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 the Motability Foundation on an accessible transition to EVs.

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

The Department works with Motability on an accessible transition to EVs. This includes initiatives to ensure public charging infrastructure is accessible for drivers with disabilities, such as the joint sponsorship of the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 for chargepoint accessibility.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will put in place (a) employment protections and (b) transition arrangements for long-serving NHS clinical staff being moved into civil service contracts as part of the NHS England restructure.

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

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, or equivalent mechanisms such as the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice, are designed to safeguard employees’ rights during transfers between employers. Employment protections and transition arrangements for NHS England employees will be put in place based on these schemes.

The Department and NHS England are working closely together to identify differences in employment terms and conditions. Where changes are likely to affect staff transferring into the Department, these will be included in formal measures for consultation. This will be communicated once we are in a position to do so.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what response she has to the recommendation of the October 2025 final report of the Poverty Strategy Commission for Government to consult with parents and childcare providers on increasing payment rates to providers to ensure that they do not have to introduce optional charges for meals or other aspects of care to top up state funding of free hours.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

In financial year 2025/26 alone, the government has provided over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27. We have announced the largest ever increase to early years pupil premium since its introduction and have delivered a significant tranche of supplementary funding of £75 million through the early years expansion grant.

Government funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals so providers are able to ask parents to pay for these things. However, the statutory guidance is clear that these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing an entitlements place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Cycle to Work scheme supports equitable access for employees, including (a) those with disabilities who require specially adapted bicycles, (b) individuals undertaking longer or rural commutes, and (c) older employees who may benefit from electric bicycles.

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

The Cycle to Work Scheme has helped millions of people choose a healthier, greener way to travel while boosting local economies and supporting jobs.

It is for employers to decide whether and how to provide cycles for their workforce under the Cycle to Work Scheme. Any scheme must operate within rules set by HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether ideas for reforming the Personal Independent Payment assessment criteria and processes requiring additional expenditure will be permitted under the terms of reference of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

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

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.

The Review is focussed on ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence. We are committed to spending public money as effectively as possible to support disabled people in living independent and fulfilling lives.

It will be for the Steering Group to determine the Review’s recommendations, subject to the Terms of Reference which specify that the Review will operate within the OBR’s projections for future Personal Independence Payment expenditure.

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 effectiveness of the Motability Scheme in addressing transport accessibility gaps.

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

The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance. The scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society, including by breaking down barriers to work.

The Motability Foundation have published its strategy to support and empower disabled people by improving their access to transport. The plan sets out how they will act directly and work with others to drive change.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within his Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice has not undertaken a central assessment of trends in job vacancies across key professional groups. Workforce planning is devolved to individual business groups, which are responsible for assessing their own staffing requirements and monitoring vacancy levels in line with operational priorities. This includes oversight of contractor organisations supporting the department, who are similarly responsible for overseeing their own workforce needs. Through established governance and performance-management arrangements, the department maintains oversight to ensure that services continue to be delivered effectively.

However, the ONS publishes information on the number of vacancies from the Vacancy Survey. These headline accredited official statistics are published monthly on a rolling three-monthly basis at UK-level, by industry sector, and by size of business, as part of the ONS's Vacancies and jobs in the UK release.

Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS's Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. These tables are published monthly and contain the number of online job adverts split by local authority and occupation (SOC 2020).

Be advised the ONS caution use of these alternative data sources because the data is not seasonally adjusted or directly comparable to their headline estimates.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within his Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The independent Office for National Statistics publish monthly estimates of online job adverts by occupation Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK - Office for National Statistics and vacancies across each industrial sector VACS02: Vacancies by industry - Office for National Statistics.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to remove the work capability assessment.

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

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we are abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and that following this, eligibility to the new Universal Credit Health Element would require the claimant to be in receipt of a Daily Living award on Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Work is continuing to determine the detail of how this reformed system would work and discussions are also under way with the Scottish Government about the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems. We will set out further details of the reformed system, and the timing of WCA abolition, once we are in a position to do so.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a centralised Probation service.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

A unified Probation Service operates throughout England and Wales, under the leadership of the Chief Probation Officer, who provides both professional guidance and system oversight for probation staff.

