Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) staffing, (b) system, (c) compliance and (d) other costs of (i) implementing and (ii) administering the proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief; and if she will take steps to publish an estimate prior to the reforms taking effect in April 2026.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer to the answer given on 5 September 2025 at UIN 70546 :

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/70546

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the government in Myanmar on the destruction of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Kachin State in March 2025; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure that (a) places of worship are protected and (b) religious freedom is promoted in that country.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is deeply concerned by reports of attacks on places of worship, including the destruction of St Patrick's Cathedral in Kachin State. We remain committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all communities in Myanmar, and consistently raise concerns about the treatment of religious minorities and their places of worship in international fora. In April this year, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar, calling for the military to fully respect and protect the human rights of all persons in Myanmar, including religious minorities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what metrics are used to assess the efficiency of the Army recruitment system; and what estimate he has made of the most recent assessment of the efficiency of the Army recruitment system.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The efficiency of the British Army Recruitment pipeline is constantly measured on a daily, weekly and monthly basis through various key performance indicators (KPI) throughout the recruitment process to the end of basic training.

These KPIs vary depending on stage of the process but make assessments based on numbers of registrations, Army briefings and their effectiveness, questionnaires, assessment centre attendance, individual career discussions and the success, fail, defer and conversion rates of basic training.

The assessment process has recently helped enhance areas of the recruitment system including an improved and updated website and candidate portal, digitised collection of the primary health care records (PHCR) and the implementation of AI to scrutinise each PHCR.

The British Army has a continuous early initiative to seek improvements of the process and system.

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 engage faith leaders and organisations who are unaware of the Civil Society Covenant framework launch.

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

The Civil Society Covenant Framework was launched in October 2024 and used as the basis for extensive engagement with over 1,200 organisations across government and civil society’s full diversity, including many faith and interfaith groups. These insights and experiences have helped ensure that the Covenant is inclusive of organisations of all purposes, sizes, geographical locations, and those that are led by underrepresented groups.

The Civil Society Covenant was launched by the Prime Minister in July 2025 at a major civil society summit. As we move forward, we will continue to work with our government and civil society partners, including faith organisations, to raise awareness across their members and networks and drive engagement with the Covenant at national, local and grassroots levels. MPs are encouraged to make organisations in their constituencies aware of the Covenant.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish (a) the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and (b) the selection criteria used by the Investigation team to assess those trusts.

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

The 14 National Health Service trusts to be looked at in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation were announced on 15 September 2025. There are no plans to publish the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s Maternity Patient Survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s Perinatal Mortality Rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback.

Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations or reviews, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

Agriculture

Found: Rusholme) Alex Sobel (Labour; Leeds Central and Headingley) Peter Swallow (Labour; Bracknell) Sir Desmond Swayne

Found: Rusholme) Alex Sobel (Labour; Leeds Central and Headingley) Peter Swallow (Labour; Bracknell) Sir Desmond Swayne

Found: England (HC 1218) Wednesday 10 September 2025 2.15 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Desmond Swayne

Found: Mental Health Bill [Lords] Committee was chaired by Gill Furniss (Lab), Carolyn Harris (Lab), Sir Desmond Swayne

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 14 October 2025 and is intended to repeal and replace various aspects of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, as well as to reform and supplement the wider approach of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles. The Joint Committee on Human Rights is scrutinising the Bill’s compatibility with human rights. The Government also laid its draft remedial order concerning Northern Ireland legacy on 14 October 2025 and the Joint Committee on Human Rights is scrutinising that remedial order separately.