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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to review guidance and regulations on the promotion of hunting trips involving species listed as (a) endangered and (b) critically endangered at exhibitions in the UK.

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

The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The Department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.

There are no plans to review guidance or regulations relating to the promotion of hunting trips at exhibitions in the UK. Where the import of any Appendix I or II species is involved, such activities are governed by existing rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to GP practices on the wording of appointment reminder messages to patients; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of encouraging practices to use confirmation-based reminders rather than cancellation-based reminders to reduce non-attendance rates.

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

General practices are independent businesses that hold contracts with the National Health Service, and each sets its own policies on managing missed appointments to best meet the needs of its local population. We know that many practices already use automated reminder systems that include the option for patients to cancel if they no longer need their appointment.

98.9% of practices now use cloud-based telephony systems, which can provide built‑in functionality to support appointment cancellation. It is for individual practices to determine how and if these functionalities are implemented.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out that the NHS App will be the front door to the NHS, where patients will be able to book, move, and cancel their appointments, and communicate with their health team, with ease, helping reduce no-shows by allowing easier management and notifications.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations in supporting young people into sustained employment.

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

The Department is strengthening collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations to support young people into sustained employment.

Through the development of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are embedding a more locally responsive model of employment support. This includes working in partnership with Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, employers and the voluntary and community sector to design and test different elements of the service that reflect local labour markets.

We are also undertaking a structured programme of engagement with 8,000 employers to better meet their recruitment needs, ensuring that support is tailored to local employers and local labour markets. This includes growing the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in priority sectors, where Jobcentres are working with local training providers to deliver employer-led placements combining sector-focused employability training, a work experience placement and guaranteed job interview.

We are also exploring how we can bring our services into the heart of communities to reach more people, including through our mobile Jobcentre services, where support is being provided in local community settings such as leisure centres and supermarkets.

In addition, for young people the government’s Youth Guarantee aims to ensure every young person has the opportunity to earn or learn, including those outside of the benefits system. As part of this we are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations across Great Britain, so that all young people can access high-quality, holistic support in their local area. Youth Hubs strengthen collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations by bringing partners together in local areas to deliver joined up support. Hubs align employment support with mental health, housing, skills provision and local employer links to help young people access co-ordinated support into sustained employment.

We have also launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, backed by £90 million of funding, to test innovative, locally led approaches to supporting young people, particularly those outside of the benefits system. The Trailblazers are bringing together national entitlements with locally tailored provision, strengthening local leadership and coordination, and working with partners including the voluntary sector, employers and colleges to reach and support young people who need additional help. Learning from these Trailblazers will inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain.

Taken together, these steps are improving collaboration at local level by aligning employment support more closely with employers and community partners, and by delivering joined‑up, place‑based support to help young people move into sustained employment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the timeliness of police forensic collision investigation reports following serious road traffic collisions; and what steps she is taking with police forces in England to reduce delays in the completion and release of forensic collision investigation reports.

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

The police are responsible for collision investigations and for establishing the circumstances that have led to deaths and life changing injuries on our roads.

The police investigation and release of forensic collision investigation reports, along with decisions on how available resources in completing and releasing forensic collision investigation reports, along with decisions are the deployment of available resources, are the responsibility of Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners who take into account specific local problems and demands when making those decisions.

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 increase access to clinical psychology services.

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

The Government is committed to improving access to high‑quality mental health support, including clinical psychology services. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding NHS Talking Therapies so more people can receive effective, evidence‑based treatment for common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. By March 2029, we have committed to providing 915,000 courses of NHS Talking Therapies treatment.

For people with more complex needs, we are transforming adult community mental health services by establishing community‑based mental health centres, which bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care to provide open‑access, local support before people reach crisis.

We are also expanding Individual Placement and Support (IPS), which provides tailored employment support for people with severe mental illness. By March 2029, 73,500 people will be able to access this programme, helping more people to recover and stay well.

To increase capacity across mental health services, we are recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. Almost 8,000 of these workers have already been recruited, strengthening the workforce that supports clinical psychology and other specialist services.

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 businesses with their operating costs.

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

We are committed to reducing operating costs for all UK businesses, including those in Eastleigh and across Hampshire.

We are reducing the annual administrative burden of regulation by £5.6bn by 2029, enabling UK businesses to unlock growth and boost innovation.

Introducing e-invoicing will also increase efficiency and streamline tax administration.

Tackling late payments will give the UK the strongest legal framework in the G7, intending to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows. We will publish our response to the late payment consultation setting out the measures we will take forward.

In addition, we are protecting full apprenticeship funding and extending it up to under 25s reducing administrative barriers further.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of barriers to entry on UK small and medium-sized enterprises in competitive public procurement processes.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is determined to ensure the £400 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually delivers economic growth and supports British businesses, especially SMEs.

The Procurement Act (PA23) sets, for the first time, a duty for contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to consider what can be done to reduce or remove them. Initial trends show that the proportion of PA23 tender lots with a planning, tender, transparency or dynamic markets notice tagged as suitable for SMEs has increased to around two thirds of all requirements.

To continue to build on this positive trend, this Government has also published a new, more ambitious, National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which requires contracting authorities to consider ways to increase procurement spend with SMEs and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

We have also introduced changes allowing local councils to reserve over one billion pounds worth of lower value contracts to suppliers based locally or within the UK which has recently become law, a step strongly supported by SMEs.

We will set out further reforms, including the response to the recent public procurement consultation, in due course. These reforms will further support British SMEs to bid for contracts.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2G and 3G mobile network switch-off on individuals who rely on simplified or accessibility-focused mobile handsets that do not support Wi-Fi Calling; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that vulnerable users are not digitally excluded.

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

The 3G switch-off in the UK was completed early 2026. We understand that this was a smooth process, and Ofcom and the mobile operators have reported no significant negative impacts on consumers.

The 2G switch-off will take place between 2029 and 2033. Ofcom have reported in its Connected Nations 2025 report that there are around 2 million 2G-only mobile users remaining (including 2G-only accessible handsets).

Government is working with the industry to ensure that 2G-only mobile customers are upgraded to 4G and/or 5G devices that support voice calls before 2G is switched off. This includes ensuring that customers are given sufficient notice by their operator to upgrade their devices, and vulnerable consumers are offered additional support where needed.

The Department is also assessing what the impact of the 2G switch-off will be on other use cases across critical sectors through cross-government and sector engagement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the British ambassador in Washington has had discussions with US officials on (a) the safety and welfare of British nationals attending 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in the context of immigration enforcement activity undertaken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and (b) levels of attendance by British supporters.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 January in response to Question 101336.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the potential impacts of fuel supply disruption arising from surges in demand.

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

The Government is closely monitoring fuel supply and demand in light of the situation in the Middle East. The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of fuel supplies and we are engaging with industry to ensure supply and demand remains resilient.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to reduce UK exposure to potential global LNG market volatility, after the suspension of LNG production by QatarEnergy.

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

The UK benefits from a wide variety of gas supply sources, including the UK Continental Shelf, pipeline imports from reliable partners like Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as significant LNG import capability. This limits our reliance on any one source of supply.

The Department is working closely with key industry partners, like National Gas, the transmission system operator, to ensure adequate supply during this period of global disruption, and we are confident that this diverse supply portfolio will continue to meet the country’s energy needs, just as in previous geopolitical events.

Ultimately the best way to retain our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels, reducing our reliance on natural gas and moving towards home-grown clean energy. That is why making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 is one of the Prime Minister’s five missions, with the biggest investment in home-grown clean energy in British history.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to employability programmes for neurodivergent young people; and whether he has considered further adjustments to support their participation.

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

The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee, as we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Specific additional support for young disabled people and young people with health conditions will be available through Pathways to Work.

We have already launched 8 Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. As part of their place-based approach, MSAs have developed their approaches with consideration to young people in their locality who need more support and several are offering targeted support for young people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities.

We have also launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.

As part of the Youth Guarantee, we are breaking the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing paid work for every eligible 18–21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months.

The Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment, for 25 hours a week, at the relevant minimum wage, with the government covering 100% of employment costs. It will also provide wraparound support for young people to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment. Appropriate safeguards will be built into the scheme to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.

Alongside this, in Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions, regardless of age, on out of work benefits. This guarantee will be backed by £1 billion a year of funding by the end of the decade.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of minimum qualification requirements on access to apprenticeships for young people not in education, employment or training; and what steps she is taking to ensure that access to apprenticeships is expanded to young people (a) with barriers to attainment and (b) who have not met minimum qualification requirements.

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

Young people are not required to hold GCSE qualifications in English and/or maths before starting an apprenticeship.

Apprentices under the age of 19 are funded to achieve up to a level 2 qualification in English and/or maths (where they do not already hold one) before the end of their apprenticeship, putting them in the best position to progress in their life and career. This can be a GCSE or functional skills qualification.

Further flexibility is in place for apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability, where there is evidence this is likely to be a barrier to them completing their apprenticeship. In these cases, they are able to achieve an entry level 3 functional skills qualification to complete. Since August 2024, this flexibility has been available to apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability but without an Education Health and Care Plan.

Although apprenticeships are jobs with training, and employers set their own entry requirements, we encourage them to consider a wide group of applicants. To support removing barriers to entry for young people, we are clear to employers that we will fund apprentices without English and maths GCSEs to achieve these qualifications.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to funding for leadership and management apprenticeships on progression opportunities in the retail sector.

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

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.

We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision for the early diagnosis of liver disease by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; and what steps his Department is taking to support that Integrated Care Board to improve early identification and treatment.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Locally, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) is implementing the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitments on earlier diagnosis of liver diseases. This includes expanding access to non-invasive testing in primary care and community diagnostic centres delivering liver function tests and fibroscans in community environments. The ICB is also promoting consistent use of risk stratification tools, improving care navigation into specialist hepatology services via advice and guidance, and strengthening data infrastructure so systems can better target those at highest risk.

Nationally, NHS England has commenced a programme of work on the transformation of liver services led by the Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Clinical Reference Group (HPB CRG). The HPB CRG is working with partners to co-produce resources to raise public knowledge and awareness of all forms of liver disease.

The HPB CRG is also aiming to improve the early diagnosis and intervention through developing evidence-based best-practice pathways for both primary care and referral to secondary care services.

NHS funding for mental health services

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

Recognition of armed forces personnel wounded in terrorist attacks outside of operational deployment

Congratulations to Hollie Davidson

Delay Repay scheme

Airport drop-off charges

Creative industries and the use of AI

Understanding of Tourette Syndrome

Leasehold reform (No. 3)

State visits to the US

Protection of historic green spaces

Student finance system reform

Funding for rural Britain

Conflict in Lebanon

LGBTQ+ veterans

Sign Language Week

Cyprus and UK Sovereign Base Areas

Buying community energy locally

NHS access to medical cannabis for children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

UNESCO World Heritage status for chalk streams in England

Energy prices for households and businesses

Endometriosis Awareness Month 2026

Heating oil prices

Outdoor learning

International Women's Day 2026 and women’s inclusion in placemaking

Temporary accommodation and its impact on neurodivergent children

Eating disorder services

Fundraising for brain tumour research

Cancer care in Gaza

NHS dentistry

Submit Evidence (by 17 Apr 2026)

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is inviting written submissions on the future of the BBC as part of a new inquiry into the Royal Charter Review.