We recognise that probation works best when delivering in partnership, and Regional Probation Directors and their teams have significant flexibility to collaborate with local partner agencies. Examples of that local collaboration and innovation include joint delivery of Integrated Offender Management with police forces and co-commissioning of services for offenders with metro mayors.

The probation service needs investment and strong leadership – which we are delivering. It is our assessment that further structural changes at this time would be disruptive and detrimental.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have humanist pastoral support provided through prison chaplaincy services.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We recognise and respect the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith or belief while in custody. Chaplaincy plays a critical and unique role in the work of prisons and the life of prisoners. It not only provides advice on faith and belief matters but also offers pastoral care regardless of an individual’s faith or belief, in support of HM Prison and Probation Service’s commitment to decency, safety and rehabilitation.

Specifically Humanist/Non-Religious pastoral support is available from chaplains at the following prisons:

Aylesbury

Bullingdon

Channings Wood

Dovegate

Durham

Frankland

Highpoint

Isis

Pentonville

Stafford

Wayland

Wormwood Scrubs

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to mitigate the mental health impact of proposed changes to settlement routes.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

On 20 November, we launched a public consultation on our proposed earned settlement model.

This consultation provides a means for all members of the public to express any concerns about the proposed new system are considered as we finalise policy. We are also running a separate, focused survey of visa holders to make sure their specific concerns are fully captured.

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 Motability Scheme on supporting disabled people into employment and training.

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

The Motability Foundation report that 27% of Scheme users have improved access to education and 21% have improved access to employment opportunities. Scheme customers in employment report working an extra 14 hours a week, on average.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support humanitarian aid and climate resilience in Somaliland.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Climate resilience is a priority across Somalia, including Somaliland. The UK is the largest contributor to the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF), providing nearly £50 million since 2012 and an additional £4 million in Financial Year 25/26 to improve water access, promote sustainable agriculture, and protect livestock-dependent incomes vulnerable to climate change.

The UK also supports climate adaptation through the Sinaan programme, which helps Somaliland's growing cities manage unplanned urbanisation driven by climate pressures.

On humanitarian aid, the UK contributes to the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, which has responded to Somaliland's drought emergency, and the UK also supports partners such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent working locally on disaster response.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to develop a National Integration Strategy for asylum seekers and refugees as part of proposed reforms to the asylum system.

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

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to the asylum system and safe and legal routes.

Successfully integrating refugees remains a key Government priority. Work is underway to operationalise the proposals set out in the statement, with careful consideration being given to how integration is prioritised in implementation. Further details will be provided 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, if he will support the establishment of structured, research-led innovation through an Areas of Research interest approach for fire and rescue services, similar to that adopted by police services in England.

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

The Government recognises the importance of working collaboratively with sector partners.

The implementation of an Areas of Research Interest (ARI) approach to support research and innovation will be considered as part of the due process associated with any future establishment of a college. This ensures that decisions are informed by evidence-based priorities and aligned with fire sector needs.

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 the Motability Scheme on transport barriers experienced by disabled people.

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

The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance. The scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society, including by breaking down barriers to work.

The Motability Foundation have published its strategy to support and empower disabled people by improving their access to transport. The plan sets out how they will act directly and work with others to drive change.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) households, and (b) children, will not receive the full potential increase in benefit support they would be entitled to from the abolition of the two-child benefit cap from April 2026 due to being subject to the overall benefit cap after any increase provided through the abolition of the cap (i) across England, (ii) in Sussex, and (iii) in Brighton Pavilion constituency.

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

The requested information is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) households, and (b) children, will not receive an overall increase in benefit support from the abolition of the two-child benefit cap from April 2026 due to being subject to the overall benefit cap (i) across England, (ii) in Sussex, and (iii) in Brighton Pavilion constituency.

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

The requested information is not available.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within her Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes information on the number of vacancies at UK-level, by industry, and by size of business as part of the vacancies and jobs in the UK release. Using that data, we see that in August to October 2025 there were 15,000 vacancies in arts, entertainment and recreation, 33,000 vacancies in information and communication and 76,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. Parts of these industries are included in DCMS sector definitions.

