Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether anyone that has been removed from the UK in 2026 has subsequently re-entered the country via small boat.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This specific information is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant date could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Statistics on daily small boat arrivals to the UK are published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats and information and statistics on returns can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2025/how-many-people-are-returned-from-the-uk.

These show a 21% increase in enforced returns and a 23% increase in asylum‑related returns in 2025 compared with the previous year. Individuals who subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will be subject to enforcement action in line with existing immigration laws and their case will be considered for expediated return.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to review his decision as outlined in his answer to me within UIN 110638.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As outlined in the previous answer, there are no plans to abolish the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect to trends in unemployment since July 2024.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Since November 2024, employment is up by over 454,000, youth employment by 126,000, and the ethnic minority employment rate has risen to 69.9%. The UK’s employment rate has remained stable at 75% over the past year and we’ve seen other positive labour market trends. While unemployment has risen slightly to 5.2%, this is still below the average unemployment rate seen under the last government. Crucially, part of the rise in unemployment is driven by the fall in inactivity as more people are actively seeking work.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions in the last five years Work Capability Assessors have exceeded minimum daily assessment requirements.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions has not set a specified number of Work Capability Assessments that health professionals (HP) are expected to complete per day. The number of assessments completed can vary depending on the type of assessment (telephone, video, or face‑to‑face), the claimant’s condition, and any additional evidence required, as these appointments have fixed time slots and are delivered through different channels.

While we do have expectations for the total number of assessments conducted by Functional Assessment Service (FAS) suppliers, these would be aggregate monthly numbers across their entire workforce, not individual targets for specific HPs.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the potential impact of budget changes to betting and gaming levies on the viability of British sports.

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

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing and other sports make to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. DCMS and HMT Ministers have regular engagement on betting and gaming levies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Work Capability Assessments received Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, Limited Capability for Work and Fit for Work awards in the last five years.

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

The department regularly publishes Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment (UC WCA) statistics, with monthly UC WCA decision outcomes, currently available from April 2019 to August 2025, shown in Table 6 of the latest data tables and on Stat-Xplore in the UC WCA Decision Outcomes dataset. The next release, covering decision outcomes to November 2025, is scheduled for 09:30am on 12 March 2026.

The published UC WCA statistics include claimants who have been moved from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) under the Move to UC programme, although such claimants would not have had a new assessment and their previous status under ESA will have been carried over. Consequently, the Stat-Xplore statistics overstate the number of health-related claimants with new Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity and Limited Capability for Work decisions but ESA transitions have been separated out in Table 6 of the data tables.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Work Capability Assessments were (a) curtailed and (b) closed early in the last year for which data is available.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold or publish statistics on the number of Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) that have been curtailed or closed early, either over the last five years or in the most recent year for which data is available.

Published statistical releases on Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit WCAs report only on completed assessments and do not include information on curtailed or discontinued assessments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor about the trends in youth unemployment since July 2024.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve. Under the last government, between 2021 and 2024, the number of young people not in education, employment or training increased by 250,000.

This Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through the Youth Guarantee. That is why the Government is investing £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and additional investment to the Growth and Skills Levy to back young people. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres. The Gateway will provide 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit a dedicated session and follow-up support to help them move into work, training or education.

This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training, including up to 150,000 work experience placements and up to 145,000 employer-designed training opportunities, such as Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, which offer participants a guaranteed job interview at the end.

In addition, the Government is taking action to support employers to recruit and train young people, helping to unlock up to 200,000 more employment and apprenticeship opportunities. This includes a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who hire 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small and medium sized employers hiring 16–24-year-old, and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.

Finally, the Government is considering how we might go further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.