Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the naval mine hunting capability of the Royal Navy.

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

The Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme continues to deliver an advanced suite of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and SWEEP (the first Sovereign minesweeping capability since 2006) into service within the Royal Navy, enabling frontline mine warfare specialists to enhance operational effectiveness. These cutting-edge autonomous mine-hunting systems are deployed by the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group for evaluation, training, and operational deployment.

The comprehensive scope of the MHC programme encompasses multiple USVs, UUVs, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for identification and neutralisation, and a state-of-the-art, sovereign mine-sweeping capability. Additionally, the programme has delivered HMS STIRLING CASTLE, a dedicated support vessel designed to enhance the deployment and sustainment of autonomous systems.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any money has been paid to the NHS as a result of NHS employees publishing content on personal social media platforms that was filmed during working hours, using NHS equipment or uniforms, and related to their work.

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

This information is not held centrally by the Department. However, NHS England has not received any payments from anyone in relation to National Health Service employees publishing content on their personal social media platforms.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.

The Resilience Action Plan sets out the Government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. DCMS officials regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.

The department is actively contributing to this work and regularly attends Cross-Whitehall fora on national resilience including meetings on the Home Defence Programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.

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

Senior officials from the Resilience and Recovery Directorate in MHCLG regularly attend meetings to discuss matters of national security, defence and resilience as well as the associated public communications required to deliver these lines of efforts. The conversation on National Defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the Government accepted. The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing Government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

MHCLG is actively supporting this work, including liaising with Local Resilience Forums.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to encourage a higher uptake of regular diabetes health checks for eligible patients.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving the uptake of annual diabetes health checks recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is a key primary care metric in the NHS Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/

The framework sets out how NHS England will assess providers and integrated care boards, to identify where support is needed and promote improvement.

The annual checks are based on NICE’s nine recommended care processes to manage diabetes and to reduce the risk of complications. NHS England is also working closely with National Health Service systems to monitor the improvement of achievement rates in delivering the annual diabetes health checks. To help deliver this, NHS England has recently launched a new National Diabetes Audit Care Processes and Treatment Targets dashboard to support systems to benchmark and improve delivery of the health checks.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, how many meetings officials from their Department have attended on the national conversation on defence and security; which directorate in their Department is responsible for the departmental contribution to that national conversation; and what the job title is of the official responsible.

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

Officials from the department regularly attend meetings to discuss matters of national security, defence and resilience as well as the associated public communications required to deliver these lines of efforts. The conversation on national defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the government accepted. The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat.

As set out in the SDR, the national conversation will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

The department is actively supporting this work. It plans to promote communications as part of National Preparedness Week later this year and is increasing engagement with its sectors on resilience issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.

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

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.

The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to build the UK’s resilience to any potential escalation to conflict. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. It is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.

The department is actively supporting this work. Officials in the department are in regular discussions with The Ministry of Defence and other government departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants are awaiting their first pension payment; and what is the average length of time they have been waiting.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Capita is prioritising the most urgent cases and as of 28 February 2026, all death in service cases are now either settled, progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. All ill-health retirement cases were also addressed by 6 March 2026 and service levels in these areas are being maintained.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has met with the Capita CEO both before and after the transition. This oversight is supported by Cabinet Office officials and the taskforce, who remain in daily contact with Capita leadership. Ministers are regularly updated with progress being made to ensure the recovery remains on track.

The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of timely payments made through the civil service pension scheme.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Capita is prioritising the most urgent cases and as of 28 February 2026, all death in service cases are now either settled, progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. All ill-health retirement cases were also addressed by 6 March 2026 and service levels in these areas are being maintained.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has met with the Capita CEO both before and after the transition. This oversight is supported by Cabinet Office officials and the taskforce, who remain in daily contact with Capita leadership. Ministers are regularly updated with progress being made to ensure the recovery remains on track.

The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Remediable Service Statement's are outstanding as of 19 March 2026, and what estimate he has made as to when all remaining statements will be issued.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As at 16 March 2026, the number of members awaiting their initial Remediable Service Statements (RSS) was 37,515.

100,592 members have successfully been issued with their RSS. Any pension adjustments arising from members' elections will be backdated with interest to ensure members receive their full entitlement.

The Ministry of Defence is working with the scheme administrator to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once a timeline has been finalised, this will be communicated with members.

Regular progress updates are available to members at the following link on the Armed Forces Pensions gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#remediable-service-statement-delivery-update

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any a) instruction and b) guidance is given to Instructors at Army Training Centres not to fail recruits undergoing Phase 1 training.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The British Army upholds consistently high professional standards for all recruits undertaking Basic Training. Throughout this period, recruits are trained and mentored to ensure they meet and maintain these standards, not only during Basic Training, but throughout the entirety of their military careers.

