Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of automatically releasing funds in unclaimed adult-owned Child Trust Funds through the (a) benefit, (b) payroll and (c) student loan systems.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is aware of suggestions that a system could be developed for paying out the savings held in matured Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts that have not been accessed by the account owners by the age of 21.
The savings in these accounts belong to the account owners, and are held by private sector CTF providers. The Government does not have the authority to close these accounts, or to access and transfer the savings in them. Neither does the infrastructure that would be needed across government departments and CTF providers to implement the proposal, exist.
The Government is committed to reuniting all young adults with their CTFs.
HMRC works with CTF providers, industry representatives and others such as the University and Colleges Admissions service to explore ways of enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the national maternity investigation will also look into cases of twin and triplet deaths as part of its investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges that pregnancies for twins and multiples are associated with significantly higher risks for stillbirth, neonatal death and preterm birth.
Cases of twin and triplet deaths will be looked at as part of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation where they fall within the scope of the terms of reference. These terms are available at the following link:
The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. The Investigation will publish its final report and recommendations in Spring 2026.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department plans to issue to Material Recovery Facilities to ensure consistent sorting standards.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not plan to issue specific guidance on sorting requirements for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).
We are working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support MRF readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements. We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities through WRAP’s MRF Forum to identify challenges with MRF capacity, investment and upgrade timelines, and to work with the sector to identify interventions to support MRFs as they prepare for Simpler Recycling. WRAP is developing interventions to support local authorities with the procurement of new MRF contracts, determine the potential future composition of dry mixed recyclable waste streams and the associated financial implications.
Those MRF operators engaged with us are aware of their obligations and are working hard to upgrade their facilities to ensure they can separate the target materials as required by Simpler Recycling.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the rise in disguised employment in the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is committed to ensuring that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently and creates a level playing field for compliant businesses. Most businesses pay what they owe but a minority fail to register with HMRC or only declare a portion of their earnings.
HMRC is committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. In these cases, HMRC will take steps to ensure they pay the right Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.
HMRC recognises that some customers can find it hard to understand their tax obligations. HMRC is developing and testing new educational material specific to the hair and beauty sector to explain better the rent-a-chair model, making it easier for customers to get things right.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the proportion of NHS expenditure allocated to primary care dentistry net of patient charge revenue compared with other areas of NHS primary care in each financial year since 2010/11.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prior to 2023/24, there was no specific dental budget allocation and dentistry formed part of a wider budget including community pharmacy and optometry. Since 2023/24, there has been a specific dental ringfence allocation for integrated care boards. This includes primary, secondary and community dentistry and is set net of patient charges.
The attached table sets out actual spend on different aspects of primary care for 2013/14 onwards, with previous comparable figures not being available as they predate the creation of NHS England.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made towards publishing the family engagement strategy and methodology for the National Maternity Investigation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national maternity and neonatal investigation is operationally independent of the Department and, therefore, we do not hold this information.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2025 to Question 74400 on Juries: Childcare, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount jurors can claim for childcare to ensure that it remains in line with those costs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jurors can claim allowances to help cover additional costs arising from jury service, including the full additional cost of childcare within the overall daily financial loss allowance cap. Informal childcare can also be reimbursed at a set hourly rate, subject to the same allowance cap. Jurors can apply for a deferral or excusal based on childcare issues. These allowances are kept under review to ensure support remains appropriate and accessible. At present, there are no plans to increase the juror childcare allowance rate.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress the Government has made on reviewing how future MPS surpluses should be shared.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The previous Minister of State for Industry met the MPS Trustees on 9 July and confirmed the Government’s commitment to considering their proposals regarding the future of the scheme. DESNZ will now engage HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that delays to broadband rollout are minimised when a Building Digital UK contract is terminated.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is designed to adapt in the event a contracted supplier can no longer complete its planned delivery, utilising a mix of contracts and interventions to enable us to continue to bring fast, reliable broadband to hard-to-reach premises across the UK. This process is intended to mitigate the potential impact of contract terminations on rural communities and to ensure that delays to the rollout of Project Gigabit are minimised.
In May 2025, Building Digital UK (BDUK) and Full Fibre mutually agreed to terminate the Project Gigabit contract for the Peak District, which included some premises in the Derbyshire Dales constituency.
BDUK is now engaging with suppliers to review alternative options for extending coverage in this region. The coverage that can be provided, and the timescale for its delivery, will depend on what suppliers are able to offer within the public funding that can be made available, and we are keen to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the early termination of the Building Digital UK Full Fibre contract on rural communities in Derbyshire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is designed to adapt in the event a contracted supplier can no longer complete its planned delivery, utilising a mix of contracts and interventions to enable us to continue to bring fast, reliable broadband to hard-to-reach premises across the UK. This process is intended to mitigate the potential impact of contract terminations on rural communities and to ensure that delays to the rollout of Project Gigabit are minimised.
In May 2025, Building Digital UK (BDUK) and Full Fibre mutually agreed to terminate the Project Gigabit contract for the Peak District, which included some premises in the Derbyshire Dales constituency.
BDUK is now engaging with suppliers to review alternative options for extending coverage in this region. The coverage that can be provided, and the timescale for its delivery, will depend on what suppliers are able to offer within the public funding that can be made available, and we are keen to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.