Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force queue samples exceeded published service standards in each month since July 2024, broken down by EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA passengers.

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

The number of sampled queues cleared within the respective EEA and non-EEA service standards are provided within the published transparency data:

Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

Specific figures on how many queue samples fell outside of service standards for EEA and non-EEA are not available in an accessible format.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for driving licence applications in December 2025.

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

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online for December 2025 up to 16 December for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) licences.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department plans to review the level of statutory funding provided to hospices that currently rely heavily on charitable donations to deliver core services.

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

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative care and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

In addition to the statutory funding provided by ICBs, the Government has been supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We recently also confirmed the continuation of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for the next three financial years. This amounts to approximately £80 million over that period.

For the long-term, we are developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HMRC has made of the number of individuals and companies that are liable for tax but are not currently being actively pursued for payment.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is committed to closing the tax gap further and tackling non-compliant behaviours such as tax evasion, tax avoidance, criminal attacks, error, failure to take reasonable care, hidden economy activity, legal interpretation issues, and non-payment.

In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s compliance work contributed to record tax revenues of £875.9 billion, collecting and protecting £48 billion of tax that would have gone unpaid if HMRC hadn’t stepped in – up from £41.8 billion the previous year.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced a package of measures that will raise a further £2.4 billion in additional tax revenues in 2029 to 2030. This builds on announcements at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion), and Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion) and brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029 to 2030.

HMRC pursues unpaid tax liabilities through a number of routes. Those who have not paid will be subject to initial telephone and letter campaigns to encourage swift payment. HMRC also uses private sector debt collection agencies to pursue outstanding amounts. Cases will move between these different stages of the debt collection process as part of being worked.

Where payments remain outstanding, HMRC has a range of enforcement powers to address the small minority of taxpayers who deliberately refuse to pay or engage, such as taking control of goods, recovering debt through county court proceedings, and applying to make a company or person insolvent.

HMRC also publishes its Annual Report and Accounts on GOV.UK, which reports on its annual tax losses and sets out the limited circumstances in which a debt may no longer be pursued.

HMRC records its debt cases by tax regime, rather than customer type, and does not organise cases by specifically which stage of the debt collection process it is at.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax revenue is currently outstanding from taxpayers known to be liable but not under active enforcement action by HMRC.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is committed to closing the tax gap further and tackling non-compliant behaviours such as tax evasion, tax avoidance, criminal attacks, error, failure to take reasonable care, hidden economy activity, legal interpretation issues, and non-payment.

In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s compliance work contributed to record tax revenues of £875.9 billion, collecting and protecting £48 billion of tax that would have gone unpaid if HMRC hadn’t stepped in – up from £41.8 billion the previous year.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced a package of measures that will raise a further £2.4 billion in additional tax revenues in 2029 to 2030. This builds on announcements at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion), and Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion) and brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029 to 2030.

HMRC pursues unpaid tax liabilities through a number of routes. Those who have not paid will be subject to initial telephone and letter campaigns to encourage swift payment. HMRC also uses private sector debt collection agencies to pursue outstanding amounts. Cases will move between these different stages of the debt collection process as part of being worked.

Where payments remain outstanding, HMRC has a range of enforcement powers to address the small minority of taxpayers who deliberately refuse to pay or engage, such as taking control of goods, recovering debt through county court proceedings, and applying to make a company or person insolvent.

HMRC also publishes its Annual Report and Accounts on GOV.UK, which reports on its annual tax losses and sets out the limited circumstances in which a debt may no longer be pursued.

HMRC records its debt cases by tax regime, rather than customer type, and does not organise cases by specifically which stage of the debt collection process it is at.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of unpaid tax liabilities is written off each year; and according to what criteria HMRC determines when a tax debt will no longer be pursued.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is committed to closing the tax gap further and tackling non-compliant behaviours such as tax evasion, tax avoidance, criminal attacks, error, failure to take reasonable care, hidden economy activity, legal interpretation issues, and non-payment.

In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s compliance work contributed to record tax revenues of £875.9 billion, collecting and protecting £48 billion of tax that would have gone unpaid if HMRC hadn’t stepped in – up from £41.8 billion the previous year.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced a package of measures that will raise a further £2.4 billion in additional tax revenues in 2029 to 2030. This builds on announcements at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion), and Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion) and brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029 to 2030.

HMRC pursues unpaid tax liabilities through a number of routes. Those who have not paid will be subject to initial telephone and letter campaigns to encourage swift payment. HMRC also uses private sector debt collection agencies to pursue outstanding amounts. Cases will move between these different stages of the debt collection process as part of being worked.

Where payments remain outstanding, HMRC has a range of enforcement powers to address the small minority of taxpayers who deliberately refuse to pay or engage, such as taking control of goods, recovering debt through county court proceedings, and applying to make a company or person insolvent.