Instructors seek first to “train in” rather than “select out” individuals. Recruits will not progress beyond Basic Training until they have met the prescribed Basic Training output standard.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The size and set-up of each ministerial private office can vary significantly, as they are often determined by the specific requirements and nature of the workload involved at any given time. This flexibility ensures that each office is best equipped to meet its unique responsibilities and demands.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to adopt a similar policy as the United States' Navy’s No Sailor Lives Afloat Initiative.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Royal Navy already employs a range of measures to support work‑life balance and to minimise the need for personnel to live on board when ships are in harbour, including the use of shore‑side accommodation, flexible duty arrangements, and planned maintenance periods designed to maximise time ashore. These arrangements are kept under continuous review to ensure they meet operational requirements and the wellbeing needs of Service personnel.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service leavers who left in 2014 subsequently rejoined in a) 2014, b) 2015, c) 2016, d) 2017, e) 2018, f) 2019, g) 2020, h) 2021 and i) 2022.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

Private Office in the Scotland Office has an average staffing complement of 12 staff and serves 2 Ministers, appointed from EO to Grade 6. Typical contracted hours for these posts are 37 hours a week, with additional private office allowance paid to qualifying staff for regular out of hours work.

In the last 12 months, there has been a turnover rate of 50% in Private Office.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on a) turnover rates within Royal Navy catering services, b) the quality of food provided in messes, and c) sales receipts in mess facilities of returning responsibility for cooking and catering at shore‑based establishments to the Catering Services branch; and whether he has estimated the cost of phasing in such changes over time.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Royal Navy continuously reviews the catering provision provided to Service personnel to ensure this meets the standards expected. Recent initiatives have been introduced to further enhance nutrition, consistency, and customer satisfaction. There are currently no plans for the catering provision provide to shore-based establishments to be delivered by the Catering Services branch.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police and fire call handlers are required to have working knowledge of (a) What Three Words and (b) the NATO phonetic alphabet.

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

Police Call Handlers are not required to have working knowledge of What Three Words and the Nato Phonetic Alphabet. This is an operational matter for Chief Constables.

For matters regarding the Fire Service, I would direct my Rt Hon friend to the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for fire policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Questions 118252, 118255 and 118258, for what reason the College of Policing and Independent Office for Police Conduct have not met their statutory obligation to respond within 56 days to the Prevention of Future Deaths reports of Oladeji Omishore, Sean Fitzgerald and Ashley Crews.

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

I refer my Honourable friend to the response published on 19 March and suggest that he consider writing to the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct concerning their statutory obligations to respond to the respective coroners who published the PFD reports in these cases.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department seeks feedback from military personnel on the catering service provided by Sodexo.

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

The Ministry of Defence actively seeks and acts upon the feedback from Military Personnel regarding catering services provided by Sodexo.

Military Personnel are able to submit feedback by scanning site QR codes displayed on tables, using digital feedback applications, or through established local engagement channels. Additionally, each catering facility maintains a comments and suggestions book, which is regularly reviewed.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many vehicles are part of the Land Rover WOLF fleet.

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

I can confirm that as of 19 March 2026, there are 5,826 platforms in-service in the Land Rover WOLF fleet. This figure includes those in the active fleet and those in or awaiting to commence the disposal process.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

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

Ministerial private offices are small teams whose composition varies by Minister and portfolio. Private secretaries are paid in line with Civil Service pay frameworks, with contractual hours set out in individual contracts. The Department does not hold data on turnover for individual private offices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMT ministerial private offices hire an average 6.5 FTE per office. Staff are appointed at grades: AO, EO, HEO, SEO, G7, G6 and Deputy Director. Contracted working hours for these staff members are 37 hours per week.

Staff salaries for the appointed grades are typically between £26,200 - £117,800. Designated posts may also benefit from Private Office Allowance.

The average staff turnover over the last 3 years was between 20-30%, which can include staff on loans to HMT returning to their home departments, or individuals leaving to other government departments, including on promotion.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS ambulances are equipped with an MHRA approved anti-choking device.

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

At present, 'anti-choking' devices have not been adopted into routine National Health Service ambulance practice, as the current evidence base and national clinical guidance do not support their use over established techniques. As such, they are not included within standard ambulance equipment specifications.

Ambulance crews are equipped with a comprehensive range of airway management tools, including suction, oxygen, bag-valve-mask ventilation, airway adjuncts, both oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal, and, at a paramedic level, supraglottic airway devices, laryngoscopy, with the potential use of Magill forceps for removal of visible foreign bodies, and intubation equipment where appropriate. These enable clinicians to manage airway obstruction safely and in line with current clinical standards.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ambulance call handlers are required to have working knowledge of (a) What Three Words and (b) the NATO phonetic alphabet.

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

There is no national requirement for ambulance call handlers to have working knowledge of What3Words or the NATO phonetic alphabet, as responsibility for delivering and implementing training to call handlers on use of What3Words and the NATO phonetic alphabet sits with individual ambulance services.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

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

Ministerial private offices within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are resourced flexibly to meet business needs, and the size of individual offices varies.

Staff are appointed across a range of grades EO-SCS1.

Remuneration is in line with the Department’s published pay scales for each grade. Contracted working hours are typically 37 hours per week.

Staff turnover rates specific to ministerial private offices are not calculated.

The total number of staff currently working in ministerial private offices in the Department is 35.

