Tony Vaughan

The administration of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office.

The RMSPS was created in April 2012 when the UK government assumed responsibility for the historic liabilities (accrued before 2012) of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP).

The scheme is closed to new members and further benefit accrual. It will continue to operate until all members and their beneficiaries have received their entitlements. The scheme holds no investment assets. All liabilities are met by annual parliamentary votes for funding.

The RMSPS’ deficit at 31 March 2025 is £28.2 billion.

This information can be found in the annual report and accounts:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/royal-mail-statutory-pension-scheme-2024-2025

It should be noted that on 22 April 2026, the Government announced the termination of the new Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) contract with Capita. This decision was taken following Capita’s failure to meet critical transition milestones and IT automation requirements over an 18-month planning period. To ensure no member is detrimentally impacted, service delivery will continue under the existing contract while the Government assesses a new delivery model.

We are very much aware of this significant milestone and the opportunity it represents; both for celebrating women being granted equal voting rights, and inspiring women and girls to get involved in politics.

We are working with other Departments and with women’s organisations to determine the best ways to mark the occasion.

The Government expects the highest standards of conduct throughout public sector supply chains.

The Procurement Act will strengthen the grounds on which unethical suppliers can be excluded and introduce a new debarment list.

The Government is committed to tackling barriers faced by businesses, when trading with the EU.

This Government has reset our relationship with the EU, our closest partner, accounting for almost half (45%) of the UK’s total trade in 2025. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), remains a cornerstone of that relationship and we are committed to its full implementation. The TCA provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods, including textiles, provided they meet appropriate Rules of Origin requirements.

The Government provides support to businesses through business.gov.uk, including access to advisers and guidance to help exporters navigate EU requirements.

Through negotiations on the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD), the UK enjoys preferential trading terms with the US across a range of key sectors, including automotives, pharmaceuticals, and core steel and aluminium.

Discussions on the EPD continue, which will look at addressing tariff and non-tariff barriers, increasing digital and services trade, and unlocking new commercial opportunities that benefit both nations. We do not comment on ongoing negotiations.

UK businesses, including those in the textiles industry, can access information, advice and services through the Business Growth Service via business.gov.uk. This includes guidance on market selection, operating overseas, trade restrictions and regulations.

The 26-week continuous employment requirement is standard across parental pay entitlements. Where employees do not qualify, we encourage employers to provide additional support where possible.

Through the Parental Leave and Pay Review we are considering improvements to the system, including existing entitlements, to better support working families.

Bereaved parents may be able to get Universal Credit if on a low income or needing help with living costs. In some circumstances, a Universal Credit payment that would otherwise reduce or stop following bereavement, including the death of a child for whom an adult is responsible for, continues for a short time.

Industry traders tell us many factors are considered when travel companies price holidays, including demand at specific times. Demand is cyclical and most businesses trade all year round, with pricing in periods of high demand reflecting this. On the other hand, during periods when the industry is keen to attract and confirm bookings, traders often offer incentives like early booking discounts or free child places.

The Government will continue to engage with the industry; encouraging competitiveness, price transparency and innovation to promote growth and to ensure that consumers can choose the best deals that suit them.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a universal grant of up to £7.500 to help property owners replace fossil fuel heating systems with more efficient, low carbon alternatives such as heat pumps, with a recent uplift to up to £9,000 for off-gas-grid homes heated by oil or LPG.

We’ve committed to a new low-interest loans scheme backed by an initial £2 billion of Government support, helping households with upfront costs for various measures, and we’ll be providing more details on this soon.

The Government also provides targeted support for low‑income households worth £5 billion including through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.

All these schemes form part of the Government’s broader £15 billion Warm Homes Plan, which represents the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history.

The Government is keen to reach agreement with the Trustees of the British Coal pension schemes on changes to the arrangements to benefit scheme members. The Government is mindful of the need to resolve this issue as swiftly as possible, and will make an announcement once agreement has been reached.

It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Funding for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is being provided through the Government’s Spending Review (SR) settlement, confirmed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2025, which allocated £13.9 billion of capital funding for the period 2025 to 2030.

The SR settlement is the largest ever capital investment in nuclear decommissioning and demonstrates the government’s commitment to keeping the UK’s former nuclear sites and facilities safe.

This funding enables NDA to continue to perform its core mission of keeping former nuclear sites safe and secure while progressing decommissioning and nuclear waste management.

We will present a full implementation plan by the end of February 2026, taking account of international obligations, security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes. We aim to complete implementation within two years, subject to legislation when parliamentary time allows.

The Online Safety Act gives online platforms, including X, new duties to take steps to reduce the risk their services are used to disseminate illegal extremist content. They also need to implement effective systems to remove this content when it does appear. This includes terrorist content and also illegal content which incites hatred. The illegal content duties are now in force. Ofcom is the regulator for the regime and has powers to enforce against platforms where they fail to fulfil their duties.

As part of our reforms, to clarify and simplify terminology, we will collectively describe provision such as special educational needs (SEN) units, resourced provision and pupil support units as inclusion bases, underpinned by two models:

1. Support bases: commissioned and funded by individual settings and academy trusts.
2. Specialist bases: commissioned and funded by the local authority.

There are many examples of inclusion bases in mainstream settings that offer high quality teaching, bespoke learning environments and flexible access to specialist education or health support, helping children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. These will continue to play an important role.

As a core component of our £3.7 billion high needs capital settlement we will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases, so they become a core part of every local education offer. They will deliver high quality teaching and support to more children who benefit from provision that bridges the gap between mainstream and specialist.

Changes to how support is delivered will be underlined by stronger accountability across local authorities and health and education settings to ensure each layer of support is delivered effectively.

Schools will be required to produce an Inclusion Strategy, drawing on evidence-informed best practice including new National Inclusion Standards, which will help to hold them accountable for practice across layers of support, including targeted plus. Ofsted will be able to draw on the strategy to assess how effectively leaders are planning for, implementing and delivering inclusive practice.

There will also be a legal duty on settings to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child or young person receiving targeted plus support, to clearly record the support they are accessing. The use and quality of ISPs will be considered in Ofsted inspections, with clear routes for parents to raise concerns.

The department is taking steps to ensure that this additional funding will be spent for its intended purpose to support mainstream inclusion, this includes providing funding such as the Inclusive Mainstream Fund as a separate grant with reporting conditions and guidance to be published to achieve this.

Our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform consultation document proposes a continuum of support for children’s needs. Support will range from the Universal offer (including high-quality adaptive teaching) to the Targeted layer (such as small group provision) and Targeted Plus support (such as speech and language therapy).

We are providing additional funding to boost the capacity of mainstream settings to meet this continuum of need, before any legislative changes. The department will publish guidance and conditions of grant to ensure that settings and local authorities spend the funding on this purpose.

The Inclusive Mainstream fund provides over £500 million per year for schools, colleges and early years settings so they can improve their inclusive practice. We have published information on £1.8 billion for local authorities over the three years to provide a new Experts at Hand offer, strengthening the capability of mainstream settings to meet SEND needs by providing access to expert support from education and health professionals.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The department is driving major children’s social care reforms to strengthen and improve early intervention, including in cases of childhood neglect. These reforms are backed by £2.4 billion investment, robust statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’, and support for teachers, social workers and all safeguarding professionals to spot the signs of abuse and neglect more quickly.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will require local authorities and safeguarding partners to establish multi-agency child protection teams, enhance schools’ role in safeguarding partnership arrangements and introduce provisions that empower my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to introduce a consistent identifier for children.

In addition, our Best Start Family Hubs will provide welcoming spaces that connect families to health, education, housing and parenting support, helping identify those who need more intensive help from family support and multi-agency child protection.

Our plans to establish a Child Protection Authority in England will also bring further focus to children who are experiencing or likely to experience significant harm, including neglect.

