Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND support for children without education, health and care plans.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that every child or young person receives the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore parents’ trust by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate.

We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.

Our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will work with mainstream schools to help them become more inclusive places as one of four priority areas for improvement.

The newly published RISE Inclusive Mainstream webpage provides schools with programmes and resources to help mainstream schools improve inclusivity and support for those with SEND, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rise-support-for-inclusive-mainstream-education/rise-support-for-inclusive-mainstream-education.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue guidance to newly created local councils who inherit areas at different stages of the local plan-making process and have not adopted a local plan.

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

The government expects local planning authorities to work towards the adoption of an up-to-date local plan as soon as possible. Local government reorganisation should not hinder this essential work.

The legal status of local plans is not impacted by local government reorganisation. Where reorganisation occurs, new unitary authorities are expected to promptly prepare a local plan covering the whole of their area. Until that new plan is adopted, existing constituent local plans remain in force as part of the development plan for their area. New unitary authorities will have the discretion to progress emerging constituent local plans.

A new legal framework for local-plan making will be introduced later this year. Significant financial assistance has already been provided to eligible authorities to support plan-making and authorities should make the most of other support available through the Local Government Association’s Planning Advisory Service.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue guidance to newly created local councils inheriting different areas with and without adopted local plans in place.

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

The government expects local planning authorities to work towards the adoption of an up-to-date local plan as soon as possible. Local government reorganisation should not hinder this essential work.

The legal status of local plans is not impacted by local government reorganisation. Where reorganisation occurs, new unitary authorities are expected to promptly prepare a local plan covering the whole of their area. Until that new plan is adopted, existing constituent local plans remain in force as part of the development plan for their area. New unitary authorities will have the discretion to progress emerging constituent local plans.

A new legal framework for local-plan making will be introduced later this year. Significant financial assistance has already been provided to eligible authorities to support plan-making and authorities should make the most of other support available through the Local Government Association’s Planning Advisory Service.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has issued guidance to local councils due to be reorganised encouraging the creation of joint committees to advise on measures to synchronise plans for provision of local services.

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

Unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens. As we set out in ‘Local government reorganisation: Considerations for partnership working in social care for new unitary authorities’ local government reorganisation and wider social care service reforms are a significant undertaking, and authorities will naturally want to collaborate to share knowledge, expertise and learning to maintain a focus on improving service delivery and supporting innovation.

If, following consultation, the Secretary of State decides to implement a council’s proposal for unitary local government then secondary legislation, which will be subject to Parliamentary approval, will be required which will include appropriate transitional arrangements. This could include a joint committee to oversee the implementation plan ahead of any elections where appropriate locally. Government will work closely with councils as decisions are made with regard to these arrangements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend the first past the post voting system for local council elections in Essex following local government reorganisation.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has no plans to change the electoral system for local elections in England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of illegally traded medicines intercepted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit.

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

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) works hard to identify those involved in the illegal trade in medicines and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. The Agency also works closely with overseas health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners.

Since 1 January 2025, the MHRA and its partners have seized over 8.5 million doses of unauthorised or falsified medicines at the United Kingdom border, together with another 3.9 million doses seized as a result of direct operational activity conducted by the CEU.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether shadow council elections in 2027 for new councils will utilise existing district magnitudes.

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

The government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament, and to move to new structures as soon as possible, including elections to new unitary councils in May 2027 in areas other than Surrey.

The government has not yet made decisions on those elections. The first stage is for areas to prepare proposals for unitary councils. We received proposals from the six areas in the Devolution Priority Programme by 26 September and for the remaining 14 areas the deadline is 28 November. In the statutory invitations we asked councils to include councillor numbers in their proposals, and they may choose to include information about electoral arrangements.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) have offered support with guidance and a series of webinars. Once Ministers have reached a decision on which proposal, if any, to implement, then electoral arrangements for the new councils will be included in the structural changes order that establishes any new councils. These will be built using a mixture of existing wards, divisions or, in some cases, parishes. The government expects to work closely with the relevant councils and the Commission to ensure these arrangements are fit for purpose for the first elections and have regard to the Commission’s criteria. The Commission then expects to carry out an electoral review of all newly established councils after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether shadow council elections will operate on existing ward boundaries.

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

The government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament, and to move to new structures as soon as possible, including elections to new unitary councils in May 2027 in areas other than Surrey.

The government has not yet made decisions on those elections. The first stage is for areas to prepare proposals for unitary councils. We received proposals from the six areas in the Devolution Priority Programme by 26 September and for the remaining 14 areas the deadline is 28 November. In the statutory invitations we asked councils to include councillor numbers in their proposals, and they may choose to include information about electoral arrangements.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) have offered support with guidance and a series of webinars. Once Ministers have reached a decision on which proposal, if any, to implement, then electoral arrangements for the new councils will be included in the structural changes order that establishes any new councils. These will be built using a mixture of existing wards, divisions or, in some cases, parishes. The government expects to work closely with the relevant councils and the Commission to ensure these arrangements are fit for purpose for the first elections and have regard to the Commission’s criteria. The Commission then expects to carry out an electoral review of all newly established councils after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that newly created councils holding shadow elections in 2027 have newly drawn wards compliant with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England's criteria.

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

The government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament, and to move to new structures as soon as possible, including elections to new unitary councils in May 2027 in areas other than Surrey.

