Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to work with the logistics sector to help reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
With around one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.
This investment will create up to 500,000 opportunities for young people, including around 300,000 opportunities to gain workplace experience and training, and up to 200,000 employment opportunities through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who recruit 18 to 24-year-olds who have been claiming Universal Credit for more than six months. It will also introduce a £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers taking on 16 to 24-year-old apprentices, alongside the Jobs Guarantee scheme, which will provide 18 to 24-year-olds who have been unemployed long-term with a fully funded six-month job.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) works closely with employers across the logistics sector to help create employment opportunities for young people, including those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Through its Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and Jobcentre Plus networks, it supports employer-led recruitment and training initiatives that provide vocational skills linked directly to genuine vacancies and sustainable employment outcomes.
DWP continues to work with Road to Logistics and has promoted its Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) and warehousing programmes nationally to raise awareness of opportunities with logistics employers. These programmes are designed around employer demand and combine training with clear routes into employment, helping participants gain the skills needed to move into available jobs. DWP is also exploring opportunities to expand HGV training provision in additional areas across Great Britain.
In addition, the Department is working with logistics employer Biffa to explore the development of a new HGV Academy in the South Midlands. Discussions are focussing on how to specifically target NEET cohorts into logistics careers, using the Youth Jobs Grant and Jobs Guarantee to support participants into long-term employment opportunities. This has the potential to create a sustainable pipeline of talent for the logistics sector while supporting young people furthest from the labour market into quality jobs with clear progression routes.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to work with the logistics sector to improve employment outcomes for prison leavers.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP works with employers across the logistics sector to help prison leavers into work. Logistics is a sector where there is a high potential for prison leavers to fill skills shortages across the economy and to drive good growth in every postcode.
DWP works closely with HM Prison and Probation Service’s New Futures Network (NFN), the prison service’s specialist employment team, which brokers employment opportunities for prison leavers. This includes strategic partnerships with major employers in skills shortage sectors including logistics with employers such as GXO and Morrisons.
Ministry of Justice figures show that employment outcomes for prison leavers continue to improve, with 36.5% of prison leavers in employment six months after release in the year to March 2026, compared with 34.5% in the previous year.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote careers in the logistics sector in (a) schools and (b) further education colleges.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government wants every young person to understand their career opportunities. Statutory careers guidance expects schools and further education colleges to draw on labour market information and provide employer encounters and workplace experiences, supporting informed choices.
Careers hubs connect schools and colleges with employers and sector bodies. All 11 secondary schools in South Ribble are part of the Lancashire Careers Hub. Penwortham Priory Academy has worked with Leyland Trucks, helping pupils on an engineering pathway understand careers in the sector. Penwortham Girls’ High School has undertaken modern work experience with Eddie Stobart.
Learning from the Logistics Beacon, developed by Leicester and Leicestershire Careers Hub and Generation Logistics, is available to other areas nationally through curriculum related resources for key stages 3 to 5. The model demonstrates how careers hubs can work with employers to respond to local priority sectors.
Together, this activity supports progression into technical education, apprenticeships and skilled employment.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her department has considered providing an exemption to the new regulations for the Free Breakfast Clubs Programme for primary schools if provision is already in place.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, all such schools will be under a duty to offer a free breakfast club. New groups of schools will be onboarded in stages throughout 2027 and 2028 to ensure appropriate support is in place for implementation.
We know that many schools already offer either food-only breakfast clubs or parent-paid clubs that include childcare. Our programme is a universal offer that is free and accessible to all primary-age pupils in England. We want all families to be able to access the benefits of a healthy breakfast, reduced childcare costs and a positive start to the school day. For this reason, we expect all schools to provide the offer.
Schools will have flexibility in how they deliver breakfast clubs, in line with existing non-statutory guidance. We are keen for schools to build on their existing provision. Through the early adopter programme, we have seen numerous examples of schools successfully integrating the new programme with, or incorporating it into, their existing arrangements.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
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 help support the 24-hour opening of the accident and emergency department at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
I know how important access to emergency services is to local people in Chorley and South Ribble. Decisions on local emergency department configuration are for the NHS locally, and I welcome the fact that Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and the ICB are developing plans following a feasibility study into a potential 24-hour service. I can assure my hon. friend we will be keeping a close eye on how those plans progress.Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (i) create more space for nature and (ii) protect natural wildlife in South Ribble constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Nationally, we are investing in habitat creation, restoration and management through agri-environment schemes. Additionally, funding under the Catchment Sensitive Farming scheme has helped reduce pollution and improve air and water quality. We also committed £60million for the recovery of threatened species.
We have supported Lancashire County Council to prepare their Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which identifies actions to restore nature and enhance biodiversity benefiting both wildlife and local communities. South Ribble supports a diverse range of habitats and species, with protected sites like the Ribble Estuary safeguarding key environments such as saltmarsh and grassland and supporting important bird populations.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 16–24-year-olds in South Ribble are claiming unemployment benefits.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested on claimants of unemployment benefits by age is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp and the guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp.
The claimant count can be found by selecting “Query data” on the NOMIS home page and selecting “Claimant Count” and then “Claimant Count by sex and age” in the lists of data sources. The Geography will need to be set for the relevant Westminster constituency from the menus, and then 16-24 selected in the Age menu to access the latest 16-24 year olds on the claimant count. This counts the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit and are required to seek work and be available for work.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking in response to the Government Internal Audit Agency’s finding of Limited Assurance for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in FY 2024–25, particularly in relation to (a) internal control, (b) timeliness and accuracy of member data updates and (c) errors in pension calculations and payments.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are committed to improving the performance of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) and a dedicated Pension Programme Manager has been appointed to oversee work to rectify the issues identified. 44 Agreed Management Actions with the GIAA have been completed since its findings on 31 March 2025. A contract reset with the contracted supplier of AFPS will also drive better accuracy and timeliness of customer outputs and exercises to regularise the issues identified.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many arms export licences in respect to Israel have been reviewed over the past 12 months, and of those reviewed, how many have been revoked or suspended/part suspended.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 18 September to question 72500.
Asked by: Paul Foster (Labour - South Ribble)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a ministerial attendance list for the meeting of the Domestic and Economic Affairs Committee of the Cabinet on 16 November 2023.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees, including their attendance, is not normally shared publicly. The standing membership of the Domestic and Economic Affairs committee was placed in the Parliamentary library by the previous Government on 3rd November 2022.