Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, published on 19 May 2025, whether the EU will be permitted to station inspectors in the UK to monitor compliance with EU law.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The details of new agreements described in the Common Understanding are subject to negotiation. I remind the Hon Member that EU inspectors are stationed in the United Kingdom under the Windsor Framework, negotiated by the previous government.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department had a role in (a) reviewing and (b) overseeing the appointment process for the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is a long-standing principle that Civil Service advice is given and treated in confidence.
The Commissioner for Public Appointments is carrying out an inquiry into the campaign to appoint a new Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. The Government is co-operating fully with the Commissioner's office.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team provided advice in relation to the appointment of the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is a long-standing principle that Civil Service advice is given and treated in confidence.
The Commissioner for Public Appointments is carrying out an inquiry into the campaign to appoint a new Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. The Government is co-operating fully with the Commissioner's office.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to appoint a contractor to undertake works at St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timeline is for the completion of the rebuild of St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shop theft in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 20% on year up to December 2024. We will not stand for this.
We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to crack down on the organised gangs targeting retailers.
We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.
Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried a magistrate’s court. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who will receive free school meals in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in the (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26 academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
For 2024/25, the department’s data on FSM can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. To find the total number of pupils in the Preston constituency, see the ‘School level underlying data 2025 (csv, 22 Mb)’ under ‘additional supporting files’.
For 2025/26, the department has published data on the number of children who could benefit from expanded provision by constituency/region/local authority. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-expansion-impact-on-poverty-levels.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of fraudulent insurance claims that have been made by people who stage road traffic collisions to gain compensation there have been in the last 12 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the harm caused by these types of fraudulent claims. This is why we have launched an Insurance Fraud Charter with key insurance firms to agree a series of voluntary measures to reduce fraud against the sector and consumers.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reports that there has been 118 reports of Insurance related Fraud in the past 13 months.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of high-density retirement housing schemes in rural areas that do not have corresponding funding for local healthcare infrastructure on demand for (a) GPs, (b) ambulances and (c) other NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and this means we require world class infrastructure across the NHS estate. We recognise the challenges that areas of significant housing and population growth can place on primary care infrastructure.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning, planning, securing, and monitoring health services within their system boundaries through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The NHS has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including general practices, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes associated with new retirement developments, alongside other housing growth.
Integrated care systems’ estates infrastructure strategies have been developed to create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment for each local area and its needs. These strategies help manage existing estates and take any future requirements into account when considering how best to deliver local services.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54430 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, how many and what proportion of people arriving by small boat undergo further checks on criminality.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals.
In line with the Refugee Convention, we will deny the benefits of protection status to those who commit particularly serious crimes and are a danger to the community or those who are a threat to national security.
Anyone convicted of a particularly serious crime resulting in a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, and are considered a danger to the UK, will be denied asylum and will be considered for removal from the UK. Those refused protection status who cannot be removed will be subject to regular review until they can be removed at the earliest opportunity.