Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the hacking of Hugging Face by collaborating agents, and what plans he has for the further development of AISI and other UK government AI structures.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Hugging Face incident represents a real-world example of why research to understand the risks posed by advanced AI is so important. The Government takes these risks extremely seriously. I am working closely with Ministerial colleagues to ensure that the lessons from recent incidents inform the continued development of the UK's cyber-security framework and the AI Security Institute will continue to work with model developers and other partners to better understand AI capabilities and improve safeguards and control.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test was at each (a) driving test centre and (b) zone in each month since April 2015.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The answers to Questions 6462 on 9 October 2024, 89574 on 11 November 2025 and 122397 on 24 March 2026, provide data covering April 2015 to February 2026.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes monthly practical driving test waiting time data on GOV.UK. Information on average waiting times since January 2019 is available in table DRT121G, car driving test waiting times and availability by country and region, and information on waiting times at individual driving test centres is available in table DRT122F.
Following a restructure of DVSA’s operational leadership teams, the former internal zones were replaced by new internal regions with different geographical boundaries. DVSA therefore cannot provide current waiting-time data on a directly comparable basis using the former zones. These internal regions are separate from the geographic regions DVSA uses for waiting time data it publishes on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the department's answer to questions 36174 and 33781, how many Universal Credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity were reported as having the condition Mental Health Problem, and where Mental Health Problem was their only condition within the ICD10 group Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00 - F99).
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Publicly available information on health conditions reported by Universal Credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity is available here at: uc-health-tables.ods. UC Work Capability Assessment decisions by outcome and medical condition are in Table 5.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to publish its review of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’) to review the current evidence on cannabis-based products for medicinal use (‘CBPMs’) on 2 June 2025.
The ACMD is an independent scientific advisory body and determines its own procedures. In its Work Programme, published on 21 September 2026, the ACMD has said that it expects to publish the report on CBPMs by the end of the year.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity had each of the 10 most frequently recorded conditions within the Mental and Behavioural Disorders group recorded at their Work Capability Assessment, as at March in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The table below provides the volume of Universal Credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity, as at March each year, who reported any of the 10 most frequently recorded conditions within the ICD10 group ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00 - F99)’. These conditions represent options that can be selected by the Assessor during the assessment.
Condition | March 2022 | March 2023 | March 2024 | March 2025 | March 2026 |
Mental Health Problem | 184,900 | 305,500 | 453,500 | 613,700 | 733,400 |
Anxiety and Depression | 130,700 | 191,600 | 251,200 | 310,000 | 359,100 |
Anxiety | 9,200 | 14,800 | 20,300 | 26,200 | 31,900 |
Depression | 21,100 | 28,800 | 34,700 | 38,700 | 41,500 |
Alcohol Misuse | 11,200 | 15,100 | 19,100 | 22,700 | 26,100 |
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | 2,600 | 4,700 | 7,700 | 12,200 | 19,300 |
Autism | 3,000 | 5,400 | 8,600 | 12,900 | 19,000 |
Learning Difficulties | 5,400 | 8,300 | 11,100 | 14,400 | 17,400 |
Drug Misuse | 7,200 | 9,600 | 11,700 | 13,800 | 16,200 |
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder | 2,600 | 4,000 | 5,800 | 8,800 | 13,700 |
Notes:
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the costs of Afghan settlement schemes are included in the Home Office publication "ASY_04: Breakdown of Asylum costs and productivity".
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
We can confirm that Afghan Resettlement costs are not included within the published ASY_04: Breakdown of Asylum costs and productivity’.
These costs represent an estimate of all Home Office costs relating to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other Migration & Borders activity relating to asylum.
The asylum and resettlement systems are distinct routes. Individuals seeking asylum apply for protection after arriving in the UK and have their claim assessed in line with the UK's international obligations. By contrast, resettlement provides a safe and legal route for vulnerable refugees identified overseas and referred to the UK before they travel.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in introducing new rolling stock on the Midland Main Line and when the full fleet of new trains is expected to be operational.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Delays from the train manufacturer have resulted in East Midlands Railway’s new Hitachi Class 810 trains being delivered into passenger service three years late. 13 Class 810 trains have been delivered by Hitachi Rail and accepted by EMR, with 20 trains still to be delivered and accepted. The latest revised delivery programme from Hitachi has all trains delivered to EMR during 2027.
DFT Operator, EMR and Hitachi are working closely together to ensure the remaining Class 810 trains are delivered into passenger service, and the full EMR intercity timetable restored, as soon as possible. Lord Hendy recently held a roundtable with EMR and Hitachi to discuss these issues, to which all relevant Members of Parliament, including the Hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, were invited.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dependants of main applicants on the Skilled Worker route were granted visas in 2025, broken down by the main applicant’s licensed sponsor.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Figure 9 of the Department’s publication Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics, April 2019 to March 2026 and the response to FOI2026/95977, how many Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions for non-ESA transition claimants in the period covered by that figure recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only condition within the Mental and Behavioural Disorders ICD-10 chapter.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
879,800 Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions for non-ESA transition claimants in the period April 2019 to March 2026 recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only condition within the Mental and Behavioural Disorders ICD-10 chapter.
Of those, 143,100 recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only medical condition overall.
Notes:
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Figure 9 of the Department’s publication Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics, April 2019 to March 2026 and the response to FOI2026/95977, how many Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions for non-ESA transition claimants in the period covered by that figure recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only medical condition overall.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
879,800 Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions for non-ESA transition claimants in the period April 2019 to March 2026 recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only condition within the Mental and Behavioural Disorders ICD-10 chapter.
Of those, 143,100 recorded “Mental Health Problem” as their only medical condition overall.
Notes: