Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled Economic note: Appendix Family Reunion, suspension of new applications, published on 4 September 2025, if she will publish the equalities impact assessment for that note.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception. The Home Office will not be releasing the Equality Impact Assessment as the policy is still in development as part of wider reform.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the NHS Counter Fraud Authority has made on its investigations into providers of NHS-funded cataract care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Independent providers play an important role supporting the National Health Service to deliver eyecare services, ensuring patients receive the treatment and care they need. However, we were clear in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will neither tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases, nor any quality shortcomings.

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority operates as an independent body conducting data analysis to prevent fraud and other economic crime within the NHS, with all suspicions of fraud and investigations managed with the utmost confidentiality. Any updates on cases will be reported at the appropriate time.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make a assessment of the potential impact of the EU Commission proposal to (a) halve steel quotas and (b) increase tariffs to 50% on the (i) operation and (ii) implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is actively assessing the potential impact of this proposal on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). In addition to internal analysis, we are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps. We expect the EU to fulfil its obligations under the TCA.

We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships to protect steel jobs and defend our steel industry.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the additional £1.2 billion allocated to her Department in the Spending Review 2025 will be spent on.

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

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)’s SR25 Phase 2 settlement delivers on DSIT’s purpose to drive economic growth, improve the performance and productivity of government, and empower citizens, by providing total funding (TDEL) of £65 billion across the period. This includes £63 billion in capital investment from 2026/27 to 2029/30 (of which £58.5 billion is R&D funding), and £2 billon in day-to-day resource funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29.

For more information on the settlement, please refer to pages 94-95 of the Government’s Spending Review 2025 document.