Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November to Question 92039 on Embassies: Tolls, if she will publish the data on all outstanding debts; and what steps she is taking to recover outstanding congestion charge debts by embassies.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has published the relevant data on outstanding debts in the same level of detail as it was published under the previous government. In terms of the steps being taken to recover those debts, I refer the Hon Member to the opening paragraph of the written ministerial statement (UIN HCWS1076) laid in the House on 19 November.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will have discussions with the police to establish a National Police Trust funded from money seized from the proceeds of crime.

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

The Government is committed to depriving criminals of their illicit gains and reinvesting recovered proceeds to tackle crime and protect communities.

Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) are distributed via the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The Scheme aims to enhance asset recovery performance by incentivising law enforcement agencies to recover criminal assets, and by supporting local and national initiatives that strengthen asset recovery efforts. Its overarching goal is to reduce crime and deliver justice.

Under ARIS, up to 50% of receipts are returned to operational partners, with an additional £13.9 million ring-fenced annually for national and regional capabilities. Agencies, including police forces, have discretion over how ARIS allocations are spent and may choose to support wider initiatives if appropriate.

The Government is committed to reviewing ARIS and is working closely with law enforcement agencies, including policing partners, to ensure the Scheme continues to strengthen asset recovery and the effective reinvestment of criminal proceeds.

Detail on the current use of ARIS funding can be found in the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin (ASB) at section 7: Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2020 to 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 84932 on Business and Tourism: Greater London, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism and businesses in London.

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

The Home Office does not plan to make a formal assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism or businesses in London. Responsibility for tourism policy rests primarily with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, while business resilience and economic analysis are led by the Department for Business and Trade.

The Government continues to work closely with police to ensure their public order powers are used effectively and we continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and to ensure that lawful protest is facilitated while minimising disruption to the public and economic activity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December to Question 96967 on Sports: Facilities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities.

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

The government has no plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that it is for local planning authorities to make assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities in their areas (including quantitative or qualitative deficits or surpluses), and opportunities for new provision.

Information gained from the assessments should be used to determine what open space, sport and recreational provision is needed, which plans should then seek to accommodate.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 December, to question 96967 on Sports: Facilities, if he will make an assessment of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities.

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

The government has no plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that it is for local planning authorities to make assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities in their areas (including quantitative or qualitative deficits or surpluses), and opportunities for new provision.

Information gained from the assessments should be used to determine what open space, sport and recreational provision is needed, which plans should then seek to accommodate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the causes of the increase in Universal Credit claimants who are not required to work; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of Universal Credit claimants who are not required to work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The vast majority of the increase in the UC Health caseload is because the decision was taken by the last government to move sick and disabled people from Employment and Support Allowance onto Universal Credit at scale - a transition we inherited, along with a system where the incentives were wrong and health claims had been growing since 2019.

We’re determined to fix the broken system we inherited and are removing the financial incentives in Universal Credit that discourage work, and we have redeployed 1,000 work coaches to help thousands of sick and disabled people who were previously left without contact for years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the difference between (a) harm caused by gambling and (b) harm associated with gambling; and if she will set out which of these measures is the policy objective of her department when it comes to gambling policy.

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

The Government is acutely aware of the impact that harmful gambling can have on individuals, their families and communities, and we are committed to strengthening protections to safeguard those at risk of both harm caused by, and associated with, gambling.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the statutory consultee role of Sport England in the planning system on the level of provision of (a) pitches, (b) courts and (c) other sports facilities.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Sport England’s statutory consultee role in the planning regime and I encourage anyone interested to feed into that process. The aim of this consultation is not to reduce access to sports facilities. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed reforms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December to Question 96308 on State Retirement Pensions, if he will publish a timeline for the Pensions Commission's work.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Pensions Commission is expected to publish its final report in the first half of 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding domestic training places compared instead of continuing current levels of international recruitment.

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

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee which would put in place emergency legislation in the new year which would prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. This would apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that.

Other measures in the offer include creating 4,000 more specialty training places, with 1,000 of these brought forward to this year, cost related measures, such as reimbursement for exam fees, to address the unique costs that resident doctors face, and increasing the less than full time allowance by 50% to £1,500.

