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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of Battersea’s new Cost of Cute campaign.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra recognises the importance of conformation and genetic health in dogs and cats and supports education of owners and breeders to promote responsible breeding.

As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, this Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform to improve the health and welfare of breeding dogs and their puppies. This Government has also committed to improve our understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average caseload per health visitor is (a) in the Devon Integrated Care Board area and (b) across all Integrated Care Board areas.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The information requested is not currently available. We expect to be able to publish this data in Autumn 2026. This will be a new publication in response to the Government’s commitment to strengthening Health Visiting and will report on the zero to 19 year old public health nursing workforce size and activities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to provide full grandfathering or full transitional protection for Skilled Worker visa holders and their dependants who were already granted leave before any earned settlement rule change, by allowing them to apply for settlement under the 5-year qualifying period that applied when they entered or extended their visas.

Answered by Mike Tapp

The government’s proposals for settlement reform were set out in the Command Paper ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP1448) and were the subject of a public consultation between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations and are now considering all responses received.  This will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  This will also include both economic and equality impact assessments.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration she has given to the introduction of a service standard for family visa applications.

Answered by Mike Tapp

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, including service standards for processing visa applications where applicable.

Service standards for out-of-country family visas are published here: Family: customer service standards - GOV.UK. Currently, the service standard for out- of-country family visa applications is 12 weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle the backlog of cataract operations, including for those who need the operation to undertake driving exams.

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

As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. We met our interim target of 65% of pathways involving waits of less than 18 week in March 2026 and, as of May 2026, 65.6% are waiting less than 18 weeks. For patients waiting for ophthalmology services, 74.1% of pathways are waiting less than 18 weeks as of May 2026, an improvement on 66.1% at the start of July 2024.

We are 18 months into our Elective Reform Plan and through setting ambitious targets, investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care, we are seeing results. The waiting list currently stands at 7.28 million patient pathways as of May 2026, down by over 340,000 since the start of July 2024. Patients on the waiting list are prioritised at a local level based on clinical need, in line with the NHS’s core principle.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration has he given to broadening the scope of countries where the UK state pension receives an annual increase.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality and are only uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating.

This approach has been supported by successive governments over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how many children are currently waiting for NHS speech and language therapy in the Devon Integrated Care Board area.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy services, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.

In the Devon Integrated Care Board area, the average waiting time between referral and the start of National Health Service speech and language therapy for children aged zero to 11 years old is 68 weeks in Devon and Torbay and 24 weeks in Plymouth.

In Devon and Torbay there are currently 2,574 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 1,978 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.

In Plymouth there are currently 648 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 602 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.

We have set clear ambitions for community health services through our Medium-Term Planning Framework. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.

In 2025, we published Standardising Community Health Services which provides an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services ICBs should be providing will support consistent delivery of community health services and effective commissioning, and improve patient access to care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is between referral and commencement of NHS speech and language therapy for children aged 0–11 in the Devon Integrated Care Board area.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy services, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.

In the Devon Integrated Care Board area, the average waiting time between referral and the start of National Health Service speech and language therapy for children aged zero to 11 years old is 68 weeks in Devon and Torbay and 24 weeks in Plymouth.

In Devon and Torbay there are currently 2,574 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 1,978 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.

In Plymouth there are currently 648 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 602 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.

We have set clear ambitions for community health services through our Medium-Term Planning Framework. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.

In 2025, we published Standardising Community Health Services which provides an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services ICBs should be providing will support consistent delivery of community health services and effective commissioning, and improve patient access to care.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration has she given to launching an independent review into the pig industry, to determine whether piglet thumping continues to be practised.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on 4 June 2026 to PQ UIN 3739.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans does she have to decrease the time taken to return savings to estates of the deceased.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

On 19 May, I updated Parliament that from the week commencing 25 May, NS&I would start to contact affected estates, with holdings of £10 or more, to reunite them with the holdings owed to them. Remediation will be delivered in phases. NS&I has since issued letters and repayments to the first cohort of affected estates. NS&I aims to return holdings to affected estates as swiftly as possible and expects to complete its remediation programme in the first half of 2027.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans they have to ensure the preservation of historic church buildings in England.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The National Church Institutions recognise the importance of maintaining England’s historic church buildings across England such as the Grade I listed All Saints, Babbacombe and St John the Baptist, Paignton. Parish Churches are not only places of worship but also important community assets supporting heritage, culture and local wellbeing. Significant investment has been allocated by the Archbishops Council and Church Commissioners to support parishes, such as the Buildings for Mission programme. For this programme, the Church Commissioners invested £11million between 2023 and 2025 to provide grants to help churches undertake repairs, improve facilities and remain sustainable centres of worship and community activity

The programme funds 36 Church Buildings Support Officer posts across England, based in dioceses and partner organisations, providing practical advice on repairs, maintenance, fundraising and community engagement to help churches remain sustainable and mission-focused. The Church Commissioners run a Conservation Grants Programme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and others, for the conservation of historic furnishings in Church of England churches. This funding helps to conserve nationally significant historic features such as stained glass, monuments and wall paintings

Other grant-based programmes complement the Buildings for Mission project with the aim to make the buildings more sustainable, efficient and easy to operate in the long term. The Net Zero Carbon Programme is one such programme, operating 2026-2028 the fund has a total of £40million to give grants to parishes alongside opportunities for match funding and larger grants for capital projects such as replacement heating schemes. The Net Zero Carbon Programme operates a Quick Wins Fund, which helps churches improve energy efficiency and reduce running costs. Where churches can no longer remain in parish use, the Church of England works closely with the Churches Conservation Trust to safeguard them for future generations

The Church Commissioners continue to work closely with other funding bodies at national and local levels, such as Historic England and local building support charities to support the ongoing repair and maintenance of church buildings and are in conversation with the Government about long-term strategic support.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans she has in place to ensure that businesses accounts on social media are protected from unfair suspension, to mitigate the financial impact on their business.

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

The Government recognises the importance of social media to UK businesses. Under the Online Safety Act, regulated services must operate accessible and effective complaints procedures, enabling users, including businesses, to challenge account suspensions or bans where they have been mistakenly associated with illegal content or content harmful to children.

Services must also take appropriate action in response to complaints. These duties are designed to increase transparency and accountability in platform decision-making. Ofcom has powers to take enforcement action where providers fail to comply with their statutory duties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the Cancer Plan commitment to define and count recurrent cancers, starting with metastatic breast.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell on 1 July 2026 to Question 10831.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department has taken to make the drug Enhertu available for people with secondary breast cancer in England, following the increase in NICE’s cost effectiveness thresholds in April 2026.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Following the increase in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) cost-effectiveness thresholds in April 2026, NICE, NHS England, and the manufacturers have resumed discussions to explore whether a commercial offer can be agreed that would make Enhertu cost-effective for HER2-low metastatic or unresectable breast cancer.

NICE previously published guidance in July 2024 and did not recommend Enhertu for this indication because the cost-effectiveness estimates were above the acceptable range for National Health Service resources.

Those discussions are ongoing. NICE and NHS England remain committed to securing access to effective treatments where they represent value for NHS patients.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an update on the Access to Elected Office Fund; and when it is likely that applications for support will open.

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

It is this government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office. We have been clear that we will champion disabled people’s rights and work closely with them so that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of decision-making.

We have been working to develop a new fund to assist with the additional disability-related costs of contesting elected office. More information about the fund will be announced 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 the mean cost to the public purse was of a parliamentary by-election since 2024.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The estimated cost of the Clacton by-election is set out in The Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2024.

The average (mean) cost of a UK parliamentary by-election between 2021 and 2025 was approximately £343,768, including candidate mailing costs. This figure is estimated from final settled expenditure where available and claimed expenditure for by-elections where the claims process has not yet been completed.

Expenditure accounts for the 2026 parliamentary by-elections have not yet been received from the relevant Returning Officers.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information HM Courts and Tribunals Service holds on failures of the Digital Audio Recording Transcription and Storage system at Exeter Crown Court in each year from 2018 to 2025, including (a) the number of recording failures and (b) the percentage of hearings affected.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) uses the Digital Audio Recording, Transcription and Storage (DARTS) system across the Crown Court estate to record hearings. HMCTS and its suppliers hold various forms of information relating to DARTS maintenance and performance.

However, HMCTS does not maintain or validate data on recording failures (or the percentage of hearings affected by such failures) per se, whether specifically about the Crown Court centre at Exeter or generally.

Torbay RNLI 160th anniversary

Hedgehog Rescue

Essential energy guarantee

Merchant Navy Day

30 years of the Spice Girls

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Generation Z and the State Pension

Support for post offices

Russian sanctions

Local Housing Allowance rates

International Court of Justice's July 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Indefinite Leave to Remain changes

A UK-EU customs union to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis

Srebrenica Memorial Week

Two-state solution in Israel and Palestine

UK arms sales to Israel

VAT on energy saving materials

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Lee Barron; Mr Peter Bedford; Steve Darling

Found: the Work and Pensions Committee were also present (Standing Order No. 137A): Debbie Abrahams, Steve Darling

Found: (Labour; Corby and East Northamptonshire) Mr Peter Bedford (Conservative; Mid Leicestershire) Steve Darling

Found: (Labour; Corby and East Northamptonshire) Mr Peter Bedford (Conservative; Mid Leicestershire) Steve Darling

Submit Evidence (by 31 Aug 2026)

The government wants to get Britain working again, including by reducing rates of economic inactivity, especially among young people and disabled people. To this end, it is investing £3.5 billion in employment support and devolving more power over this policy area to Strategic Authorities.