Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that families who cannot afford private dyslexia assessments have access to timely diagnosis and support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with dyslexia.
The department is supporting settings to identify needs early by strengthening the evidence base of what works. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices, as they highlight the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
We also recently announced new government-backed research into special educational needs identification, which will be delivered by UK Research Innovation in partnership with the department. This will aim to develop and test trusted and effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing targeted educational support.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 impact of extended producer responsibility on small businesses in local communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
pEPR in the UK has some of the most generous support measures for small businesses across any packaging scheme globally. These are exemptions from disposal fee and recycling (PRN) obligations for producers with an annual turnover below £2 million and packaging tonnage below 50 tonnes; and an exemption from data collection and reporting obligations for small businesses with turnover below £1 million and packaging tonnage below 25 tonnes. These exemptions apply to approximately 70% of businesses supplying packaging in the UK.
We have made a full assessment of the impacts that implementing packaging extended producer responsibility will have. This includes assessment of the impacts on small businesses, which can be found in Section 8 of the impact assessment.
Asked by: Lord Strasburger (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government following the publication of the report of the Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender, published on 19 March, what progress they have made on the Review’s recommendation that they should issue a mandatory Annual Data Requirement (ADR) requiring territorial police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police to record data on sex in relevant administrative systems.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since the publication of the publication of the Independent Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender there has also been a Supreme Court judgement on the definition of sex within the Equality Act. We recognise the importance of accurate and consistent recording of data on sex and gender and are considering the implications for administrative data systems in policing as part of the 2026/27 Annual Data Requirement which is currently in development.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to open an Embassy in Palestine.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding position of the UK Government that Jerusalem should be a shared capital of two states, with its final status determined as part of a negotiated, peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, respecting the access and religious rights of all peoples. The future status of the British Consulate General in Jerusalem will be decided in light of progress towards this historic goal.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
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 extending the 12-month period during which holders of non-designated foreign driving licences are permitted to drive in the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This department reviews GB driver licensing arrangements from time to time. Any changes to the current 12-month period during which the holders of non-UK driving licences are permitted to drive in the UK would be subject to appropriate consultation and revised legislative provisions.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of resident doctors’ industrial action on NHS capacity and patient safety during the winter period.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government made a comprehensive offer to resident doctors in writing on 8 December 2025. The offer included a range of measures, such as introducing emergency legislation to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates, increasing the number of training posts over the next three years, and measures which would put money back in doctors’ pockets. The offer was rejected by the British Medical Association (BMA) resident doctor membership on 15 December 2025.
As a result, planned strikes from 17 to 22 December went ahead, posing risks to the National Health Service during a critical period. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has taken all possible steps to prevent these strikes, including offering to extend the BMA’s mandate to allow further consultation.
The Department and the NHS are now focused on managing the combined challenges of flu and industrial action, having already vaccinated 17 million people, 170,000 more than last year, and 60,000 more NHS staff, and are working closely with frontline leaders to prepare for disruption.
An operational response, led by NHS England, is stood up to prepare and mitigate the impacts of strikes and to ensure patient safety is maintained. As has always been the case, employers will seek to mitigate the impact of any industrial action, including seeking to agree voluntary patient safety mitigations with trade unions at a local or national level with support from NHS England, and rearranging elective care, as appropriate, to maintain urgent services.
Asked by: Lord Reid of Cardowan (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, learning difficulties, or additional support needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship.
The Find an Apprenticeship service allows people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities and Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments which support apprentices who have learning difficulties and disabilities.
The government also provides £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been in care.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of those who use telemedicine abortion services have an abortion after the 10 week threshold.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2022, the latest available data, there were 152,405 abortions where both abortion medications, mifepristone and misoprostol, were taken at home by residents of England and Wales. Of this, 16 abortions, or 0.01%, were recorded as having occurred at 10 weeks gestation or over. Cases containing inconsistent information, such as at-home abortions over 10 weeks gestation, are returned to clinics for confirmation. At the time of publication of the 2022 statistics, five, or 0.003%, of these abortions were confirmed as having occurred at 10 weeks gestation or over, with the remaining 11 cases being unconfirmed.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support police officers guarding the Israeli Embassy in London with their (1) working conditions, and (2) safety.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes the protective security of diplomatic missions extremely seriously. The UK Government's protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' and sites' security.
More broadly in terms of the support available to police officers, through the Police Covenant the Home Office are supporting the police workforce with their physical and mental health.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage young people to take up the apprenticeships and workplace opportunities available as part of their new skills reforms; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those reforms on the number of 16–24 year olds claiming Universal Credit while signed off work due to health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people at the beginning of their careers.
In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the offer and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.
The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN), comprising around 2,500 employer and apprentice volunteers who go into schools and colleges to share their compelling stories and experiences of what apprenticeships can do for young people.
Regarding other workplace opportunities, nearly 900,000 young people (aged 16–24) on Universal Credit will receive a dedicated session and four weeks of intensive support with a Work Coach to help them find local work, training, or learning opportunities. Over 360 Youth Hubs are also being established across Great Britain, providing access to employment and support services for all young people, including those not on benefits. These hubs will offer joined-up, community-based support by partnering with health, skills, and voluntary sector organizations.
Additionally, up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and 145,000 bespoke training opportunities will be created, including Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which guarantee a job interview for participants at the end.
The Jobs Guarantee Scheme will also mean that every eligible 18–21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months will be guaranteed six months of paid employment (25 hours/week at minimum wage), with the government covering all employment costs. These initiatives are designed to support young people into employment and training with a strong focus on local opportunities and guaranteed paid work for those most in need.