Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether that spousal visa fee reflects the administrative cost of processing such applications in full; and what proportion of the fee represents (a) visa processing costs, (b) the Immigration Health Surcharge and (c) other charges or cross-subsidisation of the wider immigration and borders system.

Answered by Mike Tapp

Published unit costs for processing visa applications can be viewed on Gov.UK through the following link: Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK. The estimated unit cost of a spousal visa is currently £426, the fee for a spouse visa application is £1407.

Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review. The Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing is utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system, reducing reliance of taxpayer funding.

For a spouse visa, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is separate from the visa application fee, but both are paid as part of the application process.

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is set at £1,035 per person per year and is calculated based on the length of immigration permission granted. For a standard 30‑month spouse visa, applicants pay £2,587.50 for the IHS.

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 potential financial and workforce impact on GP practices of the requirement to deliver same-day responses to all clinically urgent requests under the 2026/27 GP contract.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The 2026/27 GP Contract makes clear that requests identified by practices as clinically urgent should be responded to on the same day. This builds on NHS England’s Medium Term Planning Framework, which set an expectation that urgent appointments should be delivered on the same day so that patients with urgent needs are prioritised.

We recognise that practices will need the right capacity and flexibility to deliver this. That is why we are investing an additional £601 million in general practices (GPs) in 2026/27, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to approximately £14 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion increase in 2025/26, the largest uplift in over a decade. Since October 2024 we have recruited 2,000 more GPs. We now have the highest number of GPs by headcount since 2015. The 2026/27 contract also introduces a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme, backed by £292 million of ringfenced funding, to help practices recruit more GPs or expand sessions.

This will support practices to manage demand, improve access for patients, strengthen GP employment, and continue to improve patient satisfaction.

Same-day appointment levels have remained broadly steady. In May 2026, 44.9% of appointments were booked and attended on the same day, up 0.3% from April 2026 and 0.7% from May 2025. This represents approximately 13 million appointments taking place on the day of booking.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the total value of payments made to With-Profits Annuitants under the Equitable Life Payments Scheme as of 30 May 2026.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2010 the then government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration he has given to the involvement of young people with politics and their potential disenfranchisement following the social media ban.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

Young people represent the future of our country. The Government believes young people must be seen and heard and that ambition is at the heart of major government priorities including Votes at 16. The Government committed in its manifesto to increasing the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections. We want to build and encourage long-lasting engagement with our democracy. Early engagement by younger voters will build the foundations for their lifetime participation in our electoral processes. The government’s decision to ban social media companies from offering their services to under 16s reflects the fact that they have repeatedly failed to keep children safe online.

Social media is not the only – nor always the most reliable – source of high-quality news content. Young people will continue to have access to political information from a wide range of trusted sources, including schools and colleges, the Electoral Commission and other impartial organisations. There will also be a defined list of exemptions, including, for example, educational services.

We are working across Government and with stakeholders to consider how best to support democratic education ahead of the franchise extension. This includes strengthening democracy education and media literacy in the national curriculum.

In addition, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has also established the Democratic Engagement Fund to support politically neutral projects that help people understand, engage with and participate in democracy.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the special relationship with the USA, what plans she has for bolstering and developing the special relationship.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on this question by the Foreign Secretary in the last session of departmental oral questions on 16 June.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of fees charged for spousal visa applications; and if she will provide a breakdown of the £3,994.50 fee.

Answered by Mike Tapp

Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review. Where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes. The most recent Impact Assessment which includes considerations in respect of fees for family routes is published here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/44/pdfs/ukia_20260044_en.pdf.

The Home Office publishes the fees charged and the estimated unit cost of processing immigration and nationality applications on gov.uk. This can be reviewed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data.

The Home Office also provides for exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These include affordability-based waivers for entry clearance and leave to remain on family and human rights grounds.

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is set at £1,035 per person per year and is calculated based on the length of immigration permission granted. For a standard 30‑month spouse visa, applicants pay £2,587.50 for the IHS. This coupled with the spousal visa cost of £1407 means applicants pay £3994.50. The IHS rates are set using analysis from the Department of Health and Social Care on the average yearly cost to the NHS of treating those who pay the IHS. This analysis is regularly reviewed to make sure the rates reflect the actual cost of providing healthcare to migrants. The IHS is charged as a fixed amount, rather than based on individual use, which ensures the system is fair to everyone who pays.

Found: 2025 Members present Dame Chi Onwurah (in the Chair) George Freeman Dr Allison Gardner Samantha Niblett

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 ensure continuous support for landfill gas generation and methane abatement assets immediately following the end of the Renewables Obligation in April 2027 and while his Department is exploring implementation of a long-term methane capture scheme.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) on 2^nd July 2026 to Question 14090.

As set out in the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, the government is exploring the possibility of a long-term methane capture scheme alongside suitable transitional arrangements. DESNZ will shortly consult on proposals for a possible transitional scheme, including an anticipated delivery timetable.