Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department were working on the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme on 24 March 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Specific resource has been allocated to process Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme applications, which will allow for fluctuations in application volumes. As of 24 March, we had 30.9 full time equivalent staff working on UPE.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of recommendation on (a) screening and (b) research on prostate cancer in Council of the EU recommendation on cancer screening (update), adopted in December 2022.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom is not bound by the Council of the European Union's recommendations. The UK National Screening Committee is currently looking at the evidence for prostate cancer screening in accordance with its published processes. This work will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the implementation of organised prostate cancer screening programmes. It therefore aligns with the Council of the European Union's recommendations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to reply to correspondence of 17 January 2025 from the hon. Member for Torbay on local government reorganisation; and if she will meet with the hon. Member for Torbay to discuss this issue.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I will respond to the letter imminently.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing carers to keep Carer’s Allowance if they are providing over 35 hours of care to someone who has eligible health needs but who no longer qualifies for the Personal Independence Payment.

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

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

This government is committed to supporting carers, who do one of the most valuable jobs in society, unpaid. As the Green Paper sets out, we will consider the impacts on benefits for unpaid carers as part of our wider considerations of responses to the consultation as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We are also consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payment due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment qualifying criteria on unpaid family carers.

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

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

This government is committed to supporting carers, who do one of the most valuable jobs in society, unpaid. As the Green Paper sets out, we will consider the impacts on benefits for unpaid carers as part of our wider considerations of responses to the consultation as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We are also consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payment due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of offering (a) guidance or (b) funding support for charities who are assisting refugees with medical qualifications into the NHS.

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

The Department has made no assessment of the potential merits of offering guidance or funding support for charities who are assisting refugees with medical qualifications into the National Health Service.

Many regulators, royal colleges, and other organisations provide support or prioritise services for refugees, including some flexibility in the information that candidates need to provide for employment checks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the private sector is used to help reduce NHS waiting lists for the (a) most urgent procedures and (b) patients with the greatest clinical need.

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

We have committed to tackling waiting lists and getting back to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029. We will use every lever to do this, and independent sector providers have a key role to play.

A new partnership agreement between the NHS and the independent sector was published in January 2025, the first of its kind for 25 years. The aim of this agreement is to ensure that private providers and the NHS work closely together to tackle waiting lists and improve elective services, providing NHS patients with the ability to choose to be treated privately where there is capacity, at no cost to them. The independent sector committed to reviewing their clinical exclusion criteria to ensure that they allow the choice of an independent provider to as broad a cohort of patients as possible. The agreement also set a shared goal to improve access to treatment in the independent sector for the most challenged specialties.

Local systems are best placed to commission activity, considering the patients and providers in their area, and ensuring assets are utilised effectively, and that patients requiring urgent procedures are treated quickly. All patients should be offered a choice of provider at the point of referral, including independent providers where clinically appropriate, and should be provided with information on waiting times to inform their decision.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to enhance arts and culture in the national curriculum.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department has announced a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. The National Centre will promote arts education, including signposting to careers guidance and opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school. It will drive excellent arts teaching through a new continuing professional development offer to schools and support partnerships between schools and cultural providers.

To complement the curriculum, the department will also work with experts to develop an Enrichment Framework to be published before the end of the year. This will identify the range of different enrichment activity that pupils should access and reflect best practice in supporting schools to plan a high-quality enrichment offer.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.

The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that equips young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive in life and work.

The Review Group has now published its interim findings and set out the next phase of work. The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.

The government will respond to the Review’s final recommendations in the autumn.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment qualifying criteria and the consequential effect on Carer's Allowance eligibility on the ability of carers to participate in paid employment.

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

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

We understand the struggles facing many carers. We have launched an Independent Review of Carer’s Allowance which is exploring how earnings-related overpayments have occurred and what changes can be made. We’ve already taken action by boosting the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold by £45 a week to £196 – a move that will benefit more than 60,000 carers by 2029/30.

As the Green Paper sets out, we will consider the impacts on benefits for unpaid carers as part of our wider considerations of responses to the consultation as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We are also consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payment due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HMRC will provide (a) National Insurance records, (b) historic income tax records showing taxable payments of state pensions and (c) any other related records of deceased people to bereaved family members for claims for underpaid state pensions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a strict duty of confidentiality to protect customers’ data. Therefore they can only supply information regarding the deceased to family members in certain circumstances permitted in law, for example to enable the tax and National Insurance affairs of the deceased to be settled.

At present HMRC does not have the power to provide families with tax and National Insurance information for the purpose mentioned.

The State Pension is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC shares information via an established legislative gateway with DWP for its administration.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many letters she has issued to people who registered details of deceased family members on underpaid state pensions in 2025; whether her Department holds other records to assist with validating claims for underpaid state pensions; whether her Department has paused the destruction of state pension payment records; and what the age is of the oldest of those records retained by her Department.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Next of Kin / representatives of a deceased State Pension customer had the opportunity to contact DWP if they thought the customer may be in scope for the State Pension Underpayments exercise.

In reviewing these enquiries, the Department has identified that for a small number, approximately 2,500 customers, our Pension Service Computer System (PSCS) no longer holds a record for the deceased customer. This is in line with our Data Retention Policy.

A pause on the deletion of customer records was implemented at the start of the State Pension Underpayments exercise and remains in place. However, records for customers who died before 16/01/21 will have been deleted in line with our Data Retention Policy.

DWP may be able to review a deceased customer’s State Pension award, if the Next of Kin / representative could supply historical records, such as letters received by the deceased customer from DWP and supporting bank statements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support British musicians touring in the EU.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We are working closely with the music industry to tackle the challenges facing UK musicians and their support staff when touring in the EU. We remain in open and constructive dialogue with the EU, with a view to improve arrangements across the European continent without seeing a return to free movement. Most recently, on 7 April, I attended the Informal Meeting for EU Culture Ministers in Warsaw as a guest of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is the first time a UK minister has been invited since Brexit. Our aim is to identify practical solutions to ensure that UK artists can continue to perform across Europe with minimal barriers while respecting the regulatory frameworks on both sides.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of households no longer eligible for both PIP and other passported benefits.

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

No estimate has yet been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Practical driving tests in the South West

Future of children’s palliative care

Three promotion places from the National League

Snares

Flamstead Toad Patrol

75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Beer festivals 2025

Israeli Defence Force attacks on humanitarian workers

Humanitarian response to the Myanmar earthquake

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

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Found: Robert Halfon, former Member of Parliament, Sarah Bool MP, Steve Darling MP, Dr Marie Tidball MP, and

Found: Robert Halfon, former Member of Parliament, Sarah Bool MP, Steve Darling MP, Dr Marie Tidball MP, and

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

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

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC1 Steve Darling John Milne Daisy Cooper .

Found: _NC2 Steve Darling John Milne Daisy Cooper .

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC1 Steve Darling John Milne Daisy Cooper .

Found: _NC7 Steff Aquarone Claire Young Martin Wrigley Jamie Stone Brian Mathew Alison Bennett Steve Darling

Found: _NC1 Steve Darling John Milne Daisy Cooper .

The Work and Pensions Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into the impact of the Government’s proposals to reform the disability and health related benefits system, as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.