theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mr Clive Betts:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how will the proposed mileage charge for EV's be calculated and collected. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Government intends to create a fair motoring tax system while supporting the automotive industry and ensuring EVs remain an attractive choice for consumers.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

The government has published a consultation on GOV.UK, which provides further detail on how eVED is intended to work and seeks views on its implementation: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69282ac1a245b0985f034197/eVED_Consultation.pdf
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Harriet Cross:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of jobs that will be lost from the North Sea oil and gas sector, from both operator and supply chain companies, in (a) 2026, (b) 2027, (c) 2028, (d) 2029 and (e) 2030 due to the Energy Profits Levy remaining in place until 2030. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in 2022 by the previous government. The government considered the impact of the extension to the EPL until 31 March 2030, announced at Autumn Budget 2024, on the economy, including investment. The summary of impacts for the extension and other EPL reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-profits-levy-reforms-2024.

Employment levels in the oil and gas sector depend on a wide range of factors including global commodity prices, aggregate investment levels and exploration and development activity.

The government is committed to supporting North Sea workers and communities to transition and take advantage of the growth opportunities in clean energy. That is why the North Sea Future Plan, published at Autumn Budget 2025, announced a new Jobs Brokerage Service offering end-to-end career transition support for oil and gas workers. Earlier in October the government also published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan which sets out cross-cutting actions to deliver the skilled workforce needed to make Britain a clean energy superpower, including delivering Clean Power 2030. As part of the Plan, £20 million of funding was announced for the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund to support workers to retrain and access clean energy roles.
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Jack Rankin:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to BBC article entitled Tax rises could push food prices higher, warn supermarkets, published on 26 October, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of an increase in business rates on food inflation. \p Dan Tomlinson: HM Treasury does not produce forecasts of the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the potential impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 November 2025. The OBR publishes estimates of the impact of policy decisions, however the potential impact of an increase in business rates on levels of food inflation was accessed not to have a material impact.

The OBR’s forecast shows wider government policy will reduce CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2026/27. This is the biggest near-term reduction in inflation due to government policy ever forecast by the OBR at a single fiscal event, outside of a crisis.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Levy on overnight trips will help mayors invest in local growth, published on 25 November 2025, whether VAT will be levied (a) before and (b) after the addition of the overnight visitor levy to the core hotel bill. \p Dan Tomlinson: The design of the visitor levy is subject to consultation and decisions from Mayors about whether to introduce a levy and how it is implemented locally.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has considered recognising listed church buildings as national heritage assets in the tax system. \p Dan Tomlinson: Church buildings are not usually owned by individuals and so are not usually chargeable to inheritance tax. Where an individual inherits and wishes to retain heritage property they can claim Conditional Exemption, so that there is no inheritance tax for as long as the property is maintained and open to the public to enjoy.

Comprehensive guidance is available on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-taxation-and-tax-exempt-heritage-assets

Otherwise, gifts of property to charities or to a recognised National Body (listed at https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm11224 ) would be exempt from inheritance tax.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the standard corporate insolvency regime for ensuring the timely and cost-effective transfer of client Self-Invested Personal Pensions; and if she will commit to reviewing the case for a bespoke Self-Invested Personal Pensions Operator insolvency regime to better protect retirement savings. \p Torsten Bell: The Government recognises that the insolvency of a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) operator can have a significant impact on customers as we have seen in some high-profile cases recently. The current corporate insolvency regime does enable transfers of client assets in these situation, but HM Treasury is monitoring developments. The FCA regulates SIPP operators, and HM Treasury works closely with the FCA to monitor the sector and address emerging risks.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she had made of the potential impact of changes to pension salary sacrifice relief on the number of people saving for retirement in the Fylde constituency. \p Torsten Bell: Automatic enrolment into pension saving has driven up the number of employees saving for retirement. The existing income tax relief regime for pensions is unaffected by this change, whilst employer contributions can continue to be made free of National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

At £2,000 cap means the majority of people usoing salary sacrifice for pension saving will be entirely unaffected by this change. Individuals earning below £30,000 are overwhelmingly protected, with few (c. 5%) making salary sacrifice contributions above this threshold. employee pension contributions up to £2,000.

