Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that all members of the Trans and Intersex communities have access to (a) safe and (b) gender affirming (i) bathrooms, (ii) changing rooms and (iii) refuges; and that when using those facilities they are free from harassment.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Trans and intersex people deserve dignity and respect. Protections remain in place for them to live free from discrimination and harassment.

Regarding service provision, we want everyone to be able to access services that meet their needs whilst protecting their privacy and safety. The EHRC’s updated Code of Practice will provide guidance to providers, and we are considering their draft.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of consumer protections in the parcel delivery sector, particularly where subcontracting arrangements are in place.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.

The ‘Mail Integrity Objectives’, set out in Ofcom’s Essential Condition 1, seek to minimise the potential for parcels to be subject to loss, theft, damage or interference. Currently this Essential Condition is effectively restricted to Royal Mail’s services delivered under its universal postal service obligation.

Ofcom engages regularly with all parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of, and compliance with, its consumer protection measures.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections for leaseholders undertaking informal lease extensions, in the context of the (a) absence of specialist qualification requirements for solicitors handling such transactions, (b) exclusion of lease extension advice from Financial Conduct Authority regulation and (c) lack of price controls in the informal extension process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department has considered the adequacy of consumer protections for leaseholders undertaking informal lease extensions as part of the wider package of leasehold reform.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 already provides some protections by restricting the ground rent payable following a non-statutory lease extension. Given that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will make the statutory route cheaper and easier, we expect more leaseholders to use it in future.

Solicitors must meet the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s strict education, training, and ethical standards and maintain competence throughout their careers. While there is no statutory requirement for specialist qualifications in lease-extension work, solicitors are professionally obliged to act only where competent and to provide a proper standard of service. Consumer protections include mandatory professional indemnity insurance, access to the Legal Ombudsman, and SRA enforcement powers.

The government and Parliament set the rules for financial services and decide which activities require official approval. These rules are detailed because financial products are varied and complex. The costs and benefits of bringing activities into the regulatory perimeter can be finely balanced, which is why the government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding has been allocated for redundancy packages related to workforce reductions in export support services.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

A programme of transformation for the Department for Business and Trade’s export services is ongoing and will entail workforce changes. It is not yet possible to determine a level of redundancies that might result from that process. Any related funding needs will be addressed within the course of business planning.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate has been made of the total savings to be achieved through workforce reductions in export support services.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The transformation of the department is ongoing and it is not yet possible to determine how many staff might be redeployed or may leave the department. Therefore, it is not yet possible to determine total savings that will be achieved.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, over what time period workforce reductions in export support services will take place.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade’s new export structures in the UK are expected to be in place from 1 April, however the workforce reductions in teams involved in export work across the UK and overseas will be ongoing over the course of 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of export support service workforce reductions on small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to export.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are changing how we deliver export support in line with the Trade Strategy, and in response to the asks of businesses and our stakeholders, to provide a more accessible and easier to navigate offer that utilises technology to deliver more cost-effective and impactful support for SME exporters. For the first time, DBT has integrated its support for SMEs in a single place – the Business Growth Service – making government support for SME exporters more accessible and effective.

We will focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact, supporting businesses with the highest growth potential and targeting markets with significant economic opportunity. This strategic approach will deliver better value for taxpayers and stronger results for UK exporters. In addition, we expect UKEF to play a more substantial role in supporting SMEs to export.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has undertaken consultation with (a) business organisations and (b) export-focused SMEs on workforce reductions in export support services.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are changing how we deliver export support in line with the Trade Strategy, and in response to the asks of businesses and our stakeholders, to provide a more accessible and easier to navigate offer that utilises technology to deliver more cost-effective and impactful support for SME exporters. For the first time, DBT has integrated its support for SMEs in a single place – the Business Growth Service – making government support for SME exporters more accessible and effective.

We will focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact, supporting businesses with the highest growth potential and targeting markets with significant economic opportunity. This strategic approach will deliver better value for taxpayers and stronger results for UK exporters. In addition, we expect UKEF to play a more substantial role in supporting SMEs to export.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure continuity of export support services during workforce reductions.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are changing how we deliver export support in line with the Trade Strategy, and in response to the asks of businesses and our stakeholders, to provide a more accessible and easier to navigate offer that utilises technology to deliver more cost-effective and impactful support for SME exporters. For the first time, DBT has integrated its support for SMEs in a single place – the Business Growth Service – making government support for SME exporters more accessible and effective.

