Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure young people with SEND can access the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper introduced the Youth Guarantee, ensuring every 18 to 21 year-old in England can access education, training, an apprenticeship, supported internships or help to find work. The department is working to make this inclusive for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Youth Guarantee trailblazer scheme is providing £45 million funding for eight mayoral combined authorities from spring 2025. The Youth Guarantee trailblazers are testing focused support for vulnerable groups such as care leavers, young people with SEND and young people educated in alternative provision settings. This focused support includes mentoring, confidence building, coaching and financial management skills. This testing will inform the future rollout of the Youth Guarantee.
The department is taking several other steps to help those with SEND access the Youth Guarantee, including:
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper commits to ‘building a system that leaves no learner behind’ by joining up skills and employment systems, expanding flexible training options, and guaranteeing access to education or work pathways for all, including those at risk of becoming not in education, employment, or training.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78583, on Immigration: English Language, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making it a requirement of anyone being granted asylum to subsequently learn English to continue (a) residing and (b) receiving benefits.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Successfully integrating refugees is a Government priority. The ability to speak and understand English is a key factor in successful integration, allowing refugees to become active contributors to the communities in which they live.
The Immigration White Paper set out plans to increase language requirements for most routes to B2 level at settlement stage, as well as the intention to consult on wider settlement reform later this year. These changes will impact the requirements for people who wish to reside in the UK and have access to public funds through settlement.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84961 on Armed Forces: Northern Ireland, whether there were any remuneration capping arrangements applied to legal costs incurred in the defence of Soldier F; and whether Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid for Crown Court Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2005 was applied to defence costs.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) did not impose any cap on the legal costs associated with the defence of Soldier F. Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid for Crown Court Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2005 does not apply to costs funded by the MOD.
The MOD will continue to provide the welfare and legal support to all Service personnel that served during the Troubles.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that passenger (a) fare data and (b) service performance from operators outside the Office of Rail and Road’s are independently verified.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the official source of most rail fare data and service performance statistics. ORR does not publish statistics in respect of light rail/tramways, heritage railways, London Underground and Eurostar (although ORR receives some performance data from Eurostar as part of its regulation of London St. Pancras Highspeed and these are published in ORR’s Annual Report).
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee of 8 October 2025, if she will publish each Service User Demand Plan.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Service User Demand Plans are not published. The Home Office publishes information about asylum seekers across the UK quarterly here Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegal driving instructors; and what steps he is taking to increase public awareness on the requirement for driving instructors to be approved by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) takes matters of illegal driving instruction extremely seriously. DVSA strives to stamp out illegal driving instruction by targeting offenders and working in conjunction with the local Police force to identify and ultimately, when appropriate, prosecute those involved in this type of criminality.
DVSA’s Counter Fraud and Investigation team thoroughly investigate allegations of illegal driving instruction and always looks to validate any information it is provided with during any investigations. Depending on the information available, DVSA may proceed directly to an investigation or conduct targeted roadside checks, often involving the police, to identify ongoing illegal instruction. The outcomes of DVSA’s investigations can range from issuing a warning to pursuing prosecution.
Information for those wanting to start driving lessons is available on DVSA’s ‘Ready to Pass?’ website on GOV.UK. DVSA advises candidates that anyone teaching them to drive for payment must be either a qualified and approved driving instructor or a trainee driving instructor. There is also further information for candidates on how to find your nearest driving instructors.
DVSA advises candidates to check that their driving instructor is displaying their badge in their windscreen, which shows they are registered with DVSA, this could either be a green badge if they are fully qualified or a pink badge if they are a trainee instructor.
Individuals who have not been through the approved driving instructor process pose a very real threat to road safety. It also damages the reputation and credibility of the driver training industry. DVSA recommends that anyone with concerns about a possible illegal driving instructor follow the advice on GOV.UK: Report an illegal driving instructor.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure transparency regarding the nature of the data compromised with the people affected by the Capita data breach.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Capita contacted all impacted members to inform them of the potential loss of data. Capita provided all impacted members with clear communications and also a subscription to Experian Plus that allowed members to monitor their online records for any signs of potential issues.
Capita also initiated an independent full review of their systems to review security and to identify any further potential data exfiltration. Capita cooperated fully with investigations into the breach with the Information Commissioner's Office and with Cabinet office in assessing any potential risks to the membership of the scheme.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking with the financial sector to support the transition to net zero.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s sustainable finance sector is world leading, and the Government is actively mobilising capital to support the transition and improve our energy independence.
Since July 2024, over £50 billion of private investment has been announced in clean energy industries and this summer the Government set out our vision for the UK’s sustainable finance regulatory framework in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the (a) figures, (b) charts and (c) underlying data tables on (i) income tax and (ii) indirect tax contributions by ethnicity referenced in her Department's Freedom of Information response FOI2025/18562.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not routinely publish information which is released in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The FOI was answered in accordance with the Freedom of Information principles.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leicester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the under-registration of eligible children for free school meals following the extension of entitlement to all children in households receiving Universal Credit; and whether they plan to introduce free school meal auto-enrolment to ensure all eligible children receive the support to which they are entitled.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, lifting 100,000 children across England out of poverty and putting £500 back in families’ pockets.
We want to ensure that all families who need it are able to claim the support they are eligible for. Expanding FSM to all children in households claiming Universal Credit will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals.
To support take-up of free meals, we are also rolling out improvements to the checking system that we make available to all local authorities to help verify eligibility for free meals. This will make the process of claiming free meals more seamless for families by allowing them to directly check whether they can receive this entitlement.