Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 67736 on Recycling, whether it remains her Department's plan to publish the Circular Economy Strategy for England in the autumn.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. The Government has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, which we plan to publish for consultation in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the remit of the child poverty taskforce includes examining the potential impact of the two-child benefit cap.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is committed to tackling child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which we will publish in the autumn. We are considering all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to give every child the best start in life as part of our strategy.

The causes of child poverty are wide-ranging and deep-rooted, and so it is right that the Taskforce carefully considers and assesses the available levers as it develops this Strategy.

In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with action.

As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap.

Last month, we confirmed funding of £600m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for the next three years, ensuring that children and young people can continue to benefit from enriching experiences and nutritious meals during the school holidays.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent with Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC since October 2023.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence has been conducting unarmed surveillance flights over Gaza for the sole purpose of locating hostages.

The UK controls what information is passed on to Israeli authorities and only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authority, and only when we believe it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.

I cannot comment on these matters further for reasons of operational security.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds contracts with Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As the hon. Member will recall from the previous answer. I cannot comment on these matters for reasons of operational security.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will have discussions with her Moroccan counterpart on (a) the coastal development projects that entail large-scale land acquisition, (b) the destruction of private property and (c) the displacement of Saharawi.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco, and consistently urges all states to uphold international law and international human rights standards. In this context, the UK encourages Morocco to ensure that all projects are implemented in a way that respects the rights of local communities. Regarding activities by UK companies operating, or considering operating, overseas, the UK promotes responsible corporate behaviour. This includes respect for the human rights of the people involved in or affected by their operations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make representations to her Moroccan counterpart on the restrictions on Saharawis’ rights to freedom of (a) expression, (b) association and (c) peaceful assembly.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law, and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process regarding Western Sahara. We have supported language in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara, including the freedoms of expression and association. The UK also shares a bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with Morocco, the third session of which is due to take place in London by the end of the year and will cover a range of topics.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she expects detained British national Alaa Abd el-Fattah to be released.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Alaa Abd El-Fattah was released from prison on 23 September 2025, following a Presidential pardon.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) ongoing work items, (b) unallocated cases and queries, (c) cases and queries allocated but not yet in progress and (d) cases and queries in progress but not yet completed were (i) being dealt with and (ii) still to be dealt with by MyCSP on 1 September 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

MyCSP, the Civil Service pension scheme administrator, does not record the data in the format requested. It reports to the Cabinet Office on a monthly basis. As at 31 August 2025, 73,725 new work items were received in August. A work item reflects an individual piece of work or task. There are 46,983 outstanding items - 9,950 cases awaiting a response and 37,033 items assigned for work to be completed.

The outstanding volumes are in line with what we would expect to see based on the differing clearance targets for certain tasks, such as retirements which can take up to 4 months to process. This is what the Cabinet Office expects to see and monitors on a monthly basis.

The Cabinet Office continues to emphasise to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Community Integrated Care's report entitled The Caring Economy – Unfair To Care 2025, published on 12 March 2025.

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

We appreciate the work undertaken and the findings presented in the Unfair to Care 2025 report. We are committed to supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce.

The Impact Assessment for the Employment Rights Bill, published in October 2024, provides an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts of a Fair Pay Agreement given the current stage of policy development.

The Spending Review 2025 allows for over £4 billion in additional funding available for ASC in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. This £4 billion increase includes £500 million to begin implementing the Fair Pay Agreement in 2028-29.

Yemen

Buying community energy locally

Conduct of the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby

Drug deaths (No. 2)

Strike action at the British Library

Five-year indefinite leave to remain pathway for Skilled Worker visa holders

London Underground cleaners

Football regulator

Leeds Stand Up To Racism’s event

Anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street