Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to review legislation on new home developers selling land in and around new housing estates to maintenance companies which then charge back to homeowners.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance was issued on the 14th May 2024. DCMS complies with the guidance, and therefore ensures that any D&I activity provides value for money and benefits both DCMS employees and enhances sound policy making.

DCMS has not undertaken an estimate of the impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in the department on annual staff costs. DCMS remains committed to ensuring we have the right skills in place to deliver our services effectively, efficiently and at value for money across the Civil Service.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what criteria she plans to use to assess the effectiveness of a reformed Access to Work scheme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March 2025, we want to improve accessibility and support more disabled people into work. This includes helping employers increase productivity by supporting their employees with disabilities and health conditions. We want to do this through, in part, a reformed Access to Work. We are keen to ensure that, through future evaluation, we can demonstrate the value for money delivered through a new model as well as the positive impact it is having.

We will determine the nature of the evaluation as part of further policy development, reflecting on consultation responses.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate she has made of number of claimants receiving contributory Employment and Support Allowance who will be affected by the proposed replacement with Unemployment Insurance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published here alongside the Spring Statement.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, whether her Department plans to publish statistics on the number of claimants who lose their (a) Personal Independence Payment and b) Universal Credit health entitlement following these reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published here alongside the Spring Statement.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many major housing developments have been completed in Mid Leicestershire constituency in the last ten years.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Numbers of major and minor residential applications granted permission each quarter for each local planning authority are available here. As more than one planning application is often associated with a single residential development, the published figures should not be regarded as numbers of residential developments granted permission.

Figures are not collected at parliamentary constituency level.

The Department does not collect or publish numbers of completed major housing developments.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many housing developments have been approved in Mid Leicestershire in the last ten years.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Numbers of major and minor residential applications granted permission each quarter for each local planning authority are available here. As more than one planning application is often associated with a single residential development, the published figures should not be regarded as numbers of residential developments granted permission.

Figures are not collected at parliamentary constituency level.

The Department does not collect or publish numbers of completed major housing developments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make a comparative assessment of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, and the Chance to Work Guarantee.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months alongside the consultation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing the Office of Communications.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Office of Communications plays a key role as the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. Ofcom regulates the TV and radio sectors, spectrum, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, online safety, and postal services. There are no plans to abolish Ofcom, and the government has not made any assessment of the savings or costs that such a decision would entail.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what discussions she has had with employers on mandatory reporting of the disability pay gap.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

On 18 March 2025, the Government launched a consultation on mandatory pay gap reporting for both disability and ethnicity. Responses to the consultation will help to shape proposals which will be included in the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024.

Our engagement with stakeholders has included discussions with employers and employer representative bodies, for example the CBI and the Institute of Directors. We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including businesses as we develop the legislation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to expand its procurement activities to UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make a vital contribution to economic growth and are a valuable source of technical innovation in defence. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, and the governments National Procurement Policy Statement.

As announced in the Spring Statement, with defence spending rising, we will spend a minimum of 10% of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment budget on novel technologies, including drones and AI enabled technology. We will establish a protected budget of £400 million within the Ministry of Defence, that will rise over time for UK Defence Innovation.

This is in addition to the announcement the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary made on 3 March which included the launch of a new hub to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain. We have committed to set a direct SME spending target for the Ministry of Defence by June this year, increasing our spend with them and ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK will benefit from the historic decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7264 on Liver Diseases, how many community diagnostic centres provide transient elastography liver scans; and what steps his Department has taken to improve early detection of liver disease in high risk groups in (a) primary and (b) community care settings.

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

As of 16 February 2025, 14 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are providing transient elastography liver scans, also known as fibroscans. By 31 March 2025, one further CDC is expected to become operational and able to offer fibroscans. NHS England is taking steps to improve the early detection of liver disease in high risk groups, both in primary and community care settings.

As of the end of February 2025, the Community Liver Health Check Programme is now in place across 19 areas, helping to identify individual patients at greater risk of cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis. The programme is identifying people at high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and referring them into, as well as supporting them to stay in, surveillance programmes. From June 2022 to January 2025, over 93,500 fibroscans have been delivered through the pilots, with 6,421 people having enrolled into HCC surveillance.

Primary Care Liver Case Finding pilots have also been funded across 12 primary care networks, as of the end of February 2025. These pilots used primary care records to identify patients at high risk of cirrhosis, in order to offer them blood tests and fibroscans. Over 12,700 people have been tested, and 300 people have been identified as having advanced liver disease requiring cancer surveillance, since the pilot began. These pilots are now being evaluated.

The continued funding of Laboratory Information Management Systems will also be a key step in enabling the development of liver disease pathways starting in primary care, along with the use of intelligent liver function tests, which are an effective primary diagnostic test.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of new legislation to facilitate the transition to non-animal methods of testing.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. The government currently has no plans to legislate on this matter.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a centralised and digitalised ID and traceability system across the UK to prevent the illegal movement of horses and other equine species.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability. We have no current plans to implement mandatory digital identification, but we remain in close touch with the industry to look at potential improvements.

