Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the the Greater Anglia timetable changes from 14 December 2025 for meeting peak-time passenger demand at Billericay station over the period of the local plan.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Greater Anglia added extra carriages to a small number of Saturday services operating from Billericay as part of the December 2025 timetable change.
Greater Anglia monitors passenger demand and will make adjustments to train services and capacity where required, and where it is possible to do. I expect Greater Anglia to continue to work with local stakeholders to develop timetables for the future.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the reports that Israeli Defences Forces have moved the Yellow Line deeper into Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK urges all parties to meet the commitments they have made under the 20-point peace plan, and we continue to monitor the situation on the ground in Gaza closely.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Greater Anglia trains are expected to be fitted with physical advanced monitoring equipment by the end of 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Projects are still in development, but Greater Anglia estimates that between eight and twelve units in total will have physical monitoring equipment installed by the end of this year.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026, to Question 103247 on Palestine: Terrorism, when the independent audit will be undertaken; who will undertake the audit; and her assessment of trends in the number of recipients of 'pay for slay' payments.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Questions 103245 on Gaza: Hamas, what assessment he has made of the scale of the tunnel network established by Hamas in Gaza; and what practical assistance is being provided to Israel to dismantle the tunnels.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November, (e) my responses to her Urgent Question on 29 October, and (f) my responses to Questions 104985, 103247, 103245, 101358, 98592, and 906050, provided on 20 January, 12 January, 12 January, 6 January, 16 December, and 28 October respectively. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the British Army has spent on sponsorship of Premier League Football in 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Whilst the financial aspects of the sponsorship of Premier League football on Sky Television are commercial in confidence, sponsorship of Premier League football by the Army is part of a wider Army Recruiting campaign. Other marketing events and activity are synchronised with matches to ensure they generate as much interest as possible and provide value for money. Armed Forces intake has increased by 13% when compared to previous 12 months. In the same period outflow reduced by 8%.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 86245 on Alex Chisholm and Simon Case, what was the business case for the approval of the severance payment for Simon Case in March 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The severance payment for Simon Case was made in line with his contract of employment, and guidance concerning special severance payments as defined in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with Israeli authorities on the operational role of COGAT in facilitating humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December, (c) the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on these issues at oral questions on 2 December, and (d) the statement that the Foreign Secretary made to the House on Gaza on 18 November. We will continue to update the House on these issues on a similarly regular basis over the weeks and months to come.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury collates data on central government spending on translation and interpretation into foreign languages for those residing in the United Kingdom.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Government spending on translation and interpretation services for British residents exists across many departments. Spending on such services typically falls below the HM Treasury approval and disclosure threshold, as defined by a department’s Delegated Authority Limit. HM Treasury therefore does not collect or receive data at the requested level of granularity.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 48 of the Autumn Budget HC1492, published on 26 November 2025, if she will publish the monetary savings in each year on which the 16% back-office administrative costs figure is based.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
These are published in Table 1.1 of the Spending Review 2025 (page 13).