Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff are engaged in processing Access to Work claims; by what number has that changed in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of staff numbers on the time scales in which applications under the Access to Work scheme are processed.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

As at 19 May 2026, there were 658 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff engaged in delivering the Access to Work scheme. This represents an increase of 32.29 FTE compared with 625.71 FTE staff at the end of May 2025.

The Department keeps staffing levels under review and recognises that resourcing levels can affect processing times. To address this, recruitment is underway to increase capacity, which will support the clearance of outstanding applications, and improve processing times.

Huge recruitment boost to tackle backlog in vital disability work scheme - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cataract operations were carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of the NHS in England in 2025; how many of those were by (i) NHS providers directly and (ii) private sector providers; and what the comparative costs and productivity rates were.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

In April 2026, for ophthalmology, performance against the standard for 92% of patients to start first treatment within 18 weeks of referral was 73.1%, 5.3% higher than a year earlier.

In most cases, contracts will have to comply with National Health Service unit prices, a set of prices and rules used by providers of NHS care and commissioners to deliver the most efficient, cost-effective care to patients. These unit prices are consistent across independent sector providers and NHS providers. Productivity rate information is not held centrally by the Department. Integrated care boards are the primary bodies responsible for commissioning care from healthcare providers and ensuring value for money is achieved.

The Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity dataset, published by NHS England, can be used to identify procedure types, including those undertaken as part of cataract operations. Data for the 2025/26 financial year is not yet currently published. This is currently due for publication in September 2026.

The following table shows a count of cataract operations in 2025, both those in an admitted setting, or Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs), and outpatient settings, split by NHS and non-NHS providers where there was any cataract procedure:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are typically counted against the year in which they end, which is the approach we have taken here. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Admitted outpatient appointments include first and follow-up attendances and telephone consultations, and excludes did not attends and cancellations. The below procedure codes are those which are considered under cataract operations:

• C71: Extracapsular extraction of lens;

• C72: Intracapsular extraction of lens;

• C73: Incision of capsule of lens;

• C74: Other extraction of lens;

• C75: Prosthesis of lens; and

• C77: Other operations on lens.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions have DVLA misread the image from an ANPR camera in the most recent year for which records are available.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The total number of ANPR images read between July 2025 and June 2026 was 95.6 million, of which 1.3 million were potential unlicensed vehicles. After the removal of those vehicles sighted more than once, 511,801 were reviewed by staff who identified 45,427 images which contained misread number plates. The DVLA routinely checks for misreads before taking action regarding non-payment of Vehicle Excise Duty.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is between a Universal Credit enquiry being referred to the Agents Contact Team and resolution of that enquiry.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The Department does not hold a routinely reported average time between a Universal Credit enquiry being referred to the Agents Contact Team and resolution of that enquiry.

Enquiries referred to the Agents Contact Team can vary significantly in complexity and may require input from different parts of the Department before they can be resolved. As a result, journey times are not directly comparable and are not currently measured as a single average resolution time.

The Department remains focused on ensuring Universal Credit enquiries are handled as quickly and effectively as possible, with priority given to cases where there is evidence of vulnerability, hardship or urgent need.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will HM Courts & Tribunals Service reference number 175329227331384 (a) be listed and (b) be heard.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are unable to answer your enquiry because the reference number provided appears to be incorrect.

HMCTS manages a range of different services, and the case reference is used to identify the service as well as the case. Reference numbers for HM Courts and Tribunal digital services should contain 16 digits. Please verify the number and resubmit your enquiry.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department of Health and Social Care or NHS England made or commissioned a clinical or patient safety impact assessment of the duty in paragraph 11C(2) of Schedule 3 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015, inserted by SI 2026/532, before that instrument was laid before Parliament.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Department and NHS England considered the potential impacts of expanding Advice and Guidance (A&G) as part of the policy development process, including through clinical input, established governance arrangements, and equalities considerations. A&G is intended to support timely clinical decision‑making and ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate care. National guidance is in place to support its safe and consistent use, and the use of A&G does not change existing clinical accountability or patient safety arrangements.

The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. General practitioner (GPs) should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement.

The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous A&G enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the A&G Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade in response to the hon. Member for Christchurch on 17 June 2026, Official Report, column 841, what progress he has made on responding to that correspondence.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This particular letter was sent to the inbox of ex-Secretary of State, Jonathan Reynolds on 10 June 2026, which is why was not seen by officials until 13 July 2026. The Department will respond to the usual timeline. The measure was announced through a Written Ministerial Statement and Oral Statement to both Houses and has since been discussed through Oral Questions and an Urgent Question. Ministers and officials also hosted a dedicated two-hour MP drop-in session to hear directly from Members and discuss concerns raised by their constituents and local businesses.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Ms Polly Billington; Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Ms Polly Billington; Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Ms Polly Billington; Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Ms Polly Billington; Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Cat Smith (Chair); James Asser; Bambos Charalambous; Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Q143 Sir Christopher Chope: Can I pursue you on the tax issue?

Found: Q143 Sir Christopher Chope: Can I pursue you on the tax issue?

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Energy support and decarbonisation funding for the chemicals and ceramics sectors was an encouraging sign that Government recognises a central challenge for industry: decarbonisation and electricity prices go hand in hand. It offers a potential model for future targeted support by linking help with energy costs to incentives for cleaner production. However, it also highlights the absence of a broader strategic framework for industrial decarbonisation/electrification across manufacturing. Current support remains uneven.  

The government will establish a Warm Homes Agency (WHA) – a dedicated public body to support the delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, and guide consumers through the transition. It will consolidate Salix, relevant DESNZ functions, and parts of Ofgem and work at both a national and local level (subject to agreement with the devolved governments). 

Submit Evidence (by 28 Aug 2026)

Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun, and for decades humans have been working towards harnessing its remarkable, "clean" power.