Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Department is taking to reduce youth economic inactivity in Northumberland.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy.
Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
Support to find a job: through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach
Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain
c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training
Guaranteeing jobs: For long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment.
In Hexham, there is a strong network of supportive employers who are providing work experience opportunities. This hands-on experience is invaluable for young people as they navigate their career paths.
There is also a well-established partnership with the Newcastle United Foundation (NUF) who is one of the biggest providers of training and skills in the area, running courses focused on employability, confidence building and teamwork.
In the North East and Northumberland, Jobcentres collaborate with local authorities, colleges, and partners to support young people through targeted programmes. These include Durham Works, helping 16–24-year-olds not in education, employment or training; the Pre-Employability Sports Programme, which builds essential skills through sports and workshops; and Club Elevate, supporting 16–25-year-olds in North Tyneside who face challenges such as poor mental health, substance misuse, or risk of anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 need to improve drought resilience in Yeovil Constituency following the publication of the Environment Agency's Drought Prospects for Spring 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise that improving drought resilience in Yeovil Constituency remains important following the Environment Agency’s (EA) latest Drought Prospects for Spring 2026, which highlights the need for continued monitoring of groundwater levels and winter rainfall. While recent rainfall has helped reservoirs, including Sutton Bingham near Yeovil, to refill to capacity, groundwater levels in the chalk aquifers of Wiltshire remain below average and are important to the wider Wessex Water supply grid.
Wessex Water is required to update its statutory drought plan, with a draft due to be published in 2027. This plan will set out improvements to their drought response as well as measures to manage demand and maintain supplies during drought while mitigating environmental impacts. In the meantime, Wessex Water continues to promote water efficiency and work with the EA to monitor conditions and update drought prospects as new data becomes available.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Taskforce will adequately factor in the challenges of living with fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are bringing together a Vanguard Taskforce to steer the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase and are committed to listening to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, these voices will be reflected in the outputs of the phase.
This Taskforce will advise on the development of a Healthy Working Lifecycle Standard over the Vanguard Phase. The Standard will focus developing the best practices and approaches to drive better outcomes for all those managing health conditions or living with impairments, and as such the challenges of living with fluctuating conditions will be a key consideration.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Department will provide a list of employers who will provide the additional work experience placements and additional bespoke training opportunities announced on December 8 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places. The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label under the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is committed to introducing a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label scheme under the Environment Act 2021. This label could a save total of 23 billion litres of water over 10 years and save £57 million on water bills and £71 million on energy bills over the same timeframe.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
All CO staff members (in scope) are allocated a performance marking at both the mid (Oct) and end of year (April) points of the performance year as part of their performance reviews.
The below table sets out what proportion of staff in each grade were awarded an Exceeding marking for the 24/25 end of year process.
Grade | No of Employees at grade | Exceeding |
SCS3 | 14 | <5 |
SCS2 | 87 | 13 |
SCS1 | 294 | 65 |
G6 | 772 | 169 |
G7 | 1887 | 309 |
SEO | 1163 | 208 |
HEO | 1325 | 161 |
EO | 758 | 92 |
AO | 387 | 42 |
This data covers all performance markings which have been uploaded onto our central system (SOP).
The data will not include all agencies as many have their own dedicated systems to record this information and are not subject to the CO performance processes.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Voluntary Code for Prize Draws, updated on 17 December 2025, what steps his Department is taking to monitor compliance among operators.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Voluntary Code for prize draw operators was launched on 20 November 2025. The Code aims to raise standards in the sector in the distinct areas of player protections, transparency, and accountability. Signatories have until 20 May 2026 to comply with the Code.
The Government’s focus is on the successful implementation and adoption of the Voluntary Code, with operator signatories required to regularly review their compliance and swiftly rectify any issues if necessary. The Department will work closely with the sector on this during the implementation phase and periodically review the effectiveness of the Code and compliance to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
This data would be difficult to present, due to there being no definition of an in grade promotion and limited data on staff who go on promotion to another department. Collation and presentation of this data would require significant manual work and data linking across departments.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Commitment 19 in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 should refer to emissions of oxides of nitrogen rather than nitrogen dioxide.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Commitment 19 of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP25) relates to The National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 national reduction commitments for 2030 and should correctly be referenced as oxides of nitrogen.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are tasked with tackling the use of fake license plates.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is not possible to provide the full-time equivalent number of staff who deal with number plate issues. The staff involved do not exclusively work on number plate related issues and also investigate other types of cases.
While on road enforcement of number plates issues is a matter for the police, the information in the table below shows the number of occasions where members of the public contacted the DVLA about correspondence, fines or penalties that they have been received from third parties about the use of vehicles which they do not recognise or accept responsibility for in the last five years.
However, it is important to note that the misuse of a registration number or number plate is just one of the possible reasons why someone might receive such correspondence. A proportion of these cases will have been made as a result of errors, for example where a vehicle registration number has been entered incorrectly.
Calendar Year | Number of reports |
2021 | 7,430 |
2022 | 7,837 |
2023 | 9,848 |
2024 | 10,461 |
2025 | 11,402 |