Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing student maintenance loans in line with Consumer Price Index inflation.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government recognises the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on students. That is why the government is increasing the maximum maintenance loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families.

The 3.1% increase is based on the Retail Prices Index inflation forecast for the first quarter of 2026, as published by the Office for Budget Responsibility at Budget. Using the corresponding consumer price inflation forecast for the first quarter of 2026 would have resulted in maintenance loans being increased by only 2.5% for the 2025/26 academic year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a phased approach to stamp duty increases for those in pre-agreed property transactions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The increase of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) by two percentage points at the Autumn Budget 2024, will impact transactions on or after 31 October 2024.

The rate increase will not apply to transactions where contracts have been exchanged prior to 31 October but have not yet completed. This means that those who have already committed to a purchase, by exchanging contracts, won’t pay more tax than they were expecting to pay when they agreed to buy the property.

The timing of implementation of tax increases is a balanced judgement which requires a comprehensive evaluation of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, complexity, fairness, and simplicity for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the usual tax policy making process and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy.

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 work with local authorities to enforce noise curfews during fireworks.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Existing legislation already controls the sale, availability, and use of fireworks. For example, there is an 11pm curfew in place for the use of fireworks, with later exceptions only for the traditional firework periods. Using fireworks outside the curfew hours is a criminal offence, enforced by the police, and can lead to imprisonment and a substantial fine. Local authorities are also responsible for investigating any noise or nuisance issues brought to their attention under the Environmental Protection Act.

It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers, based on their specific circumstances.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes in the regulation of zero hours contracts on average (a) staffing and (b) other costs for SMEs.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The potential impact of the proposed changes through the right to guaranteed hours, the right to advance notice of shifts and the right to payment for short notice shift cancellation, curtailment or movement are set out in the Government’s Impact Assessments. These are published at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that private hire drivers (a) are not exploited and (b) receive (i) appropriate pay and (ii) equal employment rights.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

All employers must comply with their legal obligations to ensure those they engage receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled.

Entitlement to employment rights is determined by an individual’s employment status. Private hire drivers can fall under any one of the three statuses: employee, limb (b) worker, or self-employed.

We have committed to consult on moving towards a simpler two-part framework that differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed.

If individuals believe they are not being afforded the rights they are entitled to, they can contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service for free and impartial advice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that those who exploit immigration marriage fraud to gain entry to the UK are (a) identified and (b) removed from the country.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously and is clear that family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship.

The marriage referral and investigation scheme, introduced across the UK under the Immigration Act 2014, requires that all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are referred to the Home Office. Under this scheme, where we have reasonable grounds to suspect a sham relationship, the marriage notice period will be extended to allow for further investigation, and for enforcement or casework action to be taken where appropriate.

The Home Office focuses its efforts on disrupting facilitators as well as prosecuting individuals involved in sham marriages and civil partnerships and will consider refusal or cancellation of permission to stay, or removal, following any determination that a relationship is a sham.

Part 9 of the Immigration Rules provides specific grounds for the refusal or cancellation of permission to enter or stay on the basis of any involvement in a sham marriage or sham civil partnership, providing a more robust and consistent framework against which immigration applications are assessed, and reflecting the seriousness of this type of abuse.

Where appropriate and proportionate, enforcement and removal action will be taken. The removal pathways following a sham marriage determination include administrative removal under Section 10 (of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999) and deportation on public policy or conducive grounds.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) football and (b) cricket pitches there are in England.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, there are 53,665 grass football pitches in England. This encompasses adult football, junior football 11 a-side, junior football 9 a-side, mini soccer 7 a-side and mini soccer 5 a-side pitches. Furthermore there are also 3,013 artificial full-size grass pitches and 4,419 small-sided artificial grass pitches in England.

There are 9,057 grass cricket pitches in England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a new direct rail link between Leicester and Coventry for Leicester's economy.

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

The Department is conducting a thorough review of the previous Government's transport plans to ensure that our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers. Decisions about individual projects will be informed by the review process and confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact of the Midlands Rail Hub on people in Leicestershire.

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

We are working closely with Network Rail and Midlands Connect to maximise the benefits of Midlands Rail Hub throughout the region, including in Leicestershire. Midlands Connect are leading on the development of the rationale for the scheme including the distribution of the socio-economic benefits and will be able to provide more detail.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of rail journeys made between Coventry and Leicester in each of the last five years.

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

The Department holds information on the estimates of the number of journeys between all pairs of mainline stations in Great Britain by financial year in the Origin and destination matrix (ODM), published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The total number of journeys between Coventry Station and Leicester Station (in either direction) is reported below.

Table: Number of journeys between Coventry Station¹ and Leicester Station by Financial Year

Source: Origin and destination matrix (ODM), Office of Rail and Road https://raildata.org.uk/dataProducts?textSearch=Origin%20and%20destination%20matrix%20(ODM)
Notes:
1. The figures are for Coventry Station and Leicester Station only. They do not include journeys to or from Coventry Arena.

2. There is a break in series after 2021/22. Data quality improvements mean that data from 2022/23 onwards is not comparable with previous years.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to employer National Insurance contributions on not-for-profit organisations.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

At the recent Budget, the government took a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the foundations of the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.

DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to discuss this issue and are aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change next year.

We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs was provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.

Work of St John Ambulance

Found: For example, Shivani Raja raised the point that her diverse constituents found value in utilising flexible

The Committee will hear evidence from charities, researchers, HR professionals, employers and trade unions about workplace support for women and their partners who experience miscarriage and pregnancy loss.  This will include examining the case for extending eligibility for parental bereavement leave.

The Women and Equalities Committee will examine community cohesion at a local and national level in the UK.  This inquiry aims to gather diverse evidence and investigate barriers to cohesion, examples of best practice and how to ensure cohsion for the next generation.

Submit Evidence (by 31 Jan 2025)

Unequal division of childcaring responsibilities is a key driver of wider gender inequality and the gender pay gap. The Women and Equalities Committee is examining options for reform of the statutory shared parental leave scheme and statutory paternity rights with the aim of identifying the most effective ways of incentivising more equal sharing of childcare and wider domestic responsibilities between mothers and their partners.

This is a one off session examining issues around gendered Islamophobia.