Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional cases are expected to be heard each year under the new swift courts compared with existing Crown Court processes.

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

Of the 3% of criminal trial cases that proceed to a jury trial in the Crown Court, over half would still proceed to the Crown Court and get a jury trial post-reform. The remainder would be expected to stay in the magistrates’ courts or would be allocated to the new ‘swift courts’.

The new ‘swift courts’ will operate within the existing Crown Court, and this means they will be dealing with the same cases that come into the Crown Court. As mode of trial allocations and trial listing remain a matter for the independent judiciary and are dependent on case mix, the Ministry of Justice is unable to comment on how cases arriving at the Crown Court will be distributed between ‘swift courts’ and jury trials.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand access to women's health hubs.

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

The Government is encouraging integrated care boards (ICBs) to further expand the coverage of women’s health hubs and to support ICBs to use the learning from the women’s health hub pilots to improve local delivery of services to women and girls.

The 10-Year Health Plan set out the ambition for high autonomy to be the norm across every part of the country. ICBs are responsible for commissioning services that meet the healthcare needs of their local population and have the freedom to do so, and this includes women's health hubs and delivering the direction of the Women's Health Strategy. The Government is backing ICBs to do this through record funding. The 2025 Spending Review prioritised health, with record investment in the health and social care system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of staff in women’s health services.

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

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.

To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. They will provide a framework for leaders across the NHS to build a supportive culture that embeds retention.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the adequacy of drinking water provision in Tothill Street.

Answered by Nick Smith

Drinking water is supplied to every floor in Tothill Street in a tea station which has a sink and a zip tap. Each zip tap provides instant boiling as well as chilled drinking water.

Faults have been reported on some zip taps in Tothill Street and repairs have been sought as quickly as possible. There is currently an outstanding fault on the First Floor which requires the zip tap to be replaced. Drinking water remains available through the sink taps which meets the requirements in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and related guidance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have used from the Motability scheme in each of the last five years; and what has been the cost to the public purse of that scheme.

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

The Department only holds readily available data on Motability Scheme users who are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Information on these will be published in due course.

Information on Motability Scheme users not receiving PIP is not readily available, and producing such data would require a detailed review of individual claimant records and case files, which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Some relevant information can be found from the published Annual Reports and Accounts from the Motability Foundation: Annual Reports and Accounts | About Us | Motability Foundation.

The Motability Scheme receives no direct funding from DWP. However, it does receive the direct transfer of benefit from DWP. This is claimant benefit the claimant would otherwise be receiving, and the cost of transfer is paid for by the Motability Foundation.

Information on the cost of the Motability Scheme is already available in the answer I gave on 3 December 2025 to PQ UIN 94592.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many officials were investigated under their Department's disciplinary processes in each of the last five years.

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

Defra’s casework data is held for three years from the date of case closure.

Over the last three years, 139 officials were investigated under Defra’s disciplinary process. The 139 cases are broken down into the following:

2022 = 7 disciplinary cases were raised

2023 = 33 disciplinary cases were raised

2024 = 60 disciplinary cases were raised

2025 to date = 39 disciplinary cases have been raised

The information requested for 2020 and 2021 is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle racial disparities in maternity care.

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

The Department recognises that there are stark inequalities for women and babies, and that they should receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity.

The Government is committed to setting an explicit target to close the maternal mortality gap. We are ensuring that we take an evidence-based approach to determining what targets are set, and that any targets set are women and baby-centred. It is crucial that we also ensure the system is supported to achieve any target set.

Baroness Amos is chairing a national independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. The investigation aims to identify the drivers and impact of inequalities faced by women, babies, and families from black and Asian backgrounds, those from deprived groups, and those from other marginalised groups when receiving maternity and neonatal care. The Government is currently establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, to be chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that will then develop a national action plan based on the recommendations of the investigation.

A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are now underway. These include an anti-discrimination programme, which aims to ensure that all service users and their families receive care free from discrimination and racism, and that all staff will experience a work environment free from discrimination and racism. We are also developing an inequalities dashboard and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity.