We will focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact, supporting businesses with the highest growth potential and targeting markets with significant economic opportunity. This strategic approach will deliver better value for taxpayers and stronger results for UK exporters. In addition, we expect UKEF to play a more substantial role in supporting SMEs to export.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff positions in export support services will be reduced in each individual export market as a result of the Department's workforce reduction programme.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As set out in the Trade Strategy our overseas network will increasingly focus on the markets, sectors and opportunities that will drive UK economic growth for the next decade and beyond. We will have fewer export support staff in some markets as we focus more of our resource on attracting high value inward investment and tackling the market access barriers that hold British exporters back. We are working through the specific impact in each market, but directly supporting British exporters will remain the biggest part of what DBT teams do overseas.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding his Department has allocated for AI and digital technology to replace staff removed from export support services.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

DBT is making use of AI tools to improve our services to business, but we are not replacing staff with AI and digital technology.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what methods will be used to reduce staffing levels in export support services; and whether these will include (a) redundancy, (b) voluntary redundancy, (c) redeployment to other departments, and (d) non-replacement of retiring staff.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

All staff in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) were able to apply for a voluntary exit scheme, before the announcement of workforce reductions. Staff impacted in export support services and in other areas of DBT may be offered redundancy, voluntary redundancy and redeployment opportunities in line with the rest of the department.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote recognition of UK professional IT qualifications, including CITP status, in trade negotiations with international partners.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Provisions on the recognition of professional qualifications (RPQ) are an important part of the services chapters in the UK’s international trade agreements, including within the UK-Switzerland RPQ Agreement and our Free Trade Agreements with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Australia, New Zealand and India.

DBT works closely with our overseas partners to promote the UK’s world-leading professional qualifications. Under our international arrangements DBT has committed to encourage our independent occupational regulators and professional membership bodies, including the British Computer Society, to consider pursuing RPQ agreements with international partners. DBT supports these bodies to do so.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for learner drivers seeking to book and take the car theory test.

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

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has a key performance indicator (KPI) to provide theory test candidates with a test appointment within 28 days of their preferred date which is measured as a regional average. Despite unprecedented levels of demand for theory tests this KPI is consistently met.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has the Government made of the financial impact on UK small and medium-sized enterprises of the adverse effects on competition identified in the Competition and Markets Authority's Cloud Services Market Investigation, specifically regarding egress fees and technical barriers to switching cloud providers.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government has not assessed the impacts of the practices detailed in the CMA’s Cloud Service Market Investigation.

In the Final Report published on 31 July 2025, the key recommendation was for the CMA Board to prioritise commencing investigations under the digital markets regime to consider designating the two largest providers - Microsoft and AWS - with strategic market status in relation to cloud services.

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 the suitability of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s approach to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of rare disease medicines.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE plays a key role in supporting the adoption of innovative new medicines to improve outcomes for patients, at a price that reflects their value and is fair to the taxpayer.

NICE has a strong track record of recommending medicines for the treatment of rare diseases and its standard technology appraisal process has been proven to be suitable for the evaluation of these medicines, where companies engage constructively in the appraisal and commercial discussions with NHS England. NICE’s approval rate for medicines for rare diseases is in line with its overall approval rate for new medicines, with 91% of medicines licensed for rare diseases recommended for some or all of the eligible patient population since April 2024.

NICE’s also operates a separate highly specialised technologies programme (HST) which is reserved for a small number of medicines for very rare and very severe diseases. The HST programme uses a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold than a standard NICE appraisal, that recognises the challenges of developing medicines for very small patient populations.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, which includes improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs as one of its four priorities. We are committed to ensuring that this priority is a key driver of the action plans published under this framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people living with rare diseases in England have timely access to innovative medicines.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE plays a key role in supporting the adoption of innovative new medicines to improve outcomes for patients, at a price that reflects their value and is fair to the taxpayer.