Compared to August to October 2024:

• Arts, entertainment and recreation vacancies are down 14.0%

• Accommodation and food service activities vacancies are down 16.5%

• Information and communication vacancies are down 13.5%

DCMS uses a more granular industry classification (4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes) to define our sectors and ONS vacancy data is not publicly available at this level.

DCMS publishes official statistics in development estimating the number of vacancies, alongside skills shortages and skills gaps, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey. Two regular data releases have been published so far: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019 and DCMS Sector Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2022, UK, as well as additional analysis for the Creative Industries. The 2022 data showed that 25.5% of DCMS Sectors businesses in the UK had at least one vacancy open at the time of the survey. This was significantly higher than All Sectors (23.2%).

Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS’s Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. DCMS has published additional estimates by SOC code for the Creative Industries using the DfE’s Employer Skills Survey.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 21 November 2025 to question UIN 90771, what steps he is taking to monitor the performance of the handover of the new Civil Service Pension Scheme contract to Capita, including monitoring and taking action on missed payments to new pensioners and reported errors in the new online portal.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The previous administrator, MyCSP continued to make payments up to and including 1 December. Capita assumed control of the payroll from 2 December and continues to pay pensioners continuously in line with the contractual requirements.

The Cabinet Office is monitoring Capita’s services via ‘Early Life Support’ during December. This involves Capita providing regular updates across different workstreams, offering quick issue resolution and performance monitoring to ensure stability. Once this is completed early in 2026, phase 2 will progress which is Capita increasing the functionality and automation within the portal which will increase the member self serve options. The Cabinet Office will monitor this period for approximately 6 months.

An issue was identified with the new scheme website shortly after launch that caused the website and portal to run slowly. Capita immediately identified the issue and worked with Microsoft to rectify the issue. By 4 December, the website was considerably improved and we now have 37,000 members registered on the member portal as of 5 December.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how he will make sure those on heat networks with no direct relationship with their energy supplier will benefit the reductions in energy bills announced in the budget.

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

The Budget took action to reduce energy bills for households. This will be delivered through the government funding 75% of the domestic cost of the legacy Renewables Obligation for the rest of this spending review period from 2026-27 to 2028-29 and ending the Energy Company Obligation.

Both these measures reduce electricity costs, and therefore benefit all households that have a domestic electricity account, regardless of their heating type. This will include the vast majority of heat network customers.

The government will consider how to further target the savings announced in the Budget towards electricity bills. The government will set out how it intends to deliver this through the Warm Homes Plan.

Kashmir Black Day and self-determination

Human rights violations and suppression of democratic opposition in Tanzania

UK arms export licensing and conflict in Sudan

Convention on Cluster Munitions and preventing UK involvement in their production

Higher education pension cuts

Children and blast injuries, Save the Children report

Border violence

Political education

NEU dispute at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH

US military build-up in the Caribbean

Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the Occupied West Bank

Kidnapping of school children in Nigeria

Neurodivergent service personnel in the armed forces

Phenylketonuria awareness and access to treatment (No. 2)

Funding for medical students in their final years of study

Blue Badge wait times

Right to trial by jury

Armed exports to the United Arab Emirates and the situation in Sudan

Thanking postal workers

Domestic Energy Efficiency (Call for Evidence) Bill

Russian shadow fleet

UK participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Driver-only trains on East West Rail

Professional integrity of BBC journalists

Supporting shopworkers

Palestine Action hunger strike

Habitat regulations

Jury trial rights

Detention of Hassan Mushaima and Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace

Political prisoners in Bangladesh

Palestinian children in Israeli military detention

International Day of People with Disabilities

Football Supporters’ Association’s Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign

Repression following the Iran-Israel war

Bank closures, digital exclusion and cyber risks

Israel’s use of cluster munitions

Small Business Saturday and support for SME apprenticeships

Access to banks

Higher education funding

Reduction to UK Official Development Assistance

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Local authority funding (No. 2)

25th Anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Trial by jury

Found: HC Hansard, 2 September 2025, col 193. 113 HC Hansard, 2 September 2025, col 197. 37 Siân Berry