Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has commissioned research into the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) homelessness rates and (b) housing security.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has not commissioned research into the potential impact of universal basic income on homelessness rates and housing security. A universal basic income is not government policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with (a) local authorities and (b) police to (i) prevent repeat offences and (ii) ensure effective safeguarding measures are in place to protect communities from sexual (A) violence and (B) harassment.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that survivors of sexual assault are (a) kept informed of the progress of cases and (b) provided with appropriate (i) safeguarding and (ii) support.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that policing strategies (a) safeguard victims of sexual assault and (b) prevent repeat sexual offences in public spaces.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve the accountability of (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other police forces in (i) investigating and (ii) responding to sexual assault cases.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Metropolitan Police Service is taking to ensure (a) timely and (b) adequate responses to reports of sexual (i) assault and (ii) harassment.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of contracts with (a) Serco and (b) other providers for critical public safety services on the reputation of the Government.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how may times Serco has (a) been awarded financial penalties and (b) had payments withheld by Government departments for performance failures since 2020.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government contracts held by Serco have been subject to (a) formal performance review, (b) warning notices and (c) breach proceedings in the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Serco’s performance in delivering Government contracts across Departments.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on the steps that should be taken when a strategic supplier fails to meet performance expectations on more than one contract.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Departments have reported material concerns on Serco’s delivery of contracted services to his Department in the last 12 months.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the performance of Serco in the multiple contracts held with central government.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Serco’s previous performance is taken into account during procurement evaluations for new contracts.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts held by Serco were extended or renewed between 2020 and 2025; and whether any of those extensions were granted despite outstanding performance concerns.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department maintains a centralised record of contract performance issues relating to Serco.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the government has ever issued a formal warning to Serco under the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has conducted lessons-learned exercises on Serco’s delivery of public contracts; and what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with contractual conditions.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a cross-government review on the use of outsourcing providers with a history of (a) contractual breaches and (b) financial penalties.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.

Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.

In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers.

The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.

Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).

The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on Serco’s compliance with contractual obligations for electronic monitoring installations.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As the Contracting Authority for the electronic monitoring services contract, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for overseeing the supplier’s performance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is reviewing the (a) risk and (b) accountability of outsourcing contracts for offender management services.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As the Contracting Authority for the electronic monitoring services contract, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for overseeing the supplier’s performance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Serco’s performance in fulfilling its contract to provide electronic monitoring services.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As the Contracting Authority for the electronic monitoring services contract, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for overseeing the supplier’s performance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of immigration salary thresholds for staff currently employed in the social care sector.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Salary thresholds are an important way of ensuring those coming to work in the UK are able to support themselves. These workers do not have access to public funds so it is important a rate is set which will ensure people are earning sufficient income without having to rely on public funds. A number of health and care and education occupations are subject to lower rates of pay than other occupations.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been asked to consider whether there should continue to be a different threshold for health and care worker visas. We look forward to receiving the MAC’s recommendations in due course.

Individuals who are sponsored in roles at band 3 before the rules change on 22 July will be eligible to extend their visa providing they meet all the requirements at the time including being paid the appropriate salary. Salary thresholds and going rates are routinely updated and sponsored workers will need to meet the salary requirements in place at the time they apply for their visa to be renewed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether overseas NHS staff on band three Agenda for Change pay will be eligible for visa renewals under current immigration salary requirements.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Salary thresholds are an important way of ensuring those coming to work in the UK are able to support themselves. These workers do not have access to public funds so it is important a rate is set which will ensure people are earning sufficient income without having to rely on public funds. A number of health and care and education occupations are subject to lower rates of pay than other occupations.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been asked to consider whether there should continue to be a different threshold for health and care worker visas. We look forward to receiving the MAC’s recommendations in due course.

