Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds information on the number of UK road traffic accidents caused by people driving in the UK without a valid full or provisional UK-issued driving licence.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This information is not held by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of stopping out of work benefits for foreign nationals in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 20 November the Home Secretary launched a consultation on proposals for a fairer pathway to settlement, the point at which foreign nationals generally gain access to public funds. These plans include doubling the standard qualifying period for settlement from 5 to 10 years, with the opportunity to reduce this period based on their contributions to the UK economy and society and longer periods for those who contribute less.
The consultation also covers proposals that benefits might not be available to those who have settled status, reserving them, instead, for those who have earned British citizenship.
You can find more details in here: “Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy" and in “Open consultation: Earned settlement”.
In conjunction with these reforms, my Department will consult in due course on a change to taxpayer-funded benefits to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what data her Department will use as the baseline to measure the target to use validated alternative methods to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates in dedicated PK studies for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s publication, Replacing Animals in Science: A Strategy to Support the Development, Validation and Uptake of Alternative Methods, sets out our long-term vision for a world in which the use of animals in scientific research is eliminated except in exceptional circumstances.
The strategy commits to the publication of qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in 2025. These are in the process of being developed, and the baseline assessment will be determined as part of this process.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing asylum expenditure data by constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The department publishes asylum expenditure data at national or regional level, which is more robust and meaningful for policy and operational purposes.
All available information on asylum expenditure is published in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab). Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).