theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Anna Dixon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to extend the Young Futures Programme to include young people up to the age of 25. \p Janet Daby: Young Futures Hubs will build on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, with the government establishing a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. The multi-year Spending Review set overall resource departmental budgets until 2028/29 and overall capital departmental budgets until 2029/30. Departments are now working to determine allocations and further details will be provided in due course.

Young Futures Hubs will be co-designed using local knowledge to best serve their communities and will serve a core age range of 10-18, but with flexibility to support young people at each end of this age range in line with local needs.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require local authorities to provide family hubs. \p Janet Daby: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.

This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
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David Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Berwick Academy's need for a rebuild; and whether she has received a business case outlining a proposed rebuild from Northumberland County Council. \p Stephen Morgan: Berwick Academy is the body responsible for the school buildings and has not put forward a nomination for the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP). The department is aware that Northumberland County Council has plans to invest in Berwick Academy as part of a wider school reorganisation in the area but we are yet to receive a business case or further detail.

The government has given a long-term commitment for capital investment through to 2034/35 to improve the condition of schools and colleges across England. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

This is in addition to investment of almost £20 billion in the SRP through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years.

The department plans to set out further details on the process for selecting additional schools for the rebuilding programme later this year.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support arts education in schools in Eastbourne constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: As part of our Opportunity Mission, this government wants to widen access to the arts.

Music Hubs continue to play a vital role across England with grant funding of £76 million for the 2025/26 academic year. This includes nearly £2 million for the Sussex Music Hub partnership led by Create Music, to support schools in East Sussex, including Eastbourne.

On 18 March 2025, the department announced a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to support schools across England to teach all arts subjects. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with further details in the autumn.

The government also established the Curriculum and Assessment Review. This seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including music, art and drama. The final report and government response will be published this autumn.

We are legislating so that, following the Review and implementation, academies will be required to teach the reformed national curriculum, alongside maintained schools. This will ensure arts education is an entitlement for pupils in every state-funded school.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of promoting (a) The Chadwell Way and (b) other character education models to teach children (i) core values and (ii) practical life skills. \p Catherine McKinnell: Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission. This government is committed to giving children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We have set a milestone of a record proportion of children (75%) starting school ready to learn in the classroom.

Physical development is one of the three prime areas of learning and development in the early years foundation stage and includes fine motor skills. Practitioners should support children to develop fine motor skills including manipulating objects and eating with cutlery.

All schools have specific duties to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life in modern Britain. This includes ensuring pupils understand the society in which they are growing up and the importance of respect for other people.

Through compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), pupils are taught how to build respectful and empathetic relationships as well as how to support their own and others’ health and wellbeing, including simple self-care techniques, personal hygiene, prevention of health and wellbeing problems and basic first aid. Citizenship education is also important for ensuring pupils have the knowledge and skills for life that they need to grow into responsible and caring adults.
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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish plans to strengthen the home learning environment to support literacy (a) in the early years and (b) for school age children. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to strengthening the home learning environment to support literacy and school readiness as part of the Plan for Change. In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million through Family Hubs in home learning environment services to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings that support early communication and confidence. In the recent Spending Review, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, confirmed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme as part of the Spending Review 2025.

Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free resources and advice to encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children, simple actions that make a lasting difference. Promoting a culture of reading for pleasure at home supports children’s language development, emotional wellbeing and cognitive growth, particularly in the early years. These benefits extend into later childhood, contributing to improved educational outcomes and a lifelong engagement with learning.

For school-age children, we continue to encourage parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising that strong early foundations are key to long term educational success.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to simplify early years funding for parents and guardians. \p Stephen Morgan: It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving opportunity for every child and work choices for every parent. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school.

The department is expanding the childcare entitlements so that from September 2025, eligible working parents can access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns 9 months until they start school.

Parents can find information on early education entitlements and other childcare offers at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

On Monday 7 July, the department published its strategy to give every child the Best Start in Life. We will look across the early education and childcare support provided by different parts of government to identify ways to make it simpler for providers and parents, improve access and increase the overall impact of government spending on children and families. We will look at how to improve outcomes for children from low-income families and at the requirements on households to access different childcare entitlements.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report of the National Literacy Trust entitled Children and young people’s writing in 2025, published in June 2025. \p Catherine McKinnell: ​​I refer my hon. Friend the member for the City of Durham to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 62713.​
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Child Poverty Strategy will include funding for family hubs. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 63139.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) support SEND services in schools in Eastbourne constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: East Sussex’s most recent Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in November 2024, which found that the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The inspection identified four areas for improvement, including that the local area partnership should develop and embed its work with education settings on improving inclusion, so that the proportion of children and young people achieving strong outcomes increases.

Following the inspection, the East Sussex local area partnership has published a strategic plan with specific actions to address all four areas for improvement, and the department, alongside NHS England, will be tracking the progress that the local area makes against this plan, including through regular engagement, and will offer support and challenge as the local area’s improvement journey continues.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the increased schools funding announced in the Spending Review 2025 has been allocated to schools in Eastbourne constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: ​​​The government has announced an additional £4.2 billion for schools across the Spending Review period, which will take core schools budgets to £69.5 billion by 2028/29.

​The majority of school funding is allocated through the national funding formula, which will be published in the autumn to provide schools with greater certainty over their funding in the financial year 2026/27. The core schools budget is used to support several different funding streams, and how it will be distributed across the Spending Review period will depend on future business planning processes.

​Allocations to individual local authorities and schools will be determined using up-to-date data. 2026/27 allocations will be calculated by reference to the October 2025 school census.​​
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the birth rate on school rolls. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department’s National Pupil Projections are updated annually to take account of the latest population estimates and population projections published by the Office for National Statistics, which incorporate the latest birth rate trends. The department’s projections are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-pupil-projections/2024.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children who become eligible for free school meals in 2026 will also be eligible for pupil premium funding. \p Catherine McKinnell: Pupil premium funding is allocated to eligible schools based on the number of:

Pupil premium funding is allocated to local authorities based on the number of:

Pupil premium will continue to be allocated on this basis, on the basis of household income below £7,400 (after tax, not including benefits) for the 2026/27 financial year.

We are reviewing how we allocate pupil premium funding in the longer term. We will provide more information in due course.
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Amanda Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure distinct recognition for children from service families in education policy; and whether she will adopt a whole person, whole journey approach for such children. \p Catherine McKinnell: The Armed Forces Covenant aims to ensure that service people and their families are not disadvantaged by their service to our country. The government is dedicated to recognising and supporting the education of children and young people from military families within the state-funded education system, ensuring they have the opportunity to achieve and thrive.

Schools are allocated additional funding through the Service Pupil Premium to help them better support the specific needs of children from service families. For the 2025/26 financial year, over £26 million has been allocated to state-funded schools in England through the Service Pupil Premium, at a rate of £350 per pupil.

The government remains open to new evidence regarding the specific needs of service children and is committed to finding the best ways to support them throughout all educational phases.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, if she will make an estimate of the change in the (a) employers’ National Insurance and (b) salary costs for schools in Bedfordshire constituency between (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26. \p Catherine McKinnell: Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.

The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.

Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.

The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.

Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department will take to improve digital infrastructure in rural schools. \p Stephen Morgan: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outline the information for England only.

The Department for Education are joint funding with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology fibre upgrades to 833 schools in England, due to be completed this year, to ensure that rural schools in England are not left disconnected.

The department has also published digital and technology standards to help schools make informed decisions about technology, leading to safer and more cost-efficient practices. These standards cover critical areas such as connectivity, cyber security, and filtering and monitoring. We launched a consultation on narrowing the digital divide in schools and colleges, which included proposals on the future of these standards, and we will publish our response to this consultation in due course.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to limit the use of smartphones in schools. \p Stephen Morgan: Mobile phones have no place in our schools. Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.

The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

New research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed expansion of free school meals on levels of child poverty in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.

It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 3,500 children in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.

Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to reduce the requirement on schools to serve three meat options a week. \p Stephen Morgan: To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so that every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

The review will consider all aspects of the school food standards. We intend to consult on these revisions and further details will be available in due course.
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David Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what process schools can apply for (a) rebuilds and (b) other capital spending following the funding commitments in the Spending Review 2025. \p Stephen Morgan: School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future.

The government has announced almost £20 billion of investment for the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years. We plan to set out further details about the selection process later this year.

At the 2025/26 budget, the government increased capital investment to improve the condition of school buildings across England to £2.1 billion, almost £300 million more than 2024/25. More information on allocations and successful Condition Improvement Fund bids for 2025/26 can be found on GOV.UK.

£31 billion of capital funding for the education estate was announced at the Spending Review in June 2025 for the period the 2026/27 financial year to the 2029/30 financial year. As part of the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government also committed to increase annual capital maintenance investment per year through to 2034/35. Further details on funding commitments and any application processes for capital funding will be announced on GOV.UK in due course.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59764 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what estimate he has made of the cost of payments to Mauritius for the (a) FCDO and (b) MOD as part of the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia. \p Stephen Doughty: The payments to Mauritius will be split between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. They will be published in the normal manner alongside other departmental spend in the annual accounts.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement in the House of Lords of 30 June 2025, made by the Minister for Africa on the resettlement of Chagossians on the Chagos Archipelago and the Chagossian trust fund under the terms of the UK-Mauritius Treaty HL col 534, (a) when he expects to present a statement to Parliament and (b) whether the decision to commit to provide a statement was agreed with the Government of Mauritius. \p Stephen Doughty: As the Minister for Africa made clear to the House, ahead of ratification, the Government will make a Ministerial Statement in both Houses providing a factual update on eligibility for resettlement and the modalities of the trust fund. This will enable further discussion in a proper manner.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the resolution passed on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands taken at the Organization of American States General Assembly on 27 June 2025. \p Stephen Doughty: The Government is clear: it is for the people of the Falkland Islands only to decide their future and the Government has no doubt about the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean, represented the UK at the Organization of American States General Assembly, reaffirming the UK Government's commitment to the Falkland Islanders and their democratic rights. We will resolutely defend their sovereignty and rights as I and ministerial colleagues have made repeatedly clear.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization’s 2025 session statement published in June 2025 (GA/COL/3393) on the sovereignty of Gibraltar. \p Stephen Doughty: The UN press release summarising part of the annual discussions of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) has no implications for UK Government policy towards Gibraltar, including UK sovereignty over Gibraltar. The Government believes the C24 is outdated, and no longer has a relevant role to play with respect to the UK Overseas Territories. The Government does, however, support the right of the people of the Overseas Territories to address the C24 directly. As the press release makes clear, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar welcomed the 11 June UK-EU agreement regarding Gibraltar's future relationship with the European Union and that he envisaged a new and more positive relationship with Spain as a consequence of it. The treaty text will make clear that it in no way affects sovereignty.
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Sir Oliver Dowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the United Nations on UNRWA neutrality. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK welcomes the active work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in implementing recommendations of the Colonna report. £1 million of the £41 million support for UNRWA in Financial Year 24/25 was earmarked to support implementation of the Colonna report and in June the UK was updated on implementation progress from UNRWA. The Minister of State for International Development met with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on 12 May where she reiterated support for the organisation and its critical role in delivering desperately needed aid and services to Palestinians. Israel must immediately allow the UN and aid partners to safely deliver all aid at scale to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the press release by the United Nations Human Rights Office entitled Agreement between Mauritius and the UK fails to guarantee rights of Chagossians say UN experts, published on 10 June 2025. \p Stephen Doughty: The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia, and the deal has been welcomed by international organisations including the UN Secretary General, African Union and Commonwealth. The UN Special Procedures are Independent Experts. Their views are not binding and do not represent the views of the UN system as a whole. We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure the agreement reflects this. We will increase our support to Chagossians, including through: the establishment of a £40 million fund to benefit Chagossians; the ability Mauritius will have, for the first time, to resettle the islands other than Diego Garcia; and work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. We have also maintained the current route to British citizenship for Chagossians, so all Chagossians will remain eligible and free to make their home in the UK. The UK Government regularly engages Chagossian groups and representatives at both official and Ministerial levels and a new 'Contact Group' will facilitate dialogue between the Chagossian community and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on future programmes.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization’s 2025 session Resolution adopted in June 2025 (GA/COL/3394) on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. \p Stephen Doughty: The Government is clear: it is for the people of the Falkland Islands only to decide their future and the Government has no doubt about the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office supported the Falkland Islanders to address the UN Decolonization Committee in person when it considered the Falkland Islands on 18 June. We will resolutely defend their sovereignty and rights as I and ministerial colleagues have made repeatedly clear.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the membership of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization on the decisions that it makes in respect of UK overseas territories. \p Stephen Doughty: The Government continues to believe the UN Special Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Special Committee) is outdated and no longer has a relevant role to play with respect to the UK Overseas Territories.

For those Territories with permanent populations who wish it, the Government will continue to support requests for the removal of the Territory from the United Nations list of 'non-self-governing Territories'. Furthermore, the Government supports the right of the people of the Overseas Territories to address the Special Committee directly. In 2025, the UK has supported representatives from the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and the British Virgin Islands to appear at the Special Committee's annual considerations of their respective Territories.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the UN on the (a) remit and (b) activities of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. \p Stephen Doughty: The Foreign Secretary and other Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ministers have not held meetings with the UN Special Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples ('C24'). The Deputy Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN last met the C24 Bureau on 5 February.

The Government supports the right of the people of the Overseas Territories to address the C24 directly. Ahead of the C24 discussion on the Falkland Islands on 18 June 2025, the Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers engaged a range of C24 members on the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination.
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Imran Hussain:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the UK humanitarian aid budget has been spent on projects relating to support for Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, since 2020. \p Catherine West: The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response. We have provided over £126.7 million to support the Rohingya and host communities since 2020, including food provision, clean water, healthcare and protection services. UK funding is providing support to the refugees in the main refugee camp at Cox's Bazar, delivered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the International Organisation for Migration and other agencies that work on refugee issues. We will continue to work closely with UN agencies and the Interim Government of Bangladesh to support the Rohingya and provide basic services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_297

Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) US and (b) Israeli counterpart on the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK has had recent discussions with both US and Israeli counterparts on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. On 22 June, the Foreign Secretary spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. The Foreign Secretary expressed his horror at the mass casualty incidents at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, stressing the need to ensure aid reaches those in need safely. The Foreign Secretary has also discussed the urgent need for a full and unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance with the Secretary of State Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff. The UK continues engaging with international partners to support the delivery of aid at scale. We are clear that Israel must allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_298

Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on his Department. \p Stephen Doughty: On 16 June, this Government announced progress towards the implementation of the UK-US trade deal. This now includes tariff exemptions on UK aerospace and automobile industries. As set out in the Foreign Secretary's British Chambers of Commerce speech in March 2025, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office serves as the international delivery arm of this Government's mission for growth. The US-UK deal provides the foundation for a new reciprocal trading partnership with our single largest trading partner which will support our efforts to protect UK jobs, open market access and strengthen co-operation on economic security with the US. I recently hosted excellent talks in this regard for example with the Governor of Virgina and a roundtable of UK businesses.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_299

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on equipment to enable civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years. \p Catherine West: Heads of departments have agreed that 60 per cent minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. All Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff in the UK are eligible to apply for hybrid working. At post, hybrid working for Country Based Staff is at the discretion of the Head of Mission.

FCDO policy is to ensure provision to all staff with safe and appropriate equipment for homeworking in line with Health and Safety legislation. There are cost limits for equipment and this must be solely for the purpose of enabling staff to work from home.

Data on home working expenditure is not tracked separately and is spread across various expense codes and expenditure types. Isolating this would require manual review of large volumes of data over three years, making it impractical to extract reliably without disproportionate effort and cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_300

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62275 on Defence: Finance, when the amount of his Department's contribution will be (a) determined and (b) published. \p Catherine West: A proportion of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme spend will contribute to the UK NATO target across the Spending Review period. This spend will be part of the FCDO budget, not the Defence budget. The final total quantum will be determined through the multi-year programme allocations process. The FCDO will continue to publish non-ODA programme spending plans in the normal way through the Annual Report and Accounts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_301

Satvir Kaur:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty. \p Catherine West: The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to enable ratification of the Agreement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_302

Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2.54 of the Spending Review Departmental Efficiency Plans 2025, if he will make an estimate of the annual cost of contingent labour costs for digital services. \p Catherine West: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is implementing a strategy to reduce reliance on contingent labour in digital services. As set out in the Department's internal planning, the annual cost of contingent labour identified for insourcing is estimated at £17.6 million. This forms part of a wider programme to rebalance the workforce and invest in permanent digital, data and cyber capability. The Department is transitioning funding from non-pay to pay to support this shift, with a projected increase in civil servant roles and a corresponding reduction in contingent labour. This approach aligns with the Government's strategic direction to improve efficiency and resilience in digital delivery.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_303

Kirsty Blackman:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department plans to respond to the consultation on the Oil and gas price mechanism, which closed on 28 May 2025. \p James Murray: The government is committed to providing long-term certainty to the oil and gas sector over the future fiscal regime. That is why the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism consultation, published on 5 March 2025, explored proposals for how the tax system should respond to unusually high prices after the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) ends in March 2030 (or sooner if the Energy Security Investment Mechanism or ESIM is triggered).

As the consultation window is now closed, responses from stakeholders are being reviewed. Next steps will be announced in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_304

James Naish:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the revenue to the public purse from the taxes paid by British National (Overseas) visa holders since 2021. \p James Murray: An estimate of the revenue to the public purse from the taxes paid by British National (Overseas) visa holders since 2021 is not available, as the information is not held.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_305

Joe Robertson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of the total effective tax payable by (a) the hospitality sector and (b) other sectors. \p James Murray: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has not performed a comparative analysis of the total effective tax payable from the hospitality sector and other sectors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_306

Jim Shannon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Inheritance Tax provisions for agricultural property on farmers. \p James Murray: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 36399.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_307

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employer National Insurance contributions on the (a) fiscal position and (b) sustainability of independent SMEs. \p James Murray: A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_308

Carla Lockhart:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish an assessment of the economic impact of legally binding net zero targets on infrastructure investment in the UK. \p James Murray: This Government is creating the conditions that drive investment, including into the transition to net zero, and we have seen over £40 billion of private investment in clean energy since July 2024.

At the Spending Review in June, we invested £63 billion in capital funding to clean energy, climate and nature, including nuclear.

The recently published Industrial Strategy and 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy map out how government will ensure that net zero infrastructure investment will boost UK jobs and growth.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) advises the government on its approach to net zero and considers economic impacts in its advice. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also assesses the impact of capital investment by government, including on net zero infrastructure, in their macroeconomic forecasts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-08 conversation_309

Dan Aldridge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will provide an update on when HM Revenue & Customs will restart processing IHT30 clearance requests. \p James Murray: HMRC have not stopped processing IHT30 clearance requests. HMRC have prioritised the processing of IHT400 forms to minimise any delays for customers applying for probate through HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and this has meant that some IHT30 requests are currently being processed outside of service standard.

HMRC have trained and are recruiting more staff in this area so that they can reduce wait times