Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her department has a) investigated implementing a basic income for the arts, which provides artists with a weekly income, b) plans to economically support creative artists.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is not considering basic income for artists at this time. We believe that British creators are second-to-none and are committed to giving them security and a regulatory and fiscal environment where creativity can flourish. This is exemplified with our recent Employment Rights Act, our appointment of freelance champions Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump and our 5% uplift to National Portfolio Organisations, giving certainty for staff and freelancers.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of recommending the creation of a Minister for the younger and future generations.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, alongside the rest of the ministerial team, have responsibility for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy in England.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to hold Royal Mail senior management accountable for statutory delivery performance targets.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough.
The Government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.
Ofcom has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26 and Royal Mail has published a quality of service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.
The government will continue to press royal Mail for improvements in service quality.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a youth triple lock to provide ongoing support for the younger generation, across a range of policy areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.
We are working to ensure that every young person has access to learning, training or employment support to help them progress into good work. This forms part of a broader cross-government approach to supporting young people and improving their life chances.
With around one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.
This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department has conducted any research regarding why 96% of the prison population are male, and what measures are being considered to try and reduce the proportion of men offending.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We know that men make up the majority of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system and are disproportionately represented among offenders committing the most serious crimes. As these offences are more likely to attract custodial sentences and longer periods in custody, men make up the overwhelming majority of the prison population.
We are committed to addressing the drivers of offending and reducing reoffending to protect the public and build safer communities. Our approach is guided by the evidence on what works to reduce reoffending, and we work with local services and partners across government to support offenders in custody and the community to secure employment and stable accommodation, access treatment for drug and alcohol misuse, and develop the skills and behaviours needed to move away from crime.
More broadly, the Government’s work to improve outcomes for men and boys across the country is continuing, including in areas such as education, employment, mental health and wellbeing. Supporting positive outcomes across these areas can help address some of the wider factors associated with offending and reoffending.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that local authorities are aware that they can use covert surveillance to tackle fly tippers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has published best practice guidance to support local authorities to make better use of their power to seize vehicles suspected of fly-tipping. This guidance explains the circumstances in which overt and covert surveillance may be used in fly-tipping investigations.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the the adequacy of urgent and emergency care services arising from Rugby and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring patients in Rugby have access to timely, high-quality urgent and emergency care services. The Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is developing and delivering an Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme to improve access to care closer to home, reduce avoidable pressure on hospital services, and provide more joined-up care.
Improvements have already been made at Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), including access to general practice (GP) support outside normal practice hours where clinically appropriate. This is helping more patients receive care locally without needing to attend an emergency department.
The ICB is now progressing the next phase of its programme, which will develop an integrated urgent care model to strengthen UTC provision, including evening and weekend services, and establish a single point of access for healthcare professionals to help patients access the most appropriate care.
The new model will also ensure UTCs meet national standards, including provision for patients of all ages and access to GP-led care. The new model is anticipated to be in place by autumn 2027. In the meantime, the ICB will continue to support improvements at Rugby UTC and maximise the use of available GP out-of-hours appointments at Rugby St Cross Hospital.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help improve the efficiency and value for money of defence procurement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A substantial programme of work is underway across Defence to improve procurement performance and efficiency. This includes implementing acquisition reform to speed up routes to contract, strengthen contractual levers, improve delivery discipline, and implementing the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Royal Mail's performance in relation to its delivery targets.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26.
The Government will continue to discuss Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, and there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 2026/27 show an improvement.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent research his Department has carried out into the psychological effect on job seekers of employers not responding to their application.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises concerns about modern recruitment practices raised by young people who contributed to Alan Milburn's interim review of the rise in the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Many reported submitting large numbers of job applications but receiving either no response or only automated rejections.
The government is considering these concerns and will respond to any recommendations arising from Alan Milburn's final review once it is published.
The government is not aware of any jurisdiction that legally requires employers to respond individually to every job application and has no current plans to introduce such a requirement. However, unsuccessful applicants may wish to seek feedback from employers on their application. They may also ask an employer to review a recruitment decision if they believe they have been discriminated against or that the recruitment process was not applied fairly or consistently.
The government has not conducted recent research into the psychological impact on jobseekers of receiving no response to a job application.