Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent mistaken prisoner releases.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Releases in error are never acceptable, and we are bearing down on those errors that do occur. Following the release in error of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford, we took immediate steps to make the processes that take place when a prisoner is released more robust. This includes implementing a clear checklist for governors to determine that every step has been followed before any release takes place.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced this Government’s five-point action plan to address the causes of releases in error. This includes an urgent query process with a dedicated unit and court experts to allow prisons to quickly escalate warrant-related queries and reduce release errors, a multi-million pound investment to deploy digital tools and upgrade outdated paper-based processes, and an independent review into the recent errors and systemic issues, with recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of Prime Minister of Armenia moving to enact state control of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 November 2025 to Question 89462.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the benefits to educational outcomes of regular physical activity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Physical education (PE) and sport are vital elements of a rounded and enriching education that every child deserves. As outlined in the government's response to the curriculum and assessment review recommendations, the department will be strengthening the national curriculum for PE, recognising its role in supporting pupils’ wellbeing and educational outcomes.
We have also made a commitment to set out a core enrichment offer that every school and college, in every community, should aim to provide for all children beyond the statutory curriculum. Our ambition is that all schools should provide an offer to all pupils that meets the new benchmarks. This includes access to sport and physical activities, civic engagement, arts and culture, nature, outdoor and adventure, and developing wider life skills.
As announced last June by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, the department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to develop a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network which aims to support schools to ensure all children and young people have equal access to high quality PE and extracurricular sport.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Prime Minister's office has had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 23 July 2025, Official Report, PQ HL9556:
PQ HL9556 Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Prime Minister’s Office has had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024. HL9556
Cabinet Office response: It is not routine to publish correspondence between the Prime Minister and any individual
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will update the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister values the independent and robust oversight which the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) provides. Following discussions with the Committee, the Cabinet Office is conducting a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Prime Minister and the Committee. Any changes made to the MOU would need to be agreed by both the Prime Minister and the ISC.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has agreed a date to meet with victims of press abuse, following his remarks at the Liaison Committee on 15 December 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office are in contact to arrange a meeting.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the full responsibilities of the Minister for Digital ID are.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Josh Simons MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, serving as a joint Minister between the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Minister Simons is responsible for supporting and providing assurance to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office and the Secretary of State for DSIT on the design and cross-government delivery of the digital ID programme. He will work closely with Minister Murray, Minister of State for Digital Government and Data, who retains ownership of related areas including data policy and other Government Digital Products.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Local roads and highways, published on 12 January 2026, HCWS1232, when her Department told local authorities which data sets were to be used to complete this assessment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Prime Minister announced on 24 March 2025 that local highway authorities would be rated on their progress in maintaining local roads and highways. This was announced alongside the introduction of new reporting requirements for local highway authorities for the 2025/26 financial year, including a requirement to publish transparency reports to improve transparency for local residents so they can see how funding is being spent.
On the same day, the Director General for the Road Transport Group in the Department for Transport wrote to Chief Executives of all local highway authorities setting out the details and data that needed to be included in those transparency reports.
The ratings used the data provided in local highway authority transparency reports, as well as official statistics. Further information on the data sources used is published online, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/methodology-used-to-calculate-ratings-for-local-road-maintenance.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by her department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Wales Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.