Caroline Johnson

The Supreme Court’s ruling has brought clarity for women and employers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has already committed to supporting organisations, including workplaces, with updated guidance; we will work closely with the EHRC as they develop this. All government departments should follow the clarity the ruling provides.

The Supreme Court’s ruling has brought clarity and confidence that for the purposes of the Equality Act, the term ‘woman’ refers to a biological woman.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already committed to support organisations, including workplaces, with updated guidance; we will engage them as necessary as they progress this work. All government departments should follow the ruling.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

The Procedure Committee actively monitor responses to Written Parliamentary Questions (PQs), holding departments to account on their performance. The Committee has an open inquiry analysing departments’ performance in responding to PQs during the 2024-25 Session and will produce its report in due course.

Below is a breakdown of our internal management data on PQs between May and November 2025. This data has not been quality assured by the Procedure Committee.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The proportion of Named Day and Ordinary Written Parliamentary Questions answered on time from May to November is:

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

The Government attaches significant importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. The Department’s correspondence team has already implemented an improvement plan that will deliver a more effective and streamlined process.

The correspondence performance of all Whitehall Departments is published quarterly. The full data for 2024 is due to be published soon by the Cabinet Office. Data for Quarter 1 of 2025 will be published in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

The Secretary of State and Ministers meet with health Ministers regularly to discuss a range of topics. The Secretary of State and Ministers have not met with health Ministers specifically to discuss the Data (Use and Access) Bill and sex data. Official level engagement has taken place to share information regarding the ways the NHS handles medical records in the process of an individual changing gender, and ensures individuals are correctly registered for relevant screenings and other sex/specific treatment. We have used the insights from this engagement to inform our approach to the Bill.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government's consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

We have always been clear that, when it comes to women's sport, biology matters. We will continue to support sports to develop policies that protect fairness and safety, particularly when it is not possible to balance those factors with inclusion. In terms of gender eligibility, National Governing Bodies set their own policies for who can participate in their sports in domestic competitions.

Our Sports Councils produce guidance to provide domestic sports bodies with the framework and support to determine the right position for their sport. Our Sports Councils are consulting with legal experts to clarify whether the Supreme Court ruling affects the guidance. The outcome of this will feed into their timescale for a planned wider review of the guidance.

In addition the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has confirmed their work to develop a revised Code of Practice which supports service providers, public bodies and associations to understand their duties under the Equality Act and put them into practice. Their revised code will incorporate the implications of the Supreme Court judgment. They hope to lay the revised code before Parliament before the summer recess.

We have always been clear that, when it comes to women's sport, biology matters. We will continue to support sports to develop policies that protect fairness and safety, particularly when it is not possible to balance those factors with inclusion.

In terms of gender eligibility, National Governing Bodies set their own policies for who can participate in their sports in domestic competitions. Our Sports Councils produce guidance to provide domestic sports bodies with the framework and support to determine the right position for their sport. Our Sports Councils are consulting with legal experts to clarify whether the Supreme Court ruling affects the guidance. The outcome of this will feed into their timescale for a planned wider review of the guidance.

Alongside this, sports need to come up with approaches to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take part somehow - and I know that sporting bodies will be considering this in light of the Supreme Court decision.

We have always been clear that, when it comes to women's sport, biology matters. We will continue to support sports to develop policies that protect fairness and safety, particularly when it is not possible to balance those factors with inclusion.

In terms of gender eligibility, National Governing Bodies set their own policies for who can participate in their sports in domestic competitions. Our Sports Councils produce guidance to provide domestic sports bodies with the framework and support to determine the right position for their sport. Our Sports Councils are consulting with legal experts to clarify whether the Supreme Court ruling affects the guidance. The outcome of this will feed into their timescale for a planned wider review of the guidance.

Alongside this, sports need to come up with approaches to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take part somehow - and I know that sporting bodies will be considering this in light of the Supreme Court decision.

The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of questions from Members of Parliament. Between April and December 2025, the department has received 100% more written parliamentary questions (WPQs) versus the same period last year.

The below table provides the proportion of (a) named day and (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions answered with the required timescales for the months requested.

Notes on the data:

• Data based on the date a WPQ was due for answer.
• Named Day WPQs are due for answer on a specified date. Ordinary WPQs should be answered within five working days of the question being tabled.

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

The requested information is not held by the department.

The requested information is not held by the department.

Single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.

The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education. The guidance on gender questioning children will reflect the legal protection for single-sex spaces and facilities in schools, as well as the Equality Act protection for single-sex sport in schools to ensure fairness and safety.​

​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.

I refer the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 41472.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

Defra’s performance statistics for Named Day and Ordinary Written PQs from May to November 2025 are in the table below. These are the percentages published on time for the case types and time periods requested.

Please note that due to summer recess, no Named Day or Ordinary Written Parliamentary Questions to Defra were due during the month of August.

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the Governments consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Since the enactment of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, two national badger monitoring surveys have taken place. A 1994-97 survey estimate did not provide an estimate of the overall population but instead estimated there were 46,100 family groups in England and Wales. A survey of the badger population in 2011-13 estimated that there were approximately 424,000 badgers in 71,600 family groups in England and Wales.

In February 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Agency commenced the latest badger population survey which will estimate badger abundance and population recovery to illustrate the impact of widespread culling over the past decade.

The first major badger population survey in over a decade began in February 2025 and is currently ongoing. The most recent previous national survey was conducted in England and Wales between 2011 and 2013, estimating the badger population at approximately 485,000 individuals across 71,600 social groups.