Local councils are responsible for keeping their public land clear of fly-tipped waste, including public rural areas. Local councils have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment. Instead of prosecuting, local councils can choose to issue a fixed penalty notice (on-the-spot fine) of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers. Councils also have powers to seize and search vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.

We encourage and support councils to make good use of their enforcement powers. For example, we have recently published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.

We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping.

We committed in our manifesto to force fly-tippers and vandals to clean up their mess. Defra will consult on giving local councils the powers to issue fly-tippers with conditional cautions, one of a range of pre-court community-based sanctions. These cautions could see offenders complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work, cleaning our streets or parks, and pay back the cost of cleaning up the waste that they have dumped on public land. If an offender admits to the crime, agrees to the caution and complies with the conditions, they will not face prosecution.

We are looking at measures to award penalty points on driving licences for those found guilty of fly-tipping, which could lead to them losing their licences altogether. This would make it harder for offenders to continue dumping illegally if they are disqualified from driving and send a clear warning that fly-tipping is not tolerated.

In addition to that, we recently published the Waste Crime Action Plan which sets out how we will tackle waste crime through prevention, enforcement, and accelerating the clean-up effort. More information can be found on: Waste Crime Action Plan - GOV.UK.

The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with its biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and regulatory barriers for British producers and retailers. These negotiations are ongoing, and transition arrangements remain part of the government’s thinking. The Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to get input on our negotiating priorities.

The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why the Government collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Councils to deliver their renewal of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, which was published in November. The strategy, lasting until 2028, will ensure efforts to reduce crime benefit every community no matter where they live, including rural communities.

Last financial year (2025/26), the Government provided £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and it is providing the same level of funding across 2026/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.

The Government was pleased to support the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025, which came into force on 18 March 2026. It modernised the definitions and scope of the offence, strengthened police powers to collect evidence and prosecute offenders, and increased the maximum penalty from a £1,000 fine to an “unlimited” fine, to act as a deterrent for livestock worrying.

FSAB members are appointed in a personal capacity to advise and inform the strategic direction of the Government’s Food Strategy based on their professional experience in the food and drink system. They are not appointed to represent a body, group or part of the sector. FSAB membership is unpaid and not political appointments.

To guide against misuse of privileged information and conflicts of interest, FSAB members are obliged to sign non-disclosure agreements and adhere to the Seven Principles of Public Life. Additionally, per the Terms of Reference they are expected to:

• Observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in relation to the advice and recommendations they provide.

• Act in accordance with Government policy on openness and comply fully with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and any relevant legislation on disclosure of information.

• Not to misuse information gained in the course of their public service for personal gain or for political purpose, nor seek to use the opportunity of public service to promote their and/or their private interests or those of connected persons, firms, businesses or other organisations.

• Not hold any paid or high-profile posts in a political party and not engage in specific political activities on matters directly affecting the work of the FSAB.

• Refer any media enquiries about the FSAB and its work to the Defra Press Office.

At the first meeting a member joins they are invited to give a verbal register of their conflicts of interest, which are recorded in the FSAB minutes.

British Wool is the main provider and promoter of training for sheep shearers in the UK. In each of the last five years (2021-2025) they have invested an average of £134,000 net costs in providing shearing training for between 798 and 898 people at skill levels ranging from beginners through to highly proficient commercial shearers. This includes the training of around 100- 200 young farmers a year who also receive a 50% discount on fees.

Defra works closely with British Wool and the wider sheep industry to encourage the continued delivery and where possible, expansion of the sheep shearing training programme. However, Defra recognise the challenges the industry faces in maintaining the number of required shearers who need to possess a high level of skill but can only utilise these skills for a very short period of the year.

There are no plans to make it a requirement for cyclists to wear a helmet or high visibility clothing when cycling.

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Alongside the strategy, 5 consultations were published, and they will be open until 11 May:

• motoring offences
• introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers (category B driving licence)
• introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers
• improving moped and motorcycle training, testing and licensing (categories AM, A1, A2 and A driving licence)
• mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval

The Strategy sets ambitious targets to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65%, and 70% for children under 16, by 2035. Five consultations were launched alongside the Strategy addressing vulnerable road users, vehicle safety technologies and motoring offences.