NICE has a strong track record of recommending medicines for the treatment of rare diseases and its standard technology appraisal process has been proven to be suitable for the evaluation of these medicines, where companies engage constructively in the appraisal and commercial discussions with NHS England. NICE’s approval rate for medicines for rare diseases is in line with its overall approval rate for new medicines, with 91% of medicines licensed for rare diseases recommended for some or all of the eligible patient population since April 2024.

NICE’s also operates a separate highly specialised technologies programme (HST) which is reserved for a small number of medicines for very rare and very severe diseases. The HST programme uses a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold than a standard NICE appraisal, that recognises the challenges of developing medicines for very small patient populations.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, which includes improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs as one of its four priorities. We are committed to ensuring that this priority is a key driver of the action plans published under this framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking in response to research by the UK BioIndustry Association published on 6 November 2025 showing that around half of rare disease medicines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are not being reimbursed for patients in England.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE plays a key role in supporting the adoption of innovative new medicines to improve outcomes for patients, at a price that reflects their value and is fair to the taxpayer.

NICE has a strong track record of recommending medicines for the treatment of rare diseases and its standard technology appraisal process has been proven to be suitable for the evaluation of these medicines, where companies engage constructively in the appraisal and commercial discussions with NHS England. NICE’s approval rate for medicines for rare diseases is in line with its overall approval rate for new medicines, with 91% of medicines licensed for rare diseases recommended for some or all of the eligible patient population since April 2024.

NICE’s also operates a separate highly specialised technologies programme (HST) which is reserved for a small number of medicines for very rare and very severe diseases. The HST programme uses a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold than a standard NICE appraisal, that recognises the challenges of developing medicines for very small patient populations.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, which includes improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs as one of its four priorities. We are committed to ensuring that this priority is a key driver of the action plans published under this framework.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps is the Government taking to review public sector cloud services procurement practices in light of the Competition and Markets Authority's finding that Microsoft and AWS hold approximately 70% market share between them; and will the Government publish guidance on competitive tendering to ensure value for money.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Further to the Competition and Markets Authority findings, the Crown Commercial Service, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office are exploring measures to strengthen value for money and promote supplier diversification.

Procurement guidance is kept under regular review, and we will consider issuing further guidance as needed to support value for money.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what is the Government's proposed timeline for implementing the Competition and Markets Authority's recommendation to designate Microsoft and AWS with Strategic Market Status under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 following the Cloud Services Market Investigation published on 31 July 2025.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) has completed 3 Strategic Market Status investigations this year. The CMA is independent of the Government and decisions on which markets to investigate is for its Board. The CMA has published guidance on its website on how it will prioritise Strategic Market Status designations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to question 81028, tabled on 10 October 2025.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 December 2025 to Question 81028.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of regional variations in the proportion of NHS Continuing Healthcare applications that are approved; and what steps he is taking to ensure consistency in decision making across Integrated Care Boards.

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

The Department works closely with NHS England to monitor levels of regional variation in eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This includes NHS England implementing an operational assurance regime across regions which promotes accurate assessment, equal access, standardisation, and consistency within CHC funding.

This assurance regime has a specific focus on reducing unwarranted variation in CHC across the country. To support this further during 2025/26, NHS England has increased their regional assurance meetings from every three months to every two months.

To support improved patient experience in relation to CHC, the NHS Performance and Assessment Framework for 2025/26 also includes an assurance standard for Integrated Care Boards to monitor the percentage of Standard CHC referrals completed within 28 days.

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 the adequacy of the availability of NHS dental services in the Bracknell Forest wards of Maidenhead constituency; and what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in the Ascot, Binfield with Warfield, and Winkfield and Cranbourne areas.

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

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. Therefore, data is not available on the number of people who are unable to register with a dentist in the Maidenhead constituency.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Maidenhead constituency, this is the Frimley ICB.

The data for the NHS Frimley ICB shows that 40% of adults were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months up to June 2025, which is the same as the average for England, and 56% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2025, compared to 57% in England.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in underserved areas, and the Government is taking action to improve this. We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments across the country, with appointments more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most. The Government is also considering the outcomes of the consultation on immediate improvements to dental care and will publish a response shortly.

