Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how funding for the TransPennine Express will be allocated across maintenance and capital costs of trains.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The TransPennine Express rolling stock contract is worth around £800 million, with maintenance contracts worth around £200 million.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the a) cost of train orders, b) number of trainsets ordered and c) cost per trainset was over the last 10 years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Between October 2016 and September 2026, 807 trainsets comprising 4,154 vehicles were ordered for use on the railway in Great Britain. Identified procurement costs for these orders total approximately £9.1 billion. This equates to an average procurement cost of approximately £11.3 million per trainset.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with (a) RNIB, (b) Guide Dogs, (c) Transport for All and (d) Living Streets on the potential impact of pavement delivery robots on disabled and older pedestrians; and whether an equality impact assessment has been carried out on any proposed trial framework.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department officials have engaged with stakeholders representing disabled people and pedestrians, including the RNIB, Guide Dogs and Living Streets, to inform the development of the Government’s policy approach to pavement robot trials. Discussions have covered pavement obstruction, pedestrian safety in shared spaces, and service accessibility. Officials will continue to engage with stakeholders as policy development progresses.

The Department is in parallel developing an equality impact assessment to support consideration of the potential impacts of any proposed trial framework. This work will help ensure that equalities impacts are properly considered in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the level of risk of pavement delivery robots being (a) hijacked, (b) used to carry unlawful items or (c) used to obstruct emergency responders at incident scenes or protests; and what cyber security standards operators will be required to meet.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is considering security and misuse risks as part of policy development for the pavement robot trials. Operators will be required to ensure that only authorised users can access a robot’s cargo compartment, and local authorities and operators will need plans in place to ensure robots do not hinder emergency responders. Pavement robots will be required to give way to other road users and must not obstruct pedestrians.

The Government is also considering requirements for operators to show that their systems and pavement robots are secure and protected against cyber threats. This will draw on established approaches already used for connected and automated vehicle technologies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to implement an income change threshold for triggering a maintenance recalculation for Child Maintenance Services from 25% to 15%.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has conducted a review of the child maintenance calculation. This was focussed on ensuring the calculation strikes the right balance between both parents to encourage willing and able compliance, with the aim of securing more money for children.

Following the review, we plan to take forward a set of changes to reflect a renewed commitment to ensuring that the child maintenance system delivers for the families who rely on it most. One of those changes includes reducing the income tolerance from 25% to 15%. The calculation is reviewed annually, and currently it can be amended outside of that annual review when a paying parent’s income changes by at least 25%. The proposed change will mean that changes in income are captured quicker and assessments remain fair for both parents.

The Department is currently developing the necessary changes and will set out implementation arrangements in due course; Timings will depend on the necessary legislative changes and delivery planning.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make his policy to protect funding for life sciences research in the Budget, in the context of protecting and enhancing the status of UK cancer research.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government does not comment on future Budget decisions outside of fiscal events.

However, the Government recognises the vital role that life sciences research plays in supporting economic growth, attracting investment and improving patient outcomes across the UK. Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Government has set out measures to strengthen the UK's life sciences ecosystem, including through investment in a new Health Data Research Service and action to improve the speed and efficiency of commercial clinical trials

The Government continues to support a strong health research ecosystem. Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care spent £141.6 million on cancer research in 2024/25, reflecting the high priority it places on cancer research.

In addition, the Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals Programme has been supported by £42.8 million of government funding to accelerate the development of new cancer therapies and technologies that enable earlier, more effective diagnosis.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on which local authorities have permitted commercial pavement delivery robot operations; and under what legal provisions those operations take place.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is aware that pavement delivery robots are operating in a small number of locations in England; however, these operations have not been approved by nor are they undertaken with the involvement of central government. As a result, the Department does not hold a record of the local authorities who are working with operators on services in their areas.

There is currently no specific legislative framework governing pavement delivery robot services. Their operation is therefore subject to applicable existing legislation and any relevant permissions or requirements imposed by local authorities.

The Government has committed to using powers in the Regulatory Reform (Sandboxes and Growth Duty) Bill to enable trials of pavement robots, to accelerate learning on how robots can safely support people, places and public services.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether pavement delivery robots are intended to be among the first uses of the sandboxing powers in the Regulating for Growth Bill; and what parliamentary scrutiny will apply to individual sandboxes established under those powers.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As set out in the Government’s Regulation Action Plan Progress Report 2026, pavement delivery robots are among the early use cases being considered for the regulatory sandboxing powers proposed in the forthcoming Regulating for Growth Bill.

As the Government has previously stated, any trials of pavement delivery robots must protect the safety of pedestrians and vulnerable road users. Robust safeguards and parliamentary scrutiny are core components of the sandboxing framework, of which further details will be set out when the Bill is introduced and debated by Parliament.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to review the legal status of letters of wishes in Disabled Person's Trusts, in the context of the increasing use of these structures for vulnerable beneficiaries under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 framework.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Trusts are commonly used to make long-term financial provision for family members, including children and vulnerable adults.

Trustees must exercise their powers in accordance with the binding terms of the trust instrument and are subject to broader statutory duties.

Letters of wishes can be used to complement the binding legal terms of a trust, by providing guidance about how the person creating the trust would like trustees to exercise their discretion. Letters of wishes are generally not legally binding, but trustees must give the letter of wishes necessary regard when making decisions on how to manage the assets within the trust.

As such, letters of wishes are designed to give guidance while preserving the trustee’s ability to make decisions based on circumstances that may change many years after the letter was written.

The Government currently has no plans to reform the law in this area.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to section 3.1 of Great British Railways' document entitled Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy, published in September 2026, what assessment she has made of the relative cost, on a whole life long-term basis, of (a) battery trains and (b) full electrification and conventional electric trains.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy does not prescribe a single preferred solution for all parts of the network. The relative whole-life costs and benefits of battery-electric trains, partial electrification and full electrification vary according to the characteristics and requirements of individual routes.

As set out in the Strategy, detailed route-by-route analysis will be undertaken to determine the optimum approach in each case. This will consider factors including passenger and freight demand, operational requirements, network connectivity, infrastructure constraints, affordability and value for money. Decisions on the appropriate level of electrification and the most suitable rolling stock technology will therefore be informed by the specific circumstances of each route rather than by a single national assessment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out whether future defence satellites will be required to be refuelled.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing was one of four prioritised sub-sectors in the UK's National Space Strategy. As part of our Defence Investment Plan the life extension of the in-service SKYNET 5 military communications satellites, would utilise ISAM technologies. The Ministry of Defence continues to consider the potential benefits of emerging in-orbit servicing technologies, including satellite refuelling, which could enhance the resilience, flexibility and operational life of Defence space capabilities. Any requirement for future Defence satellites to be capable of refuelling would be considered on a capability-by-capability basis, taking account of operational requirements, technological maturity and value for money.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with Lloyds Banking Group on the timing of the publication of the Dobbs Review.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Barbering and hairdressing

Found: present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Jacob Collier; Daniel Francis; Olly Glover

Found: present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Jacob Collier; Daniel Francis; Olly Glover