Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people her Department expects to be granted indefinite leave to remain in each year from 2026 to 2030.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office published a settlement forecast in Annex A as part of A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government response to the consultation on Monday 2nd November 2026.
The Home Office estimates that, in the absence of the changes set out in the consultation response, between 1.3 million and 2.2 million people would settle in the UK between 2026 and 2030, with a central estimate of 1.9 million.
Figure A1 in Annex A shows the breakdown of the central estimate by year. These estimates are indicative and subject to considerable uncertainty, and exclude individuals on the EUSS route.
The impact of the Earned Settlement framework on future settlement volumes will be set out in an accompanying Impact Assessment.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility's letter to HM Treasury of 1 April 2026 requesting statements of long-term governments policy and HM Treasury's reply of 16 April 2026.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has complete discretion over the content of its Fiscal Risks and Sustainability (FRS) reports. In producing the report, where a policy has been set, the government explains its policy decisions to the OBR, as set out in the Charter for Budget Responsibility. The detail of the assumptions the OBR has made is set out in the FRS.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has modelled the potential impact on the public purse of restricting access to Universal Credit for people granted indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with indefinite leave to remain were in receipt of Universal Credit as of December 2025, broken down by nationality.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will provide a list of organisations who received funding under the first round of the Common Ground Award by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A list of successful applicants under the first round of the Common Ground Award, 2025-26, can be found here, by region: Common Ground Award 2025/26: Successful applicants - GOV.UK.
In line with the principles applied in the first round of funding, we will again aim to ensure a broad geographic spread of awards, as well as a range of organisations, projects and activities, across England to enable the benefits of funding to reach a diverse range of communities. There will not be a fixed allocation by region, or project/activity, however in the event of a large number of applications, consideration will be given to these factors.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department will publish an updated assessment of the cost to retail employers resulting from the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government has published a comprehensive package of analysis on the Employment Rights Act, including analysis of the impacts on the retail sector: Employment Rights Act 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.
We will continue to publish analysis to support relevant consultations and final policy decisions to meet the Better Regulation Framework requirements.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support retail employers to recruit young people who are not in education, employment or training before the Government responds to the final report of the Young people and work review.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to backing young people and bringing down the number of those who are not in education, employment or training.
We are investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. Through this investment, businesses are encouraged to recruit new talent through additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant, £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers and a fully funded six-month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds. Employers are also not required to pay Employer National Insurance Contributions for employees under-21 and for apprentices under-25, on earnings up to £50,270.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has announced an ambition to create 100,000 new jobs in the retail sector for young people by 2029, supporting more young people to take their first step into work. This is a significant commitment from one of the UK's largest employment sectors and an important contribution towards the Government's ambition that every young person has the opportunity to build the skills, experience and connections needed to move into work.
As part of this ambition, BRC is launching 'Opening Shift' a new joint DWP and BRC work experience programme for 18–24-year-old jobseekers. ‘Opening Shift’ will provide retail work experience, workplace support and interview experience, helping young people to build skills, confidence and experience employers are looking for. The DWPs’ Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) works with national employers and the BRC to support the sector’s recruitment and skills needs and help create routes into employment. This includes creating opportunities through Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), work experience, the Youth Guarantee and targeted recruitment activity, helping young people and other jobseekers move into sustainable work.
Recruitment Consultants based in Jobcentres complement this activity at a local level, providing employers with a single point of contact and helping them navigate the Department’s wider employment offer. Working with Jobcentre Plus teams, Recruitment Consultants develop an understanding of employers’ workforce needs, connect them to the most appropriate support and help match suitable candidates to available opportunities, providing a joined-up and responsive local recruitment service.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure an equitable regional distribution of the second round of the Common Ground Award.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A list of successful applicants under the first round of the Common Ground Award, 2025-26, can be found here, by region: Common Ground Award 2025/26: Successful applicants - GOV.UK.
In line with the principles applied in the first round of funding, we will again aim to ensure a broad geographic spread of awards, as well as a range of organisations, projects and activities, across England to enable the benefits of funding to reach a diverse range of communities. There will not be a fixed allocation by region, or project/activity, however in the event of a large number of applications, consideration will be given to these factors.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions he has had with the British Retail Consortium on the potential impact of the increase in the National Living Wage announced in the 2026 budget on employment in the retail industry.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government engages regularly with a wide range of business representative organisations and trade unions, including the British Retail Consortium, on issues affecting the retail sector.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to civil servants responsible for the care of critically ill (a) spouses and (b) children.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service takes seriously the need to support carers to look after their loved ones while continuing to contribute at work. Support measures offered include statutory carer’s leave, a carer’s passport together with training for managers in its use, career breaks, flexible working and support through employee assistance programmes. We will consider the need for further measures once the outcome of the government’s recent consultation on carer’s leave has been published in early 2027.