Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department used to conclude that free university tools can adequately replace specialist assistive technology funded by the Disabled Students Allowance to support disabled students with their studies.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Supporting disabled students to access and succeed in higher education is a government priority. Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) provides support to remove disability-related barriers to learning, enabling students to access academic opportunities. DSA-funded support is designed to meet disability-related needs and promote independence in study through appropriate equipment, assistive software and support.
The department’s consultation on assistive software funded through DSA seeks to gather evidence on how best to modernise the support provided, taking into account the significant advances in technology in recent years.
A key purpose of the consultation is to understand the extent to which advances in mainstream functionality can appropriately meet disability-related needs and where specialist software continues to be required. The intention is to ensure provision is appropriately targeted and represents value for money.
The department has not made a final assessment of the adequacy of free-to-access tools as we are seeking evidence of this through the consultation process.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham Erdington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the equalities impact of (a) not routinely including Afro-textured hair within hairdressing qualifications and (b) individuals having been denied access to hairdressing services as a result on (i) Black and (ii) mixed-heritage people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are committed to improving the quality of hair and beauty qualifications and have plans in place to reform all qualifications for 16 to 19 learners. Content for any new hair and beauty qualifications, including new Level 2 Occupational Certificates and a new Level 3 T Level, will be set nationally and linked to occupational standards co-designed with employers, ensuring relevance and credibility, and we will consider inclusive education, including afro-textured hair, as part of setting content. By linking qualifications to occupational standards, improving clarity and comparability across pathways, and ensuring all qualifications support meaningful progression, the system will ensure learners are engaged, retained in learning, and equipped to thrive in a modern labour market, including progressing into employment in the hair and beauty industry.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of (a) remediation applications and (b) new build applications are rejected by the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator publishes Gateway 2 building control data on a monthly basis which can be found here.
At Gateway 2 the Building Safety Regulator rejected 10% of validated new build applications and 21% of validated remediation applications over the 12-week reporting period to 30th May 2026.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2026 to Question 453 on Council Tax, if he will place the new burdens assessment in the Library.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will publish the outcome of this new burdens assessment on GOV.UK as it has done for previous new burdens assessments.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to introduce an essential user rebate on fuel costs for haulage, van and coach operators, in addition to the recent extension of the fuel duty freeze and the 12‑month Vehicle Excise Duty holiday.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps all taxes under review and will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary decisions to help protect households and businesses from price increases from the conflict in the Middle East. The Government’s priorities will continue to be helping families with the cost of living, including through protecting the public finances to support the Bank of England with its role in keeping inflation as low as possible
In addition to the recent extension of the fuel duty freeze and the 12-month Vehicle Excise Duty holiday for HGV's, the Government also announced the first uprating of mileage rates for employees using their own vehicle for work and the self-employed who use the simplified expenses rates, back-dated to April, recognising pressures facing these drivers. Mileage rates for cars and vans will increase for2026/27 from 45p to 55p for the first 10,000 miles, and 25p thereafter, with effect from 6 April 2026. Looking ahead and beyond 2026/27, the Government has already committed to a review of these rates and will set this out at the Budget.
Asked by: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Great British Summer Savings scheme to include admission to public swimming pools.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 25 June to 1 September the Government is introducing a temporary reduced rate of VAT on children's menu meals and eligible family attractions.
This is a targeted and temporary scheme to reduce the costs of children’s meals in restaurants, children’s tickets for theatres and cinemas and tickets for everyone for attractions like soft play, adventure centres, and theme parks, helping families enjoy a day out for less. Individual businesses should consult HMRC’s guidance to determine how the rules apply in their circumstances.
Sport, including swimming pools, is not in scope of the relief. This is in line with the decision to focus on a narrower set of eligible activities to ensure the scheme is targeted and financially sustainable.
Many sports facilities which families use already enjoy some form of VAT relief, including many leisure centres and local swimming pools that are operated by local authorities and are out of scope of VAT already. Local authorities are able to reclaim their input VAT when providing sports facilities in leisure centres.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2026 to Question 124681 on Affordable Housing: Vistry Group, if he will list the milestones and delivery targets set by Homes England for the Vistry Group.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124681 on 20 April 2026.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of revenue lost in 2027/28 by permanently reducing VAT to 5% for hospitality businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC estimates that the cost of changing the 20 per cent Standard Rate of VAT on all accommodation and food and beverage services to the Reduced Rate of 5 per cent would be around £17 billion in 2027-28
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. A reduction on the scale outlined above would have significant implications for the funding of public services.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they mean by “enhanced parent–infant relationship support” in the updated Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance; and how equivalent support will be defined, delivered, and funded in local authorities that are not in receipt of that programme funding.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance, we have a set a series of expectations for local authorities to support them to design their local service offer. The enhanced perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support is intended to build on existing provision within the system. Local authorities are empowering the workforce to be able to confidently identify and address need. They are providing high-quality support in a range of ways, such as virtually, one-to-one, and through peer support, and working across the system to strengthen referral pathways.
Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we commitment to rolling out Healthy Babies to match expansion of Best Start Family Hubs. While we do not expect local authorities who are not receiving funding to provide equivalent support to those that are, through the guidance we have set ambitions that we encourage them to work towards, which will lay the foundations for roll out. This includes equipping staff to offer emotional and wellbeing support, promote early attachment and connect families to appropriate services.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, what estimate his Department has made of the compliance costs to employers arising from thresholds of (a) 8, (b) 12, (c) 16, (d) 20 and (e) more than 20 guaranteed hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course as we implement these measures.
The government has published its consultation to understand further the impacts that different options could have on employers and workers.