Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on the average cost of operation of pub chains.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on pubs.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of foreign nationals who would be fast-tracked to citizenship under the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues, including the rules on citizenship and refugee settlement, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising the salary threshold to £45,000 for work visas; and if she will make an assessment of the impact of this on net migration figures.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues, including the rules on citizenship and refugee settlement, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the proportion of UNHCR recognised refugees by country that would be resettled in the UK under the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues, including the rules on citizenship and refugee settlement, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has any plans to tackle after-school clubs that are required to register with Ofsted that fail to do so.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ofsted’s enforcement powers are set out in the Childcare Act 2006. The law gives Ofsted a range of powers to deal with persons providing childcare without appropriate registration and registered providers that fail to meet the legal requirements for early years settings.

Ofsted’s early years and childcare enforcement policy sets out the actions that Ofsted can take, dependent on the register that the after school club is registered on. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department.

Departmental officials also meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare remain fit for purpose. Ofsted takes appropriate action on information that they receive about unregistered services and provision on unapproved premises. Ofsted’s process for managing unregistered provision is outlined in their published enforcement policy, which is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-and-childcare-ofsteds-enforcement-policy/early-years-and-childcare-enforcement-policy#unregistered:~:text=in%20appropriate%20circumstances.-,Unregistered%20childcare%20providers%20and%20provision%20on%20unapproved%20premises,-Most%20childcare%20providers.

Information about Ofsted’s regulatory and enforcement activity in relation to unregistered provision is outlined in Ofsted’s annual report and accounts each year, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-corporate-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to review the adequacy of Ofsted’s enforcement powers for after-school clubs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ofsted’s enforcement powers are set out in the Childcare Act 2006. The law gives Ofsted a range of powers to deal with persons providing childcare without appropriate registration and registered providers that fail to meet the legal requirements for early years settings.

Ofsted’s early years and childcare enforcement policy sets out the actions that Ofsted can take, dependent on the register that the after school club is registered on. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department.

Departmental officials also meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare remain fit for purpose. Ofsted takes appropriate action on information that they receive about unregistered services and provision on unapproved premises. Ofsted’s process for managing unregistered provision is outlined in their published enforcement policy, which is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-and-childcare-ofsteds-enforcement-policy/early-years-and-childcare-enforcement-policy#unregistered:~:text=in%20appropriate%20circumstances.-,Unregistered%20childcare%20providers%20and%20provision%20on%20unapproved%20premises,-Most%20childcare%20providers.

Information about Ofsted’s regulatory and enforcement activity in relation to unregistered provision is outlined in Ofsted’s annual report and accounts each year, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-corporate-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what enforcement powers Ofsted has for after-school clubs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ofsted’s enforcement powers are set out in the Childcare Act 2006. The law gives Ofsted a range of powers to deal with persons providing childcare without appropriate registration and registered providers that fail to meet the legal requirements for early years settings.

Ofsted’s early years and childcare enforcement policy sets out the actions that Ofsted can take, dependent on the register that the after school club is registered on. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department.

Departmental officials also meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare remain fit for purpose. Ofsted takes appropriate action on information that they receive about unregistered services and provision on unapproved premises. Ofsted’s process for managing unregistered provision is outlined in their published enforcement policy, which is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-and-childcare-ofsteds-enforcement-policy/early-years-and-childcare-enforcement-policy#unregistered:~:text=in%20appropriate%20circumstances.-,Unregistered%20childcare%20providers%20and%20provision%20on%20unapproved%20premises,-Most%20childcare%20providers.

Information about Ofsted’s regulatory and enforcement activity in relation to unregistered provision is outlined in Ofsted’s annual report and accounts each year, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-corporate-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of trends in levels of women and girls in Iran imprisoned for participation in women's freedom protests.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to stand with Iranian women and girls in their daily fight for equal rights. The UK was instrumental in delivering the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights, and to take appropriate, robust and practical steps to protect women human rights defenders and guarantee their full enjoyment of all their human rights. On the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2024, we issued a joint statement alongside international partners, emphasising our commitment to holding Iran accountable for its rights violations. We continue to support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is essential for collecting and preserving evidence of serious human rights violations, including against women and girls. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials continue to engage with Iranian civil society actors, many of whom are in exile, to understand their lived experiences.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with exiled Iranian opposition leaders on women’s freedom in Iran.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to stand with Iranian women and girls in their daily fight for equal rights. The UK was instrumental in delivering the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights, and to take appropriate, robust and practical steps to protect women human rights defenders and guarantee their full enjoyment of all their human rights. On the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2024, we issued a joint statement alongside international partners, emphasising our commitment to holding Iran accountable for its rights violations. We continue to support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is essential for collecting and preserving evidence of serious human rights violations, including against women and girls. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials continue to engage with Iranian civil society actors, many of whom are in exile, to understand their lived experiences.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with international counterparts on improving women’s freedom in Iran.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to stand with Iranian women and girls in their daily fight for equal rights. The UK was instrumental in delivering the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights, and to take appropriate, robust and practical steps to protect women human rights defenders and guarantee their full enjoyment of all their human rights. On the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2024, we issued a joint statement alongside international partners, emphasising our commitment to holding Iran accountable for its rights violations. We continue to support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is essential for collecting and preserving evidence of serious human rights violations, including against women and girls. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials continue to engage with Iranian civil society actors, many of whom are in exile, to understand their lived experiences.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to help encourage Iran to improve the freedom of women and girls in that country.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We have not taken legal action regarding Iran's abhorrent repression of women and girls. However, we continue to stand with Iranian women and girls in their daily fight for equal rights. The UK was instrumental in delivering the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights, and to take appropriate, robust and practical steps to protect women human rights defenders and guarantee their full enjoyment of all their human rights. We continue to support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is essential for collecting and preserving evidence of serious human rights violations, including against women and girls. On the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2024, we issued a joint statement alongside international partners, emphasising our commitment to holding Iran accountable for its rights violations. Our Ambassador to Iran has raised women's rights directly with the Iranian government.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of families that are unable to reclaim prepaid fees when an after-school club ceases trading.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold this information.

The Childcare Act 2006 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there are enough childcare places within its locality for working parents, or for parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0 to 14, or up to 18 for disabled children. In the unlikely event that a parent's childcare provider becomes insolvent or goes bankrupt, parents can contact their local authority who can provide guidance and resources to help them transition to a new provider.