Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on side zebra crossings of the (a) use of side zebra crossings in London, (b) use of side zebra crossings in Wales and (c) research conducted into side zebra crossings in Manchester.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government's national transport strategy, Better Connected, published on 2 April 2026, committed to updating the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions. The proposed changes include the introduction of side road zebra crossings in England, supporting safer, more accessible and convenient crossing facilities for people walking and wheeling.

In developing these changes the Department will be considering all relevant evidence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the (a) number of children between 5 and 10 admitted to hospital for dental procedures in each of the last five years and (b) average cost of such instances from admission to discharge.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the cost of a Certificate of Entitlement for dual nationals who have difficulties obtaining a British Passport due to complex family histories.

Answered by Mike Tapp

The Home Office has not carried out such an assessment. However, the fee for a Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) was recently exempted from wider fee increases made through Fee Regulations laid in March 2026, reflecting the transition of CoE from a physical to a digital product. The fee will be kept under review as new operational data becomes available.

More broadly, we believe that it is fairer to generally charge a consistent fee to all applicants, rather than to differentiate fees based on the characteristics of the individual making the application. Whilst there are external factors that may affect the affordability of fees for individuals in different circumstances, we do not consider that it is proportionate to introduce concessions to address the potential for minor impacts.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the effectiveness of arrangements within the Child Maintenance Service whereby HMRC evidence is used to establish CMS payments.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has no current plans to conduct a specific review of the arrangements whereby HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) evidence is used to establish Child Maintenance Service (CMS) payments.

The CMS relies on verified HMRC income information to support accurate and efficient maintenance calculations and reviews cases annually using updated HMRC data. The system is supported by safeguards including mandatory reconsideration and appeal rights, and investigations by the Financial Investigation Unit where appropriate.

We continue to keep the whole child maintenance system under review to ensure it remains fair and effective.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to (a) provide guidance to veterinary practices on the pricing of Animal Health Certificates and (b) introduce regulations on the price levels for Animal Health Certificates set by veterinary practices.

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

All fees set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices are a private matter between individual practices and their clients. Neither the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervene in the level of fees that are charged.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish provisions for people with stomas in public toilets within NHS establishments.

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

National Health Service organisations make decisions locally on the provision of toilets within their facilities, including provisions in toilets for people with stomas.

National guidance is provided to the NHS on designing sanitary spaces in healthcare settings, including toilets for patients, visitors, and staff. Health Building Note (HBN) 00-02: Sanitary Spaces details layouts for independent wheelchair/semi ambulant toilets which incorporate a shelf adjacent to the toilet for the emptying of urine bottles/colostomy bags.

Over this Spending Review period, we are backing local NHS organisations with £21 billion in operation capital funding, which they can allocate to their priorities, such as ensuring the provision of appropriate public toilets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to introduce a requirement for buyers of park homes to be provided with independent legal advice during the buying process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has no current plans to require prospective buyers of park homes to be provided with independent legal advice.

Buyers of park homes can contact the government funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), for free independent advice about the sales process and finding a solicitor. A factsheet on buying park homes is also available on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to extend free parking provision for all NHS staff on NHS sites.

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

The National Health Service car parking guidance already requires free parking to be provided for four groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. Beyond this, NHS organisations decide how they provide parking locally, including whether staff are charged for, based on the local needs of patients, visitors, and staff, as well as environmental factors.

More widely, all NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of requiring manufacturers of ground maintenance equipment to put stickers or markings on such products to warn users to check for hedgehogs before use.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Department has not made a specific assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the merits of requiring manufacturers of ground maintenance equipment to place stickers or markings on such products advising users to check for hedgehogs before use.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on extending free school meals to all children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit by the September 2026 deadline; and whether eligible families will have to opt-in to receive this.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from the start of the 2026/27 academic year. We have published additional operational guidance on the expansion for local authorities, local authority maintained schools, academies and free schools

A pupil is eligible to receive FSM when a claim has been made on their behalf and their eligibility has been verified by either their school or the local authority. To support this process, our improvements to the Eligibility Checking System make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals. This is available now for local authorities to use.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5478 on Motability: South West, if he will take steps with Motability Foundation to introduce (a) exemptions to the reduced Motability mileage allowances and (b) smaller reductions to the Motability mileage allowance for disabled people living in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

On 8 July Motability announced an exceptions process for those who exceed the new mileage limit for journeys made for healthcare, education and employment. The customer will need to evidence this extra mileage. This exception process is in line with Finance Conduct Authority (FCA) expectations, and any customer can request an exception at any point of the lease lifecycle. More information and how to apply can be found on the Motability website.