Additionally, all local areas have published equity and equality action plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.

We are also putting in place wider actions to improve safety across maternity and neonatal care, which will also contribute to reducing inequalities. This includes the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, a package of evidence-based interventions to support staff to reduce stillbirth, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and pre-term births. It includes guidance on managing multiple pregnancies to ensure optimal care for the woman and baby. NHS England is also introducing a Maternal Mortality Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, and to address the leading causes of maternal mortality. Women from black and Asian backgrounds are more at risk of specific clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death. This bundle will target these conditions, and we expect a decline in deaths and harm.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent consular support has been provided to Jagtar Singh Johal.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 December in response to Question 97066.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce inequality in perinatal outcomes.

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

The Department recognises that there are stark inequalities for women and babies, and that they should receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity.

The Government is committed to setting an explicit target to close the maternal mortality gap. We are ensuring that we take an evidence-based approach to determining what targets are set, and that any targets set are women and baby-centred. It is crucial that we also ensure the system is supported to achieve any target set.

Baroness Amos is chairing a national independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. The investigation aims to identify the drivers and impact of inequalities faced by women, babies, and families from black and Asian backgrounds, those from deprived groups, and those from other marginalised groups when receiving maternity and neonatal care. The Government is currently establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, to be chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that will then develop a national action plan based on the recommendations of the investigation.

A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are now underway. These include an anti-discrimination programme, which aims to ensure that all service users and their families receive care free from discrimination and racism, and that all staff will experience a work environment free from discrimination and racism. We are also developing an inequalities dashboard and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity.

Additionally, all local areas have published equity and equality action plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.

We are also putting in place wider actions to improve safety across maternity and neonatal care, which will also contribute to reducing inequalities. This includes the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, a package of evidence-based interventions to support staff to reduce stillbirth, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and pre-term births. It includes guidance on managing multiple pregnancies to ensure optimal care for the woman and baby. NHS England is also introducing a Maternal Mortality Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, and to address the leading causes of maternal mortality. Women from black and Asian backgrounds are more at risk of specific clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death. This bundle will target these conditions, and we expect a decline in deaths and harm.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to including milk in government-funded breakfast clubs without reducing funding for existing milk provision schemes.

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

The department funds schools taking part in the free breakfast clubs programme to buy breakfast foods and drinks, as well as to cover staffing and delivery costs.

Schools are required to provide a breakfast adhering to the school food standards, which could include a glass of lower fat milk. However, it is up to schools to decide what they serve in line with the standards. Where schools provide milk, they can also choose whether to participate in the national school milk subsidy scheme which can be used to reduce the cost of the milk

Additionally, the Nursery Milk Scheme is operated and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and provides free milk to children under five at participating schools and childcare settings.

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 merits of grouping Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in regulation.

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

PFAS represent a group of thousands of chemicals, with hundreds used commercially across many sectors of industry and society. The structural diversity of PFAS poses a challenge to grouping.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) published an “Analysis of the most appropriate regulatory management options (RMOA)” for PFAS in March 2023. This RMOA addresses PFAS, that are potentially on the GB market, by applying a grouping approach to improve manageability and help address the issue of regrettable substitution. HSE’s Restriction Report on PFAS in firefighting foams, published in August 2025, takes a group approach on this basis, using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 2021) definition of PFAS.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment has been made of adequacy of the (a) support and (b) guidance available for those who are unable to access their e-visas.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service:

We have delivered £4.4m of grant funding across 18 months to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK to support customers who needed help transitioning from a physical document to an eVisa.

People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Should anyone find themselves needing support with creating their UKVI account or getting access to their eVisa, the latest updates and guidance can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/evisa.

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who are having difficulty providing digital status evidence.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to support young people into employment in Slough.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 for the Growth and Skills Levy.

Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:

Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.

Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.

c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.

Guaranteeing jobs: Too many young people are spending the first years of their adult life out of work or education. Long periods of unemployment in these early years have lifelong negative impacts.

As part of the Youth Guarantee, we are breaking the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing paid work for every eligible 18-21 year-old who has been on Universal Credit, looking for work, for 18 months.

The Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment, for 25 hours a week, at the relevant minimum wage, with the government covering 100% of employment costs. This, will help young people take that crucial first step into sustained employment, supporting the government’s long-term ambition for an 80% employment rate.

The Jobs Guarantee will also provide wraparound support to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.

Appropriate safeguards will be built into the scheme to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.

The Jobs Guarantee will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years.

Prevention: We are also making it easier to identify young people who need support, by investing in better data sharing for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), further education attendance monitoring, and new risk of NEET data tools giving local areas more accurate insights to target support where it's needed most. We are also investing in work experience opportunities for young people at particular risk of becoming NEET, focused on pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings, (education provided outside mainstream or special schools for children who cannot attend a regular school, often due to exclusion, health needs, or other circumstances). This builds on measures announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper earlier this autumn.

Growth and Skills Levy A £725 million package of reforms includes a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. We will make available £140 million to pilot new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities. These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.

In Slough specifically, we already have innovative programmes for young people:

The Football Association Programme, funded by the FA, is a 12 week course to promote different roles within football;

Engage Lime is a project delivered in association with London School of Economics focusing on skills; and

Start-Up UK will encourage young people to think about starting their own businesses.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken alongside local stakeholders to increase the number of (a) employment and (b) training opportunities in Slough.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Local agencies and local government are well placed to understand their local labour market, build connections with employers and coordinate services to increase employment and training opportunities. That is why we have asked all areas across England, including Berkshire, to develop local Get Britain Working plans in partnership with local stakeholders.

Local areas are also delivering Connect to Work, a Supported Employment programme aimed at disabled people and people with health conditions. Berkshire have had their plan approved and are due to go live in January.

Additionally, our Jobcentre teams in Slough work with local employers to help generate opportunities for customers. They also work with local and national providers to understand the needs of local areas and the skills gaps of UC customers related to the local area’s job market, and then request and develop suitable training.

To deliver local training opportunities, we are also spending £1.4 billion this academic year through the Adult Skills Fund, and we are also transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, including introducing new foundation apprenticeships.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

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

At DCMS, the Chief Operating Officer is the Chief Risk Owner for National Security Risks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to support self-employed people who require support to file their tax returns due to economic or health difficulties; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reforming the penalty system, in particular for those who do not owe any tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has reformed penalties and at Budget 2025 confirmed the introduction of a new penalty regime for late filing of SA returns and late payment of income tax that will now apply to all SA customers from April 2027. This reform of late filing penalties will reduce the penalties a customer can accumulate for filing late and will introduce a further safeguard so people will not receive a financial penalty for a single failure to file on time.

HMRC also has dedicated support in place for those facing personal difficulties and encourages anyone struggling to meet their obligations to make contact as soon as possible by phone or online.

This includes:

• HMRC’s Extra Support Team provides support to customers with their tax affairs if they have a health condition or their personal circumstances make it difficult for them to contact HMRC.
• Where customers are struggling to pay their tax on time, they may be able to set up a payment plan online or a Budget Payment Plan instead

The tax system contains obligations, set out in law, to ensure that HMRC can collect the correct tax to fund vital public services. HMRC is bound by law to apply penalties where customers do not meet these obligations. Penalties also help to reassure customers who comply with their obligations that HMRC are applying the rules fairly and consistently.

Under Self Assessment (SA), HMRC requires information from customers in their tax returns to determine whether they have any liability to income tax. Even where a customer has no tax to pay, the information provided within their SA return ensures that taxpayers receive the benefits to which they are entitled, such as Tax-Free Childcare.

Where HMRC charges a penalty, a customer can formally appeal. HMRC will cancel any penalties where they accept that a taxpayer had a reasonable excuse for not filing their return on time.

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); Mr Calvin Bailey; Alex Baker;

Found: Bradley; Ruth Cadbury; Mr Alistair Carmichael; Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown; Alberto Costa; Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Found: vascular sector in a future NHS • Chris Vince: Educational opportunities for young carers • Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

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

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Alex Baker; Emma Lewell; Jesse