Lizzi Collinge

The Government takes the impact of excessive noise on health, wellbeing and the natural environment seriously. Strict noise regulations for cars and motorcycles are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance before being placed on the market. Replacement silencers that are to be used on the road must also meet strict noise limits that are aligned with those of the original vehicle.

The Department for Transport conducted roadside trials of noise camera technology between October 2022 and February 2023. Reports of these trials, including detailed assessment of the technology’s performance and potential merits, were published on 17 March 2024. Overall, the trials demonstrated that noise cameras currently have the potential to be used for enforcement, but only when accompanied by human review of the recorded evidence, which is likely to lower the cost effectiveness of deploying the technology in many circumstances.

It is ultimately for local authorities and the police to consider what the most appropriate enforcement routes may be for addressing issues with excessive vehicle noise within their area. The use of noise camera technology has already been taken forward by some local authorities.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is aware that car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this is having on learner drivers.

DVSA is continuing to recruit as many driving examiners (DE) as possible, including at Kendal, Heysham and Barrow in Furness. From a previous recruitment campaign, two potential new DEs, following successful completion of training, will be joining Kendal and Barrow in Furness in late autumn.

Currently DEs from Kendal and Heysham are being deployed to Barrow in Furness to meet testing demand. As part of its current recruitment campaign, DVSA has advertised for DEs for Barrow in Furness. This will enable DVSA to meet local demand in Barrow in Furness and increase test availability in Kendal and Heysham.

The needs of equestrians should be considered in the design of active travel routes. New or upgraded traffic-free paths or quiet country lanes can be designed to be attractive and safe for equestrians as well as walking, wheeling and cycling although in some situations it may not be possible to accommodate their needs on all active travel routes.

Active Travel England is presently developing its Rural Design Guidance and is currently engaging with relevant stakeholders including equestrian organisations such as the British Horse Society and the Byways and Bridleways Trust, which will be published later this year.

Northern Trains’ current performance is not acceptable and we have issued it with a notice requiring it to develop an improvement plan to address the issues underlying its current lack of reliability. The Secretary of State also recently met with Northern to understand how that plan is progressing, following a previous meeting with the Rail Minister.

As Passenger-in-Chief, the Secretary of State will keep standing up for passengers and demanding better services from operators.

The Department for Work and Pensions currently offers employment support for older jobseekers including those affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.

Through Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK and online, we support older people to review their health, finances and skills. We are working with key partners to develop these tools including Department of Health and Social Care, the National Health Service and the National Careers Service

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to the employment support system to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity and better join up health, skills and employment support based on the needs for all, including older people.

We know that employers are crucial to enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme

In recognition of employers' vital role, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working Independent Review as a part of the Government's wider white paper plans to Get Britain Working. Sir Charlie Mayfield is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions.

Sir Charlie Mayfield is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

The Department for Work and Pensions currently offers employment support for older jobseekers including those affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.

Through Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK and online, we support older people to review their health, finances and skills. We are working with key partners to develop these tools including Department of Health and Social Care, the National Health Service and the National Careers Service

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to the employment support system to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity and better join up health, skills and employment support based on the needs for all, including older people.

We know that employers are crucial to enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme

In recognition of employers' vital role, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working Independent Review as a part of the Government's wider white paper plans to Get Britain Working. Sir Charlie Mayfield is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions.

Sir Charlie Mayfield is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Stockton West on 13 October 2025 to Question 77186.

There are currently no plans to adjust the prescription charge for emergency supplies of medicines. Under the Urgent Medicine Supply (UMS) element of the National Health Service Pharmacy First Service, NHS 111 can refer patients to a pharmacy to obtain an emergency supply of a medicine they regularly receive. Patients who receive an urgent supply under the UMS will be charged their usual prescription fee if they are not exempt. Where an emergency supply is made outside of the UMS, it is for the pharmacy to charge as they think is appropriate given that they will not be reimbursed by the NHS, as the medicine was not dispensed against an NHS prescription.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.

To inform JCVI considerations, the last assessment of the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on hospitalisations was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency using data from the 2023 spring and autumn COVID-19 vaccination programmes. The next evaluation is planned to occur in the next few months.

Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation.

NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients are able to benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines. The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the measures we are taking that will mean that patients are able to access medicines three to six months faster, including improved alignment between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decisions and NICE’s guidance publication. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is published and available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688c90a8e8ba9507fc1b090c/Life_Sciences_Sector_Plan.pdf

The Government has no immediate plans to review the application process or delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government Departments more widely on relevant issues.

The Government understands the concerns that have been raised about basing the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) on individual rather than household incomes. However, basing the charge on household rather than individual incomes would come at a significant fiscal cost if we were to ensure that no families lose out.

By withdrawing Child Benefit from high-income parents where the higher earner earns £60,000 or more, the HICBC helps to ensure the sustainability of the public finances and protect our vital public services.

The Government is committed to reducing non-compliance in the tax system and HMRC continues to tackle non-compliance across all areas of the economy, including VAT.

Businesses providing personal care services, including hairdressers and barbers often operate using the ‘rent-a-chair’ business model. This unique but legitimate business model, unless applied correctly, can result in individuals being wrongly classed as self-employed for employment purposes.

HMRC are committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence that suggests businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. HMRC will challenge businesses that either artificially separate to avoid exceeding the VAT registration threshold or design schemes to reduce the amount of VAT they owe and will take steps to ensure that they pay the right amount of tax.

The VOA is focused on speeding up its service by upskilling its workforce so they can handle multiple types of cases, improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve, recruiting new people and moving existing staff to better meet customer demand. It is also replacing its IT systems with cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies across its work.

In addition, it has published guidance to improve awareness and understanding of the process and information required when seeking a split of a non-domestic property. This is published on GOV.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/confirm-your-property-details#what-to-include-in-your-check-case.

The decision to move the VOA’s functions into HMRC from 1 April 2026 will help to improve the experience of taxpayers and businesses and support the delivery of the government's commitments to reform business rates and modernise the tax system.

This Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of the country’s housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels, and batteries. This will be vital to making the UK more energy resilient and meeting our 2050 Net Zero commitment.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.

The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following principles: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; and relieving the technology of VAT must be cost effective and align with broader VAT principles.

Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses).

The Government keeps the AMAP rates under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The AMAP rates are intended to reflect both running costs, such as fuel, and a proportion of standing costs, such as insurance, MOT, and depreciation. In estimating typical motoring costs per business mile, the Government must therefore consider the weighting given to each component and how to apportion certain costs.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, published on 12 May, this Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.

It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.

The Graduate route is designed to allow UK graduates time to work, or look for work, for a set period after completing their studies. It does not guarantee progression to the Skilled Worker route, for which an individual would need to find higher skilled, higher salaried employment after graduation and meet the requirements in place at the time they make their Skilled Worker application.

On 2 July we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas. We expect the MAC to respond around the end of the year.

Those who claim asylum in the UK can apply for permission to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own.

Allowing asylum seekers the right to work sooner could enable migrants to bypass established work visa routes, and may act as an incentive for people to travel here illegally via dangerous routes.

Our policy responds to circumstances unique to the UK and must complement our wider asylum and immigration system.

The Immigration White paper, published 12 May, set out proposed reforms in a number of areas including raising the skills threshold to RQF level 6 and for RQF levels 3-5 roles, with time-limited and conditional access to the immigration system only to be provided if the Migration Advisory Committee are content there is an effective workforce strategy in place. Further details will be set out in due course.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office withdrew the Country Policy Information Notes and guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions.

Settlement Protection applications from Syrian nationals who are trying to obtain indefinite leave to remain in the UK are also subject to the pause.

The decision to pause was, and remains, a necessary step. As long as there is no stable, objective information on which to base an accurate assessment of a claimant’s risk on return to Syria, we are unable to make robust, reliable decisions on claims for international protection.

Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not an automatic right. Given the need for protection may be temporary, a safe return review is carried out on every application for settlement on a protection route to determine and confirm the need for protection is continuing.

We will keep this pause under constant review.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office withdrew the Country Policy Information Notes and guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions.

Settlement Protection applications from Syrian nationals are also subject to the pause, and this includes indefinite leave to remain applications from Syrian nationals resettled under the Community Sponsorship Scheme.

The decision to pause was, and remains, a necessary step. As long as there is no stable, objective information on which to base an accurate assessment of a claimant’s risk on return to Syria, we are unable to make robust, reliable decisions on claims for international protection.

Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not an automatic right. Given the need for protection may be temporary, a safe return review is carried out on every application for settlement on a protection route to determine and confirm the need for protection is continuing.