Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to section 5.3: Tackling child poverty and reforming welfare of the Budget 2025, when he expects to bring forward legislative changes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Autumn Budget emphasised our commitment to a fairer welfare system that is fit for the future and provides value for taxpayers. This includes removing the two child limit from April 2026. This will lead to a substantial reduction in child poverty, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage. Given the requirement for primary legislation, we are progressing this as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many in-person inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below shows the number of proactive inspections that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has carried out for the last 6 years in Scotland. Six years has been provided, not 5, as the period requested includes the COVID 19 pandemic where additional COVID specific visits which were carried out as a response to that situation. For that reason, we have included the year 2019/2020 for pre-COVID context.
Total Number of Proactive Inspections Undertaken by HSE since 1st April 2019 at sites in Scotland Government Office Region
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Total with COVID 19 inspections | 1732 | 2085 | 1566 | 1570 | 1341 | 1444 |
Total not including COVID 19 inspections | 1728 | 559 | 1295 | 1569 | 1341 | 1444k |
To note: The figures are based on raw live data and can be subject to change due to updates to historical cases. Therefore these figures may differ to the figures published in HSE’s Annual Reports.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to launch the Contingent Decision route for the Civil Service Partnership Pension scheme.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
A launch date for the Partnership Contingent Decision route cannot be confirmed at this time. The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) launched the Contingent Decision process for members who opted out of the scheme in July 2025. However, the process for members who switched to the Partnership pension scheme involves additional complexity, requiring the reconciliation of contributions between defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements.
The administration of this work will now be picked up by Capita who took over the CSPS contract on 1 December. Planning work has started to define the process and timeline.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) specific recusals and (b) mitigation measures have been applied to Varun Chandra in relation to any Government (i) decisions, (ii) policies, and (iii) meetings that may intersect with (A) Hakluyt & Company and (B) its associated investment vehicles.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to Cabinet Office Publication of Special Adviser Interests 2024-2025, published on 17 July 2025, what matters Varun Chandra is recused from.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by local authorities to repair a reported pothole was in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 changes to requirements for EPC certificates on properties used as short term holiday lets.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The recent consultation on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector sought views on whether short-term lets should be included in the scope of our proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030, to help ensure a consistent standard across all private rented properties.
No final decisions have been made, and the government has proposed to maintain a range of exemptions available to landlords to ensure that required investment is fair and proportionate. Government remains committed to taking an evidence-based approach and will consider the balance between supporting tourism and reaching our net zero goals.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns, is published annually. The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.
The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025.
In the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 13 formal performance warnings were issued to staff.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to cover international shipping.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK ETS Authority has published a consultation on expanding the UK ETS to international maritime voyages from 2028. We propose that 50% of emissions from international maritime voyages are covered by the scheme. The consultation runs until 20th January 2026.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the findings of the consultation on Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The consultation on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector closed on 2nd May and a government response will be published in due course.