The steps we take to improve road safety will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board which I will chair as the Minister for Local Transport.

Road safety is a shared responsibility, and the new strategy reflects that. It considers action needed by government, local authorities, industry, emergency services and communities to tackle the causes of collisions and save lives. By investing in infrastructure, education, and enforcement, we are taking decisive steps to make our roads safer for everyone.

To reduce missed appointments, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) issues text reminders to learners between 2 and 12 days beforehand to help learners plan for their test. Learners can also get email alerts, check their test details online, and find resources on the GOV.UK website.

Driving examiners will terminate a test on public safety grounds only where it is necessary to manage risk to the learner, the examiner or other road users. Through its "Ready to Pass?" campaign, DVSA encourages learners to make sure that they will be ready and able to take the test they have booked and to change or cancel their appointment in good time if they are not.

To reduce missed appointments, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) issues text reminders to learners between 2 and 12 days beforehand to help learners plan for their test. Learners can also get email alerts, check their test details online, and find resources on the GOV.UK website.

Driving examiners will terminate a test on public safety grounds only where it is necessary to manage risk to the learner, the examiner or other road users. Through its "Ready to Pass?" campaign, DVSA encourages learners to make sure that they will be ready and able to take the test they have booked and to change or cancel their appointment in good time if they are not.

The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England, including in remote coastal communities in Kent. The government has committed to increasing accountability by including a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.

In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Kent County Council has been allocated over £23 million of this funding. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

Rail has an important role in connecting rural communities as part of the wider transport system. The department requires its train operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer. These timetables are kept under review and, where appropriate, adjusted to reflect fluctuations in demand.

The Daily Living Component of Personal Independence Payment paid to the person being cared for is one of the “trigger” benefits for Carer’s Allowance. The Government has no plans to change this.

I am currently undertaking a Review of the Personal Independence Payment. The Review is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

We are committed to supporting disabled people in living independent and fulfilling lives, and this will mean spending public money as effectively as possible. As such, the Review will operate within the OBR’s projections for future PIP expenditure, ensuring sustainability while continuing to provide meaningful support.

Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This allows maintenance calculations to be made quickly and accurately.

The amount of maintenance a paying parent must pay can be reduced if they have other children they provide care for. If the paying parent or their partner gets Child Benefit for children for whom they have financial responsibility, we can take them into account. We call these relevant other children. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will reduce the paying parent’s weekly income by a percentage depending on the number of children they or their partner has responsibility for before the primary calculation rates are applied. If the Paying Parent’s liability is based on the basic or basic rate plus, their gross weekly income is reduced by 11% for one child, 14% for two children and 3 or more children by 16%.

This ensures the Child Maintenance Service fulfils its responsibility to consider the welfare of all children connected to a case. The Government is also conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose.

We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and are working closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to explore the impacts of subsidy rates on local authorities.

The Government will prioritise the best way to achieve its mission and goals within the current challenging fiscal situation at the appropriate fiscal event.

On 27^th February we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. Pension Credit Applications - February 2025

We do not hold data at regional or constituency level for applications made. We do hold Pension Credit caseload data by Parliamentary constituency. You can find the latest available data held on Stat-Xplore - Home which shows Pension Credit caseload data by Parliamentary constituency up to August 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides support through the social security system for rental costs as well as additional funding to local authorities. DWP provides support with rent and living costs to those who are eligible and living in temporary accommodation through Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. In 23/24, DWP spent £32bn on housing support.

For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) DHPs can be used to help people with a rent deposit, rent in advance, a shortfall in rent or moving costs. This supports people to move out of and can be used to help prevent use of temporary accommodation. For 2025/26, DWP is maintaining DHP funding at £100m for England and Wales. This is in addition to funding local authorities receive from MHCLG, including for the Homelessness Prevention Grant.

