Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has issued guidance on the rights of consumers to access property-specific risk data held by (a) insurers and (b) third-party providers that are used in insurance premium calculations.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Treasury has not issued guidance on the rights of consumers to access property-specific risk data held by insurers or third-party providers.

Consumers have rights to access their personal data under the UK's data protection legislation (the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018). Under the legislation, organisations are required to process personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. However, property-specific risk data may not always fall within the scope of personal data and therefore may not be subject to the same access rights.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK's independent regulator for data protection, publishes a range of guidance for both organisations and members of the public.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on local planning policies supporting the expansion of early years provision through the (a) protection and (b) promotion of (i) high-quality and (ii) home-based childcare settings.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is an additional £2 billion (over 30% increase) compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. The government is boosting availability and increasing access to childcare for families through the school-based nurseries programme, including school led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers operating from school sites.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

The department continues to help people discover rewarding early years careers through the ‘Do Something Big’ national recruitment campaign, building on our pilot of delivering financial incentives in 38 local authorities this year. This is alongside exploring ways to make childcare more accessible, including supporting childminders in adapting their homes, accessing community spaces and introducing flexibilities for childminders to work with more children from home or on non-domestic premises. We are also looking at a proposed professional register for early years staff, a career framework to support progression, and recognition and increased inspection frequency by Ofsted to ensure quality standards are maintained. Childminders will also be part of the Best Start Family Service, which aims to integrate early years support across education, health and community services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) taxis, (b) buses, (c) hire cars and (d) other vehicles used for (i) public and (ii) quasi-public purposes to carry automated external defibrillators.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has not assessed mandating these vehicles to carry defibrillators. In England outside London, commercial bus operators provide the majority of bus services and have responsibility for managing their fleets. Any decision on whether to fit buses with defibrillators is one for operators to make, and some have taken the decision to equip their depots with these.

Similarly, it would be the decision for individual taxi and private hire vehicle operators to decide to carry defibrillators.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving greater enforcement powers to local authorities in relation to the regulation of roadworks conducted by utility companies.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport recognises the importance of ensuring that street works are carried out safely, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to road users and local communities.

Highway authorities already have access to a comprehensive set of powers and tools to manage works carried out on their networks by utility companies. These include issuing permits, imposing conditions, inspecting works, applying overrun charges for delays, and levying fines for non-compliance.

To further support highway authorities, the Department has introduced several recent measures, most notably, the doubling of fixed penalty notices for certain street works offences, including breaches of permit conditions. These changes will come into force on 5 January 2026, providing sufficient time for both industry and local authorities to prepare.

The Department remains committed to empowering local authorities to manage their networks in ways that best reflect local needs and priorities. We will continue to engage with stakeholders, monitor the impact of recent measures, and explore opportunities for further improvements or devolution of powers where appropriate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support Palestinian students from Gaza who have been accepted onto UK university courses with (a) access to secure (i) English language testing (ii) visa processing and (b) other (A) administrative, (B) financial and (C) logistical travel requirements.

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

The Government has outlined plans to support the departure from Gaza of a group of Chevening Scholars so they can take up university places in the UK in the Autumn for the 2025/26 academic year. We are extending this support to students in Gaza with full scholarships, meaning students who have their course fees and living costs fully funded by an official sponsor, as specified in the Immigration Rules.

For further information, please see the policy papers published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for Education, on 14 September 2025 and 15 September 2025 respectively, on GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered extending National Insurance Contribution exemptions; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of recruitment in the hospitality sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Businesses can claim a number of employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers will pay no employer NICs for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270.

There are a wide range of factors to take into consideration when introducing or expanding a tax relief. These include how effective the relief would be at achieving the policy intent, how targeted support would be, whether it adds complexity to the tax system, and the cost.

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.

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Import of goods from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory