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 support local authorities with the cost of non-residential adult social care.

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

The Government is making approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.

This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and a £331 million increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support young people with Education, Health and Care Plans who stay in education after the age of 18.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education, health and care (EHC) plans can remain in place after age 18. If a young person has an EHC plan, it does not have to end when they leave school. Their plan can continue up to the age of 25, if they still have special educational needs and remain in education or training.

EHC plans must have a formal annual review every 12 months conducted by the local authority to ensure that the support and arrangements are relevant and fit the individual’s circumstances. The local authority can cease the EHC plan if it is no longer necessary for special educational provision to be made for the young person.

An EHC plan helps a person aged 18 or over by securing legally‑backed, tailored support across education, health, and social care so they can achieve their learning goals and move more confidently toward independence and employment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide support for young people with EHCPs who stay in academic education after the age of 18.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Our forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms will improve both access to and the quality of the support provided to enable children and young people with SEND to achieve and thrive at all stages of statutory education. It is already the case that those young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) who need more time to complete their learning can retain their EHCP and, where necessary, remain in statutory education until age 25. The EHCP will continue to be reviewed regularly and will set out the support and provision the young person needs to achieve and thrive.

Disabled learners who go on to study in higher education will receive individual reasonable adjustments made by their university or other higher education provider under the Equality Act 2010 and can access Disabled Students’ Allowance for more specialist support.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to increase public awareness of the changes to the Highway Code introduced in 2022.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.

That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the Department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the Government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the Government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to help tackle the theft and trade of wild falcons captured in the UK.

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

Bird of prey persecution is a national wildlife crime priority and there are strong penalties in place for offences committed against them. Restrictions on the commercial use or trade of birds of prey are in place under the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations. Where any wild falcon is taken and traded illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime.

Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations. It has played a key role in securing the convictions of criminals found to have been illegally taking peregrine falcon eggs and chicks from the wild. Defra is providing 494,000 for the NWCU in 2025-2026.

Defra also provides funding to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture to develop DNA forensic analysis for the police and other organisations investigating crimes against peregrine falcons. DNA profiling of peregrines is a critical element in deterring wild take and illegal export, and convicting criminals.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps towards introducing a mandatory food labelling scheme for animal welfare.

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

As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, the Government will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare. The Government will set out next steps in due course.

Payment of employment tribunal awards

Rosebank oil field

Government response to Israel’s West Bank annexation plan

Billy Bremner Raploch statue

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Jonathan Davies

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Jonathan Davies

Submit Evidence (by 6 Apr 2026)

Data centres are regarded by ministers as being central to UK economic growth and were designated critical national infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024, offering them more legal protections. But their electricity consumption is expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the National Energy System Operator, raising concerns about their sustainability