Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase opportunities for women and girls to participate in grassroots sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.
The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active 1.6 million women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.
The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup marks the beginning of a decade of women’s sporting moments. Since summer 2024, the Government has invested £6.7 million into the tournament's legacy programme Impact '25, reaching 37,000 women and girls in the year leading up to this World Cup alone. Funding from this programme has been used to make facilities more accessible for women, train new female coaches and match officials and provide sanitary packages to clubs nationwide.
Following the outstanding achievements of the Lionesses in recent major tournaments, we will ensure that the impact of these achievements is felt by future generations of aspiring Lionesses by doubling priority access to facilities we invest in, reserved peak-time slots and women and girls-only evenings.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of a potential lifetime gift cap on (a) family (i) farm and (ii) business viability between generations, (b) productivity, (c) food security and (d) job numbers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax purposes. Information on the rules is available at www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events and the Government does not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the differences are between the (a) Women’s Sport Taskforce, announced in 2025 and (b) the National Physical Activity Taskforce, established in 2023.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Women’s Sport Taskforce convenes a group of industry experts which aim to understand opportunities and break down barriers to deliver equal access, best in class facilities, ongoing professionalisation of women’s sport, visible role models to inspire future generations of girls and a strong pipeline of UK hosted major events by the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The National Physical Activity Taskforce (NPAT) was established in 2023 under a previous government to monitor the delivery of the sport strategy Get Active, which went beyond women’s sport in its focus. This group has now closed.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he will make a decision on the deployment of the cattle BCG vaccine.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are continuing to work on the development of a cattle BCG vaccine and accompanying DIVA (Detect Infected amongst Vaccinated Animals) test but will only deploy the vaccine and DIVA test when we have all the right steps in place. Our aim is to deliver an effective cattle TB vaccination strategy within the next few years, helping drive down the disease burden for future generations and advance progress towards achieving Officially Tuberculosis Free status for England by 2038.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to recognise the historic contribution of British farmers to the war effort through (a) public commemoration, (b) heritage funding and (c) other methods.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation.
We recognise the vital role that farmers play putting food on our plates and caring for our countryside. The Government is committed to supporting British farmers by strengthening food security, increasing farm profitability, and protecting our environment for future generations.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will consider supporting initiatives to commemorate the role of British farmers in maintaining food security during the Second World War.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation.
We recognise the vital role that farmers play putting food on our plates and caring for our countryside. The Government is committed to supporting British farmers by strengthening food security, increasing farm profitability, and protecting our environment for future generations.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for publishing guidance on the financial implications for GP partnerships of the NHS 10 Year Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We remain committed to the GP partnership model and have committed to working with the GP Committee of the British Medical Association (GPC England) to secure a new substantive GP contract within this Parliament.
The 10-Year Health Plan represents a significant opportunity for general practice. It signals our intention to build a neighbourhood health service, shifting resources from hospital to community, with general practice playing a central role. The excellent GP leaders we currently have across the system, and those we will nurture and develop for future generations, will be integral in shaping and delivering neighbourhood health.
We will engage with GPC England and other key stakeholders on changes to the GP contract, longer-term General Medical Services contract reform and neighbourhood health arrangements over the coming weeks and months.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant the Answer of 2 September to Question 69743 on Universal Credit: Expenditure, whether she has had discussions with the OBR on the sustainability of the forecasted levels of expenditure on Universal Credit payments by the end of the current Parliament.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024.
The financial sustainability of the benefit system, including Universal Credit, is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with his Welsh counterpart on the compliance of electricity suppliers operating in Wales with (a) the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (b) the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with Welsh Government ministers on a range of issues.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the estimated completion date of the Future Air Dominance System programme.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Future Air Dominance System (FADS) will feature a combination of crewed and uncrewed platforms in a hybrid fleet formation. FADS ‘system of systems’ comprises several major projects and dependencies. These include the next generations of radars, computer Combat Management Systems, new lethal effectors, new communication technologies, plus the uncrewed Type 91 ‘Missile Ship’ and the advanced, minimally (or optionally) crewed Type T83 Combatant. The Type 83 is planned to enter service from the mid-2030s and is assumed to have a 25-year service life.