.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2026 to Question 491 on Government Departments: Correspondence, what steps he is taking to ensure that written correspondence from Members of Parliament receives a response from a Government minister.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Government departments and ministers are individually responsible for ensuring that their correspondence handling is in line with the Guide to Handling Correspondence.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2026 to question 477 on Public Sector: ICT, if her Department will consider the use of open source software for the public sector to move away from reliance on large tech companies.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government supports a diverse and competitive technology landscape, including open-source software where it offers value, flexibility and resilience. This is outlined in the Technology Code of Practice, which encourages departments to consider the use of open-source solutions alongside proprietary options.

Departments are responsible for their own procurement decisions, in line with established rules and guidance and must secure value for money through fair and open competition. The Government promotes a diverse supplier base and aims to reduce overreliance on individual suppliers where this limits innovation, resilience and value for money.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his department has made an assessment of the potential merits of delivering the Synergy payroll service in-house.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Bringing Business Process Services in-house was considered as part of the 2020/21 delivery options assessment for Synergy, which concluded that maintaining an outsourced model offered the best value for money.

Cabinet Office and Treasury controls on civil service headcount were a key consideration, as full insourcing would have required over 1,600 additional FTEs.

The assessment also reflected the existing outsourced shared services model, the availability of a mature supplier market, and the Strategy’s requirement to separate technology delivery from transaction service delivery.

Synergy is, however, establishing an in-house Shared Services Hub to manage end-to-end service delivery, partner contracts, and continuous improvement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department's position is on the territory of Western Sahara.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Western Sahara is a UN Non-Self-Governing Territory with no defined Administering Power. The UK wants to see a lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict. In her meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Bourita on 23 April, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed Morocco's 2007 autonomy plan as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for achieving this objective. We continue to engage with all relevant parties in support of the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken by National Savings and Investments to return the savings of customers who have died to their bereaved families.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

On 19 May, I updated Parliament that from the week commencing 25 May, NS&I would start to contact all affected estates, with holdings of £10 or more, to reunite them with the holdings owed to them. Remediation will be delivered in phases. NS&I has since issued letters to the first cohort of affected estates. NS&I aims to return holdings to affected estates as swiftly as possible and expects to complete its remediation programme in the first half of 2027.

NS&I has published a delivery plan that it will follow to ensure proactive, timely contact and will publish an update on progress against this plan on a quarterly basis.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2025 to question 60227 on Cricket: Women, what further progress her Department has made on increasing participation in cricket by women and girls in the last 12 months.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring that as many women and girls as possible have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities, including cricket.

Through Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, we provide investment of £13.4 million to the England and Wales Cricket Board between 2022-2029 to support grassroots participation, including for both women and girls.

In addition, in 2026/27, the Government has committed £3 million delivered through the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for five multi-sport covered cricket domes in Birmingham, Bolton, Derby, Newcastle, and Nottingham. All five domes will place an emphasis on continuing the surge in female participation that has been seen in recent years, as well as improving access for other under-represented groups. This funding builds on £1.5 million provided to the ECB last year for two domes in Luton and Farington, Lancashire, the latter of which forms part of a North West Centre of Excellence for the women's game.

Last week, I was delighted to visit the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup launch, celebrating a key moment in the decade of women’s sport. England and Wales are hosting the tournament from 12 June - 5 July 2026. The tournament is taking place in iconic grounds across London (Lord’s, The Oval), Birmingham (Edgbaston), Manchester (Old Trafford), Leeds (Headingley), Bristol (Bristol County Ground), and Southampton (Hampshire Bowl). The Government is committed to making sure that women and girls have clear routes to see elite female athletes compete at the highest level. This is key to inspiring and engaging fans and players now and into the future.

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations