Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Resilience and Reconstruction entitled Disinformation, UK Democracy, and Attitudes toward Ukraine & Russia in the UK, published on January 2026; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of social media platform algorithms on the spread of misleading or hostile state-aligned narratives in relation to (a) the war in Ukraine and (b) other matters.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 January to Question 105450. As concerns the algorithms of social media platforms, the Online Safety Act gives Ofcom the power to request information on their design, including as this relates to allegations of illegal mis- and disinformation.

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 adequacy of access to dentistry services for (a) veterans and (b) people suffering with long-term illnesses.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are aware of the challenges faced by many in accessing a National Health Service dentist, including people suffering with long-term illnesses, and valued members of the Armed Forces community, such as our respected veterans who have spent their careers defending our country.

We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.

ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

Free NHS dental care is available to people who meet the following criteria:

• under 18 years old, or under 19 years old and in full-time education;

• pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months;

• being treated in an NHS hospital and the treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist, although patients may have to pay for any dentures or bridges;

• receiving low-income benefits, or under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits; and

• receiving War Pension Scheme payments, or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments and the treatment is for your accepted disability.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of dental care given to (a) veterans and (b) those suffering with long-term illnesses.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are aware of the challenges faced by many in accessing a National Health Service dentist, including people suffering with long-term illnesses, and valued members of the Armed Forces community, such as our respected veterans who have spent their careers defending our country.

We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.

ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

Free NHS dental care is available to people who meet the following criteria:

• under 18 years old, or under 19 years old and in full-time education;

• pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months;

• being treated in an NHS hospital and the treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist, although patients may have to pay for any dentures or bridges;

• receiving low-income benefits, or under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits; and

• receiving War Pension Scheme payments, or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments and the treatment is for your accepted disability.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of plastic recycling provision in supermarkets including where products are sold in packaging which needs to be recycled in-store.

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

Simpler Recycling came into force on 31 March 2025 requiring all workplaces in England with more than 10 full-time employees to separate their waste before collection, including any waste produced by employees, customers and visitors. This includes dry recyclable materials (i.e. plastic, metal, glass, paper and card) and, separately, food waste. Supermarkets are therefore required to comply and separately collect plastic as well as the other recyclable materials. Defra has not assessed the plastic recycling provision in supermarkets.

Whilst supermarkets collect plastic film on their premises (e.g. plastic bags) this is not currently a requirement. However, additional waste streams that are not included in the Simpler Recycling legislation, may be collected in advance of 31 March 2027 when plastic film collections from all households and workplaces will also become mandatory.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to hold the consultation on proposed changes to NDAs under the Employment Rights Bill; and what is the planned timeline for implementation.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will address the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by employers who want to silence workers about harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

The Government will consult on the conditions under which NDAs can still be validly made (known in the legislation as ‘excepted agreement’). We will also consult on the individuals that a worker with an excepted agreement can speak to (e.g. the police, or medical professionals).

We will bring forward the consultation shortly. The consultation will inform the policy detail in order to draft the regulations and commence this measure in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for (a) new Access to Work awards and (b) the renewal of existing awards who undertook holistic workplace assessments received support in line with the recommendations of those assessments in each of the last three years.

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

The Department does not hold data on how many applicants for (a) new Access to Work awards and (b) the renewal of existing awards who undertook holistic workplace assessments received support in line with the recommendations of those assessments in each of the last three years. Determining this information would require manually reviewing individual applications which would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to reform the family court system to ensure children's best interests are prioritised.

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

The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the court’s paramount consideration when making decisions in relation to a child's upbringing.

This Government is committed to reform of the family court to improve the experience and outcomes for children and families. Central to this is the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model, which amplifies the voice of the child through a Child Impact Report and ensures a higher proportion of children are directly engaged by social workers during proceedings. The model is supporting the court in making safe decisions which prioritise the best interests of the child, without delay.

The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022 and is now operating across 10 court in England and Wales, which accounts for around a quarter of relevant private law proceedings. Plans for further expansion will be announced in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered a) regulating the cost of veterinary procedures, and b) requiring increased transparency around costs of veterinary procedures for pets.

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

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are finalising a market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. On 15 October, they released a Provisional Decision Report, which included proposed remedies such as increased transparency of veterinary fees, requiring vets to publish price lists, and a cap on the price of written veterinary prescriptions. The proposed remedies are subject to the CMA’s final report which is due to be released in the Spring.

