theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including automatic voter registration for overseas voters in the upcoming Elections Bill. \p Samantha Dixon: As set out in the July 17 policy paper ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the Government is committed to introducing a more automated approach to electoral registration over the coming years. Before implementing any changes, we will test a range of automated approaches including more effective use of data and better join-up across public services, with the aim of improving the accuracy and completeness of the register.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many business pay business rates for each year that data is available in (a) Telford constituency and (b) Telford and Wrekin Local Authority area broken down by type of business rate charge. \p Alison McGovern: The Department does not collect data on the number of businesses paying business rates from local authorities.

The Department does not collect business rates data for parliamentary constituencies.
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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English Billing Authorities on 26 November so that that the formula for the calculation of Transitional Relief calculates 2025-26 BL as A multiplied by M minus RHL relief where applicable. \p Alison McGovern: At the Budget the Chancellor announced a Transitional Relief Scheme and a Supporting Small Business Relief scheme – both of which help ratepayers that are seeing significant bill increases as a result of the 2026 business rates revaluation.

The 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme provides support for ratepayer losing certain reliefs including the current 40% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

As is made clear in paragraph 8(b) of the Annex to the Business Rates Information Letter issued on 26 November, the Base Liability (BL) within the Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme will reflect any Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief or 2025/26 Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief applicable at 31/3/26.
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Anneliese Dodds:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had at international level concerning work to close the regulatory and enforcement loopholes that allow the trade in conflict gold. \p Chris Elmore: The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows.
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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government will be represented at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Egypt and at what ministerial level the UK will be represented; and whether the Government will make financial commitments at that Conference. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The level of attendance and nature of UK commitments at any future conference will be decided in due course once the timing and objectives of that conference have been decided.
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John McDonnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to her Pakistani counterparts on reports of escalating human rights violations in Balochistan. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given on 2 June to Question 51410.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 31508 on religious freedom, what issues have been recently considered between the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Minister for Human Right to inform wider foreign policy. \p Chris Elmore: The UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief continues to work closely with ministers and officials across a range of issues and geographies, including the current situations in Sudan, Nigeria and Syria. He also works to strengthen international coalitions and represent the UK internationally, most recently at the High-Level International Religious Freedom or Belief (Article 18) Alliance Conference, held in Prague on 12-13 November.
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Anneliese Dodds:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she or her Department have made to the i) Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), ii) Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and iii) Quad countries concerning access for the a) Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and b) Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statements on Sudan made by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, and by the Minister of State for International Development and Africa in the House of Lords debate on 27 November. We will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on international efforts to end the fighting, and the progress we are making to reach all the people and regions currently in desperate need of humanitarian support.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, who the members are of the Quint working group. \p Chris Elmore: The Hon Member may be referring to the informal grouping of the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany and Italy which, for example, works alongside the EU and NATO on promoting stability in the Western Balkans.
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Brendan O'Hara:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Iranian counterpart concerning the recent detention of Afghan Christian, Teymur Hosseini; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to ensure his release. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Further to the answer I gave on 29 October to Question 83265, we are concerned by the reported case of Teymur Hosseini, and we continue to monitor the situation for Christians in Iran.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote Northern Ireland’s economic and cultural interests through UK embassies overseas. \p Stephen Doughty: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to ensuring the Devolved Governments' economic and cultural interests are promoted internationally. Invest Northern Ireland officials are co-located in a number of FCDO overseas posts, and across the world our missions work to promote Northern Ireland, and the UK as a whole. This includes supporting Northern Ireland Ministers when they travel overseas.

As part of a series of new Heads of Mission Roadshows to UK countries and regions, our High Commissioner to Singapore visited Northern Ireland in September 2025 to advance opportunities for Singaporean foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland. The most recent Soft Power Council Meeting was also held in Belfast in October. This was a key forum for the FCDO, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Devolved Governments and stakeholders in Northern Ireland to come together and create a unified strategy that can leverage the UK's cultural offer internationally.

I was delighted to host representatives of Northern Ireland creative industries at the recent Western Balkans summit at Hillsborough Castle, and to showcase the best of Northern Ireland to visiting Foreign Ministers and officials.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of historical UK-linked deforestation and extractive industries on biodiversity loss in the Global South; and whether her Department supports global ecological restoration initiatives. \p Stephen Doughty: Global deforestation rates peaked in the 1980s at around 15 million hectares per year, driven by a range of factors, including global demand for agricultural commodities, timber and wood products. Deforestation rates have since declined to around 10 million hectares a year but much more needs to be done to protect forests, which are a vital refuge for biodiversity, support the livelihoods of over one billion people worldwide and are crucial to limiting the damaging effects of climate change.