In line with the OBR assessment of this change, the costing assumes some employer costs will be passed through into lower employer pension contributions. The government continues to support and incentivise pension saving, with tax relief worth over £70bn per year, even after this change. Employers must continue to meet their automatic enrolment obligations. The policy balances encouragement of pension saving with ensuring the system remains fiscally sustainable and fair.

A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published in due course alongside the legislation when it is introduced to Parliament.
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Mims Davies:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of taxing pension contributions above £2,000 on people in Sussex in full-time work. \p Torsten Bell: The existing income tax relief regime for pensions is unaffected by this change, whilst employer contributions can continue to be made free of National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

Salary and bonus sacrifice is an additional NICs relief that is only available to some employees. Those whose employer does not offer it, the self-employed and those with earnings near the National Living Wage cannot benefit.

Individuals earning below £30,000 making pension contributions through salary sacrifice are overwhelmingly protected by a £2,000 cap, with few (c. 5%) making salary sacrifice contributions above this threshold.

A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published in due course alongside the legislation when it is introduced to Parliament.
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Jim Allister:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 were made under the UK Internal Market Scheme. \p Dan Tomlinson: HMRC published trade statistics for goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain for the period from January 2024 to 31 December 2024 on gov.uk. They can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/summary-of-movements-of-goods-into-northern-ireland-from-great-britain-2024/summary-of-movements-of-goods-into-northern-ireland-from-great-britain-2024-commentary. This information does not include a breakdown of movements made under the UK Internal Market Scheme as these movements can include mixed consignments, with goods either being 'not at risk' or 'at risk' of entering the EU. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a direct split.

The government remains committed to the smooth flow of goods within the UK internal market, including the guarantee that 80% of freight movements will move within the UK internal market system. The Independent Monitoring Panel reported that for the period 1 January-30 June 2025, this guarantee was met and published the basis for its assessment accordingly.
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Dr Ellie Chowns:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to question 25666 answered on 30 January 2025, what her planned timetable is for amending the rules on Gift Aid. \p Dan Tomlinson: The government is pleased to confirm that charities will continue to be eligible for Gift Aid following implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

While new tax legislation may be necessary in due course, HMRC will shortly publish interim guidance setting out that where subscriptions are currently eligible under existing Gift Aid rules, they will remain so.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of people in Wales that would be moved into higher rates of tax as a result of freezing of tax thresholds by 2030. \p Dan Tomlinson: The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:

https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025, to Question 23941, on Tourism: Taxation, and further to the MHCLG press release, "Levy on overnight trips will help mayors invest in local growth", of 25 November 2025, what was the rationale for the change in the Chancellor’s policy further to that set out in January. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Government keeps all tax policy under review. The Government’s number one mission is to kickstart economic growth, and devolving fiscal powers is critical to achieving this.

Introducing powers to raise a visitor levy provides Mayors with a new lever to both raise and reinvest revenue locally. Mayors in Strategic Authorities have made clear that introducing a new, discretionary visitor levy power is one of their shared priorities for further devolution.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the National Wealth Fund has plans to fund projects in Northern Ireland. \p James Murray: The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is committed to ensuring the benefits of its investments are felt in all four nations of the UK, and opened a Belfast office in December 2024.
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Jim Allister:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether businesses moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be required to meet additional requirements as a result of the introduction of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on 1 January 2026. \p Dan Tomlinson: The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) does not apply in Northern Ireland.

Business in Northern Ireland, like all businesses in the UK, may need to provide information to their EU-based importers to help them meet their requirements under the EU CBAM.