DWP also provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water.

We continue to work with MHCLG on the Long-Term Housing Strategy and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, supporting the development of a strategy to tackle the root causes of homelessness.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of cancelled operations due to contaminated or defective sterile surgical instrument components on National Health Service elective waiting lists. Quarterly cancelled elective operation statistics for non-clinical reasons is available online, but this information is not broken down by specialty or reason.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator in England with the responsibility to ensure that health and social care providers comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Regulation 15: Premises and Equipment require health and social care providers to ensure the equipment used to deliver care and treatment is clean, decontaminated and/or sterilised, and suitable for the intended purpose, maintained, and stored securely in line with current legislation and guidance. Where guidance cannot be met, the provider should have appropriate contingency plans and arrangements to mitigate the risks to people using the service.

Providers retain legal responsibility under this regulation to ensure they are compliant, including when they delegate responsibility through contracts or legal agreements to a third party, independent suppliers, professionals, supply chains, or contractors.

In August 2025, the Department launched a United Kingdom-wide Call for Evidence (CfE) considering whether the existing regulation and monitoring of private, non-National Health Service prescribing remains fit for purpose, and to ensure that patients can continue to safely access high-quality medicines through all legal routes in the UK. Further information on the CfE is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/private-non-nhs-prescribing/private-non-nhs-prescribing-call-for-evidence-document#annex-b-regulators

The Department sought views on how it could continue to ensure that the medicines people need are available conveniently and promptly, whilst maintaining the UK's high standards of medicine regulation, prescribing, and use. The CfE gave the public, healthcare professionals and providers, and other interested parties the opportunity to share their views on private prescribing, including prescribing from European Economic Area based practitioners.

The CfE ran from 12 August to 4 November 2025. A total of 458 responses were received: 68 on behalf of an organisation; 168 as a healthcare professional responding in a personal capacity; and 222 from members of the public. The types of organisations who responded to the CfE included pharmaceutical companies, professional bodies and regulators, pharmacy organisations, advocacy groups, and healthcare providers. Healthcare professionals who responded were largely from pharmacy, general practice, and nursing.

Officials are analysing results to inform next steps. A Government response will be published in due course.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) enforces the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, but it does not hold policy responsibility for regulating the prescribing or retail supply of medicines, which sits across various sector and professional regulators. Regulators have the powers to take action against any services putting patients in danger.

Furthermore, the Department recently conducted a call for evidence on private (non-NHS) prescribing, including online and overseas prescribing, to ensure patients can continue to safely access high-quality medicines through all legal routes. Officials are currently in the process of drafting the Government’s response to the call for evidence and considering next steps.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) enforces the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 but it does not hold responsibility for regulating the prescribing or retail supply of medicines, which sits across various sector and professional regulators. Regulators have the powers to take action against any services putting patients in danger.

The regulations establish that a person may not, except in accordance with a licence, manufacture, assemble or import a medicinal product or possess a medicinal product for the purposes of manufacturing, assembling or importing a medicinal product. However, this does not apply to a person who imports a medicinal product for administration to themselves or to any other person who is a member of that person’s household. This is commonly referred to as “personal imports” and applies to any medicinal product. This activity is thus not regulated by the MHRA and as a result no specific guidance has been issued by the agency.

In order to sell medicines in the European Union, EU-based online sellers must register, comply with relevant requirements and display an EU common logo linked to the competent authority of the country in which they are based. From 1 January 2021, Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) based online sellers are no longer required to display the EU common logo (in the UK known as the Distance selling Logo).

Because of the Northern Ireland Protocol, anyone in Northern Ireland selling medicines to the public via a website must still comply with the requirement to apply the EU common logo. This means they must be registered with the MHRA and display a Distance Selling Logo on every page of the website offering medicines for sale. For Great Britain, the MHRA will be considering an alternative to the use of the Distance Selling Logo in the future. The MHRA is no longer processing new applications for the Distance Selling Logo in Great Britain.