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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost-savings to residents of the requirement of new homes to be fitted with heat pumps.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Future Homes Standard (FHS) has now been published and will come into force on 24 March 2027. The Impact Assessment for the FHS does not isolate the savings attributable to heat pumps alone, as it considers the overall performance of homes built to the FHS rather than individual technologies in isolation. Compared to a typical existing home with an EPC rating of C, homes built to the FHS could save families up to £830 a year on their energy bills. These estimates reflect the combined impact of much higher fabric efficiency, low‑carbon heating such as heat pumps and, in most cases, on‑site renewable electricity generation such as solar PV.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Capita’s performance in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme since 1 December 2025; what the number of outstanding cases is; what the average waiting time is for (a) first pension payments, (b) retirement lump sums and (c) retirement quotations; whether financial penalties have been applied to Capita for missed service levels; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that members experiencing financial hardship due to delayed payments receive timely interim support and payments in full.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Capita prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.

Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.

To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of converting former industrial buildings into cultural activity centres.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Repurposing industrial heritage drives local growth and community engagement. Funding is available through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has supported projects, such as Grimsby Youth zone, transforming vacant buildings into a vibrant youth hub.

The Heritage Revival Fund helps communities bring local heritage buildings back into public use. In January this government was pleased to announce the continuation of the Heritage Revival Fund for a further four years with almost £42 million of capital funding.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action is the Home Secretary taking to implement the recommendations of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration report on age assessments to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are properly safeguarded.

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

The Home Office accepted all eight of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) age assessment recommendations which were designed to improve training, guidance, assurance, resources and communication.

Initial age decisions were a primary focus of the report and, to date, the Home Office has:

• Implemented minimum quality standards and clear operating procedures to ensure a consistent and fair approach at first encounter
• Published updated guidance on the age admit process so individuals are informed of what they are being asked to sign, the implications of doing so, and how this information may be used
• Completed the first part of an evaluation into initial age decision training to ensure it is meeting requirements
• Started work to improve the overall process and experience through assurance frameworks and feedback mechanisms

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) was also a key focus of the inspection and improvements have been made to assurance frameworks to further ensure age assessments are conducted consistently, robustly and in line with both legislative requirements and best practice.

We have also focused on improving our use of technology. The NAAB online referral portal will also be going live in the next few months which will improve access for local authorities by providing a new, streamlined route for referring age assessment cases to the NAAB. This new technology will deliver operational efficiencies and enable referrals to be made more easily and quickly.

The Home Office has improved the quality of age assessment data. To strengthen transparency, the publication of age assessment official statistics will resume as part of the Immigration Statistical Release scheduled for 21 May 2026. This release will include new disaggregated data on the outcomes of age disputes. Over time, this will provide a more complete national picture, make clearer distinctions between stages of the process and allow improved monitoring.

We continue to develop proposals on how we can share more information with local authorities, where appropriate to support effective planning and safeguarding. We are also engaging directly with stakeholders on progress made against the recommendations to ensure they are delivered in a way that continues to strengthen protections for children.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reinstating family reunion visa routes for Iranians.

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

The family reunion route was suspended to ease the pressures that local authorities and public services have been placed under due to the recent significant increase in people arriving under this route in recent years. Other family routes remain available including Appendix FM, and cases lodged before the suspension continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Currently, Iranian nationals who wish to come to the UK can do so via the existing range of routes available. Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Immediate family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.

There are also routes available for dependents of those who are in the UK on most work routes or certain postgraduate student routes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help implement the recommendations of the Cranston inquiry to help prevent avoidable deaths in the channel.

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

The loss of life from the fatal incident of 23/24 November 2021 was an appalling tragedy, and our thoughts remain with the survivors, the victims and loved ones who suffered as a result.

The response to the Cranston Inquiry report is being led by the Department for Transport (DfT). The Home Office is engaging with the DfT on the response to those recommendations which are pertinent to its area of policy.