Defra welcomes the CMA’s market investigation into the veterinary sector and will consider any remedies from the CMA’s final report.

Currently, businesses providing veterinary services are not regulated. Reforms to the Veterinary Surgeons Act (which are currently being consulted on) will bring in regulation of veterinary and other animal healthcare businesses and empower the regulator to ensure competition within the market.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the financial impact of participating in GCSE exams on home-schooled students.

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

Parents who choose to educate children at home bear the financial responsibility for doing so, including covering the costs of their exam entry. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will not change this.

However, the Bill does introduce a new support duty. For the first time, local authorities will be required to provide advice and information on accessing GCSE examinations when requested by parents, unless it would be unreasonable to do so.

This advice should help parents understand how the exam system works, identify any suitable centres, and plan their child’s education and approach to exams in a timely and informed way.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of compelling landlords to allow electric vehicle meters to be connected to a leaseholder’s residential supply.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring an electric vehicle (EV) transition that works for all. In October 2025, we announced that we will consult on improving renters and leaseholders' ability to charge. This consultation will consider how to make domestic EV charging for renters and leaseholders easier and more straightforward.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to support adopted children’s recovery from early years trauma.

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

Professionals working with adopted children should receive appropriate trauma-informed training. The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to develop national approaches for adoption services, helping ensure consistently high‑quality support across the country. Adoption England is also strengthening trauma‑informed practice across its workforce and with key partners, including schools. In addition, we have recently consulted on new social work standards that include recognising and responding to trauma, which will underpin an enhanced early‑career support offer.

On 10 February, we announced that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will continue up to 2028, with £55 million in 2026/27, enabling children to continue to benefit from access to specialist trauma and attachment‑focused therapies. In addition, our new ‘Adoption Support that Works for All’ consultation provides a positive opportunity for families and professionals to help shape the long‑term future of adoption support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of trauma-informed training undertaken by professionals working with adopted children.

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

Professionals working with adopted children should receive appropriate trauma-informed training. The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to develop national approaches for adoption services, helping ensure consistently high‑quality support across the country. Adoption England is also strengthening trauma‑informed practice across its workforce and with key partners, including schools. In addition, we have recently consulted on new social work standards that include recognising and responding to trauma, which will underpin an enhanced early‑career support offer.

On 10 February, we announced that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will continue up to 2028, with £55 million in 2026/27, enabling children to continue to benefit from access to specialist trauma and attachment‑focused therapies. In addition, our new ‘Adoption Support that Works for All’ consultation provides a positive opportunity for families and professionals to help shape the long‑term future of adoption support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the selection criteria was for the location of the 43 new neighbourhood hubs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have launched wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 places across England, including Cornwall and the Isle of Scilly.

This is a large-scale change programme for all partners involved in delivering neighbourhood health, including the National Health Service, local government, social care providers, other statutory and non-statutory organisations and the voluntary sector. There is a strong focus on co-production and working with the people and communities they serve, and taking a ‘test, learn and grow’ approach in line with the wider public sector reform agenda.

We had an overwhelming response to the NNHIP, receiving 141 applications, which is approximately 83% of the number of places in England. Given the large volume of high-quality applications, selecting sites for wave 1 was not an easy task.

Selection was carried out in line with usual NHS England processes, with all applicants assessed against consistent criteria. This includes demonstrating strong integrated working, clear readiness to participate, robust governance and data sharing arrangements, and a focus on areas with the greatest need.

Work is underway to consider the future direction of the NNHIP, and we will share an update on this as soon as we can.

Hayes School mental health ambassadors

Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal 2026

National inquiry into child sexual exploitation

Local authority funding

Review of the student loan system

Kendal Farmers Market

Child protection from illicit vapes

British couple detained in Iran

15th anniversary of the Bahrain pro-democracy uprising

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Radiotherapy in the National Cancer Plan

Bird gathering licences

Graduate driving licences

Penguins at Sea Life London Aquarium

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Lee Barron; Johanna Baxter; Steve Darling

Found: to fulfil their duty of care to their employees and protecting their own staff from harm 253 Steve Darling

Found: Q14 Steve Darling: My first little question is to Ian and Chris.