To support business readiness for the EU CBAM, the Department for Business and Trade offers a comprehensive support package, including the Export Support Service, webinars, and an upcoming digital explainer on business.gov.uk, signposting to relevant European Commission resources.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90404 on the Electric Car Grant, what assessment she has made of the value for money of the Electric Car Grant. \p James Murray: The Electric Car Grant makes electric vehicles more affordable by cutting the upfront costs of electric vehicles. In doing so, it accelerates the transition to zero-emission driving and has already helped over 35,000 drivers make the switch.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether funds acquired by the Exchequer from fines against NHS trusts or other bodies delivering public services are ringfenced to be spent by the relevant department on that service. \p James Murray: Fines against any public body are either returned to the Consolidated Fund or used to offset expenditure of the enforcing body based on whether a netting off agreement is in place.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding for skills and connectivity in Cornwall in the Autumn Budget 2025. \p James Murray: The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. This government is investing skills including for key sectors such as construction, and for young people. Autumn Budget 2025 included £820 million for the Youth Guarantee, featuring a new Jobs Guarantee for eligible 18- to 21-year-olds, and £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy to help support apprenticeships for young people and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people under-25.

Autumn Budget 2025 also invested £30m in a new Kernow Industrial Growth Fund to allow Cornwall council to support high-potential sectors such as critical minerals. This is in addition to existing support for the Cornish economy.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2025, published on 26 November, HC 1492, what her proposed timetable is for spending 3% of GDP on defence. \p James Murray: The Government’s ambition remains to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence when economic and fiscal conditions allow.
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Lee Pitcher:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report by CenTax entitled A fair solution to inheritance tax on farms and small businesses, published on 15 August 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposal for a minimum share rule on levels of Inheritance Tax paid by (a) family-run farms and (b) estates holding agricultural land for investment purposes. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

As announced at Budget 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.

The report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) sets out its other potential amendments to the policy are not, in its own words, a “silver bullet”. For example, CenTax acknowledge the proposal for a minimum share test is less effective than the Government’s reforms in raising revenue from the wealthiest estates, could be exposed to tax planning opportunities, would not necessarily prevent wealthy individuals buying land for inheritance tax purposes, and would mean double the number of estates being affected by the reforms (and largely estates below £2 million).
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered funding industry training programmes on AI. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Government recognises the importance of industry adopting AI tools to drive growth and innovation. We recently announced a joint commitment with industry leaders such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to upskill 7.5 million workers with the vital AI skills they need to thrive in their jobs. This will break down barriers to opportunity and unlock economic growth.

We also recently announced further commitments to support AI adoption in industry. This includes a pledge to expand Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme to sectors across our Industrial Strategy priorities, providing hands-on training and online programmes, as well as a £5 million local skills benefits package for each AI Growth Zone, to support local businesses adopt AI.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps have been taken to help protect UK businesses from cyber attack. \p Kanishka Narayan: On 12 November 2025 the government introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to Parliament. The Bill will bring into scope more of the core services relied on across the economy, such as managed service providers, data centres and critical parts of supply chains. UK businesses and public services will be more secure and resilient as a result.

On 24 November 2025 ministers wrote an open letter to small businesses and business representative organisations with details of government support and guidance on cyber security. The letter has been published on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-letter-on-cyber-security-to-small-businesses.

The National Cyber Security Centre’s Active Cyber Defence service continues to protect UK people, businesses and public sector organisations from cyber attacks, including blocking billions of phishing attempts and removing 232,000 scams across 415,000 malicious web addresses.

I also refer the honourable member to the answer of 24 October 2025 to question 82366 which explained how the government has written to Chairs and CEOs of the largest UK companies asking them to take three key actions to protect themselves from cyber threats. The letter is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-letter-on-cyber-security-to-leading-uk-companies.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom still plans to consult on PIA pricing reform. \p Kanishka Narayan: As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.

Ofcom is finalising its Telecoms Access Review that will set PIA rental charges from 1 April 2026. It is for them to decide whether they need to consult further following their March 2025 consultation on their proposed TAR decisions.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to ensure that rural communities are not disadvantaged by the PIA pricing model moving forward. \p Kanishka Narayan: As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.

In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.