Defra also regularly engages with officials in the devolved governments to discuss matters of equine identification and traceability.  Officials also share data on equines located in the UK with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and with the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the Republic of Ireland.  The majority of equine movements into and out of GB take place between the island of Ireland and GB.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on increasing the number of days British citizens with property can stay in Spain without a residence permit.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials and Ministers regularly engage Spanish counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals, including on visa matters. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. Applications for visas to visit or stay for longer periods of time would be processed according to the rules of individual Member States.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase to employers National Insurance contributions on trends in the levels of unemployment benefit claims.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The potential impacts of the changes to employers National Insurance Contributions, have been assessed by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

This assessment is publicly available and can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The budget allocated to the Sentencing Council for 2024/25 is £1.92 million. The savings of abolishing any public body would though depend on a number of factors e.g. wind-up costs, and we do not have a detailed assessment of these factors in relation to the Sentencing Council.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help secure the release of Peter and Barbie Reynolds from Afghan authorities.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. I met their family on 2 April and I am closely monitoring this case. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the total (a) apprenticeship levy revenue received from eligible employers, (b) sum and proportion of levy revenue spent on Level 4, 5, 6 and 7 apprenticeship qualifications and (c) the sum and proportion of unspent levy revenue returned to HM Treasury in each of the last five years.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay 0.5 per cent of their pay bill to invest in apprenticeship training. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. Annual apprenticeship levy receipts are published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b5fd2c9ae06ef4a71cf2e0/NS_Table_final.ods.

The department is responsible for apprenticeships in England only and receives an annual protected apprenticeships budget, which is agreed at spending reviews. Although closely linked, this is distinct from the total levy income collected and the funds in employer accounts.

In total, this apprenticeship budget covers the spend drawn down by all levy-paying employers, as well as apprenticeships for those who do not pay the levy, the costs of English and mathematics tuition for apprentices, and additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. It also covers the administrative costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

The table below provides details of the ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total and proportion of the budget that was unspent in each of the last five years.

*The 2023/24 annual apprenticeship budget was revised in-year from £2,585 million to £2,525 million, as £60 million was surrendered in-year.

Where the department’s apprenticeships budget is underspent by the end of the financial year, funds are returned to HM Treasury in line with standard practice set out in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, a copy of which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consolidated-budgeting-guidance-2024-to-2025.

The table below provides a breakdown of spend against the apprenticeship budget by apprenticeship level 4 to level 7, and the proportion of the budget spent at level 4 to level 7 for each of the five past years.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Independent Schools have (a) closed and (b) announced their closure, since July 2024.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Records of school closures are publicly available on the Get Information about Schools website at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an estimate of the number of criminals erroneously released as part of the early release scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

On 10 September 2024, the Government took the necessary and unavoidable step to move certain release points from 50% to 40%, with an initial tranche of eligible offenders released on this date, and a second tranche released on 22 October 2024.

There was an issue with a repealed Breach of Restraining Order offence. We took action and as a result, we returned all 37 offenders to prison who had been released in error owing to this issue.

We have published data on how many offenders were released on the first day of both initial SDS40 release tranches (1,889 prisoners for Tranche 1, and 1,223 prisoners for Tranche 2). The number of people who have been released in error since September 2024 forms a subset of releases in error data which is scheduled for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of these statistical reports. Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of US tariffs on the hospitality sector in the UK.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK and US have a strong economic relationship which is fair, balanced and reciprocal. We have £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies and over 2.5 million jobs across both countries.

Hospitality businesses play a key role in the UK economy and we’re prioritising engagement with the US to stand up for industry and find a resolution.

We will continue to engage closely and productively with the US to press the case for UK business interests. We will keep all options on the table and won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the mis-selling of timeshare schemes.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Consumers are already protected from mis-selling by consumer law.

Additionally, The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 specifically prevent mis-selling and pressure-selling of timeshares and give consumers protections against unfair contracts.

Recognising that tough enforcement is crucial to protecting consumers, the Government has introduced the Digital Market, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Part 3 of the Act introduces penalties of up to 10% of turnover for breaches of the law and gives the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to take swifter enforcement action without having to go through the courts.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Hundreds of quangos to be examined for potential closure as Government takes back control, published on 7 April 2025, what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in Government spending arising from this review.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The review of all arms length bodies is ongoing. Further information, including on savings, will be announced in due course.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of moving the BBC to a commercial subscription-based model on costs to the public purse.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The BBC is a vital British asset and makes a huge contribution to lives up and down the country. This government firmly believes that the unique obligations placed on the BBC demand continued, sustainable public funding to support its vital work.

The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review will provide an essential opportunity to consider the best possible funding model to set the BBC up for success long into the future. We will provide more details in due course.

Protection of free expression and resistance to blasphemy laws

Upholding biological sex-based protections in single-sex spaces

Mass deportation of illegal migrants

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost was of the Civil Service paybill, by (a) salary costs, (b) National Insurance Contributions, (c) employer Pension Contributions, (d) severance costs and (e) total pay costs in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics, an Accredited Official Statistics release. The most recent salary cost figures as at 31st March 2024 were provided in response to Peter Bedford MP’s question on 16th October 2024.

The latest estimates of the total paybill with and without estimated employer National Insurance contributions were provided in response to Richard Holden MP’s question on 8th April 2025.

Both Employer Pension contributions and severance costs are not published by the Cabinet Office.

For 2024/25, departmental pay awards have been made within the controls of the 2024/25 Pay Remit Guidance. Information on total paybill costs may be published by individual departments, but there is no routine publication of the overall Civil Service paybill figure.

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Found: ” _3 Robert Jenrick Dr Kieran Mullan Mike Wood Jack Rankin Mr Peter Bedford ★.

Found: Jim Shannon Sir Desmond Swayne Mary Glindon Rupert Lowe Andrew Rosindell Sir Ashley Fox Mr Peter Bedford

The Work and Pensions Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into the impact of the Government’s proposals to reform the disability and health related benefits system, as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.