Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the expiry of tariff free quotas under the former UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement on (a) levels of investment in the UK and (b) economic growth.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, and the UK-Canada Trade (TCA) Continuity Agreement underpinned £28 billion worth of bilateral trade in 2024.

Several of the TCA’s provisions, as negotiated by the previous government, were time limited and expired in 2024 .

We continue to work with the Canadian Government to resolve this, including at the WTO and through the new UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of pandemic-related delays on asylum seekers’ eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether transitional provisions will be introduced to ensure that people affected by administrative delays between 2019 and 2022 are not disadvantaged under proposed changes to immigration legislation.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We have a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, for as long as it is needed, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention.

Settlement applications are determined based on length of residence following a grant of permission to stay, rather than date of initial application.

We will be holding a public consultation on the new settlement rules later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the use of MOD Garats Hay to house asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are working across government to consider a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites to reduce the impact on communities.

The Prime Minister has instructed the Home Office and Ministry of Defence to accelerate work on identifying appropriate sites, with results expected in the coming weeks and months.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing business rates for pubs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with ratable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible hospitality businesses, including pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.

Business rates are a vital source of Local Government funding and support critical local services, including children's and adult social care. As such, the Government has no plans to abolish business rates for pubs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review the covid-19 vaccination eligibility criteria for (a) frontline workers and (b) carers to ensure that (i) those who work in high-risk environments, (ii) those who provide unpaid care, (ii) carers aged 70 and over, (iv) those who have previously had contact with infectious diseases and (v) those in who cannot afford to access private vaccination services are not excluded from receiving the vaccine.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026

The Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025 on 26 June 2025. The announcement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-autumn-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programme

In its advice for autumn 2024, the JCVI advised that in the era of highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants, any protection offered by the COVID-19 vaccine against the transmission of infection from one person to another is expected to be extremely limited. Therefore, the indirect benefits of vaccination, for instance vaccinating an individual such as an unpaid carer or household member in order to reduce the risk of severe disease in other people, are less evident now compared with previous years. In 2025, the JCVI conducted an extensive review of the scientific evidence surrounding the impact of vaccination on the transmission of the virus from frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) to patients, the protection of HSCWs against symptoms of the disease, and staff sickness absences. In line with the JCVI’s advice, frontline health and social care workers and unpaid carers are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under the national programme for autumn 2025. The focus of the programme is now on those who remain at greatest risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.

As with all NHS-provided vaccination programmes, only those eligible are offered vaccination. Any of the groups mentioned above who are otherwise eligible, because of their age or due to immunosuppression, are encouraged to take up the offer of vaccination.

As with all vaccines offered as part of the national programme in England, there is no charge for COVID-19 vaccination for those who are eligible. There is therefore no cost to those individuals that might discourage uptake.

The Government has accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025 and has no plans to change the eligibility for autumn 2025. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

Welfare benefits for foreign nationals

Found: Labour; Corby and East Northamptonshire) Johanna Baxter (Labour; Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Mr Peter Bedford

Found: Labour; Corby and East Northamptonshire) Johanna Baxter (Labour; Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Mr Peter Bedford

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Rushanara Ali; Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford

Found: Corby and East Northamptonshire) Johanna Baxter (Labour; Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Mr Peter Bedford

Found: Labour; Corby and East Northamptonshire) Johanna Baxter (Labour; Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Mr Peter Bedford

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Found: $E$3,B704)),MAX(A$1:$B703)+1,0)Peter Bedford Housing Association Limited=LEN(B704)=IFERROR(VLOOKUP(ROWS

Found: ][x][x]Treveth Holdings LLPPerryview Housing Co-operative LimitedC3739SmallNo[x][x][x][x][x][x]Peter Bedford

The last time the State Pension age went up there was a jump in the number of pre-pensioners (people aged 60+ but below pension age) in poverty. This group are the joint poorest among working age adults.