An allowance of up to 18% of base salary is available to staff in private offices who meet the relevant eligibility criteria.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what technical controls are in place within NHS patient record systems to prevent employees from accessing the records of family members without clinical need; and whether patients can request that named individuals be proactively blocked from accessing their records.

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

There are systems and safeguards in place to keep patient information secure and confidential.

The National Health Service prioritises security and privacy in its handling of personal data. NHS systems operate Role Based Access Controls. This means only appropriate health and care staff can access the medical records they need to see to carry out their role in delivering care. Robust governance processes are required to ensure organisations comply with data protection law, and that access to personal data is necessary and appropriate.

All staff accessing systems which contain personal data are bound by their contract of employment and their professional codes of conduct.

There is currently no way to block named individuals from accessing the health records of family members. However, all access is audited and care settings can see which patient records their staff have accessed. This audit report can be used to investigate complaints or to perform proactive monitoring for inappropriate usage.

There is a policy allowing patients to request that access to their demographic record is restricted. This is to protect the location of patients who may be at risk. It ensures that information like the patient’s address cannot be easily accessed by any healthcare professional other than the patient’s general practice. Further information on this can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/personal-demographics-service/restricting-access-to-a-patients-demographic-record

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The size, grading and remuneration of ministerial office staffing vary depending on the responsibilities of the Minister.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The average size of a ministerial private office is 5, although some private office staff are shared between two ministers, working for both. Private office staff are found at all civil service grades from EO to SCS1. Over the last 12 months there has been an average turnover rate of circa 25% for ministerial private offices.

The base annual salary for all private office staff is set by the same policy as all civil servants in the Cabinet Office, according to their grade. A non-consolidated Private Office Allowance is payable to staff working in Private Offices; rates are grade-dependent and not linked to general pay awards.

For staff appointed to the Civil service prior to the 01 April 2013, full-time conditioned hours are 36 hours. For those appointed to a post in Cabinet Office advertised on or after 01 April 2013, or who are promoted into a role advertised on or after 01 July 2013 full-time conditioned hours are 37 hours. All Cabinet Office employees can apply for flexible working, including part time working, from their first day of employment. All staff working in ministerial private offices currently work full time hours.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with officials, external experts, and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence, and resilience.

The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to build the United Kingdom’s resilience to any potential escalation to conflict. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security, and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK, informed by and reflecting the recommendations from Government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy, and Resilience Action Plan.

The Department, with NHS England and health partners, is actively supporting this work. This includes working with partners to ensure the health sector has flexible, adaptable, and scalable capabilities that can respond to a range of threats such as equipment, for example stockpiles and countermeasures, medicines, and medical equipment, skilled people, such as clinicians and public health staff, and infrastructure, including technology, diagnostics, testing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of treatments for patients with rare diseases in a) Slough constituency and b) the South East.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, and we acknowledge unmet need remains, with just 5% of rare diseases having an approved and effective treatment. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, such as improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs, including in Slough. We published the fifth annual England action plan in February 2026, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance these priorities. These include:

• the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) developing a framework to enable innovation in rare disease therapies;
• new clinical trial regulations being fully implemented from April 2026;
• the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aligning a pathway for parallel decision making to reduce the gap between marketing authorisation and NICE guidance decisions;
• continuing to review the effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and the Innovative Medicines Fund, access pathways for rare therapies; and
• NHS England progressing work to develop an operational framework for individualised therapies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.

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

Ministerial private offices in the Home Office have a mean of 6 staff members, at grades ranging from Executive Officer to Grade 6 (excluding the Principal Private Secretary and one other member of staff, who are Senior Civil Servants). Staff are contracted between 36 and 37 hours per week depending on their terms and conditions, and their base remuneration is on this basis. An additional allowance is paid in recognition of the expectation that private office staff face additional and out of hours demands. The most recent publication of Home Office salaries (December 2024) lists the salary bands for these grades as:

Pay bands for the Senior Civil Service are centrally determined.

Staff turnover for calendar year 2025 was 68%.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel, who were serving as of 01 January 2026, had legacy accruals under (a) AFPS75 and (b) AFPS05.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

As of 1 January 2026, 22,600 Armed Forces personnel had legacy pension accruals under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS75), and 38,115 had accruals under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS05).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.

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

The Resilience Action Plan sets out the government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. Officials from the department regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.

The department is actively supporting this work. Officials in the department are in regular discussions with the Ministry of Defence and other government departments about the critical role children and young people play.

Found: Current membership Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour; Slough) (Chair) Mr Calvin Bailey (Labour; Leyton

Found: (Labour; Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) Sarah Champion (Labour; Rotherham) Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Lincoln Jopp; Emma Lewell; Mike

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Mr Calvin Bailey; Emma Lewell;

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Mr Calvin Bailey; Emma Lewell;

Found: Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Debbie Abrahams; Liam Byrne; Sarah Champion; Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the autonomous mine hunting systems currently in use by the Royal Navy.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Slough (Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi) to Question 120373.

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Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a decision has been made on replacements for the Royal Navy's minehunters.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Slough (Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi) to Question 120373.

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