Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are unable to separate advertising and marketing spend. Total spend with our media buying agency Omnigov and TMP for the last three financial years is as follows:

The Ministry of Justice advertising spend is published yearly within our Annual Report and Accounts. Attached are the reports that cover the three previous financial years.

2022/23 – Annual Report and Accounts

2023/24 – Annual Report and Accounts

2024/25 – Annual Report and Accounts

The Ministry of Justice uses advertising to support the Department in delivering its key priorities. These priorities include campaigns that ensure victims of crime are aware of, and able to access the support services available to them, as well as our recruitment campaigns that support filling our operationally critical front line roles in the Prison and Probation Service, and Magistrates roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats have been linked to proscribed terrorist groups in each of the last three years.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The first priority of Government is protecting national security and the safety of UK citizens. All applications for UK immigration status, including for all those arriving through illegal migration routes, are subject to comprehensive checks.

It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on operational security matters or specific cases. However, where an individual is assessed as presenting a risk to our country, we take swift and robust action.

The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by criminals, by those posing a national security risk, and by individuals excluded from the UK or previously deported from the UK.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This information is set out in the department’s annual reports and accounts.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

A full Departmental response could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Full advertising and marketing costs for the Department are not held centrally. The majority of advertising and marketing expenditure is accounted for by advertising for the Royal Navy, Army, RAF and Ministry of Defence Police to aid recruitment.

All spending is subject to regular review to ensure it delivers value for money.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will declare a national emergency regarding the cross Channel small boat migration crisis.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The number of small boat crossings is too high and this Government is taking action. The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.

The Border Security Command is central to this effort, bringing together law enforcement, intelligence sharing, and international cooperation to disrupt smuggling networks and bring perpetrators to justice. For the first time, we have mobilised the whole of government and all operational partners to deliver a coordinated and prioritised range of activities in the UK and with partners overseas. Our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, which came into force on 5 January 2026, provides new powers to seize electronic devices from illegal migrants and introduces offences targeting small boat smuggling and concealment in vehicles. These measures strengthen our ability to disrupt organised immigration crime and reduce irregular migration.

Disruption of organised crime groups has intensified, increasing domestic action against organised immigration crime (OIC) via enhanced powers and intensified law enforcement operations, targeting upstream facilitators, disrupting OIC business models via targeting, the illicit financial flows, small boat equipment supply chains and online networks of organised crime groups (OCG)s.

We have boosted the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) capabilities through an extra £100 million funding which will pay for up to 300 extra NCA officers, state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel. This approach is working; the year ending September 2025, there were 3,162 OIC disruptions conducted by public bodies, 33% more than in the previous year (2,374). The number of OIC disruptions has steadily increased from an average of 392 disruptions per quarter in 2023, to 791 per quarter in the latest year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what background checks her Department conducts on migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals.

As part of this process, the Home Office collects biometric data—such as facial images and fingerprints—to establish identity. These biometrics are checked against Home Office systems and other law enforcement databases, including Interpol’s wanted list. This enables us to identify individuals, assess whether they pose a risk to public safety, and determine any breaches of immigration law. These checks are essential to maintaining a secure, fair, and effective immigration system.

In line with the Refugee Convention, refugee status will be denied to those who have committed serious crimes, pose a danger to the community, or present a threat to national security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Determining the amount spent by the Home Office on advertising and marketing specifically is not readily available from our finance system. To try to identify the information under scope would require a manual review of multiple expenditure categories and transactions, over three years. This could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and in order for them to work, they must be communicated effectively to engage the public and effect positive behaviour change. However, this has to be done with cost efficiency in mind and there are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

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

The Department has spent the following amounts in each of the last three financial years on advertising and marketing:

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds data on much money the Armed Forces have spent on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programmes in each of the last three years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 6 May 2025 to Question 49058 to the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential impact of delaying local elections in 2026 on levels of public trust in (a) the Government and (b) the UK’s democratic system.

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

This government takes democracy very seriously. In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils telling us about the capacity constraints they are operating within and the work that reorganisation introduces on top of existing challenges.

On 18 December I invited councils undergoing local government reorganisation with local elections in May 2026 to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation.

We have been transparent about this process and will consider all the representations we receive. The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of pubs facing closure.

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

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd January is attached.

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 support independent pubs in urban areas.

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

The Government recognises the significant role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth, employment and community cohesion across the UK. That is why we are offering targeted support for the sector.

We've permanently lowered tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000, worth nearly £900 million annually, benefitting over 750,000 properties. The new relief rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap so all qualifying properties will benefit. The government has also introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation.

