Olivia Blake

Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music.

Through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, we collaborated on this matter with key industry stakeholders, including major and independent record labels and music creator representatives.

We were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions, including the commitment to provide legacy artists with further clarity on how they can seek and obtain contract renegotiation that appropriately remunerates them. The UK’s major labels have also launched bespoke packages to deliver benefits for UK creators.

The government has committed to monitoring and reviewing the impact of the label-led principles in one year’s time. At that point, we will assess the need for further intervention to ensure this package delivers on its objective to bring about real change.

Unlike commercial loans, student loans carry significant protections for borrowers. Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold for undergraduate loans (borrowers with multiple undergraduate loans have their contributions apportioned to the relevant loans), and 6% above the earnings threshold for postgraduate loans.

Postgraduate loans are made concurrently with any outstanding undergraduate loan. If a borrower’s income drops below the repayment threshold, or they are not earning, their repayments will stop.

Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

The government appreciates that making student loan repayments does have an impact on individuals. This is why there are unique protections for borrowers, and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Sheffield Hallam to the answer of 26 February 2026 to Question 109848

Schools, academies and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers, which includes deciding whether to use private supply agencies to fill temporary posts or cover teacher absence.

A supply teacher’s pay and working conditions will depend on who employs the supply teacher.

​Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the school teachers’ pay and conditions document.

​If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay and conditions of employment.

Tackling unacceptable practices and excessive supplier margins within the teacher supply market is a core part of our ‘Maximising value for pupils’ programme. As part of this, we have introduced an expectation for schools to use the new iteration of the supply teachers and temporary staffing framework when sourcing agencies, which offers a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which must be transparent with schools about the rates they charge.

Education, health and care (EHC) plans can remain in place after age 18. If a young person has an EHC plan, it does not have to end when they leave school. Their plan can continue up to the age of 25, if they still have special educational needs and remain in education or training.

EHC plans must have a formal annual review every 12 months conducted by the local authority to ensure that the support and arrangements are relevant and fit the individual’s circumstances. The local authority can cease the EHC plan if it is no longer necessary for special educational provision to be made for the young person.

An EHC plan helps a person aged 18 or over by securing legally‑backed, tailored support across education, health, and social care so they can achieve their learning goals and move more confidently toward independence and employment.

Our forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms will improve both access to and the quality of the support provided to enable children and young people with SEND to achieve and thrive at all stages of statutory education. It is already the case that those young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) who need more time to complete their learning can retain their EHCP and, where necessary, remain in statutory education until age 25. The EHCP will continue to be reviewed regularly and will set out the support and provision the young person needs to achieve and thrive.

Disabled learners who go on to study in higher education will receive individual reasonable adjustments made by their university or other higher education provider under the Equality Act 2010 and can access Disabled Students’ Allowance for more specialist support.

The Government set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026.

To truly turn around the water sector we need the right people in to do the job. We want the sector to be attractive to high quality senior leaders, acting in the public interest, who can lead change from the top.

To achieve this, the Government committed in the White Paper to consider taking forward a new regime for senior accountability. This would be carefully designed to ensure senior leaders are directly accountable for the service customers receive, whilst still allowing water companies to appoint capable leadership.

The Government set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026.

To truly turn around the water sector we need the right people in to do the job. We want the sector to be attractive to high quality senior leaders, acting in the public interest, who can lead change from the top.

To achieve this, the Government committed in the White Paper to consider taking forward a new regime for senior accountability. This would be carefully designed to ensure senior leaders are directly accountable for the service customers receive, whilst still allowing water companies to appoint capable leadership.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 January 2026 to the hon. Member Shaun Davies for Telford, PQ UIN 103925.

As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, the Government will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare. The Government will set out next steps in due course.

Bird of prey persecution is a national wildlife crime priority and there are strong penalties in place for offences committed against them. Restrictions on the commercial use or trade of birds of prey are in place under the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations. Where any wild falcon is taken and traded illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime.

Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations. It has played a key role in securing the convictions of criminals found to have been illegally taking peregrine falcon eggs and chicks from the wild. Defra is providing 494,000 for the NWCU in 2025-2026.

Defra also provides funding to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture to develop DNA forensic analysis for the police and other organisations investigating crimes against peregrine falcons. DNA profiling of peregrines is a critical element in deterring wild take and illegal export, and convicting criminals.

Network Rail is committed to delivering a safe, reliable railway while reducing costs for taxpayers. Accordingly, it needs to ensure it operates as efficiently as possible. To achieve this, Network Rail is reviewing how it operates across its business. In the review, safety remains the top priority and the efficiency proposals being made focus on management grades and contractors, not frontline operational roles.

Platform 4 is now the employer following a TUPE process. While trade union recognition agreements were not transferred from Network Rail to Platform 4 under TUPE, Platform 4 has held discussions with the trade unions about recognition, with further discussions intended shortly.

In accordance with TUPE regulations, existing train operator staff transferring to the public-sector operator do so with their contractual terms and conditions protected. We are engaging with trade union leaders on all relevant matters in this area through the Rail Engagement Group. The trade unions will be consulted at the earliest opportunity, if any changes to their members’ terms and conditions are being proposed as part of the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). In the meantime, we are keeping trade union leaders informed on matters through the Rail Engagement Group.

Regarding pensions under GBR, I can confirm that we plan for the Railways Pension Scheme to continue to be the primary vehicle through which most rail employees build up their pension provision. The protections within the 1993 Railways Act remain unchanged by the Railways Bill currently going through parliament.

The Secretary of State established the Rail Engagement Group as a means of ensuring sustained dialogue with the trade unions about key matters facing the railway, as we work towards establishing Great British Railways (GBR). What collective bargaining arrangements might look like under GBR is one of the important matters that the Rail Engagement Group will be discussing as our plans for GBR develop.

Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.

That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the Department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the Government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the Government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates maintenance using the paying parent’s gross weekly income up to £3,000, ensuring contributions are fair and lower earners are protected through flat or nil rates. Where income exceeds £3,000, the receiving parent can apply to the courts for additional “top-up” maintenance beyond the statutory cap.

The CMS formula was introduced in 2012. At that time, Parliament chose to leave securing additional maintenance assessed on income over the level of a cap set at annual earnings limit of around £156,000 to the family courts, via top-up orders, as income of this magnitude tends to be generated and invested via more complex financial mechanisms than the administrative service is designed to handle. The cap therefore ensures that the statutory scheme remains a simple, administratively efficient formula, and the courts handle bespoke, higher value disputes.

All cases can secure substantial maintenance payments via the existing administrative system, and for the vast majority of cases this will be their only source of maintenance. For the small minority where their former partner has exceptionally high income, the system is designed to ensure that court involvement is available, by limiting that involvement to cases where judicial discretion is genuinely required.

No assessment has been made by the Department.

Integrated pensions are intended to provide people who retire before their State Pension age with a similar pension income before and after their State Pension comes into payment. A member’s scheme pension is calculated so that the scheme pays a higher pension before the person reaches State Pension age, which is then reduced at State Pension age to take account of their State Pension.

If members of an integrated pension scheme believe that the scheme has not followed its rules or the relevant law, they should use the scheme’s internal dispute resolution service, which every scheme is required to have. If they are not satisfied with the outcome, they can take the matter to the Pensions Ombudsman.

They may also find it helpful to contact Money Helper, which provides free advice on all aspects of occupational pension schemes and personal pension schemes. Money Helper can be contacted by telephone on: 0800 011 3797 and more information is available on its website at: www.moneyhelper.org.uk