My officials regularly engage with Ofcom to ensure we have the right regulatory environment in place to promote competition and investment in fibre roll-out across the UK, including in rural areas.
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Chris Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy 'Replacing Animals in Science' published on 11 November 2025, what assessment she has made of the implications for this strategy of the use of foetal calf serum in the research and pharmaceutical industries; and what steps she is taking to promote its replacement with alternative methods. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. The strategy is intended to promote the use of any alternative method that is accurate and validated and so does not concentrate on every specific alternative. However, research and development priorities will be published biennially from 2026, developed collaboratively with industry and academic partners, to determine the best path forward to reduce reliance on animals in science.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason. \p Ian Murray: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology routinely reports its sickness absence data on gov.uk alongside the rest of the Civil Service.

Information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

This contains statistics for sickness absence by organisation and sickness reason, including Mental Ill-Health.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that rural areas in Northern Ireland have equitable access to 5G and next-generation broadband. \p Kanishka Narayan: The government wants all areas of the UK, including rural areas in Northern Ireland, to benefit from reliable and high-quality mobile coverage, and this is reflected in our ambition for all populated areas of the UK to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.

My department continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to deliver on this ambition, ensuring the investment committed by operators delivers benefits to such communities, including by removing barriers to deployment where they exist and it is practical to do so.

Regarding next-generation broadband access, Project Stratum received £199 million of UK government funding and delivered gigabit-capable broadband to almost 81,100 premises in Northern Ireland. This project, delivered by Fibrus, completed delivery in June 2025.

The Northern Ireland Department for the Economy (DfE) is currently undertaking a Project Gigabit procurement to help fill remaining gaps in gigabit broadband coverage predominantly targeting rural and hard to reach areas.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a UK Data Protection Ombudsman. \p Ian Murray: Data protection complaints are dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent regulator, which has a statutory duty to investigate data subject complaints to the extent appropriate.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 introduces reforms to the ICO as well as a new requirement for data controllers to respond to data protection complaints themselves, reducing premature complaints to the regulator. The ICO is also reviewing its approach to data protection complaints and has carried out a public consultation on changes to how it assesses and determines the level of investigation. It is now reviewing feedback from that consultation.

Given our recent legislative reforms and the ICO’s consultation, there are no current plans to consider a Data Protection Ombudsman. If individuals are dissatisfied with the ICO’s service (not its legal interpretation), they can escalate complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many data protection complaints were filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office in each of the last five years. \p Ian Murray: The number of data protection complaints filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are available on ICO’s Annual Reports, which can be viewed on their website at: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/our-information/annual-reports/.
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Kevin Bonavia:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her department is taking to ensure that developments in artificial superintelligence are carefully monitored and appropriate regulation is applied. \p Kanishka Narayan: There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), but the possibility of their development must be taken seriously. The increasing capabilities of AI may exacerbate existing risks and present new risks, for which the UK need to be prepared.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. AISI focuses on emerging AI risks with serious security implications, including the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons, and the potential for loss of control presented by autonomous systems.

The government remains committed to taking further steps, where required, to ensure that the UK is prepared for the changes that AI will bring.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support her Department provides to small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Ireland to improve their cybersecurity resilience. \p Kanishka Narayan: Improving the cyber security of our nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises is critical to the resilience of our wider economy. We recognise many SMEs lack the resources to invest in their cyber security. As such, the government has developed a wide range of free tools, guidance and training to help SMEs implement cyber security measures, including the recently launched Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice.

NCSC-certified Cyber Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance on commercial terms, including in Northern Ireland, and SMEs are eligible for a free 30- minute consultation. Additionally, the government’s Cyber Essentials scheme helps all organisations, including SMEs, implement critical cyber security controls, protecting them from most common cyber attacks. We recently completed a funding programme across the UK, which included supporting 170 organisations in Northern Ireland to get certified to the scheme.
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Jamie Stone:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) regulation and (b) oversight of email service providers in relation to the use of (i) email diversion scams and (ii) impersonation fraud. \p Kanishka Narayan: The government recognises the harm associated with scam emails and is taking action to protect the public and businesses from fraud and cyber crime. We strongly encourage the public and businesses to follow the advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to protect themselves from cyber threats, including scam emails and business email compromise. The NCSC provides tailored advice for the public, sole traders and businesses of all sizes. The government also offers the highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks.