The Chancellor announced a new National Licensing Policy Framework as part of her budget. This sets out a vision for a proportionate licensing system that supports good businesses while continuing to tackle bad operators.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made about the potential merits of using in-ovo sexing technology as an alternative to male chick culling in the egg industry.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As stated in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy¹ we will encourage industry to end the practice of culling male laying hen chicks. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching as set out in the Animal Welfare Committee’s ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of alcohol related antisocial behaviour.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes quarterly data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the percentage of respondents who reported antisocial behaviour in their area, broken down by type of ASB. This includes “Drink related behaviour”, “Loud music or other noise” and “vehicle related behaviour”. This can be found in tables D1 to D3 of the Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables here: Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics

The Home Office additionally collects and publishes information on the number of antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by the police; broken down by the 3 ASB types of “Personal”, “Nuisance” and “Environmental” - however whether these incidents were related to alcohol, noise or nuisance bikers is not separately identifiable. This data can also be found in Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables in tables D4 to D5

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of antisocial behaviour relating to nuisance bikers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes quarterly data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the percentage of respondents who reported antisocial behaviour in their area, broken down by type of ASB. This includes “Drink related behaviour”, “Loud music or other noise” and “vehicle related behaviour”. This can be found in tables D1 to D3 of the Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables here: Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics

The Home Office additionally collects and publishes information on the number of antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by the police; broken down by the 3 ASB types of “Personal”, “Nuisance” and “Environmental” - however whether these incidents were related to alcohol, noise or nuisance bikers is not separately identifiable. This data can also be found in Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables in tables D4 to D5

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of antisocial behaviour relating to noise.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes quarterly data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the percentage of respondents who reported antisocial behaviour in their area, broken down by type of ASB. This includes “Drink related behaviour”, “Loud music or other noise” and “vehicle related behaviour”. This can be found in tables D1 to D3 of the Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables here: Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics

The Home Office additionally collects and publishes information on the number of antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by the police; broken down by the 3 ASB types of “Personal”, “Nuisance” and “Environmental” - however whether these incidents were related to alcohol, noise or nuisance bikers is not separately identifiable. This data can also be found in Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables in tables D4 to D5

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will give police further powers to combat antisocial drug smoking within houses.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police, local authorities and other relevant agencies already have a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour, including drug misuse. This includes the powers provided by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, such as the Closure Power, which the police and councils can use to close premises which are being used, or are likely to be used, to commit nuisance or disorder, and the power provided under Section 17 (1) (b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) for police officers to enter a property without a warrant to arrest a person for an indictable offence, where there are reasonable grounds for believing the person is on the premises.

It is unlawful to possess or supply controlled drugs without a Home Office licence and we expect the police to enforce the law, but the use of such powers is an operational decision and, as with all intrusive police powers, must be exercised in a lawful, necessary, proportionate and accountable way, in accordance with the PACE Codes of Practice.

Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA) is another key tool that helps the police to identify individuals who have been using illicit drugs and support them to change their behaviour and reduce future offending. Through the Crime and Policing Bill we are expanding the offences which can trigger a test and enhancing powers to widen the range of drugs that can be tested for.

Tacking anti-social behaviour, including dug misuse, is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We have committed to adding 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and ensuring residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong, and we remain committed to working across public health, education, policing and wider public services on prevention to drive down drug use and ensure more people receive timely intervention and support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the number of offences for driving under the influence of (a) alcohol and (b) drugs.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects information on the number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including the number of ‘Causing death by careless driving under influence of drink or drugs’ offences. These are published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

It is not possible to separately identify which of these offences relate to alcohol and which relate to drugs.

There are a number of summary only offences relating to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which do not result in death, but these are not collected by the Home Office, as they are not notifiable offences.

The Home Office also collects and publishes data on the number of roadside alcohol screening breath tests carried out by police in England and Wales, on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures: Roads policing’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data, up to 2023, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-roads-policing-to-december-2023

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made about the level of threat from far-left extremism.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.

As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, Left Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT) currently represents a significantly smaller terrorist threat to the UK than Islamist terrorism or Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism (ERWT).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Total spend with our media buying and planning agency for the last three financial years is as follows:

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 bring high skilled jobs to former coalfield areas.

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

The Government is committed to revitalising former coalfield areas by driving local growth and creating high-skilled, long-term employment through targeted industrial and regional strategies. In the Industrial Strategy we announced £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29.

On 23 June 2025, the Government published the Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan, which consolidates previous Freeport and Investment Zone programmes. Several Investment Zones are located in or near former coalfield heartlands, including the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and the North East. These zones receive up to £160 million over 10 years for tax incentives and interventions in skills and infrastructure.

The Government continues to work with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which supported over 7,200 people in 2024/25 to improve their skills and job opportunities. In Wales, the Welsh Government provides specific capital grants to safeguard and improve community facilities in coalfield communities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As one of the largest government departments, our campaigns aim to give people straightforward information about policies and services that make a real difference in their daily lives. We focus on helping some of the UK’s most vulnerable households by showing them what support is available and how to access it. For example, letting pensioners know they could get extra money to help with living costs and explaining how to apply, guiding people through the steps to switch from older benefits to Universal Credit so they don’t miss out on payments, and sharing advice on how to access jobs and skills support.

Advertising is essential to reach the right people with these messages. We choose media channels that give the best value for money and have the biggest impact for taxpayer.

Total spend with our buying and planning agencies for the last three financial years is as follows: (amounts are rounded to nearest £0.1m):

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Total spend with our media buying agency for the last three financial years is as follows:

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 estimate of the cost of the local government reorganisation programme.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of judicial penalties for domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors. The courts also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Although domestic abuse is not a standalone offence, it is a context within which a wide range of criminal offences may be committed, which courts will take into account.

We recognise the importance of consistently identifying domestic abuse offenders at every stage of the system. That is why we are moving at pace to implement a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases, delivering on a recommendation made in the Independent Sentencing Review.

This domestic abuse identifier will enable police, prisons and probation to more consistently identify domestic abuse offenders. This will mean improved support for victims, whether the domestic abuse perpetrator is in the community or in prison.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of raw materials used in the production of equipment for the armed forces are sourced in Britain.

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

The Government is spending more of a rising defence budget with British companies.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) total direct expenditure with industry was £35.4 billion in 2024-25, of which £31.7 billion was with UK industry. Of the total industry spend, £11.9 billion was on equipment, of which £10.4 billion (87%) was in the UK.

Statistics on MOD expenditure with industry are published annually on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-statistics-with-industry-202425.

The Department does not centrally track the origin of all raw materials used in the production of equipment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of equipment used by the British armed forces is made in the UK.

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

The Government is spending more of a rising defence budget with British companies.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) total direct expenditure with industry was £35.4 billion in 2024-25, of which £31.7 billion was with UK industry. Of the total industry spend, £11.9 billion was on equipment, of which £10.4 billion (87%) was in the UK.

Statistics on MOD expenditure with industry are published annually on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-statistics-with-industry-202425.

The Department does not centrally track the origin of all raw materials used in the production of equipment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on the reliability of bus services in England.

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

The Department for Transport publishes data on bus reliability and punctuality in England. This can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#bus-reliability-and-punctuality-bus09.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how well prepared the UK transport sector is to combat espionage activity.

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

The Government takes its commitment to national security extremely seriously, including for the transport sector. The National Security Act 2023 overhauled previous espionage laws and created a suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.

The Department will continue to work with partners across government and industry to ensure the transport sector is an even harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, making full use of the levers available to combat espionage and other state threat activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of drug misuse crime.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The ONS publishes data from Crime Survey in England and Wales on the extent and trends of illicit drug use and it can be found here:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesappendixtable

The Home Office publishes police recorded crime data for trafficking of drugs and possession of drugs and it can be found here:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables/yearendingjune2025/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtablesyejun2025final.xlsx

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve transparency in the way crime data is published.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics has primary responsibility for publishing information on crime statistics.

They publish progress updates on their crime statistics improvement programme, with the last update in July 2025, available here: Improving crime statistics for England and Wales – progress update - Office for National Statistics

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made about the potential risk of (a) domestic and (b) international espionage activity impacting transport infrastructure.

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

The Department for Transport takes national security extremely seriously. We work with partners across government, internationally, and with industry to understand, mitigate and respond to the full range of threats to the transport sector, including espionage. We will not hesitate to take action if necessary, with policy options continuously kept under review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency measures the Government has in place for instances of major power outages impacting people’s ability to travel by (a) personal private car transport and (b) public transport.

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

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.

The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made about the potential impact of power outages on the ability of people the travel, in the context of the transition to electric cars.

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

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.

The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment they have made about the potential impact of power outages on public transport networks using electric vehicles.

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

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.

The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve reliability on the railways.

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

Improving performance is one of this Government’s strategic priorities for transport, we are determined to enhance services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer. In response to our challenge to improve performance, the rail industry has set out a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and how to keep trains moving during disruptive events.

The Department has been clear with operators and Network Rail about its expectations on performance, and how operators and Network Rail will deliver for passengers and meet their needs - this includes cancellations. The Department expects train operators to mitigate disruption and provide reliable services for passengers wherever possible.

To improve reliability and reduce traincrew related cancellations, we have developed a seven-point plan for traincrew, which we have built into business plan requirements. Operators have provided a concise, data-driven and evidence-based plan for how they will deliver the seven-point plan as part of their Business Plan responses, which were submitted in early December. These plans cover staffing levels, recruitment, training, overtime and planning efficiency to improve reliability.

The Rail Minister is continuing to meet with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how well prepared the UK energy sector is to combat espionage activity.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

National Security is a key priority for the government. The Department takes the threat of espionage against the energy sector extremely seriously and works closely with industry, regulators and Government partners to ensure a strong and coordinated approach. This includes maintaining robust cyber, physical and personnel security measures to identify, prevent and respond to hostile activity.

Operators should regularly assess risks and test their preparedness, and the Government continues to work to strengthen resilience across the sector so that the UK energy sector maintains a high level of preparedness to counter espionage risks.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made on the potential risk of (a) domestic and (b) international espionage activity impacting energy infrastructure.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government keeps the threat of both domestic and international espionage to UK energy infrastructure under regular review. This includes assessments of the threat picture undertaken with industry, security agencies and international counterparts, drawing on intelligence reporting and incident trends.

Collaboration with allies is critical to our collective security and resilience. DESNZ engages closely with international partners and multilateral institutions, including NATO, to monitor potential espionage activity targeting energy infrastructure in the UK and abroad, share situational awareness, and identify trends that may have implications for national security.

The Department continues to monitor threats closely and works with industry to ensure the security of UK energy infrastructure against espionage activity from both domestic and international actors.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support non-metropolitan area towns.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Economic growth is the number one mission of this government. Across the country growth has stagnated, leading our towns and cities to underperform and living standards to fall. This government will drive growth and unlock investment across the country by giving local leaders the tools they need to maximise their unique strengths and opportunities.

On 25 September 2025, the Government announced its flagship Pride in Place Programme, which will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support over the next decade to 244 of the UK’s most in-need neighbourhoods, including a number of non-metropolitan area towns such as Kirkby-in-Ashfield in the Honourable Member’s constituency. This programme will serve as the cornerstone of the Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods areas announced in March 2025, including places in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase teacher retention.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

A strong retention strategy is at the heart of the government’s pledge for 6,500 more expert teachers, as part of its Plan for Change. The department has already implemented a near 10% pay award over two years and we are offering the Targeted Retention Incentive, worth up to £6,000 after tax for teachers of key subjects in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools.

Last year we accepted in full the School Teacher Review Body’s recommendations on Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments. From September 2026, these additional payments will be paid to teachers based on the proportion of responsibility they carry out, rather than their contracted hours. This change follows calls from the sector and will improve equality of opportunity for part-time workers, better enabling them to move into leadership roles.

In addition to financial incentives, our ’Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service provides a range of resources for schools to review and reduce workload and improve staff wellbeing. This service can be accessed here: https://improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff.education.gov.uk/.

We are seeing signs of improvement: the latest School Workforce Census reported one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector than the year before, and more teachers are returning to state schools after having previously left than at any point in the last ten years, with 17,274 teachers returning to the classroom.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of the cost of energy bills on households.

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

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead department for the energy sector only. Regarding energy utility bills, lowering bills is central to every decision we make.

Thanks to decisions in Government's Autumn Budget, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will deliver an average £150 of costs off household energy bills from April 2026. As a result of this action, people can expect to make a significant saving on their bills.

In addition, in 2024-2025, 7,961 households (18.4%) in Ashfield benefited from the Warm Home Discount - a £150 discount on their energy bill. This winter, we are expanding this discount so that around 6 million low-income households will receive this support, including an approximate additional 160,000 households in the East Midlands region.

Beyond these measures, this Government is taking back control of our energy to prevent the British people from being left exposed to price shocks caused by our dependence on fossil fuel markets. We are delivering the biggest investment in clean, low-cost energy in British history, so we can build a system that protects billpayers permanently.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he is taking to support households with the cost of utility bills.

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

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead department for the energy sector only. Regarding energy utility bills, lowering bills is central to every decision we make.

Thanks to decisions in Government's Autumn Budget, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will deliver an average £150 of costs off household energy bills from April 2026. As a result of this action, people can expect to make a significant saving on their bills.

In addition, in 2024-2025, 7,961 households (18.4%) in Ashfield benefited from the Warm Home Discount - a £150 discount on their energy bill. This winter, we are expanding this discount so that around 6 million low-income households will receive this support, including an approximate additional 160,000 households in the East Midlands region.

Beyond these measures, this Government is taking back control of our energy to prevent the British people from being left exposed to price shocks caused by our dependence on fossil fuel markets. We are delivering the biggest investment in clean, low-cost energy in British history, so we can build a system that protects billpayers permanently.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising household costs on working parents.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that everyday costs remain too high for many households, including working parents. This is why, at the Budget, the Government took action to bear down on prices and help cut cost of living pressures by targeting everyday expenses.

This includes taking an average of £150 off household energy bills from April 2026, expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to six million lower-income households, freezing regulated rail fares and NHS prescription fees for one year, and extending the 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026.

The Government is also committed to making renting easier and more affordable. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will strengthen protections for private renters and help tenants challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Alongside this, the Government is supporting working families by removing the two-child limit in Universal Credit, increasing the National Living Wage to £12.71 per hour from April 2026, extending the £3 bus cap to March 2027, expanding free breakfast clubs, widening free school meals eligibility, and increasing support with childcare costs through Universal Credit.

The Bank of England has cut Bank Rate six times since the election as inflationary pressures have eased, helping to reduce borrowing costs for households.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support working parents with rising household costs.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that everyday costs remain too high for many households, including working parents. This is why, at the Budget, the Government took action to bear down on prices and help cut cost of living pressures by targeting everyday expenses.

This includes taking an average of £150 off household energy bills from April 2026, expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to six million lower-income households, freezing regulated rail fares and NHS prescription fees for one year, and extending the 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026.

The Government is also committed to making renting easier and more affordable. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will strengthen protections for private renters and help tenants challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Alongside this, the Government is supporting working families by removing the two-child limit in Universal Credit, increasing the National Living Wage to £12.71 per hour from April 2026, extending the £3 bus cap to March 2027, expanding free breakfast clubs, widening free school meals eligibility, and increasing support with childcare costs through Universal Credit.

The Bank of England has cut Bank Rate six times since the election as inflationary pressures have eased, helping to reduce borrowing costs for households.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the construction industry.

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

We work in partnership with the Construction Leadership Council, which I co-chair.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act will speed up and streamline delivery of new homes and infrastructure, we are investing £39 billion over ten years through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and our New Homes Accelerator is accelerating delivery of housing sites – speeding up building of almost 100,000 homes across England.

Our 10-year Industrial Strategy recognises construction as a priority, backing faster planning and offsite manufacturing, and we are providing £625 million to tackle construction skills shortages by training up to 60,000 more workers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase transparency in the way immigration applications are processed.

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

All entry clearance, permission to stay and settlement applications are subject to customer service standards which we report on our website along with transparency data on performance. Where an individual is refused permission they are provided with a full refusal notice and in some categories have a right to an administrative review or full right of appeal.

Applicants are also able to view guidance which is published on GOV.UK (Visas and immigration operational guidance - GOV.UK), that caseworkers use when they consider making decisions on applications.

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 banning of petrol and diesel car sales after 2030 on the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for investment.

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

In 2024, the UK exported 77% of the cars it produced, and non zero emissions cars can continue to be sold internationally beyond 2030.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what vetting her Department undertakes into people who arrived in the UK illegally who subsequently apply for leave to remain.

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

The Home Office performs mandatory identity verification and security checks on all individuals applying to enter or remain in the UK. These checks are set out in comprehensive, internal guidance called the UK Visas and Immigration Operating Mandate (OM). To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted under the OM, the information contained within it is not disclosed publicly.

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 that imported electrical products meet British safety standards.

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

UK product safety regulations require that all consumer products placed on the market must be safe. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 place responsibilities on importers of electrical products to ensure their safety and compliance with the law. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards enforce these laws and can require the removal of non-compliant or unsafe products from supply. While standards can be designated by Government as a voluntary route for businesses to demonstrate compliance with the law, businesses remain responsible for ensuring products comply with the full regulatory requirements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of asylum seekers who have voluntarily visited their country of origin while their asylum claim is being processed.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Requests to leave the UK whilst continuing to pursue an asylum claim will only be accepted in the most exceptional circumstances such as the serious illness or death of a close family member or access to medical treatment abroad as it is unavailable in the UK.

If the claimant does not seek permission to travel before leaving the UK, or the request is not responded to by the Home Office, before the claimant has left the UK, all circumstances will be taken into account before proceeding to withdrawal action.

