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.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to reduce constraint payments to renewable energy producers.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The majority of the costs of constraints are driven by turning on expensive gas plants to replace curtailed generation. The current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation.

We are already taking action to reduce constraints, with the biggest upgrade to Great Britain’s electricity network in decades, which will also help deliver clean power by 2030.

Upgrading the grid is not a choice, it needs to happen to make sure the grid stays resilient and to get power from where it is generated to where it is needed, so we can connect homes, businesses and industry to generate growth.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not have a designated post of Chief Risk Officer. Instead, the role is assigned to the SCS who manage the departmental risk team and, therefore, are responsible for the development and implementation of department’s Risk and Issue Management Framework, in line with government’s Orange Book.

The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the risks DESNZ owns in the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). DESNZ is the Lead Government Department for 16 of the 122 risk scenarios in the current NSRA cycle.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information he holds on annual expenditure over the last five years on payments to wind farm operators to curtail electricity generation.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero does not directly hold information on payments to wind farm operators to curtail electricity generation. NESO publishes annually a report on balancing costs. The 2025 Balancing cost report provides information on all balancing costs including constraints. In 2024/25, wind generators were paid a total of £370 million to turn down, i.e. to generate less power. Conversely, the cost of actions to turn-up gas plants to replace curtailed generation was £910 million.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of domestic solar panels, energy efficiency and home battery storage on civil preparedness and national energy security.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Civil preparedness and national energy security are central to the Government’s resilience agenda. As we transition to Net Zero, we are working with Cabinet colleagues and industry to ensure that technologies such as domestic solar panels, home battery storage and energy efficiency measures contribute to a secure, resilient energy system and support household preparedness.

As set out in the National Security Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-security-strategy-2025-security-for-the-british-people-in-a-dangerous-world) and the Resilience Action Plan

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-resilience-action-plan) driving a conversation on risk and preparedness with the public is crucial. The forthcoming Energy Resilience Strategy will include proposals for how Government will work with wider society, in addition to the energy sector and partners in other critical sectors, to address the risks and challenges facing the energy system.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

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

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

Each risk in the National Risk Register assigned to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a designated Risk Owner, working within the Department which is responsible for designated risk areas. The Secretary of State and the Permanent Secretary are ultimately responsible for all risks owned by DBT as the Lead Government Department.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government identifies and assesses risks to the nation through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, and the external National Risk Register, the most recent version of which was published in August

As set out in the UK Government Resilience Framework, each risk in the National Security Risk Assessment is owned and managed within Lead Government Departments

Where those risks, including national security risks, relate to the work of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT), then they are managed through the department’s risk management processes. Within DSIT, risks are regularly reported to the department’s SLT, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, and then scrutinised by the Audit and Risk Committee (ARAC) on a regular basis.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury is the Lead Government Department for Disruption to Financial Services, and the Principal Accounting Officer is primarily accountable to government for discharging that role.

The PAO is also responsible for HMT’s contribution to the management of other national security risks where other departments are the lead government department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

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

Each risk in the National Risk Register has a designated Risk Owner, working within the lead Government department which is responsible for designated risk areas.

The Department’s roles and accountabilities in relation to overall risk, and responsibility for managing emergencies, are outlined on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care/about/our-governance

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is the largest number of companies registered to a single individual acting in the role as an officer of those companies.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

With the information currently available, the largest number of active officer appointments linked to a single individual is 1008. This information is available publicly through Companies House data products.

That individual may have more appointments if they have used different appointment names and/or addresses with other companies. This will change when Companies House completes its implementation of mandatory identity verification. Having verified identities will ensure that Companies House can accurately determine how many companies an specific person is linked to. This will improve corporate transparency and deliver significant value to anyone considering transacting with a company.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

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

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Secretaries of State and Accounting Officers are ultimately responsible for all risks a Department owns. Each risk in the National Risk Register (NRR) has a designated Risk Owner, working within the Lead Government Department which is responsible for designated risk areas.

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 extending free milk eligibility to the end of the academic year in which a child turns five.

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

The Nursery Milk Scheme is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day. Schools can claim reimbursement from the scheme in respect of their pupils aged under five years old.

There are no plans to extend eligibility for the Nursery Milk Scheme to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. Separate legislation allows pupils from lower-income families, and who are eligible for free school meals, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.

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 with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of the potential impact of Long Covid on levels of (a) employment and (b) long-term sickness.

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

The Government understands the scale of the issue at hand, particularly the impact of long COVID on employment and the economy.

We are committed to ensuring that those with long COVID have timely access to a diagnosis and appropriate treatment and services, as well as workplace support.

Across the National Health Service in England, there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome, also known as long COVID. These services offer physical, cognitive, and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation. People with long COVID symptoms should see their general practitioner, who will be able to refer them to services depending on their clinical needs.

The role of the health and care system in improving population health and in preventing health issues from becoming work issues is crucial to achieving the 80% employment rate and reducing the disability employment gap.

We have a range of initiatives that integrate health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, and WorkWell, as well as support through the Department for Work and Pensions from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants.

The NHS 10-Year Health Plan builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising that good work is good for health. The plan also states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's policy is for vessels identified within UK territorial waters as sailing under a false flag.

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

The United Kingdom recognises the importance of all vessels complying with international maritime law and we are concerned by the rise of ships without nationality. We are determined to continue to uphold international maritime law and to challenge abusive flag practices.

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