Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what direct offensive role is played by UK Space Command.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review 2025 acknowledges space as a critical national infrastructure sector, a site of growing competition, and a domain that is central to warfighting. In recognition of space’s growing strategic importance, the Ministry of Defence carries out a wide-ranging programme of activity to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of innovation, deterrence, and operational readiness in this critical domain.
UK Space Command’s mission is to protect and defend national and military space interests and enable UK forces to operate globally.
The UK remains steadfast in our commitment to the Outer Space Treaty and the peaceful uses of outer space, ensuring space remains a safe, secure, and sustainable environment for future generations.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of renegotiating the 1967 Outer Space Treaty to reflect current exploitation of the difference between (a) air and (b) space.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Outer Space Treaty (OST) is the cornerstone of international space law with all major space-faring nations being party to this treaty. The Treaty explicitly affirms that activities in the exploration and use of outer space must be carried out in accordance with international law, including the United Nations (UN) Charter. This includes the prohibition on the threat or use of force, which applies to States’ space activities, as it does to other domains. The Treaty also prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space. The Treaty does not impose a formal distinction between air and outer space, and this has not impeded the UK’s ability to pursue its ambitious goals in both aviation and space.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to the Outer Space Treaty and the peaceful uses of outer space, ensuring space remains a safe, secure, and sustainable environment for future generations. Across government, there are efforts to strengthen governance of space more generally though the UN, including working through the UN Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and promoting norms rules and principles of responsible space behaviours to address threats to space systems.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the (a) structure or (b) allocation of the welfare budget.
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 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.
At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increasing number of people receiving Universal Credit to the British taxpayer.
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 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.
At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Universal Credit expenditure on the sustainability of the overall welfare budget.
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 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.
At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the long term financial sustainability of the number of people on Universal Credit.
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 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.
At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on reducing household energy bills.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will bring energy security, protect billpayers, create good jobs, and help to protect future generations from the cost of climate breakdown. Delivering clean power by 2030 will protect billpayers from volatile international fossil fuel markets and bring down energy bills for good
Great British Energy is a key part of this plan. It will ensure taxpayers and billpayers reap the benefits of homegrown energy by investing in and developing clean energy projects across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of partner GPs in each of the next 10 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As self-employed contractors, general practitioners (GPs) act as providers making their own decisions based on local workforce needs. This includes decisions about the number of partners and salaried GPs at the practice.
GPs will be the cornerstone of the Neighbourhood Health Service. 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 it.
Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.
Asked by: Lord Banner (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether Historic England, SAVE Britain’s Heritage and Buckingham Palace were consulted on the specific design of the new security fence outside the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The safety and security of all those who work on and visit the Parliamentary Estate is a top priority. I am informed that Parliamentary authorities carefully considered the importance of improving safety on the Parliamentary Estate alongside their need to protect the Palace of Westminster and its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is vital to ensure that this iconic building is safeguarded for future generations to visit and enjoy.
Historic England is a statutory consultee and was included as part of pre-application discussions and consulted by Westminster City Council, as part of the application.
Neither SAVE Britain’s Heritage nor Buckingham Palace are statutory consultees and therefore were not consulted as part of the planning process.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on strengthening the Union.
Answered by Nia Griffith
The Spending Review demonstrated how our two Labour Governments are investing in Wales’ future and strengthening our Union for generations to come.
With a record settlement for the Welsh Government, an historic investment of at least £445m into Welsh rail, money to keep coal tips safe and protecting every penny of Wales’ growth funds, we have ended Tory austerity.