Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress the Pensions Commission has made on its work.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Last year the Government revived the Pensions Commission to examine how to improve retirement outcomes for future generations. Its interim report, published on 19 May 2026, sets out key challenges with the current system and priorities for their next phase of work. It highlights that too many people, especially low- and middle-income earners, are not saving enough for retirement. The Government looks forward to receiving the Commission’s final report and recommendations in early 2027.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help older people access financial support for higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will launch for courses starting in January 2027.
The LLE will transform the student finance system in England, broadening access to high-quality, flexible education and training across levels 4 to 6. It will support people to learn, upskill and retrain across their working lives.
The LLE will fund all courses currently funded through the Higher Education Student Finance system and, for the first time, provide access to funding for modules as well as full courses.
All new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. Tuition fee loans will be available up to the age of 60. Learners over 60 may still qualify for maintenance support. The vast majority of the working population will therefore have access to this funding, supporting them to retrain and upskill.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to (a) encourage and (b) enable drivers who may be unable to afford a new car to switch to (a) electric vehicles and (a) more electric environmentally friendly cars.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is accessible to everyone. Many EVs on the second-hand market are now priced similarly to comparable petrol and diesel cars. Industry data on used vehicle transactions suggests there is strong and growing interest in used zero emission vehicles (ZEVs).
The Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) is designed to stimulate the uptake of lower cost, new ZEVs. This will, over time, increase the supply of affordable EVs into the second-hand market.
To boost consumer confidence in the longevity of used EVs, the ECG and the ZEV Mandate require manufacturers to provide a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles on EV batteries and a replacement battery if the original battery’s capacity falls below 70% in that period. This is significantly higher than warranties typically offered for petrol or diesel cars.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to promote walking and cycling.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Walking, wheeling, and cycling are convenient, sustainable ways to travel—and this government is committed to making them safe and accessible for everyone.
To support this, we’re allocating £616 million in capital funding over the next four years to help local authorities deliver high-quality active travel infrastructure. Details on revenue funding will be announced in due course, alongside a consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Active travel will also play a central role in our Integrated National Transport Strategy, set to be published later this year.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that car tyres which are exported to be recycled (a) arrive at the intended destination, (b) are not used in illegal pyrolysis and (c) are processed in manner which does not harm the environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Environment Agency (EA) has recently completed a review into its approach for regulating the export of waste tyres. As a result of this, the EA will launch enhanced verification checks for all waste tyres exported to India to ensure they are handled in an environmentally sound manner.
The export of waste tyres is subject to strict controls set out in existing UK legislation. Businesses involved in the export of waste from the UK are required to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they export is managed in an environmentally sound manner. Any UK operators found to be illegally exporting waste can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent report entitled The Leng review: an independent review into physician associate and anaesthesia associate professions, published on 16 July 2025, what steps is his Department taking to help support those who have completed (a) physician associate and (b) anaesthesia associate training into employment appropriate for their qualifications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician associate and anaesthesia associate, now to be known as physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks reiterating their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to the staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), setting out where they can find support if required. Further information on the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review) is available at the following link:
While decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual NHS employers at a local level, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia will continue to play an important role in the NHS.
Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
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 support the future employment of people undergoing physicians associate and anaesthesia associate training, following the publication of The Leng Review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician associate and anaesthesia associate, now to be known as physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks reiterating their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to the staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), setting out where they can find support if required. Further information on the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review) is available at the following link:
While decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual NHS employers at a local level, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia will continue to play an important role in the NHS.
Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the length of the visa waivers for UK citizens visiting the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
HMG officials and Ministers regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
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 impact of the Food Standard Agency’s official control charges on the viability of small and medium-sized abattoirs.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Information on the 2025/26 charge rates for official controls, inspections, conducted in meat premises is available on the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) website, at the following link:
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises
As in previous years, the impact of the charges will be offset by a taxpayer-funded discount, which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the discount on differently sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides that the FSA has published.
The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in light of this evaluation. No decisions have yet been taken.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Building Safety Regulator is reviewing proposals for new schemes in a timely fashion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We recognise that there are delays to the Gateways process and that processing times need to improve. MHCLG officials continue to work closely with the BSR to understand their resource requirements, technical capacity and how processes can be improved. This includes ministerial level involvement. We have provided funding to the BSR to recruit an extra 30 frontline staff to bolster its capacity. On 14 May, BSR also launched a campaign to directly recruit Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs), with further recruitment planned in June 2025. We expect the impact of these new recruits on processing times to scale up in the coming months.
BSR continues to carry out extensive stakeholder engagement to support applicants to better understand and meet the new requirements. Since July 2024, BSR has held weekly meetings with the Construction Leadership Council and other industry bodies including the Home Builders Federation to address knowledge gaps and share lessons learned. BSR also issued new guidance in collaboration with the sector in March 2025 based on the findings of research with organisations submitting building control applications.
BSR has taken several further measures including implementing early-stage validation checks to improve efficiency, reduce incomplete submissions, and free up resources for compliant applications.
Whilst BSR and MHCLG are exploring all possible opportunities to strengthen the new Gateway process and guidance to industry, it is important to recognise that a significant volume of applications continue to be invalidated or rejected for not meeting the legislative requirements. These are buildings that, had they been constructed, might have placed residents at risk and/or living in housing that did not meet long-standing requirements.