Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has provided guidance to electoral registration officers on whether British citizens who have a dwelling in the UK which they periodically occupy and an overseas dwelling which they also occupy can register on the UK electoral roll as a domestic, non-overseas elector.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales sets out eligibility requirements.
A person must be resident at the address at which they want to be registered. Residence has a particular meaning in electoral law and is not equivalent to residence for other purposes. Normally, a person is resident at an address for electoral purposes if it is their permanent home address.
When making a determination on someone’s residence, Electoral Registration Officers will need to consider the circumstances of the applicant, including the purpose they are present at a particular address.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance or advice the Electoral Commission has given to local authorities on whether employees of a district or county council can serve as a councillor of a shadow unitary authority for that area.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission outlines the disqualification criteria at each relevant election in its guidance for candidates and agents. Due to the complexity of the rules, it does not provide direct advice on whether someone is qualified or disqualified from standing. Instead it recommends that candidates seek their own legal advice if in doubt about their eligibility.
In its role supporting Returning Officers to deliver well-run elections, it has advised them to raise any queries about the matter with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in January 2026 and each subsequent month.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in January 2026 and in each subsequent month because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms.
The DfT regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 113919 on Equality: Gender and Intersex, what the timetable is for the Gender Identity and Intersex Policy Package review following the publication of the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
New model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees was issued to departments on 22 May 2026. These may be used by departments as templates for their own departmental guidance.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has made an assessment of the average cost to a local authority of holding and administering a (a) Parliamentary, (b) combined authority mayoral and (c) local council ward by-election.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission has not made an assessment on the average cost of holding and administering elections, as it is not responsible for funding elections. The UK Government, through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, provides funding for the administration of parliamentary by-elections. The Combined authority and local authority will fund the cost of running their own by-elections respectively.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retail, hospitality and leisure businesses have ceased trading in Fylde constituency and Lancashire since April 2025.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd June is attached.
Asked by: Katrina Murray (Labour - Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the Net Migrant figure was accounted for by international students in each year over the last 5 years.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the lady’s Parliamentary Question of 20th May is attached.
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 analysis his Department has undertaken on factors contributing to the number of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training; and what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to help tackle barriers to employment and training for young people, including (a) mental health, (b) bullying and adverse experiences in school, (c) lack of access to work experience and vocational pathways, (d) social isolation and (e) unstable housing and caring responsibilities.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The interim report of the independent review into young people and work led by Alan Milburn, published on Thursday 28th May, identifies multiple reasons as to why there has been an increase in youth unemployment. This report can be found here: Young people and work: interim report - GOV.UK.
With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people, and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This includes delivering work experience placements, training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers, and providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.
Support in schools is also a key priority. We have committed to delivering two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person during secondary education, moving towards a more flexible model of multiple, meaningful encounters that build skills and confidence over time. Mental Health Support Teams are being rolled out across schools and further education colleges to provide earlier intervention and support for young people. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying.
Furthermore, our Pathways to Work programme (which will be backed by £1 billion a year of funding by the end of the decade) is building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. Through Pathways to Work, young people with health conditions or disabilities have access to tailored support including help into supported employment through Connect to Work.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the letter of 22 May from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Stockton West, how many qualified DVSA staff have returned to front line examining roles and how many exams have they conducted expressed a) as a number and b) as a percentage of all tests.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In June 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reintroduced overtime incentives via the Additional Test Allowance (ATA) scheme. Since then, the agency has conducted around 9,000 to 13,000 extra tests each month through overtime, and between June 2025 and April 2026 DVSA delivered 217,294 more tests than in the same period the year before.
In April 2026, 5,985 car practical driving tests were conducted by staff qualified to conduct tests but working in non-driving examiner (DE) roles as part of their normal day job. This equates to ~3% of the total 176,690 car practical driving tests, conducted in April 2026. DVSA is still finalising the car practical driving tests conducted data for May 2026, and this will be available later in June.
As well as overtime incentives, DVSA is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to DEs and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over 12 months to encourage existing DEs to stay. As of April 2026, there were 1,604 full-time equivalent (FTE) DE available to deliver car practical driving tests. The number of tests an individual DE can conduct in a year can differ for various reasons, however, a full-time DE can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.
DVSA has reviewed its DE recruitment and training system to increase capacity. A six-week accelerated DE training pilot is enabling faster qualification without compromising standards. DVSA is also reviewing the trainee‑to‑trainer ratio and increasing the number of permanent trainers to boost test delivery capacity, underpinned by improved end‑to‑end workforce planning.
Between 1 January and 31 May 2026, Ministry of Defence support has delivered 2,686 additional tests in parts of England, including the north east, south west of London, and the south west.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of current arrangements for dividing maintenance responsibilities on trunk roads between National Highways and local authorities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways is responsible for the routine maintenance and renewal of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), and funding for this is provided through the third Road Investment Strategy, published in March 2026. The Department expects National Highways to work with local authorities on the upkeep of the network, including maintaining a safe and smooth interface for road users between local roads and the SRN.
On litter, responsibilities are split between National Highways and local authorities. National Highways is responsible for clearing litter on motorways and some trunk roads, and local authorities are responsible for litter collection on other trunk roads and their associated lay-bys in England. Where local authorities are responsible for litter collection, National Highways works in partnership with them to ensure that activities are coordinated where possible, including, for example, allowing authorities to collect litter when roads are closed for other planned maintenance work. The Government is also exploring options to give National Highways new powers as a litter enforcement authority when Parliamentary time permits.