Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) unprocessed and (b) minimally processed foods on public health.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Scientific risk assessment and United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

SACN has considered the evidence on the impact of processing on health in a position statement in 2023 and rapid evidence update in April 2025 which considered evidence published since the 2023 position statement. SACN has concluded that the observed associations between higher consumption of ultra processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning.

SACN recommended that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many ultra processed foods and concerns raised in relation to health.

SACN’s recommendations align with existing policies for supporting healthier diets and advice to consumers. SACN will keep the topic of food processing and health under annual review and consider it again in 2026.

SACN has also previously advised on consumption of fruit and vegetables, supporting the WHO recommendations (2003), red and processed meat as part of its assessment on iron and health (2010), and on consumption of whole grain foods, as part of its recommendations on Carbohydrates and Health (2015). The UK’s national food model the Eatwell Guide, which is based on SACN’s recommendations, already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to review the requirement for small businesses to file profits and losses with Companies House.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade is currently engaging with stakeholders on proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business. As part of this we are considering stakeholder views on the requirement for small and micro entities to file profit and loss accounts. We will set out next steps in due course.

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 the availability of minimally processed foods (a) for children and young people and (b) in general.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s Eatwell Guide advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns.  Examples include the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.

A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children eat a healthy, balanced diet including:

- the Healthy Start scheme which supported over 355,000 people in August 2025;

- the Nursery Milk Scheme which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers (in England and Wales) for a daily one-third pint portion of milk to children and babies; and

- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme which provides around 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.

In relation to processed foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, work on manifesto commitments is progressing through:

- implementing the TV and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink;

- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and

- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.

Earlier this year, the Government committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to reflect the most recent government dietary recommendations. In particular, this will reduce levels of sugar and increase fibre in school food.

In August 2025, voluntary industry guidelines for commercial baby food and drink were published by government. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the sugar and salt content and improve marketing and labelling of foods and drinks aimed at children aged up to 36 months.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to (a) abolish and (b) reform standing charges for (i) gas and (ii) electricity bills.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue. Ofgem has conducted a broad public consultation to understand the views of consumers on this issue, receiving over 5,000 responses on their 2024 discussion paper. Since then, Ofgem has been continuing work in two areas.

Firstly, Ofgem has been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges. Ofgem took a further step towards this goal on 24 July, announcing proposals to require suppliers to offer their customers low or no standing charge tariffs from early 2026.

Secondly, Ofgem has been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this. Ofgem published its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review on 30 July.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure providers are held accountable for supporting displaced workers already in the UK.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.

This service is co-ordinated nationally by the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England.

These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations. In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by ReACT. Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements.

The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).
• What benefits they may get and how to claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce a central job-matching platform for displaced workers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.

This service is co-ordinated nationally by the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England.

These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations. In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by ReACT. Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements.

The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).
• What benefits they may get and how to claim.

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 adequacy of support for displaced care workers.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has made up to £12.5 million available this financial year for 15 regional partnerships to continue to support displaced international care workers. The international recruitment regional fund aims to prevent and respond to exploitative employment practices of internationally recruited care staff. This includes support for individuals impacted by their sponsor’s license being revoked to find alternative, ethical employment.

As of July 2025, over 1,600 people have been directly supported into new sponsored employment by the regional partnerships. This data has not been independently verified by the Department or UK Visas and Immigration, and these figures do not provide a complete picture as workers are under no obligation to report their employment outcomes back to their regional partnership. Regional partnerships are also currently supporting thousands more displaced workers, including support with CV writing and interview techniques, introducing workers to ethical providers with appropriate vacancies, and offering pastoral support to workers who have experienced unethical or exploitative practices.

We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce to undertake an independent evaluation of the 2024/25 international recruitment regional fund. We expect the final report of this evaluation to be published by King's College London in 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with British Paralympic Association on the selection process for Paralympians.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government has not had discussions with the British Paralympic Association on the selection process for Paralympians.

ParalympicsGB selections are made by the British Paralympic Association, working in collaboration with the relevant National Governing Bodies (NGBs) who know their athletes best. These processes remain fully independent from the Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce council tax.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

It is for individual local authorities to set their level of council tax, taking into account all relevant local factors. The government maintains a referendum threshold, and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters. The government will set out its position on referendum principles for the next financial year at the local government finance settlement in the usual way.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide additional support to prospective Paralympians.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is fully committed to our elite sport system and enabling our Paralympians to achieve their potential and excel on the world stage. UK Sport have committed nearly £75 million to support the LA 2028 Paralympic cycle for new and returning Paralympians. We will soon get to see our Winter Paralympians compete in Milan-Cortina 2026, who have benefited from a nearly £8 million package of support.

The Backing The Best programme, managed by SportsAid for Sport England, also supports para-athletes who would face difficulties progressing through their sport’s talent development system without support.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to reduce the TV licence fee.

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

To ensure the BBC is on a stable financial footing, the Government has committed to the current licence fee model for the remainder of the current Charter period.

The licence fee will increase annually in line with CPI inflation until the end of this Charter period, as required by the Licence Fee Settlement agreed by the last Government in 2022.

Looking ahead, the Secretary of State is a strong supporter of the BBC and has been clear that it must be funded by a model that is sustainable. The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review will provide an opportunity to consider the best possible funding model to set the BBC up for success long into the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support self-employed micro businesses to comply with HMRC’s Make Tax Digital programme.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has published detailed guidance and offers help through webinars, online resources, and customer service channels to enable customers and agents to prepare for and use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax successfully.

It is working with the software industry to ensure there is a wide range of MTD-compatible software to suit varying needs and budgets. That includes free software. Many products are aimed at unrepresented users.

A communications campaign is underway, using radio and social media channels to raise customer awareness particularly among taxpayers without an agent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to consult neighbourhood groups on proposed noise reforms; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those reforms on local residents.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is exploring a range of reforms proposed by the recent Licensing Taskforce to support the hospitality industry and night-time economy. This includes considering whether the ‘agent of change’ principle should be strengthened in the licensing regime to better protect existing licensed premises and residents. We have launched a call for evidence, which will provide an opportunity for the public and a range of stakeholders – including neighbourhood groups – to shape any future changes. We also intend to explore how we can improve the implementation of the ‘agent of change’ principle as it applies in the planning system and will consult on a new set of national policies for decision-making later this year.

Recognising Pathways CIC in Crewe