The government has not yet made decisions on those elections. The first stage is for areas to prepare proposals for unitary councils. We received proposals from the six areas in the Devolution Priority Programme by 26 September and for the remaining 14 areas the deadline is 28 November. In the statutory invitations we asked councils to include councillor numbers in their proposals, and they may choose to include information about electoral arrangements.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) have offered support with guidance and a series of webinars. Once Ministers have reached a decision on which proposal, if any, to implement, then electoral arrangements for the new councils will be included in the structural changes order that establishes any new councils. These will be built using a mixture of existing wards, divisions or, in some cases, parishes. The government expects to work closely with the relevant councils and the Commission to ensure these arrangements are fit for purpose for the first elections and have regard to the Commission’s criteria. The Commission then expects to carry out an electoral review of all newly established councils after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) encourage and (b) support the recruitment of armed forces veterans into the police.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to effectively tackle crime. We are clear that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police.

We recognise that there are important opportunities for those leaving the military to join police forces. We value these people’s commitment to public service.

Following the introduction of the Police Constable Entry Programme military veterans have a range of options to join the police depending on the qualifications they may hold and the resettlement credits available to them.

Decisions about police recruitment, including how recruitment and selection processes are run, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of aligning Section 2 shotgun licensing with Section 1 high-powered firearms.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of aligning the licensing regime for Section 2 shotguns with that for Section 1 firearms.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to seek the release of (a) Aung San Suu Kyi and (b) other political prisoners in Myanmar.

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

On 1 February, the former Foreign Secretary called for Aung San Suu Kyi's release and all those arbitrarily detained. In April, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those who have been arbitrarily detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi. On 19 June, to mark Aung San Suu Kyi's 80th birthday, the former Minister for the Indo-Pacific called for her release and for all those arbitrarily detained. Most recently, this month our Head of Mission in Yangon reiterated these concerns about arbitrary detention, including that of Aung San Suu Kyi, and encouraged the Myanmar military regime to grant access to Aung San Suu Kyi's family.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to support newly formed councils inheriting debts from councils due to be abolished in local government reorganisation.

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

In general, as with previous rounds of local government reorganisation, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation.

However, the government accepts that Woking Borough Council and Thurrock Council hold significant and exceptional unsupported debt, related to capital practices, that cannot be managed locally in their entirety. The government has committed to providing debt repayment support for both these councils. Any support will need to consider what further action these councils can take locally within their capacity to reduce debt, and value for money for the national and local taxpayer. We will continue to work with both these councils and Best Value Commissioners on the issue of their unmanageable debt and provide further details in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 59664 on Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing weight limits for volumetric concrete mixers on levels of frequently of repairs to (a) roads and (b) bridges; and what estimate she has made of levels of associated cost reductions for (i) local authorities and (ii) National Highways.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The National Highways’ report found that the load effects from heavier VCMs to be up to 17% higher than the load effects from the model for vehicles complying with the current weight limits. In addition to the impact on bridges, heavier vehicles also put more stress on roads, which impacts maintenance costs and safety. The department has not made a specific assessment on the impact on the frequency of repairs and cost reductions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve road safety for young drivers in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.

We are considering measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of road traffic fatalities in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department has not had specific discussions with Thurrock or Basildon councils.

This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Thurrock and Basildon councils on reducing serious and fatal road traffic collisions.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department has not had specific discussions with Thurrock or Basildon councils.

This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to review the personal tax allowance threshold to prevent pensioners paying income tax.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of maintaining the personal tax allowance threshold on the number of pensioners living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in each of the next three years.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much police forces spent on jobs where the primary function of the role is to provide advice on diversity, equality, and inclusion in the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces that reflect the communities they serve are crucial to tackling crime and maintain public trust and confidence in a modern diverse society.

Decisions about police recruitment and the allocation of resources are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces. It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of diversity, equality and inclusion roles in police forces, or on the amount spent by forces on these roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are employed by the police in roles where the primary focus is on diversity, equality and inclusion.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces that reflect the communities they serve are crucial to tackling crime and maintain public trust and confidence in a modern diverse society.

Decisions about police recruitment and the allocation of resources are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces. It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of diversity, equality and inclusion roles in police forces, or on the amount spent by forces on these roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to encourage police forces to prioritise funding for frontline roles rather than spending on diversity, equality, and inclusion.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces that reflect the communities they serve are crucial to tackling crime and maintain public trust and confidence in a modern diverse society.

Decisions about police recruitment and the allocation of resources are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces. It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of diversity, equality and inclusion roles in police forces, or on the amount spent by forces on these roles.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of first-time buyers unable to use Lifetime ISA savings towards home purchases due to house price limits being exceeded.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not collect information on the sale price of houses in the UK when the individual is unable to utilize a Lifetime ISA. HMRC publishes information on withdrawal charges, but are unable to distinguish if charges were incurred due to a planned house purchase exceeding the £450k price limit.

ONS publish house price statistics here: House price data: annual tables - Office for National Statistics

Within this ONS publication, First Time Buyers are split into price bands by calendar year (Table 34), but do not distinguish whether purchasers held a Lifetime ISA.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to increase the Personal Allowance for pensioners in line with the level of the State Pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.

The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.

Condition of hospitals

National Cancer Plan

Attendance of the Attorney General at the Bar of the House on the Chinese espionage case

Eligibility variations in access to IVF

Acquittal of Soldier F

Poppy Appeal in Northern Ireland

Coastal erosion in Hemsby

Drug deaths (No. 2)

Council elections in areas pursuing devolution reform

Digital ID cards and surveillance

National inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse

Digital ID

Farmers, growers and the supermarket supply chain

Equitable national prostate cancer screening

Ricky Hatton MBE

Conduct of the Hon. Mr Justice Jay

Pavement parking consultation response

175th anniversary of the Church of St Edward the Confessor