Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chair of the Infected Blood inquiry is remunerated for his work on the inquiry.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Like all Inquiry Chairs, the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry is remunerated for the work he undertakes.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making people convicted of murder ineligible for transfer to open prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Public protection is the Government’s foremost priority when considering any progression within the custodial estate.
There are no current plans to restrict those convicted of murder from being held in open prison conditions, as long as it safe to do so.
A prisoner serving a mandatory life sentence for murder is eligible to be considered for a move to an open prison only if within three years of completing the minimum term (tariff) set by the Court at the point of sentence. Further, other than in exceptional circumstances, a life sentence prisoner will be approved for transfer to open conditions only in response to a recommendation made by the Parole Board, following a rigorous risk assessment. Even where the Parole Board makes such a recommendation, the Secretary of State is not bound by it and conducts his own risk assessment before approving the recommendation and so authorising transfer. If, following transfer, the prisoner shows signs of increased risk, s/he will be returned to closed conditions.
Following a long period of incarceration in closed conditions, a period in open conditions may provide important evidence for the purposes of the Parole Board’s determination of whether the prisoner may be safely released into the community on life licence. It also helps to acquaint the prisoner with life outside of prison, which might have changed substantially during the period of imprisonment. This Government remains committed to supporting the progression of prisoners serving life or other indeterminate sentences by supporting them to reduce their risk to a level where the Parole Board determines they may be safely released, subject to a robust risk management plan.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department plans to provide to schools that are not eligible for funding under the Connect the classroom programme for upgrading essential IT infrastructure.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to supporting all schools to harness the transformative potential of technology. By setting digital and technology standards, developing support services, including our plan technology for your school service, and investing in connectivity, we aim to help all schools to have essential digital infrastructure in place.
Funding under the Connect the Classroom programme is targeted at schools in greatest need, ensuring public investment delivers the most impact.
The department is currently finalising internal budgeting processes and will announce any updates on future funding via GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to suspend driving licences immediately for people arrested on suspicion of driving offences carrying mandatory disqualification.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
The Government is listening closely to the concerns of those affected by tragic cases of death or serious injury on our roads.
We are considering a range of policies under the new strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing motoring offences.
More details will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of extreme left-wing terrorism in the UK, including Antifa and related groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.
As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, Left Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT) currently represents a significantly smaller terrorist threat to the UK than Islamist terrorism or ERWT and is not currently present in the UK at any significant scale.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Government launches Back British industry call to action to boost UK jobs, businesses and skills, published on 23 October 2025, if he will list the skills that an international partner will be required to invest in if a UK defence deal contract is won.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy's commitment to backing British businesses, we launched a public consultation on a possible UK offset policy on 23 October. The consultation seeks input on key principles for implementation, including on the nature and level of obligations. It is essential that any offset policy is explored and developed in partnership with the defence sector so we should not pre-empt the outcome of this consultation.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Government launches Back British industry call to action to boost UK jobs, businesses and skills, published on 23 October 2025, where the new Defence Office for Small Business Growth will be based.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Office for Small Business Growth will reflect modern ways of working and will not be restricted by a physical location. Using a networked approach, support will be offered across the country and effective digital tools will enable small businesses to connect with the Office regardless of location. This approach removes a significant barrier to entry for smaller businesses.
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 13 October 2025 to Question 77304 on Multiple Occupation: Migrants, whether her Department (a) collates data on which individual houses of multiple occupation are used to house asylum seekers and (b) holds data on the number of those HMOs, broken down by local authority.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 77304.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what responsibility her Department has for ensuring media literacy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Oxford East, to the answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 47185.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of operating the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In August a £100m funding boost was announced for this financial year to bring forward a number of projects to secure our borders. This includes our landmark pilot with France which the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme is part of. More on this £100 million comprehensive funding package can be found at the following link: Investment for Border Security Command to tackle people smuggling gangs - GOV.UK
There are commercially sensitive arrangements as part of the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme which we do not comment on. To do otherwise could harm our ability to get the best value for money for the British taxpayer.