Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Section 133 (1ZA) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 on people wrongly convicted of crimes.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual who has suffered a miscarriage of justice, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service (MOJAS). Annual data is published on MOJAS setting out number of applications and who is eligible for compensation.

The Law Commission is currently undertaking a review of the criminal appeals process, including the test for compensation payable for miscarriages of justice under section 133, and we look forward to their report in 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 June, 1 August and 15 September 2025 from the hon. Member for Tooting relating to case reference RA69084.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days. This case has been transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to answer.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of independence of the Property Redress Service.

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

My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.

Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Property Redress Service in dealing with complaints.

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

My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.

Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help support tenants who are unable to secure new tenancies due to private landlords failing to provide references upon request.

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

Where a landlord has requested a reference from a previous landlord and is unable to obtain this, we encourage landlords to make use of other available referencing criteria to give them and the tenant the confidence that the tenancy is suitable. This is already common practice for tenants renting for the first time or those from abroad. Local authorities may also offer guarantee schemes or assistance with rent payments to help people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness to secure a property when they may otherwise struggle to do so. The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenants references when requested.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making it a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenant references when requested.

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

Where a landlord has requested a reference from a previous landlord and is unable to obtain this, we encourage landlords to make use of other available referencing criteria to give them and the tenant the confidence that the tenancy is suitable. This is already common practice for tenants renting for the first time or those from abroad. Local authorities may also offer guarantee schemes or assistance with rent payments to help people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness to secure a property when they may otherwise struggle to do so. The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenants references when requested.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with energy producers on energy prices.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help support green energy businesses in Tooting.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Net zero is the economic and industrial opportunity of the 21st century. The net zero economy has become a significant driver of growth and jobs in the UK where over 94% of employers are SMEs [1].

The Government is working in partnership with businesses to support their transition to net zero, including through the Net Zero Council. The Council’s work includes supporting sectors to develop transition plans and supporting SMEs to innovate, grow and decarbonise.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme continues to provide grants of up to £7,500 for small non-domestic property owners, with the threshold for single heat pump installations set at 45kWh.

[1] Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit | The future is green: The…

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department holds information on the solar capacity produced by domestic solar installations in Tooting.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Our latest figures show that Tooting has a domestic solar PV capacity of 2MW across 542 installations.

Monthly statistics on the deployment of solar photovoltaics are published by capacity, parliamentary constituency, and accreditation in the United Kingdom on the data.gov.uk website.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has had recent discussions with L&Q housing association.

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

Officials in MHCLG regularly engage with representatives from across the housing sector, including local authorities, housing associations, developers and other groups.

Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing real-terms funding for the (a) the Music and Dance Scheme and (b) eight schools supported by this scheme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Tooting to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 79113.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a three-year funding settlement for the Music and Dance Scheme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Tooting to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 79113.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of introducing financial support for the cost of temporary wheelchairs for children following discharge from an NHS hospital.

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

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring every child gets the support they need. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services.

NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people, including children, receiving timely wheelchair equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework in April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the West Coast Main Line in December 2025 and January 2026 on commuters.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail has been working closely with operators to try and keep passengers on trains for as much of their journey as possible during this period of essential works. The Settle to Carlisle line will be used as a diversionary route for long-distance services for the first time in a decade. Rail replacement buses will also be available to assist passengers to continue their journeys onwards.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing recipients of universal credit to receive performance based bonuses without penalty.

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

No assessment has been made.

A Universal Credit award is calculated on the basis of the set benefit rate against money coming in to ensure fairness of treatment for all customers against the money that they have earned. This means as earnings increase Universal Credit is gradually reduced. This is a long-standing principle of means-tested benefits.

Bonuses are usually treated as earnings and are treated in the same way as any other earnings. This is already true for tax and other purposes, regardless of whether or not an individual is claiming a benefit. All earnings, above any applicable work allowance, are subject to the 55% taper and the Universal Credit award is calculated on that basis.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of uprating temporary accommodation subsidy rates to 90 per cent of 2024 Local Housing Allowance rates.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for Temporary Accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is the lowest of £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere, 90% of 2011 LHA rates, or the claimant’s Housing Benefit entitlement. This incentivises local authorities to ensure Temporary Accommodation is good value for money.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. This Government has invested £1bn in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233m increase on the previous year.

We want to encourage better investment into Temporary Accommodation stock up-front to minimise costs to local authorities and £950m was announced in the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. This coupled with measures to strengthen local authorities’ financial position such as a new £39 billion Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rental settlement at Consumer Price Index + 1, will support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality Temporary Accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

We continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Inter Ministerial Group.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze in temporary accommodation subsidy rates since 2011 on (a) local authority budgets and (b) the financial sustainability of homelessness services.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for Temporary Accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is the lowest of £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere, 90% of 2011 LHA rates, or the claimant’s Housing Benefit entitlement. This incentivises local authorities to ensure Temporary Accommodation is good value for money.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. This Government has invested £1bn in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233m increase on the previous year.

We want to encourage better investment into Temporary Accommodation stock up-front to minimise costs to local authorities and £950m was announced in the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. This coupled with measures to strengthen local authorities’ financial position such as a new £39 billion Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rental settlement at Consumer Price Index + 1, will support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality Temporary Accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

We continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Inter Ministerial Group.

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 impact of the cost to the individual of a COVID-19 vaccination on (a) vaccination rates and (b) public health more widely.

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

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

As with all vaccines offered as part of the national programme in England, there is no charge for COVID-19 vaccination for those who are eligible. There is therefore no cost to those individuals that might impact vaccination rates or public health.

As with other UK vaccination programmes, the JCVI advice on eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination carefully considers the evidence on the risk of illness, serious disease, or death as a consequence of infection, in specific groups, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis.