Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the rollout of HPV self-testing kits via the NHS App, text, email and post, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that digitally excluded individuals and non-English speakers in diverse communities, such as Leicester East, are proactively identified and supported to request and complete these kits.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of NHS pathology laboratories to process returned HPV self-testing kits in a timely manner; and what target turnaround time has been set from a sample being posted to the individual receiving their results.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support GP surgeries and sexual health clinics in handling increased demand for follow-up cervical screening appointments resulting from positive high-risk HPV self-tests.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures her Department is putting in place to ensure that eligible women who do not use the NHS App or online accounts can easily request, receive and return the free HPV self-testing kits.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a senior reference group to coordinate the development and delivery of surface access infrastructure for Heathrow Airport.

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

The draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement is clear that any promoter seeking development consent for Heathrow expansion will be required to set out a robust surface access strategy, demonstrating how sufficient surface access capacity would be developed and delivered to support an expanded Heathrow.

Given the range of interests and interdependencies involved in the development and delivery of surface access infrastructure, promoters are expected to work with relevant stakeholders, including transport bodies and local authorities, in developing their surface access proposals. The Department will work with promoters and stakeholders to ensure effective engagement and support the development of deliverable plans.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to run targeted public awareness and educational campaigns, tailored to culturally diverse populations, to address anxieties regarding self-testing and explain the vital role of HPV screening in preventing cervical cancer.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to increase maximum penalties for individuals who record and publish illegal driving activities online to gain social media followers.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government condemns any dangerous or illegal driving, including the filming of such driving. All motorists have a responsibility to drive safely and legally. Those responsible can be prosecuted for the underlying motoring offence, with sentencing in individual cases a matter for the independent courts.

The Government keeps the legal framework for road traffic offences and penalties under review, including in light of emerging behaviours and technologies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement of the NHS HPV self-testing kit rollout, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that initial phase distributions prioritising under-screened individuals aged 30 to 65 are actively targeted toward constituencies with below-average screening uptake, including Leicester East.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the projected impact of offering HPV self-testing kits on achieving the NHS England 80% cervical screening target; and what key performance indicators she will use to evaluate the rollout over its first 12 months.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund to expand public charging networks in residential and urban areas.

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

The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry to leverage private investment and transform the availability of electric vehicle charging for drivers without off-street parking. LEVI is expected to support the installation of at least 100,000 local charge points in urban and rural residential areas across the country.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure bus operators enforce designated wheelchair spaces on local public transport routes.

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

The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) require buses and coaches designed to carry over twenty-two passengers and used on local and scheduled services to incorporate features to support disabled people to travel safely and in reasonable comfort. This includes provision of a wheelchair space and lift or ramp suitable for a passenger using a standard “reference wheelchair”.

We know that wheelchair users are sometimes unable to board a bus because the statutory wheelchair space is already occupied, and we welcome efforts by operators to relieve pressure on it, including through dedicated announcements and signage, the provision of taxi guarantee schemes, and by incorporating a second wheelchair space into vehicle designs.

Through the Bus Services Act 2025 we are also ensuring that bus drivers have the knowledge and skills to support disabled passengers, by requiring them to complete both disability awareness and assistance training.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for practical driving tests in (a) Leicester East constituency, (b) Leicestershire, and (c) the East Midlands.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government set out a comprehensive package of measures in April 2025 to tackle long waiting times across the whole of Great Britain, aiming to deliver around 10,000 additional tests per month. A key step was reintroducing overtime incentives. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducted 1.99 million tests between April 2025 and March 2026, a record and 8.6% (159,000) higher than the previous year.

DVSA has also made changes to make the booking system fairer, as well as continuing to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners (DE) across the country.

From recent recruitment in the East Midlands, including for test centres serving Leicestershire and the Leicester East constituency, DVSA currently has 10 potential new DEs booked onto training courses, with a further 22 potential new DEs undergoing pre-employment checks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding Active Travel England has made available to local authorities for the maintenance of active travel infrastructure delivered through Active Travel Fund capital grants in each financial year since its establishment.

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

Walking and cycling routes form part of the local highways network and therefore maintenance funding comes under the general Highways Maintenance Fund. Active Travel England has additionally made specific maintenance funding available to authorities as part of the wider Active Travel Fund, as follows: £48 million in 2024/25 and £128 million per year from 2025/26 to 2029/30. Authorities can choose to use this funding for new schemes or maintenance of existing schemes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage schools to promote T Levels, apprenticeships, and technical qualifications.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is strengthening careers guidance so all young people understand the full range of high-quality education and training routes available, including apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical pathways.

Schools must provide independent careers guidance and comply with provider access legislation which gives pupils opportunities to hear directly from providers about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. Our statutory guidance is clear that this should be embedded within a progressive careers programme, with information provided at key transition points.

We fund the Careers & Enterprise Company and careers hubs to connect schools with employers and training providers and strengthen awareness of technical pathways. Using local data and insight, careers hubs identify barriers and target support to help more young people move into apprenticeships and technical education.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve the growth and productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises in Leicester East.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Small businesses are at the heart of economic growth, which is why the Government's Small Business Plan is delivering up to 200 measures to help businesses, including those in Leicester East, start up, scale up and succeed. This includes action to improve access to finance, strengthen business support, boost exports and unlock new opportunities for growth in every part of the UK.

As part of this, businesses can access tailored support through the Business Growth Service and their local Growth Hub, while the British Business Bank and UK Export Finance are helping firms secure the finance they need to invest and expand.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of access to finance, innovation support, and business expansion in Leicester East.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Small businesses are at the heart of economic growth, which is why the Government's Small Business Plan is delivering up to 200 measures to help businesses, including those in Leicester East, start up, scale up and succeed. This includes action to improve access to finance, strengthen business support, boost exports and unlock new opportunities for growth in every part of the UK.

As part of this, businesses can access tailored support through the Business Growth Service and their local Growth Hub, while the British Business Bank and UK Export Finance are helping firms secure the finance they need to invest and expand.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to hold Civil Service Pension Scheme administrators accountable for the time taken to respond to urgent queries from scheme members and parliamentary offices.

Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.

To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to hold the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrators accountable for failures to respond to urgent queries from scheme members and parliamentary offices.

Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.

To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the financial impact of the cost of learning to drive on individuals from low-income backgrounds.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises the financial impact of the cost of learning to drive on learner drivers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.

To help reduce learning to drive costs where possible, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has published guidance on GOV.UK for family members and friends who wish to supervise a learner driver. This guidance explains who can supervise a learner driver, the rules that apply and how to plan practice sessions safely. Where private practice is available, it may help learners reduce the number of paid lessons required before their test.

Reducing driving test waiting times remains a priority for both the Government and the DVSA.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to local authority social care departments to prevent administrative processing delays.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme. All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, including the issues raised in the Hon Member’s questions, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential financial and psychological impact on elderly, pension-age family carers who receive no statutory wage or relief while commercial care rates increase in line with National Living Wage rises.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme. All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, including the issues raised in the Hon Member’s questions, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures her Department is taking to reduce social care assessment waiting lists for elderly carers seeking long-term planning and emergency fallback provision for adult disabled dependents with complex needs.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme. All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, including the issues raised in the Hon Member’s questions, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to update training and qualification frameworks for homecare staff so they are authorised to administer complex medications.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme. All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, including the issues raised in the Hon Member’s questions, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the impact of a persistent lack of responses to pension enquiries on (a) retiring civil servants and (b) bereaved families; and what is her planned timeline for resuming normal service standards for correspondence.

Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.

To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what her timeline is for clearing the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence regarding Civil Service Pensions; and what contractual penalties are being applied for the administrator not meeting response targets.

Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.

To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of Written Question 7340 on Men's Mental Health Services, what progress her Department has made on the design and rollout of the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders Programme for middle-aged men; and when she expects the programme to be operational.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing lives lost to suicide and is delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. In November 2025, the Men's Health Strategy for England announced up to £3.6 million to March 2029 for neighbourhood-based suicide prevention initiatives in areas where middle-aged men face the highest risk of suicide. The Suicide Prevention Pathfinders programme aims to strengthen the connections between services so that middle-aged men receive timely, coordinated, and accessible support when and where they need it most.

The programme has been informed by engagement with local authorities, National Health Service organisations, academic experts, voluntary and community sector organisations, and suicide prevention specialists. Funded areas will bring together partners from sectors including health, local government, voluntary and community organisations, and criminal justice settings to develop joined-up approaches that enable middle-aged men to access the tailored services that they need.

Funding will be allocated through a competitive grant process, designed to select priority areas with published eligibility criteria, targeting funding to areas with the highest rates of suicide. Applications will open in November, and we expect programme delivery to begin in April 2027. The number of awards, total spend, and type of interventions awarded cannot be confirmed until bids are assessed and awarded. Further details on the programme and eligibility will be shared in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure local licensing authorities enforce non-discrimination provisions under the Equality Act 2010 where private hire and taxi operators charge additional clamping fees or surcharges to users of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people can access taxi and private hire vehicle services without discrimination. Drivers and operators who add fees or surcharges based on disability face prosecution and fines of up to £1,000.

Local licensing authorities are responsible for enforcing these provisions. Departmental best practice guidance makes clear that authorities should thoroughly investigate and prosecute offences where breaches are identified, and that where a complaint about discrimination is received that will not result in a conviction, licensing authorities should consider regulatory sanctions such as license suspension or revocation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of Written Question 7340 on Men's Mental Health Services, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders Programme establishes neighbourhood-based support and joined-up service pathways specifically within high-risk areas, including Leicester East.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing lives lost to suicide and is delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. In November 2025, the Men's Health Strategy for England announced up to £3.6 million to March 2029 for neighbourhood-based suicide prevention initiatives in areas where middle-aged men face the highest risk of suicide. The Suicide Prevention Pathfinders programme aims to strengthen the connections between services so that middle-aged men receive timely, coordinated, and accessible support when and where they need it most.

The programme has been informed by engagement with local authorities, National Health Service organisations, academic experts, voluntary and community sector organisations, and suicide prevention specialists. Funded areas will bring together partners from sectors including health, local government, voluntary and community organisations, and criminal justice settings to develop joined-up approaches that enable middle-aged men to access the tailored services that they need.

Funding will be allocated through a competitive grant process, designed to select priority areas with published eligibility criteria, targeting funding to areas with the highest rates of suicide. Applications will open in November, and we expect programme delivery to begin in April 2027. The number of awards, total spend, and type of interventions awarded cannot be confirmed until bids are assessed and awarded. Further details on the programme and eligibility will be shared in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of Written Question 7340 on Men's Mental Health Services, how much of the allocated £3.6 million funding for the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders Programme has been distributed; and what the projected spending breakdown is across each of the three years.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing lives lost to suicide and is delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. In November 2025, the Men's Health Strategy for England announced up to £3.6 million to March 2029 for neighbourhood-based suicide prevention initiatives in areas where middle-aged men face the highest risk of suicide. The Suicide Prevention Pathfinders programme aims to strengthen the connections between services so that middle-aged men receive timely, coordinated, and accessible support when and where they need it most.

The programme has been informed by engagement with local authorities, National Health Service organisations, academic experts, voluntary and community sector organisations, and suicide prevention specialists. Funded areas will bring together partners from sectors including health, local government, voluntary and community organisations, and criminal justice settings to develop joined-up approaches that enable middle-aged men to access the tailored services that they need.

Funding will be allocated through a competitive grant process, designed to select priority areas with published eligibility criteria, targeting funding to areas with the highest rates of suicide. Applications will open in November, and we expect programme delivery to begin in April 2027. The number of awards, total spend, and type of interventions awarded cannot be confirmed until bids are assessed and awarded. Further details on the programme and eligibility will be shared in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to findings that domestic abuse may contribute to up to 1,000 suicides nationally each year, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the NHS Suicide Prevention Strategy in screening mental health service users for domestic abuse and coercive control.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Hon Member raises a hugely important issue, which matters not just for the National Suicide Prevention Strategy but also the Government’s strategy to tackle Violence against Women and Girls. This is a personal priority for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and she will address these and related issues further in the coming months.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what cross-departmental work her Department is undertaking with the Home Office to ensure local suicide prevention strategies specifically address victims of domestic abuse and coercive control.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Hon Member raises a hugely important issue, which matters not just for the National Suicide Prevention Strategy but also the Government’s strategy to tackle Violence against Women and Girls. This is a personal priority for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and she will address these and related issues further in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to allocate additional work coaches or specialised advisory staff to Jobcentre Plus locations serving Leicester East to address the higher than average local claimant rate.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department keeps Jobcentre staffing requirements under regular review. Resource demand is regularly assessed using a range of operational measures, including claimant volumes and caseloads, and recruitment plans are reviewed accordingly.

The Department does not use parliamentary constituency boundaries as the basis for workforce planning. Recruitment decisions are made according to operational demand and service requirements across Jobcentres. This includes Jobcentre Plus offices serving the Leicester area, where staffing levels and workforce requirements will continue to be monitored and reviewed to ensure customers receive the support they need.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the findings of the House of Lords Education for 11–16 Year Olds Committee report, published in January 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Many of the issues raised by the Committee were considered by the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, and we are taking forward work to reform the national curriculum and GCSEs in light of this Review.

For example, the Review recommended strengthening curriculum content on the core concepts pupils need to progress, strengthening digital literacy and computing, including introducing a new computing GCSE, supporting the development of skills and applied knowledge areas needed for future study and work, including digital literacy, oracy, media literacy, financial literacy, and climate change and sustainability, and ensuring that the curriculum better reflects the breadth of knowledge and opportunities young people need. The new curriculum will be subject to consultation.

A particular issue identified by the Committee was that there is a gap when it comes to clear and coherent routes from key stage 4 into post-16 technical education.

On 28 July, the department announced reforms to technical education pathways, building on the introduction of new V Levels alongside A Levels and T Levels. These reforms are intended to provide clearer routes for young people from pre-16 education into post-16 study, training and employment.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking through the Youth Investment Fund to ensure local community associations receive funding to refurbish and maintain neighbourhood facilities.

Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) awarded over £300 million to over 250 projects to build, renovate and expand youth provision across some of the less advantaged areas across England. It is projected to support an additional 45,000 young people to regularly attend activities in funded facilities. Applications for the Youth Investment Fund closed in June 2023 with the majority of facilities completed by March 2026.

On 10 July, DCMS launched the delivery partner competition for the Youth Matters Fund. The Youth Matters Fund will provide over £400 million to enable youth organisations across the country to deliver high-quality youth work and activities as well as refurbish or build up to 250 youth facilities. Further details will be available in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to improve early warning indicators used by local authorities to intervene before individuals and families become imminently homeless.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Preventing homelessness is at the core of our National Plan to End Homelessness. It is critical that local authorities have the resources that they need to intervene before individuals and families become homeless, which is why we have increased funding for homelessness and rough sleeping to a record £4 billion over the next three years. We will also publish a Prevention Toolkit to support councils to take steps to support households at risk and prevent homelessness.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to mandate that social media platforms remove content depicting dangerous and illegal driving, including headlights being flicked on and off at night.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the 1988 Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to drive without due care and attention. It is also illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle.

The Department works with the Home Office and policing partners through the Roads Policing Innovation Programme to effectively enforce instances of dangerous and other illegal driving.

Operational enforcement activity, including any targeted operations against suspected offending, is a matter for individual police forces.

Policy on online platforms is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, Ofcom independently oversees regulated services' compliance with their online safety duties. The Department has not held discussions with Ofcom on the removal of content depicting dangerous or illegal driving.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of social media accounts promoting illegal driving and joyriding on road safety in Leicester East.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the 1988 Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to drive without due care and attention. It is also illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle.

The Department works with the Home Office and policing partners through the Roads Policing Innovation Programme to effectively enforce instances of dangerous and other illegal driving.

Operational enforcement activity, including any targeted operations against suspected offending, is a matter for individual police forces.

Policy on online platforms is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, Ofcom independently oversees regulated services' compliance with their online safety duties. The Department has not held discussions with Ofcom on the removal of content depicting dangerous or illegal driving.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the police regarding targeted enforcement operations against viral online road crime groups.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the 1988 Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to drive without due care and attention. It is also illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle.

The Department works with the Home Office and policing partners through the Roads Policing Innovation Programme to effectively enforce instances of dangerous and other illegal driving.

Operational enforcement activity, including any targeted operations against suspected offending, is a matter for individual police forces.

Policy on online platforms is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, Ofcom independently oversees regulated services' compliance with their online safety duties. The Department has not held discussions with Ofcom on the removal of content depicting dangerous or illegal driving.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger services operated by each train operating company were reported as having defective air conditioning in each month since July 2024.

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

The Department monitors the quality of service provided to passengers on board and at stations, to ensure operators are providing a safe and comfortable environment. We are therefore clear that train operators should take this seriously. It is the responsibility of individual train operating companies to gather reports on faults such as air conditioning systems for internal purposes in order to identify and fix issues with their fleet.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 August 2026 to Question 17042 on Railways: Fares, whether DfT Operator Ltd incurred any expenditure on (a) advertising, (b) marketing, (c) public relations and (d) other communications activity in relation to the announcement of regulated rail fares for 2025-26.

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

DFT Operator Ltd did not incur any expenditure for 2025/26 in relation to the announcement of regulated fares.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign criminals subject to deportation orders were released on bail into community accommodation in 2026; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of early release mechanisms in the Sentencing Act on foreign national offender management.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information you have requested on the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) living in the community subject to a deportation order and the timescales to remove them is not available from published information.

Latest published information shows that at the end of Q2 2026 there were 21,294 FNOs living in the community and subject to deportation. We will work tirelessly to clear legal barriers, secure documentation or overcome other impediments to a return. The latest published information can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

The increase in FNOs living in the community since last year mainly occurred after March 2026, coinciding with changes introduced through the Sentencing Act 2026. These changes have increased numbers by expanding the use of suspended sentences as an alternative to custody, and by broadening the duty to deport to include foreign national offenders given suspended sentences of 12 months or more.

In recognition of the impacts of the Sentencing Act, the Home Office is recruiting more staff to focus more intensively on community FNOs and continues to review what more can be done. Measures contained within the Immigration & Asylum Bill will reduce abuse and enable increased returns.

On 1 September 2026, further sentence exclusions were announced under the new Progression Model introduced by the Sentencing Act 2026, which will apply to all FNOs serving eligible custodial sentences. These exclusions will also apply to the expansion of the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) which will remove the requirement for eligible FNOs to serve any minimum custodial period before they can be deported. FNOs who are excluded from ERS0 may still be eligible for removal having served 30% of their custodial sentence.

Where deportation cannot take place before an FNO reaches their Progression Model release date, the Home Office will consider if it is appropriate to detain them under immigration powers or to release the individual subject to immigration bail and any HMPPS licence conditions.

In the time since this government came to power and 31 July 2026, 11,733 FNOs have been returned from the UK. In the two years since the election, there has been a 41% increase in FNO returns on the last two years of the previous government (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, when compared to the previous 2-year period), and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger services were cancelled due to rolling stock failures by each train operating company in each month since July 2024.

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

The Department does not hold this information which is a detailed planning matter for train operators.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints on East Midlands Railway services serving Leicester were received by (a) her Department and (b) the Office of Rail and Road in each of the last three years.

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

The Department recognises the importance of passengers being able to raise concerns about their journeys. The Department does not hold complaint data for East Midlands Railway (EMR) services serving Leicester. The Office of Rail and Road regularly publishes performance information for all train operators on its website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders subject to active deportation orders are residing in community accommodation; and what timeline her Department has established to enforce their removal from the United Kingdom.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information you have requested on the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) living in the community subject to a deportation order and the timescales to remove them is not available from published information.

Latest published information shows that at the end of Q2 2026 there were 21,294 FNOs living in the community and subject to deportation. We will work tirelessly to clear legal barriers, secure documentation or overcome other impediments to a return. The latest published information can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

The increase in FNOs living in the community since last year mainly occurred after March 2026, coinciding with changes introduced through the Sentencing Act 2026. These changes have increased numbers by expanding the use of suspended sentences as an alternative to custody, and by broadening the duty to deport to include foreign national offenders given suspended sentences of 12 months or more.

In recognition of the impacts of the Sentencing Act, the Home Office is recruiting more staff to focus more intensively on community FNOs and continues to review what more can be done. Measures contained within the Immigration & Asylum Bill will reduce abuse and enable increased returns.

On 1 September 2026, further sentence exclusions were announced under the new Progression Model introduced by the Sentencing Act 2026, which will apply to all FNOs serving eligible custodial sentences. These exclusions will also apply to the expansion of the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) which will remove the requirement for eligible FNOs to serve any minimum custodial period before they can be deported. FNOs who are excluded from ERS0 may still be eligible for removal having served 30% of their custodial sentence.

Where deportation cannot take place before an FNO reaches their Progression Model release date, the Home Office will consider if it is appropriate to detain them under immigration powers or to release the individual subject to immigration bail and any HMPPS licence conditions.

In the time since this government came to power and 31 July 2026, 11,733 FNOs have been returned from the UK. In the two years since the election, there has been a 41% increase in FNO returns on the last two years of the previous government (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, when compared to the previous 2-year period), and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of rolling stock was not required for the planned timetable for each train operating company in each month since July 2024.

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

The Department does not hold this information, which is a detailed planning matter for train operators.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department is providing to local authorities to support youth clubs, sports facilities and holiday activity programmes in high-deprivation communities.

Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

In December 2025, DCMS published Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, a 10-year cross-government plan backed by over £500 million of DCMS funding over three years to improve opportunities for young people, including establishing or refurbishing up to 250 youth spaces.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty under Section 507B of the Education Act 1996 to secure sufficient youth services and activities based on local need. The National Youth Strategy committed to improve local youth offers so young people have access to more opportunities in their area. To achieve this, DCMS is funding local authorities to deliver the Young Futures Hubs and Transformation Programme to improve local youth services and establish a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs by March 2029.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport clubs through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. This investment includes over 90 Place Partnerships in various locations across the country with high deprivation and low activity levels.

For holiday activities, the Department for Education funds the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme to support children from low-income families by providing access to nutritious meals, enriching activities and safe places during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the next three financial years from 2026/27.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis his Department has conducted on the underlying causes behind the month-on-month increase of 15 youth claimants aged 18 to 24 in Leicester East between June and July 2026; and what immediate support is available to prevent short-term youth unemployment from converting into long-term economic inactivity.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

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 tackle youth unemployment in Leicester East, in the context of Office for National Statistics data for July 2026 showing 645 claimants aged 18 to 24 and zero net change (0) on the year; and what specific initiatives are in place to address stagnation in youth claimant counts across the constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what specific training, apprenticeship or work-placement schemes are being targeted at the 645 young people aged 18 to 24 claiming unemployment benefits in Leicester East as of July 2026; and what measures are in place to track the long-term outcomes of these interventions.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what directives have been given to Jobcentre Plus sites in (a) Leicester East and (b) Leicestershire to address in NEETs between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026; and how many dedicated Youth Employability Coaches are operating in the constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2026 to Question 17031 on Government Departments: Aviation, how many of the 32 occasions on which an aircraft was commissioned were for Ministers in each Government department.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Of the 32 occasions on which aircraft were commissioned, 22 were for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 8 for the Cabinet Office, one for the Home Office, and one for HM Treasury. All aircraft commissioned were for Ministers in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

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 ensure that work experience opportunities leading to employment or paid apprenticeships for participants in Leicester East.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many placement opportunities created under major employer skills partnerships will be allocated to young people in Leicester East.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what protocols are currently in place with (a) the Ministry of Justice and (b) the Home Office to identify individuals at immediate risk of homelessness prior to their discharge from prison or exit from asylum accommodation.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out a long-term ambition that no one should leave a public institution into homelessness.

Alongside the Ministry of Justice we have to committed to a 50% reduction in the proportion of people who become homeless on their first night out of prison and are subject to probation supervision by the end of this Parliament. We will also deliver an overall increase in the number of prison leavers in settled accommodation at 3 months after release and thereafter by the end of this Parliament.

We will achieve this by embedding as standard practice local partnerships, co-location and pre-release planning. We will also continue to invest in integrating digital community accommodation services, maximising artificial intelligence opportunities and automating information sharing to identify and match individuals to the right housing-related support and accommodation at the right time.

The Home Office has also committed to ensuring councils receive information from asylum accommodation providers for 100% of newly granted refugees at risk of homelessness, to enable councils to commence a homelessness assessment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service to manage urban grass fire and localised wildfire risks in built-up constituencies such as Leicester East during periods of extreme heat.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country, including in Leicester.

We also work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

On 9 February, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. This financial year, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £55.56 million, an increase of 7.29% compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that urban fire services serving high-density areas, including Leicester, receive dedicated equipment and specialist training to respond to high-volume grass fire outbreaks during heatwaves.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country, including in Leicester.

We also work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

On 9 February, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. This financial year, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £55.56 million, an increase of 7.29% compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides to non-departmental public bodies, including Sport England, to ensure that grassroots sports grant funding accounts for secondary costs associated with indoor venue hire for year-round community outreach programmes.

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

The Department works closely with Sport England to target grassroots investment toward high-need areas experiencing elevated youth violence. Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme supported with £400 million of funding over the next four years, we are expanding peak evening and weekend capacity by funding floodlights and durable all-weather pitches that offer up to 80 hours of weekly use, alongside targeted partnerships with local Violence Reduction Units. To ensure funding accounts for operational realities, DCMS guides non-departmental public bodies like Sport England to allow outreach providers to include secondary costs, such as indoor venue hire, within grant applications, while enforcing Community Use Agreements to guarantee subsidised or free access for high-priority youth programmes.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve access to local sports facilities for young people during evening and weekend peak hours in areas experiencing elevated rates of youth violence.

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

The Department works closely with Sport England to target grassroots investment toward high-need areas experiencing elevated youth violence. Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme supported with £400 million of funding over the next four years, we are expanding peak evening and weekend capacity by funding floodlights and durable all-weather pitches that offer up to 80 hours of weekly use, alongside targeted partnerships with local Violence Reduction Units. To ensure funding accounts for operational realities, DCMS guides non-departmental public bodies like Sport England to allow outreach providers to include secondary costs, such as indoor venue hire, within grant applications, while enforcing Community Use Agreements to guarantee subsidised or free access for high-priority youth programmes.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability and affordability of indoor sports spaces for grassroots cricket charities operating during winter months; and what plans she has to allocate funding through (a) Sport England and (b) the England and Wales Cricket Board to help offset facility hire costs for community groups.

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

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to affordable quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That's why we’ve invested £3 million into new all-weather, covered cricket domes this year which ensure accessible sport year-round, building on the £1.5m investment into covered cricket domes made last year. New and refurbished facilities give families low-cost options to stay active, helping when many are facing cost-of-living pressures. The wider sports sector helps to drive good growth in every postcode, something I saw when I visited Loughborough University’s Women in Sport Research and Innovation Hub last year.

Between 2022 and 2029, we are supporting grassroots participation with a £13.4m investment via Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board. Earlier this year, the ECB also launched their Building Belonging in Cricket Fund - a £45m investment to improve grassroots cricket facilities and help enable year-round play through the construction of all-weather cricket domes, indoor halls, multi-use games areas and community hubs. The ECB is working with Regional Cricket Boards, including Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation, to identify potential projects.

In order to increase availability and accessibility to the local community, Sport England factors in a site's Community Use Agreement, and their capacity to offer free/low cost bookings when determining whether individual projects should receive funding.

We are collaborating with the sports sector, including the ECB, and local leaders to develop investment plans for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking through Sport England to support community organisations, such as the Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation, in securing affordable indoor facilities during winter months to maintain outreach programmes.

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

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to affordable quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That's why we’ve invested £3 million into new all-weather, covered cricket domes this year which ensure accessible sport year-round, building on the £1.5m investment into covered cricket domes made last year. New and refurbished facilities give families low-cost options to stay active, helping when many are facing cost-of-living pressures. The wider sports sector helps to drive good growth in every postcode, something I saw when I visited Loughborough University’s Women in Sport Research and Innovation Hub last year.

Between 2022 and 2029, we are supporting grassroots participation with a £13.4m investment via Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board. Earlier this year, the ECB also launched their Building Belonging in Cricket Fund - a £45m investment to improve grassroots cricket facilities and help enable year-round play through the construction of all-weather cricket domes, indoor halls, multi-use games areas and community hubs. The ECB is working with Regional Cricket Boards, including Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation, to identify potential projects.

In order to increase availability and accessibility to the local community, Sport England factors in a site's Community Use Agreement, and their capacity to offer free/low cost bookings when determining whether individual projects should receive funding.

We are collaborating with the sports sector, including the ECB, and local leaders to develop investment plans for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to allocate health capital funding to reduce health inequalities in cities where NHS Trust data records a 12-year life expectancy gap between the most and least deprived wards, such as Leicester.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing health inequalities and ensuring people can access high-quality healthcare services regardless of where they live. In support of this, annual capital health spending will rise to £15 billion by the end of the Spending Review period, 2029/30, the highest level on record.

Our 10 Year Capital Plan sets out how we will bring care closer to home with a £200 million investment over this Spending Review period to support the development of neighbourhood health centres (NHCs), alongside a further £200 million to continue upgrading the primary care estate. Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. In March 2026, we announced the first wave of NHC upgrade schemes, with 27 sites across England selected to bring care closer to home, backed by up to £50 million.

More broadly, we are empowering local National Health Service organisations to invest in infrastructure that best meets local needs by introducing multi-year capital budgets, devolving more decision making to the frontline, and streamlining approvals to speed up delivery. This will support local systems to prioritise capital investment where it can have the greatest impact on patient outcomes and reducing inequalities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Student Loans Company administrative data showing an increase in the proportion of student finance loans awarded to non-UK nationals from 10.2 per cent in the 2014-2015 academic year to 19.3 per cent in 2024-2025, what assessment her Department has made of the policy, legal and demographic factors driving this increase.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department cannot validate the numbers quoted, however, previously published data shows non-UK nationals increased from 12.1 per cent of student loan recipients in 2020/21 to 18.8 per cent in 2024/25.

Eligibility for student support is based on residency and immigration status, not nationality, targeting resources on students who are likely to stay indefinitely and contribute to the economy. To qualify for student support, including student loans, a person residing in England must be settled or have a recognised connection to the UK.

This includes persons who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country, or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. Persons who are settled must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course.

The department keeps the student finance system under review and is taking action to protect public money, including strengthening oversight of franchised higher education provision.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve emergency department response times at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving urgent and emergency care services and reducing emergency department waiting times, including at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

NHS England is working with the Leicester and Leicestershire health and care system to improve urgent and emergency care performance by increasing capacity, improving patient flow, reducing delays to discharge and strengthening alternatives to hospital attendance where appropriate.

This work is being taken forward through the system’s 2026/27 winter priorities, which include prevention and admission avoidance; strengthening alternatives to emergency departments and ambulance conveyance, including urgent treatment centres and same day emergency care; improving flow through hospitals and community services; and Home First and reablement approaches to support timely discharge.

The system also has arrangements for monitoring demand and capacity, managing escalation and coordinating action across providers to respond to pressures on urgent and emergency care services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for coronial inquiries of the 150 suspected domestic abuse-related suicides recorded by the NPCC Domestic Homicide Project; and what plans he has to ensure inquests routinely consider histories of coercive control.

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

By law, coroners must open an investigation and conduct an inquest into any death which they suspect to have been unnatural or violent. This will include cases where the death may have been the result of self-harm.

However, coroners are independent judges and, as such, their decisions on the issues and evidence they need to consider in an individual case (i.e. its scope) are a matter for them. In individual cases, the findings of any Domestic Homicide Review will be provided to the coroner and may form part of the evidence considered in the inquest.

The Chief Coroner of England and Wales has provided extensive guidance for coroners to support them in those decisions. Chapter 7 of the Guidance for Coroners on the Bench addresses the issue of scope (Scope of the inquest - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary). As judges, coroners are also guided and bound by statute and the significant case law on the matter of scope.

Coroners are trained by the Judicial College, which trains all judges and is independent of government. As set out in the action plan accompanying volume 2 of the Government’s VAWG Strategy Freedom from violence and abuse (Freedom from violence and abuse volume 2: action plan (accessible) - GOV.UK), published in December 2025, the 2025/26 training programme for coroners included the sharing of experience and best practice in investigating deaths where domestic abuse is believed to be a factor.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in England and Wales currently track suspected domestic abuse-related suicides as a distinct category; and what funding is being allocated to maintain the NPCC Domestic Homicide Project in future financial years.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling the most severe and heartbreaking outcomes of violence against women and girls (VAWG), including suicides that occur following domestic abuse.

The Home Office funds the Domestic Homicide Project to capture information on these deaths from all 43 police forces in England and Wales and identify how the response can be improved.

Across the five-year period from April 2020 to March 2025, 1,452 domestic abuse related deaths were recorded, with 553 (38%) classified as suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse. The latest report can be found online: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/

The Domestic Homicide Project now sits within the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, which received £13.9 million of Home Office funding in 2026-27, building on £13.1 million in the previous year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of recruitment freezes or local budget constraints within NHS trusts on the number of advertised clinical nursing vacancies.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer she was provided on 19 August to Question 18780. We will address any further issues in this area as part of our upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.

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 increase the availability of employment opportunities for disabled adults.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We know that work is good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. This Government is committed to giving disabled people and people with health conditions the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits.

We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work. These include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and Connect to Work, as well as initiatives joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, and WorkWell.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our Pathways to Work offer, backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Building on existing initiatives we are working towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits.

DWP research suggests there is a lack of awareness of rules intended to encourage working-age people who are in receipt of health and disability benefits (Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance) to try work. The Government has taken an important first step to address these barriers through Right to Try secondary legislation. This Right to Try legislation guarantees that starting work and volunteering will not trigger a reassessment for PIP, UC, and NS ESA customers. However, the Right to Try regulations are the first step, and we have broadly accepted the Social Security Advisory Committee’s (SSAC) recommendations and begun development of a No Reassessment Guarantee. This is a significant and complex change, so we’re taking the time to work through the detail carefully, making sure that the approach is robust and deliverable. We’re considering stakeholder feedback, alongside that of the Collaboration Committees and SSAC as we look to give disabled people greater confidence to try work.

In November 2025, Sir Charlie Mayfield published the Keep Britain Working Report, which recommended reshaping how government works with employers to improve work and health outcomes through creating healthier, more inclusive workplaces. We are now working with volunteer employers, providers and regions through a Vanguard Phase to test and refine approaches to help disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions, receive the support they need to remain and thrive in employment. These include developing effective stay in work and return to work practices, strengthening prevention, and building the evidence needed to spread good practice. We have also developed a digital information service for employers and continue to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration. The Plan outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work and deliver holistic care that leads to better employment outcomes for all.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Civil Aviation Authority has undertaken a review of ground handling safety and security procedures at London Luton Airport, in the context of reports of incidents involving damage to Israir aircraft within the last year.

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

The airport and ground handling agent is responsible for reviewing these incidents. Subject to any findings, the outcomes will be shared with the Civil Aviation Authority where necessary.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of targeted primary care capital allocation to help tackle health inequalities in local authorities ranked among the 15 most deprived in England, such as Leicester.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing health inequalities and ensuring people can access high-quality healthcare services regardless of where they live.

Launched in 2025/26, the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund, provides capital funding to deliver upgrades to general practice (GP) surgeries across England. In 2025/26, the fund supported approximately 780 capital investment projects, bringing unused space into clinical use to enable approximately nine million additional clinical appointments. The Government has committed a further £400 million over the Spending Review period to continue upgrades to GP surgeries and to develop neighbourhood health centres.

The 10-Year Health Plan states that we will establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, beginning in places where healthy life expectancy is lowest. Government has committed to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035, with approximately 120 centres operational by 2030.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increased National Insurance costs, higher minimum wages and employment costs on entry-level and graduate recruitment.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Impact Assessment was published in January 2026. Evidence to date shows little or no significant impact on employment from past increases to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW).

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was also published in November 2024 containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the long-term funding security for local authorities to deliver holiday activity programmes in community hubs.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme supports children from low-income families by providing access to nutritious meals, enriching activities and safe places during the school holidays.

In August 2025, the government confirmed over £600 million of funding for the HAF programme covering the financial years 2026/2027, 2027/2028 and 2028/2029. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with greater certainty and stability, enabling longer-term planning and investment to support effective programme delivery.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning HAF provision that best meets the needs of their communities. They have flexibility in how they deliver the programme and may choose to work with a range of providers and partners. This may include delivering or hosting HAF activities through community hubs where appropriate.

The government's wider investment in family and youth services, including Best Start Family Hubs and Young Futures Hubs, supports the development of community-based services and local partnerships. These can provide valuable opportunities to connect children and families to HAF activities and other forms of assistance, helping to strengthen services and maximise the impact of public investment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by the Civil Aviation Authority to complete certification applications was for (a) aircraft, (b) engines, (c) components and (d) modifications in each of the last five years.

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

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has provided the following information on the average time taken to complete certification applications in each of the last five years:

The CAA’s ability to complete certification activity is not solely dependent on its own resourcing and performance. The time taken to complete certification applications is also influenced by factors such as the complexity of an application and the responsiveness of the applicant organisation.

The CAA has expanded its design and certification capability since EU Exit and has worked with industry to improve guidance and support application preparation, which has contributed to reduced average completion times in recent years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what interim measures and emergency drought management capabilities her Department is putting in place to secure national drinking water supplies during periods of extreme heat prior to the operational completion of the new reservoirs.

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

The Government is committed to urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers.

Water company Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs) show how water companies can close the predicted water supply demand gap by:

• Managing demand (including leakage reduction and meeting the statutory demand target) – about two thirds of the gap
• Increased water resources infrastructure - about a third of the gap.

In the Water White Paper, we set out our commitment to developing statutory resilience standards, ensuring all companies make forward-looking long-term assessments of their systems.

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 accelerate the construction timeline of the nine proposed major reservoirs in England, and whether she plans to bring forward their expected completion dates prior to the mid-2030s to mitigate drought risks.

