Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the level of barriers facing community transport schemes as a result of minibus driver shortages.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not have statistics on minibus driver shortages. However, the Community Transport Association reports that there is a reducing number of drivers entering the sector and are, therefore, calling for amendments to minibus driver licensing.
The previous government consulted on driver licensing, which reflected on the pre-1997 position where car drivers were automatically granted a minibus entitlement. While there was support for extending driving licence entitlement, the evidence presented was not sufficient to fully understand the associated road safety risks.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many young people took part in the most recent Member of Youth Parliament elections.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Youth Agency, which delivers The UK Youth Parliament, estimates that approximately 460,000 young people voted in the most recent Member of Youth Parliament elections. This is an indicative figure, based on information available from regional partners and should therefore be treated as an estimate rather than a confirmed total.
This Government is committed to strengthening young people’s participation in democratic processes and ensuring that they have opportunities to influence decisions that affect their lives.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending free prescriptions to 16, 17 and 18-year-olds completing an apprenticeship.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made but we keep all aspects of prescription charging policy under regular review.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review charges levied on phone calls to the probate service.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Calls to HMCTS telephone numbers are already included in the vast majority of home and mobile phone plans. Once someone has got through to an adviser, we also offer a call-back service for those who would otherwise have difficulty paying for the call.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will review the requirement for people with progressive health conditions to reapply for blue badges every three years.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the Blue Badge legislation, a badge may only be issued with a validity period of up to three years. The three-year validity period helps ensure that photographs and personal details held by local authorities remain accurate and up to date.
The Blue Badge Digital Service enables local authorities to mark cases as not requiring a further evidence review where there is no ongoing need for applicants to resubmit evidence of their eligibility. This option means that future applications can be processed more easily and with less administrative burden for many Blue Badge holders, including those with long-term and progressive conditions.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating bereavement support payments in line with inflation.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Transformation on 13 March 2026 to Question UIN 117672.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will publish data on the disposal of social housing stock broken down by tenure and local authority area.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Large Private Registered Providers (PRPs) of social housing (i.e. those with 1,000 or more social and affordable homes) are required to report on the number of sales, demolitions, new builds, acquisitions or movements of owned units of social and affordable housing during the year through the Statistical Data Return (SDR) collected by the Regulator of Social Housing. It can be found on gov.uk here. Data on small PRPs is not collected through the SDR.
Local authority landlords with a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) are required to report on the number of disposals of local authority social and affordable housing for rent stock by tenure in Section K of the Local Authority Housing Statistics. These can be found on gov.uk here. As nearly all local authority owned stock is held within a HRA, breakdowns by disposal by tenure are not collected for other local authorities. All local authorities with social and affordable housing for ownership stock are required to report on the number of disposals of these units by tenure in the same section, independently whether this is held within or outside a HRA.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support families in Bracknell Forest in summer 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
This Government is committed to supporting families. At the Budget, we took £150 off energy bills, froze rail fares and prescription charges, and lifted 450,000 children out of poverty.
With our Great British Summer Savings scheme, we are making bus travel free for 5-15-year-olds in England throughout August and slashing VAT on leisure activities. In Bracknell Forest, Play World Soft Play and venues like South Hill Park will benefit from the reduced rate, helping families enjoy a day out for less.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of TG6 blood tests for diagnosis of gluten ataxia.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
While National Health Service specialised services commissions care for some rare ataxias, gluten ataxia is commissioned within integrated care board-commissioned neurology services. Decisions on the provision of diagnostic tests, including blood tests, are therefore a matter for local NHS systems. Therefore, no specific assessment has been made.
The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases, including gluten ataxia, through the UK Rare Diseases Framework and the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2026, including helping patients get a final diagnosis faster.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle loyalty penalties for phone and broadband customers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
As regulator for telecoms, Ofcom has introduced a range of measures to improve transparency and consumer engagement in telecoms markets, including clearer end-of-contract notifications, new rules on in-contract price rises, and the One Touch Switching process to make switching broadband providers quicker and easier.
Ofcom’s 2026 pricing report shows that consumers who switch or renegotiate their contract typically pay less than those who remain out of contract, with over 2 million customers using One Touch Switching between September 2024 and the end of 2025. In addition, 26% of households switched at least one communications provider in the past year.
In February, the Government launched the Telecoms Consumer Charter, a public set of industry commitments that builds on Ofcom’s rules to ensure consumers get a fair deal.
Ofcom continues to monitor pricing practices and consumer outcomes closely and will take action where it identifies harm.