Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on providing step-free access at Ruabon station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 15 January, Ministers announced Ruabon station as one of 23 stations across Great Britain selected to progress to the next stage of the Access for All programme. The scheme will now move into detailed design, which is expected to be completed by Autumn 2027.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
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 accept the recommendation of the Animal Welfare Committee's report entitled The welfare impacts on pigs of high concentration CO2 gas stunning and of potential alternative stunning methods, published on 16 October 2025, to prohibit the use of high concentration CO2 as a method of stunning for pigs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 316.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, whether moving to all schools being part of school trusts means academy trusts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In the Schools White Paper, we introduced a new term ‘school trusts’ to refer to existing academy trusts and new trusts, including academy trusts established by local authorities or local area partnerships. We will also update co-operative academy school trust model articles of association so that they effectively support purposeful, large-scale cooperation.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made contingency arrangements in the event of Royal Mail becoming insolvent.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department develops and maintains contingency plans for a range of scenarios as part of its regular resilience planning. This regular planning includes contingency plans for the insolvency of Royal Mail as the universal service provider.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are (a) receiving Employment Support Allowance in March 2026 and (b) have experienced ‘failed transitions’ from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what steps he is taking to ensure recipients are not being left without support if they are unable to complete the administrative processes for the transition.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
a) Statistics for the number of people on Employment and Support Allowance are published quarterly. The latest statistics for August 2025 are available in the ESA data tables on Stat-Xplore - Table View.
b) Statistics for the number or people invited to Move to Universal Credit are published quarterly. The latest statistics for December 2025 are available in the People invited to Move to Universal Credit data tables on Stat-Xplore - Table View.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance(opens in a new tab) on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide(opens in a new tab)
DWP recognise some claimants may find moving to Universal Credit challenging and we are committed to providing the right support.
Migration notices signpost customers to our helpline, GOV.UK and Help to Claim (provided by Citizens Advice). Contact via these routes allows free and confidential support to be provided, based on individual need, from claim initiation to the first full payment. Customers who have not claimed Universal Credit within two weeks of their deadline enter the Enhanced Support journey, which provides tailored and flexible assistance and can include phone calls and home visits to complete the process.
Support offered to customers does not cease once a Universal Credit claim is made. A range of further support is available including a Complex Needs Toolkit and District Provision Tool for Work Coaches to use in identifying and signposting claimants to appropriate local services, including housing support, Mental Health Services and advocacy and Social Care. Where customers cannot use digital channels, DWP offer regular phone support and face-to-face appointments.
Additionally, Jobcentre staff are trained to discuss complex needs and vulnerabilities and record these along with reasonable adjustments on the Universal Credit account, including different communication channels, home visits or support from an authorised representative, including an Appointee to act on their behalf.
DWP regularly reviews its support to optimise our services and remain committed to supporting vulnerable claimants and welcome feedback. This is in addition to DWP’s internal quality monitoring, which supports agent personal performance and assurance.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
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 help tackle the sale of unethical fur products.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fur farming is banned in the UK. Restrictions also apply to imports including fur and fur products from seals, cats and dogs. Other long-established controls include those covering fur from species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
On 26 March the Government published the Opinion on the responsible sourcing of fur by our expert Animal Welfare Committee and will carefully consider its findings. The Government has also published the summary of responses to the call for evidence on the fur trade in Great Britain, which was held under the previous government in 2021 jointly with the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
Building on this, the Government will now bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur, to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what are the qualifying criteria for "most vulnerable households" in the provision of heating oil support.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local authorities have flexibility to determine eligibility for heating‑oil support under the Crisis and Resilience Fund, applying their own discretion to identify the most vulnerable households facing immediate financial difficulties as a result of rising heating‑oil prices.
Local authorities can use a combination of application‑based routes, referrals and their professional judgement to identify individuals in need. National datasets, such as census data, can help local authorities understand where reliance on heating oil is more prevalent and inform local targeting.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department providing to people that require access to heating oil in the medium to near term.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of fuel supplies.
We are aware that some customers have been experiencing delays or difficulties in receiving heating oil deliveries. This reflects an increase in demand, rather than issues with supply.
We are in regular contact with industry to ensure our supply chain remains resilient and the sector is working hard to reach customers as quickly as possible.
We have been clear that suppliers must follow the UKIFDA Code of Practice and the Chancellor has recently announced £53m allocated to the Crisis Resilience Fund to ensure low income families across the UK are supported to access heating oil when required.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) economic; and (b) social impact on 1950s-born women in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government carefully considered the findings of the Ombudsman’s report on the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age, and a detailed response including an Equality Analysis has been deposited in the House library.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Statement of 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the findings of the 2007 research report did not lead to a targeted public communications campaign to affected women.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State reviewed the 2007 Report on Automatic Pension Forecasts before coming to his decision on the Ombudsman’s investigation.
The 2007 Report concluded that “overall…the evidence suggests negligible influence of the APF on pensions knowledge and retirement planning behaviour”, and around this time the Department stopped sending Automatic Pension Forecasts.
We have placed the 2007 report in the House library, where it can be read in full. The report is also available here: Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts.