Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the average time taken by Transport for London to process and issue private hire vehicle driver licences.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which local licensing authorities in England license the taxi and private hire vehicle trades but ultimately the licensing process is left at the discretion of local authorities. We work closely with Transport for London on a range of issues but the operation of private hire driver licensing is a matter solely for them and it would not be appropriate for ministers to comment or intervene.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of requiring parents to apply for Child Benefit on their eligibility to qualify for National Insurance credits.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP has not conducted such an assessment. Child Benefit is a benefit administered by HMRC.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
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 whether the Government is on track to meet its international commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will submit the UK Seventh National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity by the deadline of 28 February 2026, setting out our progress towards implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase funding for local authorities to ensure timely access to vision rehabilitation services for people with sight loss, including residents in Woking.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs, including sight loss and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
The Government is making around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care, which includes vision rehabilitation, in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and an increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement confirms the Government’s plans to simplify adult social care funding to give local government more flexibility, and to redistribute it to where it is needed most. This will enable local authorities to deliver the Government’s priorities for adult social care within a more flexible funding system and give councils greater discretion over how to use funding to respond to local needs, including for vision rehabilitation.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many priority service applications for visas are processed within 5 working days; and how many super priority service applications are processed by the end of the next working day.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This information is published in table VSI_02 (column L) of the UK Visa & Immigration Transparency Data. This shows the proportion of applications processed in line with the 5 working days service standard for priority application, and next working day service standard for super priority applications. Cases which are defined as non-straightforward due to their complexity sit outside the service standard and are therefore excluded from these figures.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people do not receive National Insurance credits through not applying for Child Benefit.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is estimated that 214 thousand people who qualified for Child Benefit in 2024-25 were not claiming it and missed out on National Insurance credits. This estimate excludes those who paid National Insurance contributions or who received credits via another route.
HMRC encourages parents and guardians to claim Child Benefit, even if their or their partner’s income means they may be liable to the High Income Child Benefit Charge. They can opt out of getting Child Benefit payments so they do not have to pay the charge and can still get National Insurance contributions to protect their State Pension.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her department will release further information on the Voluntary National Insurance contributions for periods abroad.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The previous rules around voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) allowed those with a limited connection to the UK to build UK State Pension entitlement at a very cheap rate.
At Budget 2025 the Government took two immediate steps to fix the most unfair elements of these rules. From April 2026 we are removing most access to Class 2 voluntary NICs for periods abroad. This will prevent thousands of people who are not in the UK from building entitlement to a UK State Pension far more cheaply than working people here. Secondly, we are strengthening the link a person needs to have to the UK before they can build their National Insurance record abroad. A person will now need to have spent 10 years living or building their NI record in the UK, up from three years.
A Tax Information and Impact Note for these changes will be published alongside the introduction of legislation.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what conversations he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential for sending UK troops to Greenland.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Defence Secretary speaks to his colleagues on a range of issues affecting our national and international security, including the High North.
As noted by the Defence Secretary last week, one UK military officer joined a reconnaissance visit to Greenland, in an observational capacity, at the request of the Danish Government. This was not a deployment of forces to Greenland, but a military recce ahead of future Danish-led exercise activity. They have now returned to Copenhagen, where they are based, following conclusion of the recce.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of business rate increases on the community pharmacy network.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Autumn Budget 2025, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue to prioritise reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) review and (b) reform the current community pharmacy contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Autumn Budget 2025, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue to prioritise reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.