HMRC also publishes its Annual Report and Accounts on GOV.UK, which reports on its annual tax losses and sets out the limited circumstances in which a debt may no longer be pursued.

HMRC records its debt cases by tax regime, rather than customer type, and does not organise cases by specifically which stage of the debt collection process it is at.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures HMRC has in place to prevent deliberate non-payment of tax by those who are liable but expect not to be pursued.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is committed to closing the tax gap further and tackling non-compliant behaviours such as tax evasion, tax avoidance, criminal attacks, error, failure to take reasonable care, hidden economy activity, legal interpretation issues, and non-payment.

In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s compliance work contributed to record tax revenues of £875.9 billion, collecting and protecting £48 billion of tax that would have gone unpaid if HMRC hadn’t stepped in – up from £41.8 billion the previous year.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced a package of measures that will raise a further £2.4 billion in additional tax revenues in 2029 to 2030. This builds on announcements at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion), and Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion) and brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029 to 2030.

HMRC pursues unpaid tax liabilities through a number of routes. Those who have not paid will be subject to initial telephone and letter campaigns to encourage swift payment. HMRC also uses private sector debt collection agencies to pursue outstanding amounts. Cases will move between these different stages of the debt collection process as part of being worked.

Where payments remain outstanding, HMRC has a range of enforcement powers to address the small minority of taxpayers who deliberately refuse to pay or engage, such as taking control of goods, recovering debt through county court proceedings, and applying to make a company or person insolvent.

HMRC also publishes its Annual Report and Accounts on GOV.UK, which reports on its annual tax losses and sets out the limited circumstances in which a debt may no longer be pursued.

HMRC records its debt cases by tax regime, rather than customer type, and does not organise cases by specifically which stage of the debt collection process it is at.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that regional domestic ferry operators are supported to meet the goals of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.

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

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy sets out a pathway to zero emissions by 2050, and interim goals in 2030 and 2040.

To support the sector transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels, the Strategy sets out a number of key policies including; expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime, the introduction of fuel regulations, taking action to reduce emissions at berth, taking proportionate measures to reduce emissions from smaller vessels and increasing the efficiency of maritime operations.

Support is available to the maritime sector for decarbonisation through our UK SHORE Research and Development programme. Over 300 projects across the UK have been supported to date, including those that support the decarbonisation of domestic ferries. In September, I announced a further £448 million of funding for innovation through this programme, including additional rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions, and a second round of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition. We aim to launch the first two of these competitions in Spring 2026 and they will run until 2030.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on co-ordination of the UK emissions trading scheme maritime expansion with the delivery of grid infrastructure needed for maritime decarbonisation.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK ETS Authority is made up of the UK Government and the devolved governments. Within the UK Government, my department, the Department for Transport and HM Treasury all work jointly to develop and implement the inclusion of maritime emissions in the UK ETS. This expansion will strengthen the scheme’s ability to deliver cost-effective emissions reductions, supporting the UK’s statutory carbon budgets and Net Zero target.

Investing in the grid is a key Government priority. The Government supports Ofgem in developing a price control that enable necessary investment in the electricity network for the clean energy and growth missions, including maritime transport electrification. The next distribution price control, ED3 covering 2028 to 2033, will be informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans to support strategic network investments.

We understand the significance of getting sufficient grid capacity to electrify ports, for cruise and ferries to use shore power and policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites. This is informed by the Department for Transport’s call for evidence on Net Zero Ports, published in March 2025, which posed questions on managing future energy demand at ports.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of hospice funding for dementia end-of-life care is provided by central government and local authorities; and whether he plans to increase statutory funding for hospices.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities about the funding of hospice services, including those providing end-of-life care for dementia patients.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem on improving grid capacity at ports to enable ferry electrification.

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

Reforming the connections process and investing in the grid is a key Government priority. This includes reforms that are expected to deprioritise over half of the existing queue based on readiness and strategic alignment with our strategy as set out in Clean Power 2030.

Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem. These include discussions on the significance of getting sufficient grid capacity to electrify ports, for cruise and ferries to use shore power and policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites. This is informed by the Department for Transport call for evidence on Net Zero Ports, published in March 2025, which posed questions on managing future energy demand at ports.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help mitigate the impact of higher business rates bills on grassroots music venues arising from changes to business rates multipliers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are no current plans to extend the 40% film studio relief to grassroots music venues.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To support with bill increases, the Government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

As a result, over half of all ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Grassroot music venues with rateable values below £500,000 will also benefit from the permanently lower business rates tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that are being introduce in April 2026. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the number of grassroots music venues affected by the withdrawal of the 40% business rates relief.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are no current plans to extend the 40% film studio relief to grassroots music venues.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To support with bill increases, the Government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

As a result, over half of all ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Grassroot music venues with rateable values below £500,000 will also benefit from the permanently lower business rates tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that are being introduce in April 2026. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of extending the 40% rate tax relief for film studios to grassroots music venues.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are no current plans to extend the 40% film studio relief to grassroots music venues.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To support with bill increases, the Government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

As a result, over half of all ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Grassroot music venues with rateable values below £500,000 will also benefit from the permanently lower business rates tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that are being introduce in April 2026. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for driving licence applications in December 2025.

