Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the planned increase in vehicle tax from April 2026 will be based on (a) emissions from vehicles based on factory information when new and (b) MOT results annually.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), sometimes known as 'road tax' or 'vehicle tax', is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.
As announced by the government at Budget, from 1 April 2026, VED rates for cars, vans, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be uprated in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) in 2026-27.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made as to the (a) merits of and (b) funding for retrospective indexation arrangements for all pre 1997 pensions scheme members.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most defined benefit schemes pay some indexation on pensions earned before 1997. The Government recognises that the absence of indexation on pre-1997 rights in pension schemes can erode the value of pensions over time and affect members who rely on these benefits in retirement.
Reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill will enable more trustees of well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus with employers, deliver better outcomes for members, and benefit the wider economy. As part of any agreement to release surplus funds to the employer, trustees will be better placed to negotiate additional benefits for members, including discretionary indexation.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that children who are eligible for free school meals should be automatically enrolled for them.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals (FSM) so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for FSM from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
The department is also rolling out improvements to the eligibility checking system which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 98338, whether she has reviewed the Bank Confidential report; and if she will establish a judge-led inquiry into its findings.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury is aware of the Bank Confidential report about former misconduct in SME banking by the NatWest Group. The Government also recognises the serious impact that historical issues of misconduct have had on small businesses, and we acknowledge the significant distress and hardship this has caused to many business owners.
Successive Governments, as well as the Financial Conduct Authority, working with lenders, have taken steps that aimed to address these issues. This included helping to establish and support a range of compensation and redress schemes to enable those affected to seek appropriate compensation, with redress over interest rate hedging rate disputes alone paying out more than £2bn to affected customers.
As I set out in my previous response, the Government keeps the financial services regulatory framework under ongoing review, working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of replacing the statutory requirement for daily Christian collective worship in schools without a religious character in England with non-confessional assemblies in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in JR87 2025 UKSC 40.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to withdraw, revise, or replace Circular 1/94 Religious Education and Collective Worship, in the context of the Supreme Court’s ruling in JR87 2025 UKSC 40.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has held discussions with Natural England on their Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security strategy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England worked closely with Defra and other stakeholders in development of their new strategy entitled 'Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security', which has been shared and discussed with Ministers. The strategic outcomes and approaches described in the strategy align with Defra and Government priorities.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals have migrated from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly publishes monthly Move to Universal Credit statistics, with the latest statistics available for July 2022 to end September 2025. The next publication on 17 February 2026 will include data up to and including December 2025.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase early identification of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows that effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
To support settings to identify need early, the department is strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices, as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
We also recently announced new government-backed research into special educational need identification, which will be delivered by UK Research Innovation in partnership with the department. This will aim to develop and test trusted and effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing targeted educational support.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of centralising SEND funding on the needs of individual children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is not planning to centralise special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding.
The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps in the new year and are keeping under review the funding arrangements to help ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive for children with SEND. It is important that we establish a fair school funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.