Individuals who are sponsored in roles at band 3 before the rules change on 22 July will be eligible to extend their visa providing they meet all the requirements at the time including being paid the appropriate salary. Salary thresholds and going rates are routinely updated and sponsored workers will need to meet the salary requirements in place at the time they apply for their visa to be renewed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that experienced non-medical aesthetic practitioners are included in (a) consultations and (b) policy development on the regulation of cosmetic procedures.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In exploring options for the regulation of cosmetic procedures, the Department has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives from the British Beauty Council and the Beauty Industry Group. The Department will continue to engage with a broad range of stakeholders in addressing concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and will notify them of any upcoming consultations on this area to which they can contribute.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with representative bodies of non-medical aesthetic practitioners on regulatory proposals for that sector.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In exploring options for the regulation of cosmetic procedures, the Department has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives from the British Beauty Council and the Beauty Industry Group. The Department will continue to engage with a broad range of stakeholders in addressing concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and will notify them of any upcoming consultations on this area to which they can contribute.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's changes to drug appraisal methods on access to new treatments for people with secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.

NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. Since the introduction of the severity modifier in December 2022, the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.

Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.

NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to review severity modifiers used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to assess treatments for incurable secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.

NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. Since the introduction of the severity modifier in December 2022, the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.

Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.

NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to question 57351 on Students: Loans; what assessment her Department has made on the reason for the gender difference in the number of borrowers whose loans have increased despite making regular payments.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The previous government considered gender differences in lifetime repayments, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments, when introducing Plan 5. The full equality impact assessment was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

Student loans are not like commercial loans and carry significant protections for borrowers. Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study only when earning over the relevant student loan repayment threshold.

The system is designed to ensure that those who benefit financially from higher education contribute towards the cost of it. This is why repayments are linked to income and not the loan balance, with regular repayments increasing with borrower income. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing.

Crucially, at the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. This subsidy is a conscious investment in the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing furnished tenancies in social housing on costs to the public purse.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 2 July, the government opened a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors. It seeks views on a range of issues including whether landlords should provide suitable floor coverings in all rooms at the start of every tenancy. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new Decent Homes Standard will include a requirement that at least 10% of social homes are let as furnished.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 2 July, the government opened a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors. It seeks views on a range of issues including whether landlords should provide suitable floor coverings in all rooms at the start of every tenancy. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

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 will take to tackle the impact of furniture poverty on children in low-income families; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of furnished tenancies in social housing on reducing the impact of furniture poverty.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 2 July, the government opened a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors. It seeks views on a range of issues including whether landlords should provide suitable floor coverings in all rooms at the start of every tenancy. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with incurable secondary breast cancer are able to access new life-extending treatments.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.

To enable rapid access for NHS patients to new and effective life-extending treatments, NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the point of licensing.

NHS England is legally required to fund the use of NICE approved cancer medicines from the date of positive draft guidance, and the Cancer Drugs Fund provides £340 million of ringfenced funding to support patient access to the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty.

NICE has recommended 24 out of the 25 breast cancer treatments it has assessed since April 2018.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to help prevent the misuse of ID card data by (a) public authorities and (b) third-party contractors.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former Volunteer Police Cadets have joined the police service in each of the last five years for which data is available; and if she will publish a breakdown of the ethnic background of new joiners in each of the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting all volunteers in policing, including Volunteer Police Cadets, who bring diverse and valuable skills that complement the roles of regular officers and staff in delivering the best service to the public. Volunteers strengthen the police’s ability to engage with local residents and build trust in communities, which are both crucial pillars of neighbourhood policing. It is essential that a variety of life experiences, skills and knowledge across all communities in England and Wales are brought into police services.

The Home Office does not directly fund individual Volunteer Police Cadet schemes. Decisions on management and funding of each force’s Volunteer Police Cadet scheme is the responsibility of its chief officer and Police and Crime Commissioner.