ICBs are also recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to reforming the dental sector and we will deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

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 number of people in the Bracknell Forest wards of Maidenhead constituency who are unable to register with an NHS dentist.

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

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. Therefore, data is not available on the number of people who are unable to register with a dentist in the Maidenhead constituency.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Maidenhead constituency, this is the Frimley ICB.

The data for the NHS Frimley ICB shows that 40% of adults were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months up to June 2025, which is the same as the average for England, and 56% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2025, compared to 57% in England.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in underserved areas, and the Government is taking action to improve this. We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments across the country, with appointments more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most. The Government is also considering the outcomes of the consultation on immediate improvements to dental care and will publish a response shortly.

ICBs are also recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to reforming the dental sector and we will deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of naturalisation fees on UK residents with Indefinite Leave to Remain who have not applied for British citizenship; and if she will reduce citizenship application fees to administration costs only.

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

No specific assessment has been made on the impact of naturalisation fees on those who are resident in the UK with Indefinite Leave to Remain and have not applied for British Citizenship. However, where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes. When fees for naturalisation applications were increased on 09 April 2025, an Equalities Impact Assessment was published, which can be viewed through this link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/363/pdfs/uksiod_20250363_en_001.pdf.

The Home Office acknowledges that whilst some individuals may wish to apply to become a British citizen, it is not mandatory, and many choose not to do so. This is because, in addition to lawful permanent residence in the UK, a person with Indefinite Leave to Remain enjoys the benefit of access to the UK labour market, state education and healthcare and the ability to sponsor family members’ residence in the UK.

The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under review. However, the Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing is utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system, reducing reliance of taxpayer funding.

60th anniversary of Re-engage Epsom and Ewell

Parkway Shopping

Changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief in the Autumn Budget 2025

Blue Badge wait times

Postal workers and Royal Mail staff

Winter NHS corridor care

Frozen pensions for UK citizens overseas

Life and legacy of Saskia Jones

Royal Naval Association Torbay

McLaren title win for British motorsport

Horton Cemetery

Valporate report

Lando Norris wins Formula One World Driver's Championship

Russian shadow fleet

Palestinian children in Israeli military detention

North East Fife restaurants named among world’s best

Sheringham bus shelter

10,000th Robotic Procedure at Royal Surrey County Hospital

Baltonsborough Village Stores awarded the regional Local Retail Champion Award 2025 for the South West

25th Anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Sewage discharge in the Severn and Avon

Tenth anniversary of Storm Desmond

Chalk streams and salmon in Hampshire

Detention of Hassan Mushaima and Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace

Julie Whitton

Nettlebed Community School

The Fixy Project wins Green Apple Environmental Award

Reopening of The Bayford Inn in Wincanton

Gold awards for Nonsuch Park in South & South East in Bloom 2025

Surrey Youth Focus

Gaelic and Scots recognised as official languages

Sodium valproate and surgical mesh redress

Water scarcity and agricultural reservoirs

Tackling van and tool theft

County FA Recognition Awards 2025

Leckhampton Rovers FC Sustainability Trail

80/80 challenge and Cheltenham Town Community Trust

Fly-tipping and illegal waste dumping by criminal gangs

Huckyduck Carnival Club

Access to banks

Safeguarding pubs, brewers and one million jobs

Gambling executives' profits

Graham Geddes, Headway North East Fife

Neurodivergent service personnel in the armed forces

Habitat regulations

Found: Madders (Labour; Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat; Witney) Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Alison Griffiths; Sonia Kumar; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Alison Griffiths; Sonia Kumar; Justin Madders; Charlie Maynard; Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Madders (Labour; Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat; Witney) Mr Joshua Reynolds

Found: Madders (Labour; Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat; Witney) Mr Joshua Reynolds

Submit Evidence (by 18 Dec 2025)

The Business and Trade Committee is exploring issues impacting competition and market functioning within the UK’s live music industry, including the role of the CMA in regulation of the sector. This work is following on from oral evidence sessions held on 4 February and 24 June 2025. The Committee is seeking written submissions on the characteristics, features and trends within the UK live music industry that may adversely impact market competition or market functioning.