Under paragraph 333C(b)(ii) of the Immigration Rules, an application may be treated as implicitly withdrawn if the applicant leaves the United Kingdom (without authorisation) at any time before the conclusion of their application for asylum.

In the Immigration System Statistics data tables, published quarterly, withdrawals are categorised into implicit (non- substantiated) and other withdrawals (including explicit). However, we do not report on withdrawals in greater detail than that, for example, according to whether someone has returned to their country of origin as it is not held in a reportable format.

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 illegal migration on risks to the public.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Border Security Command (BSC) whose work is imperative not only to stop criminals from entering the UK via small boats in the first place but to stop anyone from making these dangerous journeys. This is why the BSC is working with partners internationally to tackle and disrupt organised immigration crime gangs.

All individuals arriving in the UK via small boats undergo a comprehensive screening process. This is designed to gather key information about each person, including any indicators of criminality.

As part of this process, the Home Office collects biometric data—such as facial images and fingerprints—to verify identity. These biometrics are checked against Home Office systems and other law enforcement databases, including Interpol’s wanted list. This enables us to identify individuals, assess whether they pose a risk to public safety, and determine any breaches of immigration law. These checks are essential to maintaining a secure, fair, and effective immigration system.

In line with the Refugee Convention, refugee status will be denied to those who have committed serious crimes, pose a danger to the community, or present a threat to national security.

For further details on security checks during the asylum screening process, please refer to Gov.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the scale of illegal migration to the UK.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected arrivals via illegal routes to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on detected arrivals by illegal routes is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2025.

The Government has taken significant steps to address illegal migration and its Plan for Change sets out our ambition to secure borders and control immigration. We are committed to tackling illegal migration and the criminal networks which facilitate it. Since July 2024, nearly 50,000 individuals without lawful status have been returned from the UK. Our agreement with France means that those arriving by small boats can be detained and returned to France.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve lessons about (a) financial responsibility and (b) budgeting in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching, following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025.

The department will be engaging with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum Programmes of Study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.

Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, is providing high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made about the adequacy of teaching in schools on (a) financial responsibility and (b) budgeting.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching, following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025.

The department will be engaging with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum Programmes of Study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.

Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, is providing high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many illegal migrants received (a) dental and (b) healthcare in the each of the last three years.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of people seeking asylum is a matter for the Home Office.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money is allocated to providing illegal migrants with (a) dental and (b) health care.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of people seeking asylum is a matter for the Home Office.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the readiness of the NHS to respond to co-ordinated cyber attacks.

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

In the past year, we have invested £37.6 million across health and social care, building on the £338 million invested since 2017. Through our ambitious Cyber Improvement Programme, we are tackling the changing cyber risk head-on, expanding protection and services to better protect the health and care system.

NHS England’s Cyber Operations team provides 24/7 monitoring and expert support to National Health Service organisations who have been impacted by cyber-attacks. This includes specialist, on the ground, certified incident response services free of charge to NHS organisations who have been severely impacted by cyber incidents as well as technical and operational support to contain, investigate, and remediate incidents. Furthermore, we have developed guidance for leaders involved in cyber incidents to ensure there is a clear policy and process for how to respond across all elements of incidents.

We have a process in place to identify lessons and implement improvements following cyber incidents. Following the Synnovis cyber-attack in 2024, the Department and NHS England have made improvements to critical communications processes, additional measures to improve resilience in the supply chain, and setting out clearer roles and responsibilities in incident management.

In 2023, a Health and Care Cyber Security Strategy was launched. Pillar 5 of the strategy focuses on exemplary response and recovery, and as set out in the strategy, health and care organisations should run annual cyber exercises to ensure there is a well-practiced and rapid response when incidents do occur.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office’s expenditure on (a) advertising and (b) marketing for the last three complete financial years, and the current financial year to date, is set out below:

* Please note that the figures for NIO Core include expenditure related to public inquiries within the NIO group, including the Omagh Bombing Public Inquiry.

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 improve the (a) prevention (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment of Ocular Melanoma.

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

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with cancer, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates. This will benefit all cancer patients, including ocular melanoma patients.

Early diagnosis of cancers, including ocular melanoma, is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the NHS will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the resilience of the military from potential cyber attack.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

Defence prioritises cyber security of its systems and implements a range of measures, including security and monitoring tools, to support cyber resilience and protect as far as possible from attack. Details of the measures are not shared publicly for security reasons.

In autumn 2025 we established Defence Cyber & Electromagnetic Force (DCEMF) to unify and advance previously fragmented and nascent capabilities, while empowering leadership to deliver operational advantage across the domain. This is in recognition of the critical importance of Cyber and Electromagnetic operations and capabilities in an increasingly complex and uncertain geopolitical environment. The DCEMF plays a central role in ensuring the UK remains competitive against peer adversaries in cyberspace and electromagnetic operations, driving the development of a technologically advanced Integrated Force capable of outthinking, outmanoeuvring, and outpacing its opponents.

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 reduce medicine wastage in the NHS.

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

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers.

NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence.

The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need.

Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the cost to the NHS of wasted medicines.

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

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers.

NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence.

The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need.

Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of levels of medicine wastage in the NHS.

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

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers.

NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence.

The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need.

Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve public transport provision in rural areas.

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

The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in keeping communities connected.

We introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. East Midlands Combined Authority will be allocated £65.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £21.7 million they are already receiving this year.

On 1 January 2025, the Government introduced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and in the Spending Review announced that this would be extended until March 2027. The £3 cap replaced the £2 cap, and without action, the cap would have ended and fares would have returned to their previous levels. Local authorities can also use their LABG funding to introduce local fares initiatives to further reduce travel costs

Rail services in East Midlands Combined Authority are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help make public transport more affordable.

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

The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in keeping communities connected.

We introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. East Midlands Combined Authority will be allocated £65.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £21.7 million they are already receiving this year.

On 1 January 2025, the Government introduced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and in the Spending Review announced that this would be extended until March 2027. The £3 cap replaced the £2 cap, and without action, the cap would have ended and fares would have returned to their previous levels. Local authorities can also use their LABG funding to introduce local fares initiatives to further reduce travel costs

Rail services in East Midlands Combined Authority are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made about the potential merits of making all Ofsted inspections unannounced.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Ofsted typically gives a short period of notice of its inspections. This supports the effective conduct of the inspection visit. Ofsted also has the ability to inspect without notice where it has concerns about a provider.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support regional airports.

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

Regional airports connect all regions of the UK to national and international opportunities. They serve our local communities by supporting thousands of jobs while maintaining social and family ties and strengthening the bonds between the four nations.

The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for different routes.

Ministers and officials at the Department meet regularly with regional airports to discuss issues such as regional air connectivity.

Government supports connectivity through our joint funding of three Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The advertising and marketing spend will be as follows, ‘24-25 £3m (Core & Agencies), 23-24 restated figures £6m (Core & Agencies) & 22-23 restated figures £1m (Core & Agencies).’ All figures can be found in the annual reports.

Core and Agencies* - The core department, Building Digital UK, and UK Space Agency.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the banning of petrol and diesel car sales after 2030 on the British automobile manufacturing industry.

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

The Government remains committed to the transition to Zero Emission Vehicles, and to making sure the transition works for industry. That is why we introduced significant changes to the ZEV Mandate last year, allowing for greater flexibility in meeting the targets. We have also committed £4 billion in funding for DRIVE35, which is the biggest government investment in our automotive sector in decades. In addition, we are investing an additional £1.3 billion in the Electric Car Grant.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce homelessness in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 99477 on 19 December 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of guidance on political neutrality in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

School leaders and staff have a responsibility to ensure that they act in accordance with their duties on political impartiality. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.

The department has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to understand their legal duties on political impartiality and how to meet them, both in teaching about political issues and beyond the classroom. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance includes advice on how schools can deal with complaints about political impartiality through appropriate local processes. Where parents and carers remain dissatisfied, they can raise a formal complaint in line with school complaints procedures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines the Government provides for schools when they are responding to alleged cases of political bias in the classroom.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

School leaders and staff have a responsibility to ensure that they act in accordance with their duties on political impartiality. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.

The department has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to understand their legal duties on political impartiality and how to meet them, both in teaching about political issues and beyond the classroom. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance includes advice on how schools can deal with complaints about political impartiality through appropriate local processes. Where parents and carers remain dissatisfied, they can raise a formal complaint in line with school complaints procedures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor schools to ensure they are remaining politically neutral.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

School leaders and staff have a responsibility to ensure that they act in accordance with their duties on political impartiality. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.

The department has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to understand their legal duties on political impartiality and how to meet them, both in teaching about political issues and beyond the classroom. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance includes advice on how schools can deal with complaints about political impartiality through appropriate local processes. Where parents and carers remain dissatisfied, they can raise a formal complaint in line with school complaints procedures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure schools adequately respond to accusations of political bias.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

School leaders and staff have a responsibility to ensure that they act in accordance with their duties on political impartiality. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.

