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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how she is engaging with aviation workers and their unions about increasing the sustainability of aviation policy, including through the the Airports National Policy Statement review (ANPS) and its review of the Jet Zero strategy; and will she consider deliberative and participatory consultation methods such as a Workers' or Citizens' Assembly.

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

The government is committed to delivering greener transport and we are making significant progress in supporting aviation to become more sustainable. The government engages with the aviation sector and trade unions on aviation decarbonisation, including via the Jet Zero Taskforce. The Taskforce aims to identify, and advise on, unblocking key barriers to delivering greener aviation.

On 4 December 2025, I met the aviation sector Trade Unions and made clear my support for decarbonisation and addressing the skills gap.

Any proposed changes to policy in the Airports National Policy Statement as a result of the ongoing review will be subject to public consultation in summer 2026, providing the opportunity for aviation workers and their unions to respond. We have also recently published our approach to stakeholder engagement which sets out how we intend to gather a broad range of views as part of the review, which can be found here: Engagement during the Airports National Policy Statement review - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, 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 Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

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(opens in a new tab) and vacancies across each industrial sector VACS02: Vacancies by industry - Office for National Statistics(opens in a new tab).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to reduce the cost to (a) the public purse, and (b) farepayers of the cost of maintaining payments to the current Rolling Stock companies (ROSCOs).

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

We expect that, once established, Great British Railways (GBR) will continue to lease rolling stock where this offers value for money. The private-sector rolling stock market has brought significant benefits to passengers and taxpayers, with private investment worth over £20 billion since 1995. However, we are determined to work with the market to ensure it delivers best value for passengers and taxpayers in the future. That is why, even before establishing GBR, we are now developing a comprehensive long-term strategy for rolling stock and associated infrastructure – the first in more than thirty years. We intend to publish this next summer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what employment protections and transition arrangements are in place for long-serving NHS clinical staff being moved into civil service contracts through the NHS England restructuring process.

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

Employment protections and transition arrangements will form part of consultation under a legal transfer mechanism. Detail on this will be provided to recognised trade unions and staff when consultation commences.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS England restructure on equalities, particularly on disabled, neurodiverse, female and non-British staff members.

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

NHS England is actively monitoring the impact of transition through multiple feedback channels, including the annual staff survey, engagement forums, its Health and Safety Committee, staff networks, and recognised trade union forums, as well as through sickness absence and direct feedback mechanisms. This approach is underpinned by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion framework, which proved effective in assessing the potential impact of restructuring on staff with protected characteristics.

NHS England has designed and implemented an enhanced support package for its staff during transition which has been shaped and informed with its staff networks who are representative of the diversity of its workforce, trade unions, and health and safety representatives to meet the diverse needs of colleagues in the organisation. The support includes:

• dedicated mental health resources through the Employee Assistance Programme, with confidential counselling, and occupational health and wellbeing services available to all staff;
• a mix of wellbeing workshops to support staff with career planning, financial planning and stress management;
• inclusive guidance for line managers to help them identify and respond to wellbeing concerns in a way that is sensitive to individual circumstances, including those related to protected characteristics and personal responsibilities;
• targeted support for staff networks and underrepresented groups, ensuring that voices from across NHS England’s organisation are heard and supported during transition; and
• a commitment to undertake additional Equality Impact Assessments as the programme moves into more detailed design phases, ensuring that equality considerations remain central to decision-making.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Kingdon review of children's hearing services; and if he will set out a timetable for the implementation of (a) actions and (b) additional funding and resources required.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are grateful to Dr Kingdon for the review into children’s hearing services published on 4 December 2025. No assessment has yet been made of the potential implications on policies. We are progressing an early analysis of implementation requirements for each of the 12 recommendations made by Dr. Kingdon. We will provide further updates once this initial assessment has been completed and a detailed timetable has been established.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to monitor and mitigate the mental health impact of changes being made during the NHS England restructuring process on affected staff.

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

Safeguarding the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues while delivering the changes needed for the future of NHS England is a key priority for NHS England. NHS England has designed and implemented an equity-focused support package which has been shaped and informed jointly with staff networks, representative of the diversity of the organisation, trade unions, and health and safety representatives to meet the diverse needs of colleagues in the organisation. The support includes:

• dedicated mental health resources through the Employee Assistance Programme, with confidential counselling, and occupational health and wellbeing services available to all staff;
• inclusive guidance for line managers to help them identify and respond to wellbeing concerns in a way that is sensitive to individual circumstances, including those related to protected characteristics and personal responsibilities; and
• targeted support for staff networks and underrepresented groups, ensuring that voices from across NHS England’s organisation are heard and supported during this transition.

NHS England is actively monitoring the impact of change through multiple feedback channels, including the annual staff survey, engagement forums, Health and Safety Committee staff network, and recognised trade union forums.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether as part of the Timms review ministers will consult Social Security Scotland and look at how assessments and reassessments are carried out.

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

We engage closely with officials and disability stakeholders from across the devolved governments, including the Scottish Government, to ensure the Timms Review is informed by diverse approaches to disability support from across the United Kingdom.

The Review’s Terms of Reference, which set out its scope, include an explicit reference to re-assessments to recognise that PIP must be fair and fit for new and existing claimants. You can view the Terms of Reference on GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to question 37814 on 20 March 2025, when the outcome, recommendations and a departmental response arising from the review into the Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons will be (a) published, and (b) notified to Parliament.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is undertaking a comprehensive review of the entire Arm's Length Body (ALB) landscape, as announced on 6 April 2025, and is a core part of creating a productive and agile state.

As stated in my previous answer of 7 November 2025, the closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) is an important step in Defence’s ALB reform journey.

The closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (MILLWEC)) was announced on GOV.UK on 30 November 2025. The closure was agreed by Ministerial write round.

The provision of independent medical advice on the use of less lethal weapons will now be delivered by MILLWEC, as established by the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to recent data obtained by StopWatch via Freedom of Information of this year’s Operation Sceptre results, what assessment will be made of the cost-effectiveness of public knife amnesty bins compared with enforcement options for recovering knives and other weapons.

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

The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. In 2025 police have delivered two national weeks of intensification in May and November, and the data and operational results from these are owned and held by the police.

The Government ran an extended knife surrender arrangement in July 2025 in various areas in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and London. This allowed members of the public to surrender weapons anonymously at a mobile surrender van operated by FazAmnesty and in 37 new surrender bins installed by Word 4 Weapons with Home Office funding.

A total of 3,570 knives and weapons were surrendered through these arrangements. The figures were set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 30 October: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

Across police operations, border seizures and knife surrender schemes this Government has already seen nearly 60,000 knives taken off our streets.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a windfall tax on current Rolling Stock companies (ROSCOs).

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) play an important role in the transport industry, bringing benefits to both taxpayers and passengers.

Great British Railways will work with ROSCOs and manufacturers in an effective and streamlined way. The government will also develop a long-term strategy for rolling stock, which will support manufacturing and ensure a stable pipeline of work.

Public health campaign on tackling stigma towards suicide

Big Garden Bird Watch 2026

Essentials Guarantee

Water White Paper

Situation of Kurdish people in Syria

Changes to Right To Protest in the Public Order Act 2023

Food insecurity amongst workers in food processing, manufacturing and retail sectors

International sport and alleged United States violations of international law

The Gatehouse in Oxford

ADHD services

UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

Missing Evri deliveries

Sinking of SS Tilawa

Newborn bloodspot screening for spinal muscular atrophy

Grok AI generation and dissemination of sexually explicit and non-consensual images of women and children on X

Report on conditions and treatment at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre

Less Survivable Cancers Week

Use of UK bases by the United States and international law in relation to Greenland

Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce research funding

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

10th anniversary of Boxing Day floods

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Situation in Iran

Hunger strike by pro-Palestinian activists

Parliamentary screening of The Removed and historic forced adoptions

Gambling executives' profits

Winter NHS corridor care

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

US military build-up in the Caribbean

Children and blast injuries, Save the Children report

Border violence

Political education

NEU dispute at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH

Higher education pension cuts

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

Supporting shopworkers

Thanking postal workers

Domestic Energy Efficiency (Call for Evidence) Bill

Russian shadow fleet

UK participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2026

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

Driver-only trains on East West Rail

Professional integrity of BBC journalists