As part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistics the Home Office collects and publishes information on Police Support Volunteers, aged 18 and over. This information is available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of former Volunteer Police Cadets have gone on to careers in (a) policing, (b) the NHS, (c) the fire and rescue service and (d) youth and community work.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting all volunteers in policing, including Volunteer Police Cadets, who bring diverse and valuable skills that complement the roles of regular officers and staff in delivering the best service to the public. Volunteers strengthen the police’s ability to engage with local residents and build trust in communities, which are both crucial pillars of neighbourhood policing. It is essential that a variety of life experiences, skills and knowledge across all communities in England and Wales are brought into police services.

The Home Office does not directly fund individual Volunteer Police Cadet schemes. Decisions on management and funding of each force’s Volunteer Police Cadet scheme is the responsibility of its chief officer and Police and Crime Commissioner.

As part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistics the Home Office collects and publishes information on Police Support Volunteers, aged 18 and over. This information is available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the funding to the Volunteer Police Cadets scheme on (a) police recruitment, (b) youth engagement and (c) community trust in policing.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting all volunteers in policing, including Volunteer Police Cadets, who bring diverse and valuable skills that complement the roles of regular officers and staff in delivering the best service to the public. Volunteers strengthen the police’s ability to engage with local residents and build trust in communities, which are both crucial pillars of neighbourhood policing. It is essential that a variety of life experiences, skills and knowledge across all communities in England and Wales are brought into police services.

The Home Office does not directly fund individual Volunteer Police Cadet schemes. Decisions on management and funding of each force’s Volunteer Police Cadet scheme is the responsibility of its chief officer and Police and Crime Commissioner.

As part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistics the Home Office collects and publishes information on Police Support Volunteers, aged 18 and over. This information is available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) implementing and (b) maintaining a national ID card scheme in each of the next ten years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with civil liberties organisations on (a) national security and (b) the right to privacy in relation to Government ID cards.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of ID card systems in other countries on the prevention of (a) crime and (b) terrorism.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential risk of data breaches associated with the centralised storage of ID card information.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Volunteer Police Cadets scheme on improving (a) recruitment from underrepresented ethnic groups and (b) diversity within the police workforce.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting all volunteers in policing, including Volunteer Police Cadets, who bring diverse and valuable skills that complement the roles of regular officers and staff in delivering the best service to the public. Volunteers strengthen the police’s ability to engage with local residents and build trust in communities, which are both crucial pillars of neighbourhood policing. It is essential that a variety of life experiences, skills and knowledge across all communities in England and Wales are brought into police services.

The Home Office does not directly fund individual Volunteer Police Cadet schemes. Decisions on management and funding of each force’s Volunteer Police Cadet scheme is the responsibility of its chief officer and Police and Crime Commissioner.

As part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistics the Home Office collects and publishes information on Police Support Volunteers, aged 18 and over. This information is available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed research on the potential impact of mandatory ID card schemes on public trust in (i) the police and (ii) other state authorities.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications of a national ID card scheme on levels of (a) public surveillance and (b) personal privacy.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) nursing staff and (b) allied health professionals will be exempt from planned changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.

Animals

Arrest of protestors in Liverpool

Proposal for a wealth tax

UK-based medical charities in Palestine

Apprenticeships strategy

Peace and sovereignty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting and action plans

Funding for training of professional journalists

Government policy on the Hillsborough Law

Outsourced cleaners on Tyne and Wear Metro

Fairtrade tea campaign

Safe Inside Prisons Charter

Found: Connor Rand (Labour; Altrincham and Sale West) Joani Reid (Labour; East Kilbride and Strathaven) Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Marie Rimmer Graham Leadbitter Olivia Blake Jon Trickett Kate Osborne Imran Hussain Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Ms Marie Rimmer Graham Leadbitter Olivia Blake Jon Trickett Kate Osborne Imran Hussain Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Graham Leadbitter John McDonnell Nadia Whittome Olivia Blake Mary Kelly Foy Zarah Sultana Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Colum Eastwood John McDonnell Nadia Whittome Olivia Blake Mary Kelly Foy Zarah Sultana Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Colum Eastwood John McDonnell Nadia Whittome Olivia Blake Mary Kelly Foy Zarah Sultana Bell Ribeiro-Addy