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

The Government is driving delivery programme coordination, through the Water Delivery Taskforce, which was established to ensure water companies follow through on their planned investments and provide the water and wastewater capacity communities need. The Taskforce brings together the Environment Agency, Natural England, and other government departments to co-ordinate the programme delivery of the new reservoirs and ensure increased water supply is available to avoid shortfalls.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act, passed in 2025, contains measures to streamline the DCO process and reform compulsory purchase to make delivery faster and cheaper, subject to examination and full planning considerations.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses are currently limited to computing, languages, mathematics and physics.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Subject knowledge enhancement supports initial teacher training recruitment into priority subjects with the greatest sufficiency challenges. Funding is reviewed regularly to ensure provision is targeted where it is most needed.

Data from the school workforce census shows that teacher numbers grew by 2,346 across both secondary and special schools between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Our school teacher pipeline is also growing. There were nearly 32,600 new entrants to initial teacher training in autumn 2025, up 13% from the previous year. Further information can be found in the Initial Teacher Training census, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2025-26#dataBlock-81ddac5d-c5a6-4087-98c3-b1522dbec96f-tables.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that students in secondary education receive guidance on using artificial intelligence tools safely and responsibly.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to ensuring that young people can use artificial intelligence (AI) safely, responsibly and effectively.

We have set Generative AI Product Safety Standards, which are clear expectations for developers of AI products used in education, including protections for children’s cognitive development, emotional wellbeing and mental health.

In addition, following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we have accepted recommendations to strengthen digital literacy and introduce new content on AI, data science and bias within the computing curriculum, helping pupils develop the knowledge and skills needed to engage with AI safely and responsibly.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support legitimate independent shopkeepers who face unfair competition from cash-only premises operating under investigation for illicit trade.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Illicit trade, money laundering and related crime committed using high street property undermines legitimate businesses, discourages investment, and contributes to the decline of high streets. BIST is supporting the new High Streets Organised Crime Unit, based in the Home Office, to strengthen our cross-government response to money laundering and other forms of organised criminality on our high streets. This will align with the forthcoming High Streets Strategy to ensure a holistic approach to barriers to vibrancy on the high street.

The Government has already announced £30 million to crack down on cash intensive businesses. This includes £6 million to bolster Trading Standards response and £20 million towards enhanced law enforcement, including a new multi-agency coordinated cell based in the National Crime Agency.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many local authority closure orders were issued against high street retailers operating illicit trade in the East Midlands during the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold centrally verified data on the number of closure orders issued against high street retailers operating illicit trade in the East Midlands during the 2025-26 financial year.

Closure orders are local powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and decisions on their use are made by local agencies and the courts according to the circumstances of each case.

As part of our wider work to strengthen the response to anti-social behaviour, the Crime and Policing Act introduces a mandatory anti-social behaviour data reporting duty. This will support more consistent national data collection on the use of anti-social behaviour powers and improve transparency and accountability across local agencies.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of vape shop proliferation on business rate yields for independent retailers on high streets.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

Pubs provide a place for people to come together, support local jobs and help keep high streets vibrant — which is why the government introduced an additional 20 per cent cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs, and all but the very largest live music venues, building on the support already in place.

However, there are also properties on our high streets that benefit from reduced business rates but do not have a positive impact on the community. The Government is looking at how to tackle these harms and will set out action at Budget, following careful consideration of the impact of different policy options on different types of businesses.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what measures her Department is taking to tackle the impact of energy price cap levels on low-income families and pensioners during the winter months of 2026.

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

The Government recognises that any price rise is a concern for households. The latest increase in energy bills is driven by increased wholesale energy costs, particularly gas, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East. This means families and businesses are still experiencing the effects of global fossil fuel markets and is why we are so focused on getting onto clean, homegrown power that we control.

The Government has already intervened to give households breathing space with the cost of living – cutting VAT on electricity bills and taking an average £150 of costs off bills at the Autumn budget.

In addition, around 6 million households in Britain will have benefitted from our expanded £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, which will remain in place for the rest of the decade.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to increase domestic energy production through North Sea oil and gas development, including the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects.

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

The North Sea remains a vital national asset, supporting jobs, growth and the UK's energy security. We have always been clear that oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come, alongside renewables, nuclear and other low-carbon technologies. It would be inappropriate to comment on Jackdaw or Rosebank which are subject to a live regulatory process.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to incentivise local businesses and public bodies to offer targeted apprenticeships and skills training for young people at risk of dropping out of formal education.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is committed to expanding high-quality pathways into work and training for young people, particularly those at risk of disengagement from education.

Our wider vocational reforms will strengthen technical education and skills pathways, giving young people clearer routes into high-quality training and employment that meet local and national skills needs.

To expand apprenticeship opportunities for young people, the government is now fully funding apprenticeships for eligible young people under 25 and introducing a £2000 hiring payment for non-levy paying employers, typically small and medium-sized enterprises, that recruit apprentices under 25 from October. We have also introduced foundation apprenticeships to provide entry level opportunities in sectors, such as construction, hospitality and retail.

Alongside this, our Youth Guarantee will ensure that every young person can access education, training, an apprenticeship, or support to find work. We are also working with employers, colleges, local authorities and strategic authorities to improve access to careers advice, work experience and local apprenticeship opportunities for young people.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing postgraduate training bursaries for Religious Education in 2026/27 on meeting the target set out in the 2026 Schools White Paper of an expert teacher in every classroom.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. As such, the department reviews bursaries annually to take account of several factors, including recruitment to date, forecast economic conditions and teacher need in each subject. The purpose of the scheme is to target resources where the evidence shows need is highest.

Between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years, postgraduate ITT recruitment increased by 71% in religious education (RE), amongst the largest increases across all subjects. Partly due to this improved recruitment and higher retention of existing teachers, the need for new postgraduate RE trainee teachers in the 2026/27 academic year has also reduced.

The department will continue to assess the need for trainee teachers across all subjects and will review the bursaries on offer accordingly, prior to announcing the bursary offer for the 2027/28 academic year this autumn.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of recent research from the University of Kent indicating that domestic abuse was a factor in one in three suicides in Kent between 2018 and 2024; and what steps she is taking to establish standardised national recording mechanisms to track domestic abuse as a contributing factor in suicide cases.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling the most severe and heartbreaking outcomes of violence against women and girls, including suicides that occur following domestic abuse. We must do more to understand the link between suicide and domestic abuse, so that no life is lost to violence and abuse that could have been prevented.

The Home Office continues to build the evidence base on suicides that follow domestic abuse through funding the Domestic Homicide Project, to capture information on these deaths from all 43 police forces in England and Wales and identify how the response can be improved.

Across the five-year period from April 2020 to March 2025, 1,452 domestic abuse related deaths were recorded, with 553 (38%) classified as suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse. The latest report can be found online: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/

The Home Office funds the organisation Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse to support families bereaved by suicide following domestic abuse. However, we recognise that more needs to be done understand the link between domestic abuse and suicide and ultimately prevent future deaths. ‘Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy’ sets out in full the Government’s plan to better understand and prevent all domestic abuse related deaths.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of cancellations of speed awareness and other educational courses arising from the suspension of speed camera enforcement on the finances of self-employed instructors and other course providers.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The police continue to enforce speed offences on the network through a range of tactics. The HADECS camera system anomaly relates to a specific subset of enforcement activity affecting a small portion of speed awareness courses. The Department does not anticipate a significant impact on providers as the majority of courses are still taking place.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of national emergency alerts in raising public awareness about fire risks during periods of hot weather.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Fire and rescue services are fully aware of the growing risk of wildfires and, working with their Local Resilience Forum partners, are responsible for maintaining the necessary plans and capabilities required to manage that risk.

All Emergency Alerts are sent in conjunction with agencies or public bodies that are responding to emergencies. The decision to issue this alert was not taken lightly. It was made in direct cooperation with the National Fire Chiefs Council.

