Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which major Government datasets do not permit the identification of Sikhs as a distinct ethnic group.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.
I recognise that, for some Sikhs, ethnicity recognition is an important issue. Whilst the current harmonised standard for ethnicity does not include “Sikh” as a specific ethnic group response option, datasets collected using this standard may still capture Sikh ethnicity through write-in responses within the ethnic group question.
A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.
A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. MHCLG officials have engaged with the GSS harmonisation team over the course of the review to understand the impact of ethnicity data collection on government policy.
ONS will be providing a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has her Department made of the implications for her policies of Sikhs not being recognised as a distinct ethnic group within official ethnicity classifications.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.
I recognise that, for some Sikhs, ethnicity recognition is an important issue. Whilst the current harmonised standard for ethnicity does not include “Sikh” as a specific ethnic group response option, datasets collected using this standard may still capture Sikh ethnicity through write-in responses within the ethnic group question.
A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.
A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. MHCLG officials have engaged with the GSS harmonisation team over the course of the review to understand the impact of ethnicity data collection on government policy.
ONS will be providing a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many phones were reported stolen in the North West in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects data on the number of theft offences reported to the police in England and Wales. It is not currently possible to identify from these data which crimes involved the theft of a mobile phone. The Office for National Statistics publish estimates of mobile phone theft for England and Wales, but these figures are not available for smaller geographic areas. The latest Office for National Statistics estimates can be found at:
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many benefit recipients receive higher than the national average wage.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings, produced by the Office for National Statistics, the median gross annual earnings for full-time employees in the UK who had been in their jobs for at least a year were £39,039 in April 2025. Using the Family (Benefit Unit) dataset from the Family Resources Survey for financial year ending 2025, there were 200,000 families in the UK who received more than £39,039 in State Support (this comprises tax credits and all benefits, including State Pension).
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a regional breakdown of the number of Mesothelioma cases.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes regional breakdowns of cancer cases, including mesothelioma. Data by region and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/
The Office for National Statistics publishes regional breakdowns of cancer deaths, including mesothelioma. Data by geography and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/mortsa
The Health and Safety Executive publish statistics on Mesothelioma deaths and cases and causes. The latest published statistics for Great Britain are for 2025, and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a regional breakdown of deaths attributed to Mesothelioma.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes regional breakdowns of cancer cases, including mesothelioma. Data by region and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/
The Office for National Statistics publishes regional breakdowns of cancer deaths, including mesothelioma. Data by geography and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/mortsa
The Health and Safety Executive publish statistics on Mesothelioma deaths and cases and causes. The latest published statistics for Great Britain are for 2025, and are available at the following link:
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what analysis he has carried out on factors contributing to disparities in suicide rates in males and females.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and enduring impact on families, friends, and communities. In England, data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that men were three times more likely to commit suicide than women in 2024.
As shown in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) report Society at a Glance 2024, all OECD countries show a higher rate of deaths by suicide in men than women. We have not made direct comparisons between countries because international comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to international differences in death certification, reporting systems, data systems, and under-reporting due to stigma. The OECD report is available at the following link:
That is why we are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. The strategy highlights a set of priority groups for tailored and targeted support, including middle-aged men, and identifies key risk factors with strong links to suicide, such as financial difficulty, substance misuse, social isolation, harmful gambling, domestic abuse, and physical illness that can affect men and women differently. Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we will deliver a Suicide Prevention Pathfinders Programme for middle-aged men, a neighbourhood-based programme focused on improving outcomes, investing up to £3.6 million over three years for middle-aged men in areas where they are at greatest risk of taking their own lives.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the disparity between male and female suicide rates with other OECD countries.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and enduring impact on families, friends, and communities. In England, data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that men were three times more likely to commit suicide than women in 2024.
As shown in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) report Society at a Glance 2024, all OECD countries show a higher rate of deaths by suicide in men than women. We have not made direct comparisons between countries because international comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to international differences in death certification, reporting systems, data systems, and under-reporting due to stigma. The OECD report is available at the following link:
That is why we are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. The strategy highlights a set of priority groups for tailored and targeted support, including middle-aged men, and identifies key risk factors with strong links to suicide, such as financial difficulty, substance misuse, social isolation, harmful gambling, domestic abuse, and physical illness that can affect men and women differently. Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we will deliver a Suicide Prevention Pathfinders Programme for middle-aged men, a neighbourhood-based programme focused on improving outcomes, investing up to £3.6 million over three years for middle-aged men in areas where they are at greatest risk of taking their own lives.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the level of taxes on the disposable incomes of working households.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for National Statistics publishes the “Effects of taxes and benefits on UK household income” report which sets out the level of taxes paid and benefits received by household type and income group. This includes direct and indirect taxes, as well as benefits in cash and in kind, to show their combined effect on household income. The most recent data is from the financial year 2023–24.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the claimant count is for people receiving unemployment-related benefits.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The independent Office of National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance and out of work Universal Credit. This can be found here: CLA01: Claimant Count - Office for National Statistics