The department has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to understand their legal duties on political impartiality and how to meet them, both in teaching about political issues and beyond the classroom. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance includes advice on how schools can deal with complaints about political impartiality through appropriate local processes. Where parents and carers remain dissatisfied, they can raise a formal complaint in line with school complaints procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department is taking to improve research into (a) Ocular Melanoma and (b) other rare cancers.

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

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in 2024/25 spent £141.6 million on cancer research, signalling its high priority.

One example of a recent investment into rare cancers is the NIHR’s investment of £13.7 million in December 2025 to support ground-breaking research to develop novel brain tumour treatments in the United Kingdom, with significant further funding announcements expected shortly. Research specifically on Ocular Melanoma includes a study completed in 2022 to develop AI Techniques to Predict Eye Cancer Using Big Longitudinal Data. The NIHR is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, by working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including for rare cancers

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on rare cancers to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into less common cancers, including ocular cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national curriculum in teaching British values.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

All schools are expected to actively promote fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

Schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas, and materials in their curriculum.

Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government will make citizenship statutory at key stages 1 and 2. Content at primary and secondary will include media literacy, law and rights, democracy and government, to enable children to be informed and active participants in society. Covering these issues in citizenship will ensure we continue to focus on schools’ role in developing fundamental British values, including mutual tolerance and respect.

Proposals will be consulted on from 2026 and we are working towards a first teaching of the new curriculum from September 2028.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national safeguarding guidelines for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. The department publishes statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

KCSIE is subject to regular review to ensure it is kept up to date and relevant. We are proposing to make changes to KCSIE 2026 and plan to launch a public consultation very soon.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department are taking to ensure rural communities can access in person banking services.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers in rural areas and across the country.

Through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the Government gave the Financial Conduct Authority regulatory responsibility for access to cash. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it by providing reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and businesses, including free services for personal accounts.

In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment, including through regular ministerial engagement. Most recently, on 8 January, I chaired a roundtable with banks, Cash Access UK and UK Finance to discuss banking hubs.

Banking hubs are allocated based on independent assessments by LINK, which consider factors such as branch closures, cash reliance and community vulnerability. The criteria also differentiate between rural and urban areas. For example, LINK applies a wider three-mile catchment area in rural locations to recognise that villages often rely on nearby market towns.

Customers can also access everyday banking services at a nearby Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers of participating banks to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,000 Post Office branches across the UK. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.

Beyond bank branches, banking hubs and Post Office banking services, some banks also provide points of access through initiatives such as pop-up services in libraries and community centres, or mobile banking vans serving remote areas. The Government supports initiatives which give customers access to in-person banking, as well as digital access.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of immigration on housing availability.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 62663 on 22 July 2025 and to Question UIN 51990 on 19 May 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce reoffending rates.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Reoffending in England and Wales costs taxpayers £22.7 billion per year (adjusted to 24/25 prices). Tackling reoffending is crucial to reducing crime, reducing demand on prison and probation services and protecting the public.

Working across Government, we are taking steps to tackle the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes, but is not limited to, education, employment, accommodation and substance misuse treatment services.

We have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are expanding our community accommodation service to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision. And we have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support independent museums.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government supports independent museums around the country through funding delivered via Arts Council England (ACE), with ACE investing over £80 million in museums in 2025/26 across its programmes. This funding includes £25 million to support museums across England with urgent infrastructure and maintenance backlogs through the Museum Estate and Development Fund, and a brand new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, both announced last February, in addition to core programming funding for the over 200 museum sites forming part of the National Portfolio. As the National Development Agency for Museums, ACE also funds the Museum Development Network, providing expert advice to smaller museums across the country, and delivers Cultural Property functions that support museums with everything from insurance, to new acquisitions.

Most recently, eligible independent museums could apply to the latest round of the £4 million DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, launched in September 2025 to support local and regional museums to improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to wider audiences. Independent museums are also supported through government schemes including the VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries, and the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Significant payments to companies, £25,000 and over, are published by month as part of the Department’s transparency data. This provides the most up to date data, including the companies used to deliver advertising and marketing. They are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/spending-over-25-000--2

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Total spend with our media buying and planning agencies for the last three financial years is as follows:

Financial years under the previous government

Financial years under the previous and current government

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

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

Government marketing supports the effective communication of operational and policy objectives by effectively understanding and meeting the needs of citizens and businesses, changing behaviours for personal, societal and economic benefit.

Total advertising and marketing spend with the Department for Business and Trade’s media buying agency for the last three financial years is as follows:

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing water bills on households.

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

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support people with the cost of water bills.

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

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with water companies on the cost of water bills to customers.

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

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.