Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to paying national non-domestic rates on behalf of early years education settings.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

The small business rate relief scheme provides up to 100% relief for eligible businesses occupying one property with a rateable value of £12,000 or below and reduces bills up to £15,000. Furthermore, if a nursery is a charity, charitable rate relief provides 80% off rates bills, which can be topped up to 100% by the local authority.

The government funds local authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years national funding formula for the three and four-year-old entitlement and a separate formula for the two-year-old and below entitlement. The hourly funding rate paid to local authorities for these entitlements is designed to recognise the average costs across different provider types and is intended to reflect staff and non-staff costs, including business rates. The national average three and four-year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%.

There are no current plans to extend the centralised payment system to private, voluntary, or independent early years settings or to make these settings exempt.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote teaching as a career path for young people and current teachers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Since July 2024, this government has taken targeted action to boost teacher supply. This work started with our reset of the relationship with the sector, to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession, making it one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to, and new graduates wish to join. We have published our delivery plan for 6,500 new expert teachers, focusing delivery across three key themes:

• Attract: We will optimise routes into teaching.
• Retain: We will improve teaching experience and boost retention.
• Develop: We will expand career-long development opportunities.

We are offering recruitment incentives in the subjects where they are needed most, with significant investment in tax-free teacher training bursaries and scholarships of up to £31,000 for school and college teachers.

We have recognised the importance of teachers with a pay rise for school teachers and leaders of nearly 10% since this government took power.

Our approach is already starting to pay-off, with the secondary and special school workforce growing by 2,346 teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what number of settlement visas have been issued in total for Gurkha veterans who retired prior to 1 July 1997.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the rates of teacher retention in further education.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Having sufficient and skilled further education (FE) teachers is key to deliver on the government’s skills missions and help learners achieve good outcomes. The department continues to assess retention in the FE workforce based on available data and sector engagement.

The most recent published figures indicate that for FE teachers starting in 2016, 51% were still in post by 2019. For those starting in 2014, 39% were still in post by 2019. The department also collects workforce data through the annual Further Education Workforce Data Collection.

To improve retention, the department is delivering several programmes, including the targeted retention incentive for teachers in priority shortage subjects, reforms to initial teacher education and a strengthened professional development pathway with additional support for special educational needs and disabilities training.

We will also continue to work closely with the sector, including through the Improving Education Together group, to understand drivers of retention and support meaningful improvement in teacher experience.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has she made of the effectiveness of the Arts Council England’s Incentivising Touring scheme.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government welcomes the continued success of this fund, which expands domestic touring into new areas. This investment will enrich our cultural landscape and boost local economies by bringing popular productions to communities nationwide, allowing more people to enjoy the arts locally.

The second round of this pilot makes £2.9 million available to enable more mid-to-large-scale theatre and dance productions to tour. The funding aims at giving venues and producers the capacity to create, tour, and programme a wider range of work, providing audiences with more opportunities to see a greater range of quality dance and theatre productions at scale.

It’s great to see such excellent productions as Dear England, Fiddler on the Roof and Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) being enjoyed across the country in part thanks to this fund.

Arts Council England has commissioned AMION Consulting to undertake a process evaluation and an assessment of the impact of the scheme across the pilot rounds, including an assessment of the economic and social impact of the programme.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that touring in Europe is viable for UK artists.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We have reset our relationship with the European Union and are determined to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and help our touring artists. This is in full recognition of the challenges that creative and cultural professionals, and their support staff, face when touring in Europe.

On 19 May 2025, the first ever Summit between the UK and EU was held. At the Summit, the UK and European Commission recognised the value of cultural exchange, including the activities of touring artists.

We continue to engage with the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament and the sector, both in the UK and across Europe, with a view to addressing the challenges that touring artists and their support staff face. This is mutually beneficial - it will help our artists to contribute to Europe’s rich cultural landscape and support shared growth.

We are also working with the EU and Member States to promote wider cultural exchange to further the UK-EU strategic partnership.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England; and whether she will implement the recommendations.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government’s full response to Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England was published on 26 March and deposited in the House Library.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rules on tax relief on touring costs in Europe.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24.

The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions.

The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to change cultural tax reliefs to account for the cost of touring.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24.

The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions.

The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers to be appointed and whether a job specification has already been created.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. We will implement the Rare Cancers Act, which received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026, including by designating a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers by summer 2026. This person will be based in the NIHR Research Delivery Network and will support research delivery for rare cancers research. A job specification for the role is under development.

The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and provide regular updates to ministers. The board will be co-chaired by the Director General for Planned Care in the Department and an independent representative. In addition, several national leads will sit on the board, including a clinical lead for rare cancers. The national leads will oversee delivery of the plan and advise ministers directly and independently on what action should be taken to improve outcomes.

It is important to choose the most suitable appointment process for selecting an independent representative to co-chair the board and to the national lead roles. Officials from NHS England and the Department are carefully following the required public appointments procedures including creating job specifications.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure funding disbursed by Arts Council England is fairly distributed across the country.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Secretary of State believes that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. As part of our Plan for Change, we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture thrives in every part of the country, with more opportunities for people to engage, benefit from and work in arts and culture where they live. It is why, at DCMS, we have adopted a place-based approach, putting local people, communities and places first in everything that we do. And it's why, over the course of this Parliament, the Government will invest £1.5 billion in capital funding for arts and culture - the largest investment of its kind for a generation. We believe that excellent culture belongs to everyone, everywhere, and not just in a handful of cities or institutions, but in every town, city and village in this country.

ACE itself uses several mechanisms to ensure funding is distributed fairly across the country. Their funding strategy is a targeted, data-driven, and locally delivered model that prioritises underinvested areas, with an embedded, long-term approach to regional equity. This strategy includes:

• Geographic investment targets: ACE sets place-based priorities to direct more funding into historically underfunded areas.

• Regular portfolio balancing: Its National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) funding round is periodically reassessed to rebalance investment across regions.

• Data-led decision-making: Funding allocations are guided by regional data on deprivation, cultural access, and existing provision.

• Dedicated regional teams: Local officers assess applications with knowledge of regional needs and context.

• Strategic funds and programmes: Targeted schemes support touring, grassroots organisations, and underserved communities.

• Transparency and reporting: ACE publishes funding data and geographic breakdowns to monitor equity and accountability.

• Access and inclusion criteria: Applications are assessed partly on how they broaden access for diverse and geographically dispersed audiences.

Together, these measures aim to reduce regional disparities and ensure public funding benefits communities across all parts of England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the length of the waiting list for post-mortem examinations for children.

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

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

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 adequate funding for post-mortem examinations for children.

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

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

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 timely access to post-mortem examinations for children.

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

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

UK defence bonds

MS Awareness Week 2026

Conduct of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Food Bill

US sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court

Support for hospitality businesses

GP access

Social care

Introduction of reforms to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief

Heating oil financial support

Rural postal services

Impact of the Iran war on transport costs

Meta and YouTube and legal liability for addictive design and online harms

NHS maternity services

A&E corridor care

Access to GP appointments

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

NHS funding for mental health services

Water sector reform

LGBTQ+ veterans

State visits to the US

Student finance system reform

Found: Q168 Cameron Thomas: Good morning.

Found: Q168 Cameron Thomas: Good morning.

Found: Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Natasha Irons; Anneliese Midgley; Jo Platt; Cameron Thomas

Submit Evidence (by 18 May 2026)

The inquiry, which will cover both domestic and international tourism, will explore how the UK promotes itself overseas, the role of culture and heritage in attracting visitors and how the UK competes with other destinations.