The Motability Scheme is operated independently of Government. Decisions about eligibility, lease terms, mileage allowances and support arrangements are matters for Motability. The Government's role is to provide qualifying disability benefits that customers may choose to use to access the Scheme.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to expand the rollout of the Acquisitive Crime Project to areas of England not included in initial pilot areas, including Dorset.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Acquisitive Crime Pilot has been running since April 2021. Currently, 19 Police Force Areas are participating. It mandates the use of GPS electronic monitoring of individuals convicted of acquisitive crime offences.

An impact evaluation has shown that reoffending rates dropped seven percentage points, from 33.2% to 26.2% (a 20 percent reduction) for those on the pilot.

We will be making the service available to the remainder of the 43 forces, including Dorset, commencing roll out from mid 2027. We will be engaging with police forces to finalise roll-out plans.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum child maintenance payment for all paying parents on the Child Maintenance Service regardless of income.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) believes that all parents have an obligation to support their children regardless of their financial situation. Concurrently, the CMS believes it is important that child maintenance liabilities remain affordable and reflect a paying parent's ability to pay.

The CMS calculates maintenance using the paying parent's gross weekly income up to £3,000, ensuring contributions are fair and lower earners are protected through a £7 flat rate payment for most paying parents on lower incomes and for many of those in receipt of prescribed benefits, while a nil rate may apply in limited circumstances; the main categories of nil assessed parents are:

• Where a parent declares nil income in respect of their gross income and this is confirmed by HMRC;
• Where the parent is a prisoner;
• Where the parent is on the flat rate of maintenance but is providing some shared care.

In the case of prisoners and some other parents who declare nil income, if they have significant assets or earnings from sources that are not part of the main child maintenance calculation, these can be considered via a variation.

Recently, the Department reviewed the child maintenance calculation to ensure it strikes the right balance between both parents and supports compliance, helping to secure more maintenance for children. Following the review, we plan to reduce the income tolerance from 25% to 15%, meaning changes in a paying parent's income will be reflected more quickly and maintenance assessments will remain fairer for both parents.

We think the current system strikes the right balance between requiring parents to support their children where they can, while taking account of circumstances that make this very difficult or unfair. For these reasons, we do not believe it would be in the interests of children or taxpayers to consider the introduction of a minimum child maintenance payment for all paying parents, as maintenance liabilities should continue to reflect a paying parent’s financial circumstances and ability to pay.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to facilitate the transferring of funds to Ukrainian charities.

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

The UK remains one of Ukraine's leading humanitarian donors, having committed up to £577 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the wider region since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Through trusted humanitarian partners, UK support helps protect vulnerable people affected by the conflict, promote respect for International Humanitarian Law, and provide lifesaving assistance to those most affected by Russia's continued attacks.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales also published guidance for charities and trustees responding to the crisis in Ukraine in March 2022.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to negotiate a longer-term pet passport arrangement with the European Union.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 26 June 2026 to the hon. Member for Clapham and Brixton Hill for PQ UIN 11733.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for farmed animal mortality data to be published on publicly accessible platforms.

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

ID and traceability regulations require keepers to report cattle deaths to the relevant government system and sheep and goat deaths in on-farm holding registers. At present there are no plans to publish farmed animal mortality data. Defra will, however, continue to review processes to enhance livestock traceability for all species in England.

Walford Mill Crafts’ 40th anniversary

Local Housing Allowance rates

30 years of the Spice Girls

Wellbeing support for fire and rescue services

Coastguard remuneration

Russian sanctions

International Court of Justice's July 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Climate Change Committee's seventh Carbon Budget

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Changing Places Awareness Day 2026

Infrastructure Planning

Commencement of section 106 of the Equality Act 2010

Childhood dementia awareness and support

Bank closures, digital exclusion and cyber risks

Royal Mail delivery standards

Found: Sarah Russell (Labour; Congleton) Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative; Solihull West and Shirley) Vikki Slade

Found: ; Janet Daby; Sir Ashley Fox; Warinder Juss; Tessa Munt; Sarah Russell; Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst; Vikki Slade

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of recognition of chronic pain conditions within Armed Forces compensation schemes.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 June 2026 to Question 9408 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade).

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-06-12/9408.