Scam emails can be reported to the NCSC's Suspicious Email Reporting Service, which has blocked billions of phishing attempts and removed 232,000 scams across 415,000 malicious web addresses. The NCSC offers guidance on how to spot and report scam emails at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams. The police also offer advice on scam emails, including Action Fraud advice on payment diversion fraud and business email compromise, and the recent National Crime Agency campaign with the Law Society on payment diversion fraud in property sales. The government has committed to the publication of a new fraud strategy which will set out further details on how it will tackle fraud and protect UK residents and businesses.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI technologies on early cancer detection. \p Kanishka Narayan: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology invests in cancer research via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Department of Health and Social Care via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). UKRI and NIHR support research which explores the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis, including the NIHR £11 million Edith trial (using AI to assist radiologists in breast cancer screening). AI presents significant opportunities for improving outcomes and diagnosis for cancer patients and driving faster triage of patients with suspected symptoms. Evaluations of the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis are ongoing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_185

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, further to Foreign Affairs Committee, Oral evidence: Work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, HC 385, 3 November 2025, Q282, if she will place the National Archives documentation on the meeting with Jeffery Epstein in the Library of the House. \p Ian Murray: The records cited in the Foreign Affairs Committee’s oral evidence session on the Work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (HC 385, 3 November 2025, Q282) can be viewed at The National Archives under references PREM 49/3326 and PREM 49/2771.

Additionally, a copy of PREM 49/3326 is available digitally on The National Archives’ website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_186

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to local authorities to promote participation in less popular grassroots sports in (a) Surrey Heath constituency and (b) Surrey. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities, regardless of who they are.

In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million.

Sport England's ten-year Uniting the Movement strategy reinforces its commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including disabled people. Sport England has ensured that each of their programmes impact directly on disabled people and those with a long-term health condition, with initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign and partnerships with Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, and Sense.

The Government is also committed to supporting a wide range of grassroots sports. This is why we are taking a place-based approach to increasing sport participation that ensures communities can participate in the sports they enjoy and get active in ways that work for them.

To support this, in June, we announced that following the Spending Review at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK. As part of this funding, 40% of projects across the UK will be required to benefit a sport other than football, including netball, basketball and rugby league. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_187

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the current operational status of the IPSO Arbitration Scheme, including whether arbitrators are presently being appointed to claims, and what evaluation she has made of the implications of any such delays for the public’s ability to access timely and effective redress. \p Ian Murray: The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is vital to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. The Government therefore does not intervene in or evaluate the work of IPSO.

However, under Section 179 of the Data Protection Act every three years the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on the use and effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as arbitration, in cases involving a failure or alleged failure by relevant media organisations to comply with data protection legislation. The most recent report was presented to Parliament in May 2024 and was carried independently of DCMS by David Rossington, as the Independent Reviewer. The report is published on the Gov.uk website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d2ded5fb8db2176d5e97d0/Formatted_240312_SECOND_REPORT_UNDER_SECTION_179_OF_THE_DATA_PROTECTION_ACT_v3__FINAL__accessible.pdf.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_188

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with BBC on the potential impact of its proposed budget savings on its (a) television, (b) radio, (c) streamed content and (d) website content. \p Ian Murray: The Prime Minister and Secretary of State believe public service broadcasting, and the BBC in particular, are vital British assets that contribute to our national life, and help to shape and define our nation. The Secretary State meets with the BBC leadership regularly to discuss a range of issues.

It is important that the licence fee is used efficiently and the BBC must ensure it is delivering value for audiences. However, as an independent organisation, the BBC’s spending decisions are a matter for the BBC. The Government recognises the BBC faces funding pressures, and we will consider how we fund the BBC sustainably as part of the Charter Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_189

John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding Sport England is providing to support the development of Futsal in 2025-2026 financial year. \p Stephanie Peacock: In the 2025-2026 financial year, Sport England has allocated a total of £165,325 across 17 multi-sport awards where Futsal is specifically included as one of the supported sports or activities.

In addition, Sport England is providing a total investment of £37.9 million into The Football Association over the five-year period from 2022 to 2027. This long-term commitment supports the development of all formats of football, including Futsal.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_190

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Northern Ireland film industry. \p Ian Murray: While culture is a devolved policy area, the department works closely with its Arm’s Length Body, the British Film Institute (BFI), and the devolved governments on a range of funding and initiatives for the film industry - including in Northern Ireland. This includes the UK-wide screen sector tax reliefs, as well as the £75 million Screen Growth Package announced in the Creatives Industries Sector Plan.

DCMS will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to support culture and creativity in Northern Ireland - particularly through the Belfast Cluster as an anchor location creating opportunities for businesses and talent. This includes continued annual funding from the UK government to NI Screen to support the Irish Language and Ulster-Scots Broadcast Funds.

Through their National Lottery programmes, the BFI will also continue to support the screen sector in Northern Ireland - particularly through the dedicated Northern Ireland Screen fund. The British Film Commission (BFC), a national body supported by funding from DCMS, also supports and promotes UK-wide film and high-end television production and works in close partnership with the national and regional screen agencies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_191

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in cinema usage since 2015; and what steps she has taken to support the industry. \p Ian Murray: The government recognises the hugely important role that cinemas play in the UK's film industry, in our local communities, and in driving economic growth. While we have seen some positive signs in the UK’s box office figures in recent years, we recognise that it has been a difficult time in the sector with box office returns remaining around 70% of pre-pandemic levels.

As part of our support for the cinema sector, we are introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. Through our Independent Film Tax Credit we are also bolstering the slate of films entering cinemas. Furthermore, the British Film Institute, as an Arm’s Length Body of government, supports cinemas and audiences across the UK, including through its Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) and the use of National Lottery funding. This includes research into changing audience habits, such as with their Wider World of Film (2024) report. We continue to engage with the British Film Institute and other sector bodies on how to ensure a strong and successful future for the cinema sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_192

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides on protections available to charity trustees who raise concerns about potential wrongdoing within a charity. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Charity Commission for England and Wales publishes guidance for charities on a range of subjects, including reporting serious wrongdoing at a charity as a worker or volunteer.

While volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers, the Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_193

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of SEND pupils placed in mainstream schools due to a lack of available places in specialist settings. \p Georgia Gould: Information on the number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) by the setting they attend is shown in the following table: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/abcb598c-d065-4db8-960d-08de29f25240. Information is not held on the number of pupils with SEN attending mainstream schools due to a lack of available places in specialist settings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_194

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of trends in the use of qualified supply teachers by academy trusts. \p Georgia Gould: The department values the work that supply teachers do and the important contribution they make to the smooth running of schools. The department has not made any assessments relating to academy trusts alone, but we have considered the school sector as a whole.

The department knows that the use of supply teachers, particularly in the secondary phase, has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and that this is having an impact on school budgets. Details of our work on helping schools to maximise value from their budgets will be announced shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_195

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of differences in teacher qualification requirements by multi-academy trusts and local authority-maintained schools on the consistency of educational standards. \p Georgia Gould: Evidence shows that high quality teaching is the most important in-school factor that improves outcomes for children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is the professional qualification for primary and secondary teachers and underpins high quality teaching by ensuring teachers meet the Teachers’ Standards. It is right that we expect teachers to be professionally qualified and the department is taking steps to ensure consistency in educational standards across all state funded primary and secondary schools. Teachers in local authority-maintained schools and special schools are already required to have QTS.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are seeking to extend the requirement to academies, so all pupils, including those with SEND, benefit from well-trained, professionally qualified teachers. This change will ensure that teachers too benefit from the knowledge and training that underpins QTS across both local authority-maintained schools and academies.