Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with abortion practitioners to discuss what steps they are taking to prevent abortions taking place on the basis of sex.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s guidance, which was issued on 23 May 2014, states clearly that abortion on the grounds of sex alone is illegal. Sex is not itself a lawful ground for termination of pregnancy in England and Wales under the Abortion Act.
Whilst we have not had any recent discussions with abortion practitioners, we continue to work with abortion providers, NHS England, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal grounds set out by the Abortion Act.
All independent sector clinics must be registered with and inspected by the CQC. The CQC assists my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in his functions by inspecting against all of the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) when it inspects an independent sector provider. The CQC has a wide set of powers that allow them to protect the public and hold registered providers and managers to account.
We are aware that such cases can be complex. Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and all abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, in compliance with RSOPs.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to review company insolvency rules that permit company directors to retain significant personal assets following corporate bankruptcy.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies are separate legal entities and directors only become liable for company debts under limited circumstances. This protection encourages entrepreneurship and is central to the health of the UK economy.
Most companies do not become insolvent due to any wrongdoing by the company directors. However, when there is evidence of misconduct, the Insolvency Service may take action to disqualify a director, and where the disqualified director’s conduct has caused a quantifiable loss, can apply to the court for a compensation order to recover personal assets for the benefit of creditors.
There are no plans to review this legislation.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the savings generated by reductions in NHS England staffing; and how are those savings being redirected into frontline patient care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Creating a new joint organisation will streamline decision-making, reduce bureaucracy, and improve accountability. These changes are expected to generate significant efficiencies over time.
The Department’s initial modelling demonstrate that the up-front investment in organisational change will be offset by long-term reductions in staffing and running costs, ensuring the programme delivers value for money and sustainable savings for the taxpayer. Current estimates expect that these changes will save £1 billion a year by the end of this Parliament, which is equivalent to 116,000 hip and knee operations.
The Government is committed to transparency in how these figures are calculated. The methodology underpinning the £1 billion saving estimate will be set out through established mechanisms, including publication of supporting documentation where appropriate. This will ensure that both Parliament and the public are able to scrutinise the basis of the savings. Further detail will be brought forward over time, in line with our commitment to provide clear and timely information.
The Department is committed to transparent, responsible, evidence-based policy making. We will publish proportionate assessments to support reforms. Assessments will be published to enable scrutiny and will be proportionate to the scale of reform.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the commitment to end the discharge of newborn babies into bed and breakfast accommodation or other unsuitable shared housing applies to all families, including those seeking asylum and those subject to No Recourse to Public Funds.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to ending the practice of discharging newborn babies into bed and breakfast or other unsuitable shared accommodation through the Child Poverty Strategy. We are working closely across Government, including with Home Office, to consider its implementation and any other associated impacts.
Asylum seeking families can access some of the support set out in the Child Poverty Strategy, including Best Start Family Hubs in England.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on the timing of the introduction of legislation on the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working with the Leader of the House and business managers on the introduction of the primary legislation required to abolish NHS England. This will ensure an appropriate timetable that enables us to work towards the two-year delivery schedule announced by the Prime Minister.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the adequacy of delivery services (a) in Rushcliffe constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.
In November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and implement a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an estimate of the (a) number of local authorities which have exempted blood bikes from the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, (b) cost of those exemptions individually and (c) savings from a national exemption.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Local authorities cannot extend the speed exemption in section 87 of The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to ‘Blood Bikes’ or any other class of vehicle. Like the exemptions to red traffic lights and keep left / right signs in The Traffic Signs, Regulations and General Directions 2016, these emergency driving exemptions are a matter for Parliament. Consequently, no such calculations or estimates have been made.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many public electric vehicle chargepoints have been installed but are not operational due to electricity grid connections.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold this information.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure qualified drivers are aware of changes to the Highway Code.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large- scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her department collects data on (a) race and (b) ethnicity and c) religion from benefit claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The purpose of collecting race and ethnicity data is because it they are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
All public bodies have a requirement under the Public Sector Equality Duty to pay due regard to the impacts of policies to those who share protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act.
To do so requires that meaningful data be collected in a harmonised form, as set out by the Cabinet Office. Claimant declarations of their protected characteristics are optional, and not mandatory.
Data collected on protected characteristics is solely used for analytical and statistical purposes in aggregate form and has no part in decisions relating to benefit claims.