Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of independent research into the impact of 120 dB fireworks on animals and vulnerable groups.

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

To inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks. This includes consideration of existing research into the impact of 120dB fireworks on animals and vulnerable groups, as well as evidence of action taken in other countries on this issue.

Following the recent Westminster Hall debate on two e‑petitions relating to the sale of fireworks, I will be meeting with petition leads, campaigners and colleagues from across the House to provide updates and hear their feedback directly.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he expects to complete the evidence-gathering process for deciding whether a review of fireworks legislation is required.

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

To inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks. This includes consideration of existing research into the impact of 120dB fireworks on animals and vulnerable groups, as well as evidence of action taken in other countries on this issue.

Following the recent Westminster Hall debate on two e‑petitions relating to the sale of fireworks, I will be meeting with petition leads, campaigners and colleagues from across the House to provide updates and hear their feedback directly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a) making DVLA driving licence data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration, and b) allowing people who update their address on their driving licences with DVLA to update their voter registration automatically at the same time.

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

While voter registration processes are a matter for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCHLG), officials at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are discussing the potential for using driver licensing information for these purposes with MCHLG officials.

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 expand the use of optometry-led diagnostic and treatment pathways.

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

Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local population and commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet them.

This can already include the commissioning of enhanced eye care services from high street optical practices, including minor and urgent eye care services and glaucoma referral refinement services.

NHS England accelerator pilots have demonstrated that improved IT connectivity and a single point of access can significantly speed up eye care referrals and support more patients to be managed in the community, in line with the ambitions in the 10-Year Health Plan.

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 expand the use of community optometry services.

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

Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local population and commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet them.

This can already include the commissioning of enhanced eye care services from high street optical practices, including minor and urgent eye care services and glaucoma referral refinement services.

NHS England accelerator pilots have demonstrated that improved IT connectivity and a single point of access can significantly speed up eye care referrals and support more patients to be managed in the community, in line with the ambitions in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83204, what step he is taking to secure a recurrent budget for abiraterone in high risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer, in the context of it being ranked top priority for routine commissioning at the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation Meeting in 2024-25.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are pleased to confirm that NHS England announced on 16 January that patients with non‑metastatic prostate cancer will now have access to abiraterone in combination with prednisolone, where it is deemed to be clinically beneficial. This development has been made possible by the health service buying and delivering treatments at better value.

This decision marks a major step forward in the Government’s ongoing work to improve cancer outcomes, ensure earlier access to effective treatments, and support men and their families across England.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to streamline the process for parents on Universal Credit to claim upfront childcare costs through the Flexible Support Fund.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP is committed to improving its services continuously. The Department is strengthening delivery of Upfront Childcare Costs (UFCCC), so that eligible parents receive timely support when moving into work. As part of this, guidance has been streamlined to ensure agents provide consistent UFCCC support to all eligible claimants.

The application process is being streamlined to make it simpler for work coaches and customers. The service will continue to be reviewed to identify further opportunities for improvement.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims from single parents with (a) Work preparation and (b) All work-related activity Claimant Commitment requirements have been closed since 2023 due to non-acceptance of the Commitment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is not held. A claimant must accept their claimant commitment to be assigned a conditionality group. Failure to do so will result in their claim being closed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a) making Universal Credit and other benefits data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration, and b) allowing people who update their address with his Department to update their voter registration automatically at the same time.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP promotes a culture of encouraging data sharing for public good whilst ensuring this is done in a secure, legal and ethical way. DWP require both a lawful basis and legal power to share personal data.

DWP has been supporting Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) with since 2014 when Individual Electoral Registration (IER) was introduced in England and Wales. You can now register to vote online in as little as 3 minutes. All you need is your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. DWP data is used within this process.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out how his Department monitors whether Universal Credit claimant commitments for single-parent claimants are appropriately tailored to individual circumstances.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Lead carers within Universal Credit have different conditionality requirements that reflect their childcare responsibilities. These expectations are set according to the age of their youngest child: where the youngest child is under 1, there are no work preparation or work search requirements; where the youngest child is aged 1 or 2, the lead carer is expected to undertake work preparation activities only; and where the youngest child is aged 3 to 12, they may be asked to undertake work-related activities for up to 30 hours per week.

Work Coaches ensure that claimant commitments for single parents are appropriately tailored through a personalised discussion with each customer. This enables the Work Coach to take into account the individual’s circumstances, including childcare availability, school hours, travel time, and wider caring responsibilities, to ensure that support remains flexible and appropriate to the customer’s needs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making HM Passport Office data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration.

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

His Majesty’s Passport Office shares data with other government departments, law enforcement agencies and local authorities to help fulfil their aims and objectives when it is legal to do so.

The merits of potential data sources to support voter registration is a matter for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a) making HMRC taxpayer data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration, and b) allowing people who update their address with HMRC to update their voter registration automatically at the same time.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The taxpayer information HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) holds is subject to a strict statutory duty of confidentiality. HMRC will share taxpayer information however, where there is a lawful basis to do so and to support wider government objectives. In July 2025 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (“MHCLG”) published its strategy for modern and secure elections with a focus on the effective and safe sharing of data to improve voter registration. HMRC has been working in collaboration with officials from MHCLG to identify data-enabled opportunities to support their objective of improving voter registration.