The alert was issued during a period where there were 43 active fires and 11 major incidents nationwide. It was sent to around 55 million mobile phones across England and Wales, providing advice on steps people could take to help prevent wildfires. It formed part of the Government's work with fire and rescue services and other partners to raise awareness of the heightened risk of wildfires. The Cabinet Office own the mechanisms to issue Emergency Alerts and will undergo their own reviews as and where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence adoption on the number of entry-level and graduate vacancies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

AI will transform workplaces, demanding new skills and augmenting existing roles. To prepare for this, the AI Economics Institute (AIEI) was set up as a cross-government function to help ensure that AI delivers positive outcomes for the economy, jobs and workers. The AIEI recently published a snapshot of entry-level hiring, produced with LinkedIn, which found that entry-level hiring is falling broadly in line with the wider market, though further research is needed before conclusions can be drawn on AI's role. We have also launched the Early Careers Jobs Alliance to map how entry-level work is changing and help maintain entry-level career pathways.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 15009 on Roads: Construction, what definition of a cancelled road scheme was used in preparing that Answer; and whether the cancellation of a contract for the delivery of a road scheme was included in the definition.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A road scheme is considered cancelled where a final decision has been taken not to proceed. This was the definition used for the Answer to Question 15009 on 6 July 2026. The termination of a delivery contract does not fall within that definition.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of trends in higher education grade distributions.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Office for Students publish analysis of degree classifications over time which is available at:

https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/analysis-of-degree-classifications-over-time-changes-in-graduate-attainment-from-2010-11-to-2023-24/

This report analyses graduate attainment rates and assesses to what extent the increases and decreases in these rates could be statistically accounted for by changes in the prior attainment of, and distribution of subjects studied by, the graduate populations.

The data shows that between the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic years, the percentage of UK-domiciled, full-time first-degree graduates at English providers attaining a first class or upper second class degree fell. In 2023/2024, 77.2 per cent received a first or upper second class degree compared with 77.6 per cent in 2022-2023. This decrease of 0.4 percentage points is the third successive year that rates have fallen, having previously increased considerably between 2010-2011 and 2020-2021.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that future reforms to settlement requirements preserve public trust in the consistency and fairness of the UK immigration system for existing visa holders.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements, which will be decided by the Home Secretary.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic and equality impact assessments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether reforms to settlement eligibility will apply transitional rules to all workers already on a qualifying route, including those working outside social care.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements, which will be decided by the Home Secretary.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic and equality impact assessments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any planned reforms to settlement eligibility will apply transitional rules equally to all workers already on a qualifying route, including those working outside social care.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements, which will be decided by the Home Secretary.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic and equality impact assessments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the public health impacts of reduced air quality caused by urban grass and open-air fires on urban populations in Leicester.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In Leicester and other areas of the country wildfires pose multiple health risks, including injuries, respiratory and cardiovascular impacts from smoke exposure, and mental health impacts. Smoke from wildfires can degrade air quality significantly and can lead to increased risk of air pollution mortality.

I refer the Hon Member to the report published by the UK Health Security Agency on the Health Effects of Climate Change, with a focus on the impact of heat on wildfires and health, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/heat-summary-chapter-10-wildfires-and-health

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a regional breakdown of the 91,030 increase in 16 to 24-year-olds classed as NEET between April to June 2024 and January to March 2026.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The 91,030 increase in 16 to 24-year-olds classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET) between April to June 2024 and January to March 2026 is a UK estimate from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish these seasonally adjusted figures for the UK on a quarterly basis. Regional breakdowns are not published by the ONS for the UK.

Annual estimates from the LFS of young people aged 16 to 24 and NEET in England are published annually, and the latest release can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2025. This release includes estimates of the numbers NEET in England by region. Regional estimates for October-December 2023 to 2025 can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1abd4d38-a12a-436e-e5e0-08df06afb6ab.

In recent years the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS which has led to increased sampling variability and we would advise caution when interpreting short-term changes. All estimates should be viewed alongside associated 95% confidence intervals as shown in the table.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department provides to local authority outreach teams to safeguard women experiencing rough sleeping from gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government recognises that women experiencing rough sleeping are often less visible and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.

On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping. We have announced £442 million new funding to support this ambition, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to over £4 billion.

Local areas should not rely on outreach to identify women who may need support, and instead work proactively with specialist women’s services, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls services, health partners and community organisations to identify and support women who may be sleeping rough or at risk of doing so. Further guidance on how local authorities are expected to support women through the Rough Sleeping Programme can be found here: Rough Sleeping Programme Guidance - GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that women are not underrepresented in official rough sleeping statistics.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government recognises that women experiencing rough sleeping are often less visible and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.

On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping. We have announced £442 million new funding to support this ambition, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to over £4 billion.

Local areas should not rely on outreach to identify women who may need support, and instead work proactively with specialist women’s services, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls services, health partners and community organisations to identify and support women who may be sleeping rough or at risk of doing so. Further guidance on how local authorities are expected to support women through the Rough Sleeping Programme can be found here: Rough Sleeping Programme Guidance - GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that provision for women experiencing rough sleeping is accessible.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government recognises that women experiencing rough sleeping are often less visible and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.

On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping. We have announced £442 million new funding to support this ambition, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to over £4 billion.

Local areas should not rely on outreach to identify women who may need support, and instead work proactively with specialist women’s services, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls services, health partners and community organisations to identify and support women who may be sleeping rough or at risk of doing so. Further guidance on how local authorities are expected to support women through the Rough Sleeping Programme can be found here: Rough Sleeping Programme Guidance - GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the causes of public sector net borrowing exceeding the initial forecast published by the Office for Budget Responsibility by over £2 billion; and what fiscal measures HM Treasury is taking to address this variance.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The latest public sector finance statistics published by the Office for National Statistics on 21 August showed that public sector net borrowing in the financial year to July 2026 was £56.7 billion, which was £6.0 billion (9.6%) less than in the same period last year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publishes a commentary after the statistics are released each month, including comparisons of the data against their own forecasts, which is available on their website: https://obr.uk/monthly-public-finances-briefing/.

Fiscal policy will be set out at the Budget on 28 October in the usual way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what key performance indicators her Department use for technical educational routes and associated employer work experience placements.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

T Levels are the key technical qualification route for 16 to 19 year olds that include a placement in industry. Attainment is the key performance indicator. In February 2027, we will publish a T Level attainment measure which captures overall attainment alongside existing performance measures for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

All T Levels include a mandatory placement with industry. 97.2%, almost all students who received results this year, completed their industry placement. We are clear that providers remain responsible for delivering high-quality industry placements that support their T Level students to progress. Our updated delivery framework allows providers greater scope in designing a high-quality placement experience and reporting completion to the department. The updated framework is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/t-level-industry-placements-guidance-for-providers?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=8778e04e-cac7-4014-b419-d65b31d27f2b&utm_content=immediately.

As part of this, students will continue to be set stretching learning goals linked to curriculum content and be subject to regular review meetings, employer appraisals and evidence-based completion decisions.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what review his Department has undertaken into the underlying causes of persistent delays in resolving MP correspondence; and if he will establish an expedited triage process for severe financial hardship cases.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken a review into the reasons for the time taken to resolve correspondence from hon. Members; and if he will establish an expedited triage process for severe financial hardship cases.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to identify underlying causes of delays in resolving MP correspondence; and if he will establish an expedited triage process for severe financial hardship cases.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

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 financial and mental health impact on vulnerable benefit claimants arising from extended delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

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 time taken to respond to parliamentary casework enquiries on vulnerable benefit claimants.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

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 clear the current backlog of Member of Parliament casework enquiries; and what progress is being made toward meeting the standard 15-working-day target for departmental responses.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the important role that Members of Parliament play in supporting their constituents and is committed to responding to parliamentary casework enquiries as quickly as possible.