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

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online

in December 2025 for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) applications.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the decision to prioritise continuation funding for the existing 75 Start for Life local authority areas aligns with the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England to expand Start for Life services across all communities.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda to how we will improve the nation’s health by creating a new model of care that is fit for the future.

We recognise that local authorities are ambitious, seeking to deliver universal support to families and prevent escalating need. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government intends to provide Start for Life funding to new local authority areas.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda to how we will improve the nation’s health by creating a new model of care that is fit for the future.

We recognise that local authorities are ambitious, seeking to deliver universal support to families and prevent escalating need. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.

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 regional variation in access to NICE-approved medicines across Integrated Care Systems.

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

No assessment has been made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on adoption of innovative medicines in local formularies states that once a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine, it must be included in a local formulary within 90 days, providing it is clinically appropriate and relevant to the services provided by the organisation, or 30 days for Early Access to Medicines Scheme medicines. This NICE guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/mpg1/chapter/Recommendations#local-formulary-scope

Local formularies exist at various levels of the health service, but most frequently appear at integrated care board (ICB) level. It is the responsibility of local medicines optimisation teams and formulary committees to ensure they are meeting these targets.

At a national level, the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report is a publication which reports on the use of medicines and medicine groupings in the National Health Service in England, which have been positively appraised by NICE. It can be used by local NHS organisations to monitor progress in implementing NICE Technology Appraisal recommendations. Further information on the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report is available at the following link:

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiOWVkZmY1MDEtOWQzMS00YzU1LWJkZmYtMTc2NGQ2MTZkYjc2IiwidCI6ImNmNmQwNDgyLTg2YjEtNGY4OC04YzBjLTNiNGRlNGNiNDAyYyJ9

In line with commitments made in 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access, and Growth, NHS England, NICE, and the NHS Business Services Authority are further developing the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report to better track variation in the uptake of NICE recommended medicines between ICBs.

The 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan set out a commitment to move to a Single National Formulary for medicines within the next two years. The overall aim of the Single National Formulary will be to drive rapid and equitable adoption of clinically- and cost-effective innovations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NICE technology appraisals have been terminated in each year since 2019; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for these terminations.

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

The follow table shows the proportion of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals that have been terminated in each year since 2019:

Source: NICE.

NICE is an independent body and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has made no assessment of the reasons for the terminations of technology appraisals.

NICE strives to get the best care to patients fast, and to ensure value for the taxpayer. The aligned NICE and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency pathway, set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will allow us to bring medicines to patients three to six months sooner. NICE continues to support and work with companies to identify the best time to submit appraisals and to ensure they have a clear understanding of NICE’s methods and processes, to try to avoid terminations.

Sometimes companies withdraw from the NICE appraisal process which means NICE cannot continue to evaluate the treatment. Companies can choose to do this for different reasons, including the treatment not being put forward at a cost-effective price, supply issues and incomplete evidence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the level of independence of the complaint review process within the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

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

The legal powers underpinning the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s investigations are invested in the Ombudsman themselves and they have personal authority in the investigation of complaints. I therefore have no remit to interfere with the Ombudsman’s investigatory work.

This independence rightly keeps central government at arm’s length from the service that the Ombudsman provides to members of the public; a service which is an important element of the overarching local government accountability system.

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 equity of access to to Start for Life services, including infant feeding, perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support across England.

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

Delivering integrated, joined-up health, education, and family support is at the heart of our ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, funding is helping families during the critical 1,001 days, and as a result parents have said they are more confident in feeding their babies and have better perinatal mental health because of this support. We continue to assess how we can best support early-years service integration across the country and remain committed to working with delivery partners locally to achieve this.

Healthy Babies is one element of our broader commitment to supporting babies, children and families. From April 2026, Best Start Family Hubs will expand to every single local authority, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help all local authorities to integrate a range of statutory and non-statutory health and family services.

Best Start Family Hubs will form part of the architecture of the Neighbourhood Health Service. Through the shifts from hospital to community and treatment to prevention, we will further strengthen integration and join-up of services, helping to ensure that babies and their families can get the support they need, when and where they need it.

Found: Danny Beales; Ben Coleman; Dr Beccy Cooper; Andrew George; Paulette Hamilton; Alex McIntyre; Joe Robertson

Found: Beccy Cooper Deirdre Costigan Jen Craft Josh Fenton-Glynn Andrew George Paulette Hamilton Joe Robertson