Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many applications to the High Court the Attorney General's Office has made in each of the past five years to designate an individual as a vexatious litigant.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers have made applications to the High Court under s.42 Senior Courts Act 1981 in each of the last five years as follows:
2021 – 1
2022 - none
2023 - none
2024 – 2
2025 – 2 (3 further applications lodged with directions/hearing dates pending)
These dates relate to when the applications were made at a court hearing.
A list of individuals subject to an order under s.42 and the date the order was made is available online: Vexatious litigants - GOV.UK
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on instances in which police forces have declined to investigate alleged serious criminal offences, including fraud, money laundering or organised crime, on the grounds of resource limitations or internal case-triage decisions; and whether any national guidance exists governing how such decisions should be made.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Operational decisions on case investigations are matters for operationally independent police forces. The Home Office does not issue guidance directing police forces on whether individual cases should or should not be investigated.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister is attending meetings to discuss NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May 2025, I initiated meetings to reflect on lessons learnt from last winter and to discuss priorities and preparations for this winter. These meetings ran until September 2025. In addition to this my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive Officer of NHS England brought leaders from across the system together in September 2025.
Since October 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend and I have been chairing regular winter meetings to ensure the whole system was prepared for, and is responding well to, pressures this winter. The latest urgent and emergency care data is a standing agenda item within these meetings. Since the publication of NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports on 4 December 2025, information from these reports has been considered as part of this standing item.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often meetings are held to discuss NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May 2025, I initiated meetings to reflect on lessons learnt from last winter and to discuss priorities and preparations for this winter. These meetings ran until September 2025. In addition to this my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive Officer of NHS England brought leaders from across the system together in September 2025.
Since October 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend and I have been chairing regular winter meetings to ensure the whole system was prepared for, and is responding well to, pressures this winter. The latest urgent and emergency care data is a standing agenda item within these meetings. Since the publication of NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports on 4 December 2025, information from these reports has been considered as part of this standing item.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the response of 16 March 2026 to question reference 118609, how much of the revenue raised from VAT on independent school fees was directly spent on teaching staff in the state sector.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Together, reforms to VAT and business rates will raise around £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £1.7 billion increase to school funding in 2026/27, meaning that core school budgets will total £67 billion compared to £65.3 billion in 2025/26.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of Remediable Service Statements issued to retired teachers; and whether her Department will publish these statistics on a regular basis.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process. For those members retiring, these cases are relatively straightforward, as no benefits are already in payment. For retired members, additional complications around tax, interest rules and system functionality required extensive consultation.
As of 18 March 2026, 73,913 Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) have been issued to retired members, and there are 68,126 remaining to be issued. There are currently no plans to publish RSS statistics on the website. However, the scheme administrator keeps affected members informed of general progress through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many pupil barristers who undertook pupillage with the Government Legal Department left upon completion in each of the past five years.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government Legal Department’s (GLD) Legal Trainee Scheme lasts for two years in total. Those who join the GLD as pupil barristers qualify as barristers at the end of Year 1 of the Training Scheme (the pupillage period). They then remain on the Training Scheme for a further 12 months, during which they gain wider experience of GLD’s legal work.
The number of pupil barristers who left upon completion of the two‑year Training Scheme in each of the past five years is as follows:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many trainee solicitors who undertook a training contract with the Government Legal Department left upon completion in each of the past five years.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government Legal Department’s (GLD) Legal Trainee Scheme is a two‑year programme. Accordingly, the year of completion reflects cohorts who began their training contracts two years earlier.
The number of trainee solicitors who undertook a training contract with the GLD and left upon completion of the two‑year scheme in each of the past five years is as follows:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's independent review into the use of restraints on pregnant women during hospital escorts between 2021 and 2025.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Prisons & Probation Ombudsman will publish the report of his investigation once it has concluded. We understand that no publication date has been set at this stage.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to monitor the proposed involvement of UK listed firms in a takeover of Eurasian Resources Group to ensure no benefit to sanctioned Russian entities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Russia regulations prohibit the making available of funds or economic resources to a designated person without a licence. They also prohibit the provision of certain services to designated persons and persons connected with Russia.
UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world.
OFSI assesses every instance of reported non-compliance and takes action in all cases where we conclude a breach has occurred.
For serious breaches, OFSI may impose a civil monetary penalty. OFSI may also refer suspected criminal activities to law enforcement partners for investigation.