Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans the Government has for introducing a women’s workplace health strategy.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build an NHS fit for the future. Our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as providing emergency hormonal contraception free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS from October 2025; taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan; and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.
More widely, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity are taking the first steps towards legally requiring large employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures; detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gap and support employees during the menopause.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing thorium-based molten salt reactors in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Nuclear is a key part of the government's national mission to be a clean energy superpower. The government believes that Advanced Nuclear Technologies (ANTs) could play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs.
DESNZ is aware of and monitors the progress of a wide range of advanced reactors in design development by companies around the world, including Thorium Molten Salt reactors.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with Meta on removing monkey abuse content from its platforms.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government ministers and officials regularly discuss online safety matters with stakeholders including online platforms such as Meta.
Under the Online Safety Act’s ‘illegal content duties’, social media platforms including Meta have duties to implement measures to tackle animal abuse content and remove it from their services. Ofcom is the UK’s independent regulator for online safety responsible for regulating services and taking enforcement action as appropriate. It has published recommendations for how providers should fulfil their illegal content duties in codes of practice and documentation. These include specific provisions about animal abuse content. These duties took effect on 17 March.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds information on the daily ticket sales from stations on Southern duty railway lines to London terminals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold this information. The Rail Delivery Group and individual TOCs hold the data.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary housing has not increased since 2011.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere.
We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. MHCLG are increasing funding for homelessness services this year by an extra £233 million compared to last year (2024/25).
We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and are working closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to explore the impacts of subsidy rates on local authorities.
Any future decisions on subsidy rates will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the current challenging financial environment at the appropriate fiscal event.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of restricting offences triable either way to summary trial except for the sentencing process.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Last November, we extended magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months.
This change is expected to save Crown Court time and help deliver the swifter justice that victims deserve.
The Independent Review of the Criminal Courts is considering measures to ensure cases are dealt with more proportionately, including triable either-way offences.
I do not want to pre-empt the recommendations of the Review but I welcome my Honourable Friend’s interest in this topic.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to encourage social media companies to tackle animal abuse content online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Animal abuse content is horrific, and social media companies must do more to tackle it.
Social media platforms and search services have duties to tackle animal abuse content and implement safety-by-design features under the Online Safety Act.
Ofcom – the independent regulator - has published recommendations for how providers should tackle such content under their ‘illegal content duties’.
These duties took effect on 17 March and Ofcom have strong enforcement powers to hold companies accountable for failing to meet their obligations.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the Chagossian population residing in (a) the UK, (b) Mauritius, (c) the Seychelles and (d) all other countries; and how many Chagossians not residing in the UK have applied for British citizenship through the (i) British Indian Oceans Territory citizenship registration route and (ii) other routes, broken down by the country in which each applicant lived at the time of application.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not held by the Home Office.
However, the overall number of applications for British citizenship including those made through the British Indian Ocean Territory route is available on:
Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of licensed (a) aircraft engineers and (b) pilots.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department works with industry to identify any skills gaps to ensure their workforce is resilient. There are three main approaches Government is taking to support the pipeline of talent:
- Encouraging opportunities for all with the ‘Generation Aviation’ programme raising the profile of aviation careers, removing barriers to access and attracting diverse and talented people to tackle new technologies, decarbonisation and other emerging trends. This includes the Reach for the Sky fund supporting outreach projects that only last week I announced the winners for 2025.
- Making it easier to train engineers and pilots of the future by transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners. As well as encouraging industry to fully funded pilot training programmes and applaud effort of companies such as TUI and British Airways which have established sustainable pipeline for budding aviators.
- Following EU exit, my Department sympathises with the difficulties faced by stakeholders in the aviation industry and establishing an effective personnel licensing regime that supports UK aviation remains a priority for us.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his Mauritian counterpart on the return of Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago without fear of (a) discrimination or (b) prosecution under the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2021 of Mauritius.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Mauritius will be free to resettle the islands, other than Diego Garcia. It will be for Mauritius to set the terms of and manage any future resettlement. Ministers and officials continue to engage with their Mauritian counterparts as part of routine bilateral engagement.