An estimate will be made when an updated Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) map is published later this year.

Land classification is a devolved matter, and each nation within the UK takes a different approach. In England and Wales, the ALC system is used to assess agricultural land quality.

The Government remains committed to maintaining accurate land classification data to support planning and policy decisions. The new strategic-scale ALC map will replace the 1960s provisional map in England, ensuring alignment with current ALC guidelines and including the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b.

The Environment Agency maintains a public register of registered producers and approved compliance schemes under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013. There are currently 34 registered vape producers in the UK.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The proportion of Parliamentary Questions answered by the Department during the May-November 2025 period is as follows:

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the governments consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

The information requested is in the table below. Please note that some correspondence received in January will not be due for reply until February and so that month has been excluded.

It is the responsibility of the Local Authority, Lincolnshire County Council, to provide the Department with a Full Business Case, which will be reviewed and assessed prior to a decision whether to grant full approval for the scheme.  We are expecting to see the Full Business Case in the summer of 2025 and my officials are working with the council to progress that.

As the Chancellor set out in her statement on 23 September, the Government has inherited extremely challenging fiscal conditions and a litany of unfunded commitments. The Transport Secretary is undertaking a review of the previous governments transport plans, including unfunded schemes.

The value of roads projects is assessed using the principles set out in the Green Book. Rather than assessing value and prioritisation of individual projects, the review will consider the alignment of capital schemes across mode with the Government’s priorities and provide strategic advice to the Secretary of State on how she might approach prioritisation of projects.

The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

Data on response times to PQs is published following the end of every session by the House of Commons Procedure Committee as part of their continued monitoring and reporting of departmental PQ performance.

It is this government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office. We have been clear that we will champion disabled people’s rights and work closely with them so that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of decision-making.

A new fund is currently being developed to assist with the additional disability-related costs of contesting elected office. More information about the fund will be announced in due course.

Additionally, as part of the current MHCLG-funded sector support programme, the Local Government Association (LGA) delivers the Be a Councillor campaign - which aims to attract people who reflect the communities they serve to put themselves forward for local election. The LGA programme also supports disabled people in local politics, through a disabled local councillors leadership programme and a disability champions network across local authorities.

The Department supports people nearing the end of life through special benefit rules – called the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

SREL applies to these benefits Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Universal Credit (UC), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc) and Attendance Allowance (AA).

The department holds some data on special rules for end of life (SREL) claims for PIP and UC based on receipt of the medical evidence form, the SR1, but does not centrally collate equivalent data on SREL claims for AA, DLA and ESA, so we cannot provide the total number of SREL claimants. We have therefore provided data for UC and PIP only below.

*All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

The PIP data covers England and Wales and is from October 2024. The UC data covers Great Britain and is from September 2024.

The numbers above count the number of claims for each benefit, not the number of individuals. Some individuals may be counted more than once, as they may be in receipt of both benefits.

It is possible, although rare, to make a SREL claim without a SR1 form, so these data do not necessarily present the full picture in terms of total numbers of SREL claims.

‘DLA: Cases in Payment - Data from May 2018’ and ‘AA: Cases in Payment - Data from May 2018’ data is available on Stat-Xplore by ‘Main Disabling Condition’, this includes ‘Terminally Ill’ claims. This data is available by ‘Duration of Current Claim’. ESA - Data from May 2018 is available on Stat-Xplore by ‘Medical condition’ which includes ‘Neoplasms’. This data is available by ‘Duration of Current Claim’. A claimant’s main disabling condition being ‘Terminally Ill’ does not necessarily mean they are classed as an SREL claimant. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

The Department does not keep this information centrally and therefore it is not readily available. Providing the information that the Department does hold would incur disproportionate costs.

Statistics on Pension Credit application volumes were published on 28 November 2024. This includes numbers of applications that were received, awarded and not awarded, up to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK.

Please note, the next publication of Pension Credit application statistics is due around the end of February 2025 and will cover the data up to week commencing 10 February 2025.

In Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthen and expand existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The plan can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future

Department officials are working to progress this policy by reviewing all available evidence from a broad range of countries and engaging with a wide range of national and international stakeholders. This will inform the policy development to ensure the effectiveness of the final outcome.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Slough on 1 December 2025 to Question 92737.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Uptake rates in England remain high by international standards but adolescent vaccine coverage for human papillomavirus (HPV) has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic, although evidence suggests coverage trends have stabilised more recently. National Health Service commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent vaccination programme. There are established approaches to offering catch-up vaccination, and further work is underway to explore options for strengthening the catch-up offer. Currently, those who miss out on vaccination via the school-based offer can catch-up via the general practice (GP) HPV campaign, which went live from July 2025. GPs have been asked to invite unvaccinated individuals aged 16 to 24 years old for their HPV vaccine as a requirement of the GP Contract. The campaign runs until 31 March 2026, with girls remaining eligible until they are 25 years old, as do boys born after 1 September 2006.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes and provides a range of supporting materials to health professionals on both the 12- and 13-year-old HPV offer and the vaccine programme for those at higher risk. For example, further information on the HPV vaccination programme over all and the HPV vaccination programme for men who have sex with men is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hpv-vaccination-programme

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hpv-vaccination-for-men-who-have-sex-with-men-msm-programme#resources

The UKHSA also works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination, including for boys.

NHS England, in conjunction with regional colleagues, has produced an HPV vaccination school-aged immunisation improvement and uptake plan for internal operational NHS use, as part of their commitment to improving vaccine coverage.

In addition, NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS App, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.