DWP continually monitors performance against its service standards and reviews operational processes to identify opportunities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to correspondence from Members of Parliament. This includes monitoring volumes of enquiries, operational pressures and factors affecting response times.

The Department recognises that response times to parliamentary casework enquiries have been affected by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation. To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes and continues to monitor performance against the 15-working-day response target and take action to improve timeliness.

The Department aims to respond to complaints and correspondence enquiries within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 working days to resolve, agree a resolution plan with the customer. This is particularly relevant where cases are complex and require detailed investigation. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how the Department will address and resolve the issues raised. It sets out the actions to be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing those actions.

DWP recognises that some enquiries relate to vulnerable claimants, including those experiencing financial hardship. Existing arrangements, including dedicated MP correspondence channels and MP hotlines, enable urgent cases to be escalated and prioritised where there is evidence of immediate need or risk.

No specific assessment has been made of the financial or mental health impacts arising from delays in responding to parliamentary casework enquiries. However, the Department is committed to supporting vulnerable customers and seeks to ensure that claimants continue to have access to the benefits, services, and support to which they are entitled while enquiries are being considered.

The Department continues to review its correspondence handling arrangements to ensure that parliamentary enquiries are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of corporate-led work experience schemes on youth skills shortages in the retail and logistics sectors.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department recognises that employer-led work experience schemes can support young people to develop the skills, confidence and experience needed to enter and progress in work.

Through the Youth Guarantee and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, the Government is expanding opportunities for young people to access work experience, training and employment pathways.

The Department continues to work with employers across these sectors and is developing plans to evaluate the impact of work experience placements on employment outcomes and skills development.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support entrepreneurs and small business start-ups seeking to open commercial premises on high streets.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This government wants to make the UK the best place to start a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship on the high street. Our Plan for Small Businesses sets out a comprehensive package of support for small businesses. This includes measures to help SMEs access finance, adopt digital tools and access advice, but also high street interventions addressing antisocial behaviour, updating our licensing regime and targeting funding through our Pride in Place and High Street and Growth Incubator programmes.

Later this year we will bring forward a new cross-government High Streets Strategy to drive long-term high street regeneration. This will build on powers like High Street Rental Auctions, which are enabling local authorities to tackle long-term vacant properties and support local businesses and communities to make use of them.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure people in low-income areas can access artificial intelligence technologies and related public investment.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The Government is committed to ensuring the benefits of AI are felt across the UK and that adoption is safe, responsible and inclusive. Through AI Skills Boost, we are working with industry partners to provide free AI training across the UK and support our ambition to equip 10 million workers with AI skills by 2030.

We are also supporting place-based investment through the Barnsley Tech Town pilot, where programmes including Getting Job Ready with AI, the AI Career Launchpad and the AI Upskilling Challenge Fund are helping residents, jobseekers and businesses benefit from AI.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the national debt per British household; and the potential impact net debt has on long-term fiscal stability.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on the level of public debt in its monthly Public Sector Finances release.

For full ONS statistics please see their most recent publication:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/july2026

The Chancellor has been clear that fiscal discipline is a priority, and is committed to the fiscal rules, which put debt on a downward path.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with East Midlands Railways on the potential impact of delays and cancellations on people travelling between Leicester and London.

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

The Department recognises that the recent reliability of East Midlands Railway (EMR) services serving Leicester have not been adequate. The Department, through DfT Operator Ltd (DFTO), has been clear to EMR that the current service is unacceptable and is working closely with EMR and industry partners to urgently improve performance.

Delays to the introduction of EMR’s new Intercity Aurora trains have reduced train resilience during the transition period, increasing the risk of cancellations and reducing capacity when trains are unavailable for service. EMR introduced a temporary reduced Intercity timetable from 20 July 2026 in order to minimise short notice cancellations and improve service reliability for passengers.

From 31 August 2026, EMR has increased its Intercity services from 87% to 92% of the full planned timetable. This represents a significant step towards restoring services for passengers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking with local authorities to facilitate reindustrialisation in areas affected by the loss of manufacturing businesses.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As the Prime Minister set out, a more intentional approach to reindustrialisation is required to deliver good growth in every postcode Mayors have set out their visions and plans for their economies in their Local Growth Plans. We will continue to back these, including through supporting all parts of the country to take more public control over their investment strategy through the establishment Good Growth Funds. Building on the progress of the Industrial Strategy, we will identify priority sectors and develop the triple helix approach to economic development - entwining business, academia and government behind the plan.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department provides to courts regarding the issuance of Parenting Orders for parents of repeat youth offenders.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not issue specific guidance for the courts regarding the use of parenting orders. Courts can issue a parenting order in a number of circumstances, including where a child has been convicted of an offence or has engaged in anti-social behaviour. The decision to impose a parenting order is a matter for the independent judiciary.

The Government is clear that more effective use could be made of parenting orders to help prevent youth offending, as outlined in the recently published Youth Justice White Paper, Cutting Youth Crime. Changing Young Lives (Cutting youth crime, changing young lives - GOV.UK). The Government will take action to encourage and strengthen the use of parenting orders ensuring that parents and carers face more meaningful consequences when they wilfully do not comply with an order that the court considers key for their child’s rehabilitation.

We will set out these plans in more detail in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department is issuing to local authorities to ensure that women experiencing rough sleeping receive adequate provision in winter 2026-27.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 26702 on 7 September 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support systems available to schools for educating students on the health risks associated with the excessive consumption of alcohol.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published in July 2025 and includes curriculum content on drugs and alcohol. Schools are required to teach the new content from September 2026.

The statutory curriculum for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including those due to smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking. This complements content about substances taught in the science curriculum.

The department has worked with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the PSHE Association to make sure good quality teaching resources are available for teachers delivering drug, alcohol and tobacco education. We have also commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials which reflect the new guidance freely available.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support systems available to schools for educating students on the health risks associated with the use of recreational drugs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published in July 2025 and includes curriculum content on drugs and alcohol. Schools are required to teach the new content from September 2026.

The statutory curriculum for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including those due to smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking. This complements content about substances taught in the science curriculum.

The department has worked with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the PSHE Association to make sure good quality teaching resources are available for teachers delivering drug, alcohol and tobacco education. We have also commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials which reflect the new guidance freely available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make assessment of the adequacy of the notice periods provided by Motability Operations to disabled customers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including policies regarding the adequacy of notice periods, sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors.

The Department for Work and Pensions meets regularly with Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, to discuss the Scheme’s operation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has held with Motability Operations regarding policies that automatically terminate a beneficiary’s existing car lease upon the cancellation of an unfulfilled new vehicle order due to adaptation incompatibility.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including policies about car leases, sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors.

The Department for Work and Pensions meets regularly with Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, to discuss the Scheme’s operation. The policy about termination of car leases has not been part of these discussions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of recent research by IAM RoadSmart indicating that 14 per cent of drivers aged 17 to 24 record videos or take photos while driving.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is aware of IAM RoadSmart’s research. Its findings reinforce the importance of existing action to tackle driver distraction, particularly among young and novice drivers.

All drivers have a responsibility to drive in a safe and legal manner and it is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, including to take photographs or record videos.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy included measures focused on young drivers and motoring offences, and the Department will continue to consider research and data as these measures are implemented.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of Religious Education timetable hours delivered by non-specialist staff in secondary schools in Leicester East.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

This publication includes information on the proportion of timetabled hours delivered by specialist teachers for each subject and key stage for secondary schools at national level. The latest available figures, for November 2025, for religious education, history and geography at key stage 4 are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3ba6e5c3-e5e7-43f3-2df3-08df07a6df71.

Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the department.

Data on the subject taught and specialist teaching are only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by local authority are therefore not available.