This is in addition to steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

We have also made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for additional work, reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training, and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.

In August 2025, NHS England published The NHS’s 10 Point Plan which set out actions for NHS England and trusts to improve resident doctors working conditions by fixing unacceptable working practices and getting the basics right for resident doctors. It aims to tackle basic issues like payroll errors, poor rota management, lack of access to rest facilities and hot food, and unnecessarily repeating training.

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 prevent the loss of UK-trained medical graduates to (a) alternative careers and (b) emigration.

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

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee which would put in place emergency legislation in the new year which would prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. This would apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that.

Other measures in the offer include creating 4,000 more specialty training places, with 1,000 of these brought forward to this year, cost related measures, such as reimbursement for exam fees, to address the unique costs that resident doctors face, and increasing the less than full time allowance by 50% to £1,500.

This is in addition to steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

We have also made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for additional work, reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training, and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.

In August 2025, NHS England published The NHS’s 10 Point Plan which set out actions for NHS England and trusts to improve resident doctors working conditions by fixing unacceptable working practices and getting the basics right for resident doctors. It aims to tackle basic issues like payroll errors, poor rota management, lack of access to rest facilities and hot food, and unnecessarily repeating training.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will issue guidance to the NHS on recruitment the recruitment of domestic graduates and non-UK applicants.

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

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee which would put in place emergency legislation in the new year which would prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. This would apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that.

Other measures in the offer include creating 4,000 more specialty training places, with 1,000 of these brought forward to this year, cost related measures, such as reimbursement for exam fees, to address the unique costs that resident doctors face, and increasing the less than full time allowance by 50% to £1,500.

This is in addition to steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

We have also made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for additional work, reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training, and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.

In August 2025, NHS England published The NHS’s 10 Point Plan which set out actions for NHS England and trusts to improve resident doctors working conditions by fixing unacceptable working practices and getting the basics right for resident doctors. It aims to tackle basic issues like payroll errors, poor rota management, lack of access to rest facilities and hot food, and unnecessarily repeating training.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to prioritise UK-trained medical graduates over overseas-trained applicants when allocating (a) Foundation Years and (b) speciality training posts; and if he will make it his policy to reintroduce a residency-based labour-market test for NHS training posts.

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

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee which would put in place emergency legislation in the new year which would prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. This would apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that.

Other measures in the offer include creating 4,000 more specialty training places, with 1,000 of these brought forward to this year, cost related measures, such as reimbursement for exam fees, to address the unique costs that resident doctors face, and increasing the less than full time allowance by 50% to £1,500.

This is in addition to steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

We have also made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for additional work, reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training, and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.

In August 2025, NHS England published The NHS’s 10 Point Plan which set out actions for NHS England and trusts to improve resident doctors working conditions by fixing unacceptable working practices and getting the basics right for resident doctors. It aims to tackle basic issues like payroll errors, poor rota management, lack of access to rest facilities and hot food, and unnecessarily repeating training.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96315 on Sports: Finance, how much of the £400 million announced for investment into grassroots sports facilities she anticipates will be spent in 2026, and on which sports will that funding be spent.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.

We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December to Question 96978 on Sports: Facilities, what data relating to non-pitch-based sports infrastructure her Department holds; and whether it holds datasets on local authority breakdowns.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.

We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the £400 million announced for grassroots sports facilities on 19 June 2025 will include Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.

We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 96307 on Emigration, if her Department will make an assessment of of the potential impact of the emigration of people aged (a) 18-25, (b) 26-35, (c) 36-49, and (d) 50+ years old on (i) the levels of revenue raised through taxation and (ii) the sustainability of the public finances.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assesses the fiscal implications of migration as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook and long-term fiscal projections.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with organisations impacted by the delay in the publication of the EHRC Code of Practice on single-sex spaces.

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

The Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations provides guidance on all protected characteristics, not solely sex and gender reassignment. This is a legally complex document which will have an impact on service providers up and down the country. We are working at pace to review it with the care it deserves.

We have set out our expectation for service providers to follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary.