Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans he has to introduce legislation to block third parties from booking driving tests.

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

The Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November 2025 significant changes to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) driving test booking system following a public consultation. These changes are being introduced incrementally during the Spring.

DVSA announced on 3 February that the first change, which will limit the number of times a test can be moved or swapped, will be introduced on 31 March. Further changes will be brought in later in the Spring. This will include allowing only the learner driver to book a test, at which point approved driving instructors and businesses will no longer have access to the booking system.

These changes are designed to prevent learner drivers being exploited by people who book up tests and sell them at inflated prices.

A full impact assessment of the proposed measures has been carried out and reviewed by the Better Regulation Unit. This assessment will be published once the statutory instrument amending the legislation has been laid before Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will continue to respond to constituency casework inquires from hon. Members in writing.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Where a complaint is raised by an MP, it is referred to the DWP Complaints Team who will investigate the complaint and aim to resolve it within 15 working days. If the matter is complex and will take longer than 15 days, the complaints resolution manager will keep the MP updated and tell them when they can expect a response. Upon completion of the investigation, a full written response will be issued to the MP via their designated Parliament.uk secure email address.

In terms of dealing with matters quickly, it may be possible with MP agreement to do a telephone resolution and this can be followed up with a written response if requested.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the a) diagnosis and b) treatment of Brain tumours among young adults in West London.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that there are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumours.

The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February 2026, complements the 10-Year Health Plan and sets out how the National Health Service will improve outcomes for all cancer patients in England including those with brain tumours.

The plan included a commitment to reduce the number of rare cancers, including brain tumours, being diagnosed in emergency settings. Brain cancers cannot be staged like other cancers and are subsequently not included in current early diagnosis measures. The NHS in England will improve on this system by regularly publishing early diagnosis data for brain tumours, incentivising systems to focus on these cancers.

Patients with rare cancers will also benefit from a move to specialist multi-disciplinary teams, that cover multiple providers. This will allow them to benefit from the input of specialist centres and so access to the best evidence-based care.

In January 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children, and their families, who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.

Since the launch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025, the taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas. These include data, early detection and diagnosis, patient experience, genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation, which includes access to clinical trials. Recommendations from the taskforce were included in the National Cancer Plan.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current average processing time is for Mandatory Reconsiderations for (a) Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children and (b) other disability‑related benefits.

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

Disability Living Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Disability Living Allowance for children was 121.7 working days.

We have approved overtime and reallocated decision makers to clear our outstanding Disability Living Allowance Child MR cases more quickly. This will help us to reduce our clearance times.

Attendance Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Attendance Allowance was 29.4 working days.

Personal Independence Payment

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR median clearance times.

Employment and Support Allowance

ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to help decrease the amount of time to assess Mandatory Reconsiderations for Disability Living Allowance for children.

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

Disability Living Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Disability Living Allowance for children was 121.7 working days.

We have approved overtime and reallocated decision makers to clear our outstanding Disability Living Allowance Child MR cases more quickly. This will help us to reduce our clearance times.

Attendance Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Attendance Allowance was 29.4 working days.

Personal Independence Payment

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR median clearance times.

Employment and Support Allowance

ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average waiting for the Building Safety Regulator to approve the remediation of residential flats in London.

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

The monthly Building Control Approval Application dataset January 2026 showed that the average approval timeframe for remediation projects in London was 30 weeks.

We recognise that processing times need to improve, and we will be bringing forward a Building Safety Regulator remediation improvement plan in the coming weeks detailing how we intend to work with the sector to achieve improvements.

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 is taking steps to increase staffing capacity at the Building Safety Regulator.

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

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has conducted a recent recruitment campaign to scale up its regulatory capacity.

West London Orbital

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier; Olly Glover

Found: 4DR Tel: 0300 330 3000 E-Mail: heidi.alexander@dft.gov.uk Web site: www.gov.uk/dft Ruth Cadbury

Found: Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Jacob Collier; Alex Mayer; Baggy

Found: SW1P 4DR Tel: 0300 330 3000 E-Mail: lord.hendy@dft.gov.uk Web site: www.gov.uk/dft Ruth Cadbury

Found: SW1P 4DR Tel: 0300 330 3000 E-Mail: Heidi.Alexander@dft.gov.uk Web site: www.gov.uk/dft Ruth Cadbury

Found: Letter dated 19/02/2026 from Heidi Alexander MP to Ruth Cadbury MP regarding: Judicial review claim -