Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to increase uptake of statutory paternity leave and pay.

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

This Government is committed to strengthening rights for working parents. From April, Paternity Leave will become a day‑one right, removing qualifying periods that currently prevent 32,000 fathers a year from accessing it.

We also know that more can be done to support working parents. The ongoing Parental Leave and Pay Review is examining all parental leave entitlements, including Paternity Leave and Pay.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a specific criminal offence of assaulting a public transport worker at work.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker; everyone should feel safe and be safe whilst working. The Government values the commitment of everyone who works in the public transport sector ensuring the continued running of all the vital services which many people rely on daily.

The Government is not looking to introduce a specific criminal offence of assaulting a public transport worker as we do not believe it would result in the intended objective of reducing the number of assaults. Public transport workers do of course already have extensive protection in existing legislation such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 which also covers more serious violence such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH), and courts must already consider offences against public facing workers as an aggravating factor under the Police Crime and Sentencing Act 2022.

We are working with the transport industry to ensure that practical interventions are being taken to make workers to feel safe. This includes encouraging greater use of Body Worn Video (BWV) by rail staff and through the Bus Services Act 2025, we are mandating training for staff on how to recognise and respond to incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport where it is safe to do so.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that survivors of sexual exploitation are supported during the grooming gangs inquiry process.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Victims and survivors are central to the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and it is essential that their voices are heard in a safe and trauma‑informed way. The Independent Inquiry is responsible for leading its own engagement and support arrangements throughout the course of its work.

As set out in the draft Terms of Reference, the Inquiry will develop and publish a charter for victims and survivors, that outlines how victims and survivors can participate, and how their views, experiences and testimony will be used to inform and shape the nature of the Inquiry’s work.

This year the Home Office has doubled funding for adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, to a total investment of £2.59 million in the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (SVSCSA) Fund. This includes funding for support helplines, in-person and remote counselling, group support, and training for professionals working with victims.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the take-up of Pension Credit among eligible pensioners in the North West.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners, including those in the North West, receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across Great Britain, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their families. This includes messaging encouraging family members to check eligibility on behalf of parents and grandparents, promoted through television and radio advertising, social media, digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in national press and in magazines such as Yours, Take a Break and TV Choice.

Specifically, in the North-West we have advertised on the regional versions of radio stations including Greatest Hits Radio, Hits Radio, Classic FM and Smooth and placed adverts in press titles such as Manchester Evening News, Lancashire Telegraph, Lancashire Post, Liverpool Echo, Daily Post Liverpool, and Bolton News. We continue to engage with local authorities and partners and distribute promotional materials, including posters and leaflets. For example, Greater Manchester Ageing Hub cascaded our campaign materials to councils across the city region and a number of community organisations supported the campaign, including Warrington Voluntary Action.

We are also using data to target potentially eligible households. For example, since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit and, in a trial with Age UK and Independent Age targeting 2,000 households in England, we are testing whether it is possible to identify potentially eligible households using HMRC and DWP data.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address disparities in outcomes between pensioners under the old State Pension system and those under the new State Pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ensuring a decent State Pension for pensioners as a foundation for a secure retirement is a priority for this Government. That is why we have set out our commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament, which is set to increase spending on the State Pension by over £30 billion. The Triple lock applies to both the basic and new State Pensions

It is not possible to make direct like for like comparisons between the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Although some people receiving the new State Pension may get a larger amount uprated by the Triple Lock, there are other elements of the previous system that they do not have access to. For example, State Pension ages are generally higher for people reaching State Pension age after 6 April 2016, so people on the new system receive their State Pension income from a later date. Furthermore, the National Insurance rates that people have had to pay since 2016 have been higher than they were for people who were contracted-out before 2016. Therefore, all the arrangements need to be considered in the round, rather than comparing individual aspects.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on simplifying the Pension Credit application process.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department is committed to modernising the Pension Credit service and regularly reviews the user experience to balance simplification with ensuring accurate awards. We are streamlining application routes by using information held internally to reduce the number of questions customers need to answer.

Claims can be made online, by telephone, or by post. The most popular method is online, where claims can be made 24/7 with help from a family member, friend, or third party. The online form now requires a maximum of 48 questions, and for some customers as few as 35. On average, it takes just 16 minutes to complete, with around 90% of new customers applying online or by phone.

For telephone claims, callers are guided through the process by an agent. We will continue to keep the Pension Credit application process under review to ensure it remains simple and accessible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to end the use of hotels for asylum accommodation in Warrington.

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

Exiting all asylum hotels as soon as possible is one of the Government’s top priorities and must be executed through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work. This plan involves reducing inflow, speeding up caseworking, maximising utilisation of our estate, continuing to increase returns and exploring the use of large sites as suitable alternative accommodation.

Overall, significant progress has already been made. At the end of December 2025, 30,657 asylum seekers (29) were in hotel accommodation, 19% lower than at the end of December 2024. As of 4 January 2026, there are 197 hotels in use, which is significantly below hotel usage at its peak under the previous government in summer 2023, when more than 400 hotels were in use. We will not rest until we close every single asylum hotel.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to end overfishing in UK waters and restore fish stocks to sustainable levels.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Protecting and restoring fish stocks is a priority for this Government. The Government is delivering Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), which set out the actions needed to manage or rebuild stocks to sustainable levels. These plans are central to meeting the commitments in the Joint Fisheries Statement to manage stocks sustainably. The Government deliberately targeted valuable but vulnerable non-quota stocks for our first FMPs and are beginning to implement measures in those plans to manage stocks more sustainably.

Through annual negotiations with our international partners, the UK continues to agree Total Allowable Catches informed by the best available scientific advice, supporting the long-term health of shared fish stocks. In negotiations for 2026 fishing opportunities, we agreed a number of new measures aimed at easing fishing pressure and beginning the long-term process of rebuilding stocks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the safety of horse riders and horses on public roads.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse-riders.

Following these updates, the Department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the Road Safety Strategy published on 7 January, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

30th anniversary of the Dunblane Primary School tragedy

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Hall

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall