Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to use disused defence estate for the purposes of veterans' (a) rehabilitation and (b) accommodation to help tackle (i) veteran homelessness, (ii) barriers to accessing mental health support and (iii) access to employment support.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Ministry of Defence (MOD) land, that is surplus to Defence requirements, is disposed of in accordance with MOD Policy, which is mandated by HM Treasury guidelines, in order to achieve best value for the taxpayer.

This government is committed to ensuring that veterans and their families are easily able to access support on a wide range of issues, when and where it is needed. Late last year we launched a new Veterans Strategy which recognises veterans as a national asset and resets the nation’s relationship with those who have served.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department collects information on whether claimants have caring responsibilities when they register for out of work benefits.

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

During the application process for Universal Credit the applicant is asked whether they are caring for someone with a health condition or disability. Information is not collected as part of a claim for New Style Jobseekers Allowance as it is not relevant for the award.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has committed to restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) back to semi-natural woodland habitat. There are approximately 365,000 hectares (ha) of ancient woodland in England of which approximately 150,000 ha are under plantation. Forestry England has committed to restoring all 42,814 ha of their PAWS to ancient, semi-natural woodland. Restoration work has been carried out on over 20,000 ha of PAWS in the last ten years with over 16,000 ha now having a canopy that is predominantly native.

Defra has improved the support for PAWS restoration on private land through the Higher Tier of the Countryside Stewardship scheme. This includes additional payments for restoration. In its first three years, the Countryside Stewardship grant ‘Manage and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites’ has been taken up across 2,100 hectares of PAWS. The Government is also supporting the establishment of new woodlands both for nature recovery and to produce timber.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of charging VAT on Community Interest Companies (CICs) carrying out health support services on the ability of (a) employees of CICs to feasibly continue their work into the future and (b) families who rely on the services of CICs for the care of their loved ones to continue to afford such services.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Supplies of welfare services, including the provision of care for people with permanent disabilities and dementia, are exempt from VAT if they are supplied by eligible bodies, such as public bodies or charities.

Because community interest companies (CICs) are not charities in law, they must meet the criteria of being state-regulated in order to provide VAT-exempt care services. This is to ensure that the VAT relief is carefully targeted at private providers offering safe and high-quality welfare services.

The Government recognises that there are private organisations that bring value to the care sector without being regulated, but extending the VAT relief to include these would have to be carefully balanced against the risks that it poses.

More generally, VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that local councils in England do not count Universal Credit Transitional Protection as income when calculating council tax payment in cases prior to 10 November 2025.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Councils are responsible for designing local council tax support schemes for working age people in consultation with their residents. The Government is aware of the variations in the way schemes assess legacy benefits, Universal Credit and transitional protection payments. The Government has recently written to billing authorities on this issue, encouraging them to reflect on the impact of their approach on low-income households. The letter can be found here.

Councils also have discretion, under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, to provide council tax discounts where they consider this appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of integrating (a) Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and (b) hypermobility spectrum disorders with overlapping conditions such as (i) Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, (ii) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (iii) Long Covid in (A) NHS service specifications, (B) long-term condition strategies and (C) clinical frameworks.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hEDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and overlapping conditions such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and Long Covid can have a significant impact on people’s health and quality of life, and that symptoms may be complex, multisystem, and fluctuate over time.

In England, services for these conditions are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, which have a statutory responsibility to meet the needs of their populations. Care is typically delivered through existing primary, community, and secondary care pathways, including musculoskeletal, rehabilitation, pain, cardiology, neurology, and mental health services.

There is no single national service specification or clinical framework covering these conditions, reflecting the variability of presentations and the absence of definitive diagnostic tests for some conditions. These conditions are best managed through personalised, multidisciplinary care across existing services rather than a standardised national specification or framework.

More broadly, the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out reforms to improve care for people living with long‑term and complex conditions, including greater use of multidisciplinary teams, improved coordination between services, and a shift towards more personalised, community‑based care, which will benefit people with hEDS, HSD and related conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take steps to ensure consistent (a) diagnosis, (b) clinical management and (c) dietary support for coeliac patients.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

People with coeliac disease should have access to timely diagnosis, appropriate clinical management, and clear dietary advice to support long‑term health. Diagnosis and management of coeliac disease in England are informed by national clinical guidance, including recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which set out best practice for testing, referral, and follow‑up care. Following NICE guidelines helps integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver care that is proven to work, use National Health Service resources wisely, and provide fair and consistent services for patients.

ICBs are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations, including gastroenterology and dietetic services, and are best placed to consider how care pathways are delivered locally. The NHS continues to focus on improving earlier diagnosis and more coordinated care for long‑term conditions through integrated, personalised approaches, supported by wider improvement programmes to reduce unwarranted variation in care.

The Department will continue to work with NHS England to support consistent, high‑quality care for people living with coeliac disease, within existing NHS frameworks and evidence‑based guidance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to require promotions of paid-entry prize competition, including (a) phone-in competitions and (b) subscription prize draws, to disclose the (i) number of entries and (ii) odds of winning each advertised prize.

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

Prize draws are a significant and growing market. This Government has made it clear that we want people who participate in prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. In November 2025, we introduced a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators. This Code sets a clear and uniform approach across the sector to strengthen player protections, increase transparency and improve accountability. Signatories have until 20 May 2026 to comply with the Code.

Clause 2.3 of the Code states that where possible, before entering a draw, operators should provide players with clear and easily accessible information regarding the likelihood of winning a prize and how prizes will be allocated. Whilst the exact likelihood of winning a prize will depend on the number of tickets sold, information of that nature could include, but is not limited to, the maximum number of tickets available (where applicable) or data from previous comparable prize draws. The success of this Code will dictate whether greater regulation may be required, including legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the impact in other countries of offering payments to failed asylum seekers who agree to return to their home country on trends in numbers of people claiming asylum in those countries.

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

The enhanced voluntary return offer is a strategic and time-limited approach mirroring schemes seen in Denmark, where voluntary return is prioritised and families are offered payments up to the equivalent of £30,000 to expedite departures. This has contributed to them halving the number of people awaiting deportation, including rejected asylum seekers and foreign criminals more broadly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will add data about young people's caring responsibilities to information collected as part of the school census.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The School Census requires schools to indicate if a child has been identified as a young carer, and if so, by whom. Young carers can be identified by parents, the pupil themselves or by the school.

The return of this data is a requirement for all schools, except nurseries, and data must be returned in the Spring Census each year. Schools do not need to seek the permission of the pupil or parent to return this data to the department.

Data on young carers has been collected since the 2022/23 academic year and is published each summer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the statutory guidance on school attendance to allow exemptions for term-time holiday fines for families where the parents have to work during school holidays.

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

The school year is structured so that there are opportunities for holidays outside of term-time. All schools have the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.

Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.

Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence law

Protection and restoration of ancient woodland

Water sector reform

100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough

MS Awareness Week 2026

MS Awareness Week 2026 (No. 2)

UK defence bonds

Food Bill

Introduction of reforms to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief

GP access

Support for hospitality businesses

NHS maternity services

Meta and YouTube and legal liability for addictive design and online harms

Supporting UK hauliers and reducing border friction through UK–EU cooperation

Impact of the Iran war on transport costs

St George’s Day 2026

Found: Vikki Slade: I am Vikki Slade, Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole.

Found: Vikki Slade: Hello, I am Vikki Slade, Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole.

Found: Vikki Slade: Hello, I am Vikki Slade, Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole.