Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what learnings she has taken from the PESP rollout in Australia when developing the commitment to the digital parenting offer contained in the BSIL strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Best Start in Life strategy sets out the government’s commitment to widening access to high-quality, evidence-based parenting and home learning environment support. This will help ensure that families receive the interventions most effective in supporting children’s early development and reducing disparities before they reach school age.
The department remains focused on ensuring that parenting support in England is informed by strong evidence and aligned with the needs of families. We will continue to take a careful, evidence-led approach to future decisions. This includes tracking emerging practice in the UK and internationally, including learning from Australia’s programmes.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Vietnam regarding the release of political prisoners requiring medical care; and what steps she is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Vietnam is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Freedom of Religion and Belief Strategy, launched in July 2025, and we raise the issue on a regular basis with the Government of Vietnam. We also regularly raise concerns about the treatment of political prisoners, including access to appropriate medical care, through bilateral engagement and also jointly with the support of other diplomatic missions.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of pet-related work absences, including those linked to veterinary care and emergencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government does not collect or hold information on the reasons for absence relating to the care of pets, including those linked to veterinary care and emergencies.
Employers are responsible for managing wider categories of employee absence, including any time taken for caring responsibilities relating to pets, in line with their own workplace policies.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of regional disparities in the availability of lorry diver facilities; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistent provision across England.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A national survey of lorry parking is underway to provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision throughout England. This will include region by region analysis of overnight lorry parking, utilisation rates and distribution of sites.
The national survey was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme which will provide up to £37.5 million investment from government and industry in 30 counties across England. This is on top of up to £30 million investment in lorry parking by National Highways and industry in lorry parks along the strategic road network in England.
The government is prioritising improvements to the planning system. Strengthened policy on freight and logistics has been proposed in the recent consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to improve the consideration of freight, including lorry parking, in the planning system.