Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department currently sponsors 28 individuals on a Skilled Worker visa through a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for national resilience and economic security of high levels of concentration in the UK cloud infrastructure market.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government prioritised the commencement of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) new powers in digital markets last year to boost competition and fairness in the digital tech sector. Although the CMA operates independently of Government, the Government gave a clear steer for the CMA to use these new powers collaboratively and proportionately.
In March, the CMA announced a package of actions to strengthen competition in business software and cloud services. This includes a Strategic Market Status investigation into Microsoft’s business software under the UK’s digital markets regime, alongside voluntary actions from Amazon and Microsoft that will improve interoperability, reduce data egress fees and make switching easier in cloud services. Taken together, these steps aim to address identified concerns and support a more competitive, resilient cloud market in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of enterprise software licensing practices on competition and customer choice in the UK cloud services market.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government prioritised the commencement of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) new powers in digital markets last year to boost competition and fairness in the digital tech sector. Although the CMA operates independently of Government, the Government gave a clear steer for the CMA to use these new powers collaboratively and proportionately.
In March, the CMA announced a package of actions to strengthen competition in business software and cloud services. This includes a Strategic Market Status investigation into Microsoft’s business software under the UK’s digital markets regime, alongside voluntary actions from Amazon and Microsoft that will improve interoperability, reduce data egress fees and make switching easier in cloud services.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contributions their delegation made to promoting the rights of older women at the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Equalities Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith led the UK delegation at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), alongside UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls Harriet Harman, HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh and Ministry of Justice Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
We were pleased to host an event during CSW in partnership with Age International, which highlighted the voices, experiences and specific needs of older women in relation to violence against women and girls. We were regrettably unable to be represented at the Ministerial Roundtable on Older Women due to other commitments during CSW, but we look forward to the chair's summary and will carefully consider any agreed findings and actions in our domestic and international work.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK was represented at the ministerial round table of the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Equalities Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith led the UK delegation at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), alongside UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls Harriet Harman, HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh and Ministry of Justice Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
We were pleased to host an event during CSW in partnership with Age International, which highlighted the voices, experiences and specific needs of older women in relation to violence against women and girls. We were regrettably unable to be represented at the Ministerial Roundtable on Older Women due to other commitments during CSW, but we look forward to the chair's summary and will carefully consider any agreed findings and actions in our domestic and international work.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the Childhood in the Age of AI event on 20-22 April, including (1) who will be attending the summit; (2) what age ranges and topics it will address; and (3) whether it will include discussion of early years.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The ‘Childhood in the Age of AI’ summit will be attended by a diverse group of representatives from civil society, industry, government and representatives of young people. It will address the impacts of AI on children and young people across a wide range of domains, such as education, wellbeing, development and safety. The discussions will not be restricted to any age group.
This work forms part of the government’s work to hear directly from parents and young people across the UK through our National Conversation children’s and young people’s wellbeing online.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 publish details of the new batching model being trialled by the Building Safety Regulator to reduce the length of time taken to assess building control applications, including the number of applications being considered.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) publishes monthly data on Building Control Approval applications, including progress on the batching pilot launched in September 2025. Latest data, published in February 2026, showed average approval times for new cases of 18 weeks, representing an almost threefold improvement in processing times when compared to May-July 2025. More complex cases managed through Account Managers are taking around 25 weeks on average for approval.
The BSR has also addressed the backlog of legacy Gateway 2 applications through a substantial expansion of operational capacity and the integration of specialist expertise. These measures have strengthened decision-making, sped up the processing of both new‑build and remediation cases, and supported more efficient partnership working with industry.
In parallel, enhanced guidance, developed jointly with the Construction Leadership Council, is supporting applicants to submit clearer, higher‑quality applications that demonstrate compliance, helping to further reduce determination times.
There are currently four live Gateway 2 applications within the Stockport constituency (SK1–SK5): two remediation cases and two Category A applications.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (a) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog in Gateway 2 applications at the Building Safety Regulator and (b) how many Gateway 2 applications are outstanding for buildings in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) publishes monthly data on Building Control Approval applications, including progress on the batching pilot launched in September 2025. Latest data, published in February 2026, showed average approval times for new cases of 18 weeks, representing an almost threefold improvement in processing times when compared to May-July 2025. More complex cases managed through Account Managers are taking around 25 weeks on average for approval.
The BSR has also addressed the backlog of legacy Gateway 2 applications through a substantial expansion of operational capacity and the integration of specialist expertise. These measures have strengthened decision-making, sped up the processing of both new‑build and remediation cases, and supported more efficient partnership working with industry.
In parallel, enhanced guidance, developed jointly with the Construction Leadership Council, is supporting applicants to submit clearer, higher‑quality applications that demonstrate compliance, helping to further reduce determination times.
There are currently four live Gateway 2 applications within the Stockport constituency (SK1–SK5): two remediation cases and two Category A applications.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116476 on Political Parties: Finances, whether (a) hon. Members and (b) peers will have to undertake due diligence checks on political donations made directly to them.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Know Your Donor regime will introduce new risk-based due diligence checks on significant political donations. These rules will apply across the electoral regime, which includes members of the House of Commons and holders of relevant elected office as set out in Schedule 7 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116477 on Local government: elections, what his timetable is for establishing the claimant’s reasonable legal costs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
An initial payment has been made, and the remaining costs will be determined in line with the usual processes.