Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that importers ensure that their goods are free from forced labour.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling forced labour in UK and global supply chains and ensuring that UK businesses are not complicit in human rights abuses. A range of existing measures already support this, including the Procurement Act 2023, Overseas Business Risk guidance, and the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The review launched in the Trade Strategy into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct focuses on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains. It will assess effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and the merits of alternative measures to support responsible business practices.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support families of disadvantaged pupils with the cost of school trips.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is for schools to decide whether to offer school trips to their pupils. Schools receive pupil premium funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, which may be used to support extracurricular activities, including school trips.
Schools must comply with the law on charging for school activities, which prohibits charging for education provided during school hours. This means they may not make compulsory charges for a trip which takes place during school hours but they may ask parents for voluntary contributions towards the cost of the trip.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to written question 93138, what her planned timetable is for publication of the (a) terms of reference and (b) membership of the regional improvement for standards and excellence Operations Working Group.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will publish the terms of reference, membership details and minutes of the first meeting of the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Operations Working Group by the end of January 2026. Minutes for future meetings with be published following each meeting.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender in full.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 8th January is attached.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will assess the potential merits of long-term reform to (a) vehicle identification systems and (b) enforcement systems in tackling number plate crime.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises the impact of number plate fraud and is committed to addressing this issue. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime. On road enforcement remains the responsibility of the police.
The government published its new Road Safety Strategy on 7 January, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences and has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate. The consultation can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences.
Efforts are underway to strengthen application and audit processes for number plate suppliers. DVLA enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to conduct compliance visits to number plate suppliers, inspecting practices and records as necessary.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025, to Question 90240, on Cabinet Office: Secondment, if he will list the names of the organisations that have had Civil Servants seconded to them since July 2024, according to records centrally held through the secondments data commission.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service has seconded staff in from private, public and voluntary sector organisations and has also seconded staff out. Secondments remain a key route to utilising essential skills and experience into the right roles and teams, enabling talented individuals from within and outside the Civil Service to share critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.
The secondments data commission provides insight on inward and outward secondments taking place across government. The Cabinet Office has worked closely with departments to improve the amount, detail and quality of the data available including names of organisations individuals have been seconded from or to, where this information is available. The limited number of records/ data sets can impact third party organisations and makes the data personally identifiable information, and therefore it will not be possible to publish this data.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025, to Question 90240, on Cabinet Office: Secondment, if he will list the names of the organisations that have seconded staff into central government since July 2024, according to records centrally held through the secondments data commission.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service has seconded staff in from private, public and voluntary sector organisations and has also seconded staff out. Secondments remain a key route to utilising essential skills and experience into the right roles and teams, enabling talented individuals from within and outside the Civil Service to share critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.
The secondments data commission provides insight on inward and outward secondments taking place across government. The Cabinet Office has worked closely with departments to improve the amount, detail and quality of the data available including names of organisations individuals have been seconded from or to, where this information is available. The limited number of records/ data sets can impact third party organisations and makes the data personally identifiable information, and therefore it will not be possible to publish this data.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2025, to Question 65368, on Empty Property, how many dwellings are owned or managed by the Government Property Agency which are currently empty.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There are currently 13 vacant properties within the Government Property Agency’s managed portfolio. This total includes sites that are in the process of being disposed of or have been vacated to facilitate ongoing refurbishment work with the aim to improve the overall condition and efficiency of the managed estate.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025, to Question 90245, on Admiralty House: Official Residences, which civil servants, and from which business unit, are allowed to stay in the Admiralty House official residences.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 20 November 2025, Official Report, PQ 90245.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of civil justice processes in providing effective access to justice for claimants; and if he will publish any data on the average percentage of a claimant's compensation award which is taken up by legal and third party costs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring access to justice, and we welcomed the Justice Committee’s recent inquiry into the Work of the County Court. As the Government acknowledged in its response, the County Court faces substantial challenges. However, performance is beginning to turn a corner with good progress being made towards a more efficient, timely and digitised service; and we expect this to continue.
The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is a statutory body that advises the Lord Chancellor, the judiciary, and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. Amongst its statutory functions, the CJC keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The CJC’s recent report into litigation funding has been critical in helping shape Government policy on improving the civil justice system.
Claimants may be able enter into a private agreement with a lawyer using a Conditional Fee Agreement or a Damages Based Agreement, or with a third-party funder using a Litigation Funding Agreement. Such agreements usually mean that a claimant will not have to pay all or part of their own legal costs unless they win their case. This payment would usually be deducted from the compensation awarded, though it could be defined as a percentage of compensation or a multiple of legal base costs, depending on the type of agreement used. Solicitors should inform their clients of any fees, and the circumstances in which their fees, or part of their fees, are payable.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the average percentage of a claimant’s compensation award that is taken up by legal and third-party costs.