Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of disapplying the Human Rights Act on the removal of foreign national offenders from British prisons.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues, including the removal of foreign national offenders, further details of which will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce further proposals for local government reorganisation in Leicestershire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 February 2025, the government issued statutory invitations to two-tier authorities and small neighbouring unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Accordingly, an invitation was sent to Blaby District Council, Charnwood Borough Council, Harborough District Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council, Melton Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council.
The invitation also asked areas to submit interim plans by 21 March 2025. We received interim plan responses from all areas and committed to providing feedback. Feedback will soon behas been provided to those all councils listed above to support them as they progress work on developing final proposals. Their final proposals are due by 28 November 2025. Once any final proposals are submitted it will be for the government to consult as required by statute before deciding which proposal, if any, to implement.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changing the civil service pension scheme to a defined contribution model on costs to the public purse.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Any assessment of moving the Civil Service Pension Scheme, or any other Public Service Pension Scheme, to a defined contribution model is the responsibility of HM Treasury. The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme only in respect of changing scheme rules to align with or ensure legal compliance with HM Treasury policy.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of correcting cosmetic dental surgery undertaken by British nationals abroad in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the overall costs to the National Health Service of treating complications arising from cosmetic, including dental, procedures undertaken overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale and impact of these costs on NHS services.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the number of public houses.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill [Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK].
The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill. However, our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors like hospitality, including public houses, will benefit the most from the Bill.
The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including financial education for (a) primary and (b) secondary education in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of terrorist organisations impacted by India's Operation Sindoor.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns all forms of terrorism and both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed their outrage at the horrific attack in Pahalgam on 22 April. We are aware of India's actions under Operation Sindoor and the UK, along with our international partners, urged both India and Pakistan to de-escalate from military confrontation. The UK has not assessed the material impact of India's Operation Sindoor or Pakistan's Operation Bunyaan Marsous.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of requiring full-time office working in the civil service on public sector productivity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In October 2024, Heads of Departments across government announced that guidance on office attendance will remain in place, with most civil servants expected to spend at least 60% of their time at a Government building or on official business, such as visiting stakeholders. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. This is the same expectation on office attendance as was introduced under the previous administration.
The approach will allow teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and getting the best from being together.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting for divisions in the House of Commons.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This is a matter for the House to consider. The Hon. Member may wish to note that the Procedure Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into electronic voting. The Government recently submitted written evidence to that inquiry (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8885/electronic-voting/publications/written-evidence/) and he may wish to respond directly to the Committee's call for evidence.
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, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of mandating 60 per cent office-working by departmental staff by September 2025 on productivity within her Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Civil Service Heads of Departments across government have agreed that the Civil Service is best able to deliver for the people it serves by taking a consistent approach to in office working. Heads of Departments agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.
The approach allows teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and to get the best from being together. This also reflects the view of Civil Service leaders that there remain clear benefits to spending time working together face-to-face as the government delivers on the Missions commitments. The Civil Service approach is comparable to other large private and public sector employers.
Whilst this decision was not directly linked to productivity, the Department closely monitors performance and will continue to do so following implementation of the change. In DWP, around 35% of colleagues spend 100% of their time working in the office, delivering face-to-face services to customers. Other colleagues are able to work in a hybrid way, spending part of their time in the office and part of their time working from home.
Senior Civil Service colleagues are expected to work from the office (which includes face to face time with colleagues or partners on official business elsewhere) for more than 60% of their contracted hours, and the Department has now announced that colleagues at all other grades will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their contracted hours in the office from 1 September 2025.