The UK is supporting efforts to restore critical global ecosystems and is on track to deliver £3 billion in International Climate Finance for nature and biodiversity by March 2026. This includes funding to international initiatives such as the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which aims to restore 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems globally by 2030.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what number and proportion of housebuilding in the most recent year for which ONS holds figures was built in each constituent nation of the United Kingdom. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 28th November is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 176.5KB)
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Andrew George:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that digital identity does not become a de facto requirement for participation in (a) commerce, (b) governance and (c) daily life. \p Josh Simons: The Government’s new digital credential will focus on use cases that are most impactful for the public and will be designed to make interactions with public services easier.

We will invite views on such use cases through the public consultation that will launch in the new year.
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Andrew George:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to provide alternative identity verification routes for individuals who do not wish to submit (a) facial and (b) other biometric data in the context of the proposed introduction of digital ID cards. \p Josh Simons: We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and truly inclusive system for the UK.

The consultation will gather views on the scheme, including any concerns around facial and biometric data associated with a digital ID. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.

We will ensure that the digital ID scheme complies with all data protection legislation, and user privacy will be at the heart of the design of the scheme at every stage of development and delivery.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the deposited letter from the Acting National Statistician of 22 May 2025, pursuant to the answer of 29 May 2025, to Question 53545, on Office for National Statistics: Buildings, and with reference to the Table 1 statistics on daily attendance in each of (a) Darlington, (b) Manchester and (c) Edinburgh, how many civil servants do the figures relate to in each building, and what was the frequency of their attendance on which the 5% statistic was calculated by ONS. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 26th November is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 129.1KB)
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to item 2.1 of the minutes of the 25 April 2025 meeting of the Advisory Panel on Consumer Prices (Stakeholder), what recent progress the Office for National Statistics has made on evaluating the potential impact of the use of groceries scanner data on the headline rates of (a) CPI, (b) CPIH and (c) RPI. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st December is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 177.1KB)
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Edward Morello:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of suicide rates among men in West Dorset over the last five years. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 27th November is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 140.0KB)
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Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding has been allocated to the Minister for the Union every year since the office was established. \p Chris Ward: The title of Minister for the Union has been held by the Prime Minister since its creation in 2019. Departmental responsibility for the delivery of union policy has been split between the Cabinet Office and MHCLG during that period. The Scotland Office, Wales Office, and Northern Ireland Office also have responsibility for ensuring the government delivers for every nation in the UK. Budgets are allocated to departments, rather than specific ministerial roles.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2025, to Question 83794, on Global Switch, whether any central government body still uses data centre services provided by Global Switch according to records held by the Crown Commercial Service or Cabinet Office. \p Dan Jarvis: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer of 29 October 2025, that we do not comment on specific companies. Ensuring the security of UK data is a priority for the government. When the government procures any service, cybersecurity is a paramount requirement.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK Security Vetting is currently meeting its key performance indicators for vetting timeliness. \p Dan Jarvis: United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) continues to meet its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for all product types. The UKSV KPIs are established and regularly reviewed in consultation with departments to ensure that operational demand is balanced while retaining assurance in national security safeguards. Furthermore, UKSV's KPIs are subject to ministerial oversight.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 25 February 2025, official report of column 631, and the response to WPQ UIN 53059, (a) on what date the inquiry commenced, (b) on what date it concluded and (c) when its findings will be made public. \p Dan Jarvis: The investigation remains ongoing. I am unable to comment further on the progress or specifics of an ongoing investigation.
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Anna Sabine:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the outcomes from the Shared Outcomes Fund early support hubs will be utilised in the development of the Young Futures Hubs programme; and whether transitional funding will be put in place to keep these early support hubs open. \p Stephanie Peacock: Each Young Futures Hub will meet three outcomes of increasing opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime.

We are collaborating with DHSC, NHS England, and health partners to ensure Young Futures Hubs meet young people's emerging needs, providing early mental health and wellbeing support. Early Support Hubs built the evidence base for next year's Young Futures Hubs, with evaluation findings directly informing the programme.

The Early Support Hubs were initially funded through the Shared Outcomes Fund in the 2024/25 financial year. The programme has since been extended for a further year to 2025/26.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to racket sports in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other other sports, to discuss this. I visited Barnsley Padel Club last month to discuss local padel provision and open their new court.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association and Badminton England, which receive up to £14.5 million and £14 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to invest in community tennis, padel and badminton initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
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Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of consumer protections for travellers booking short-term let accommodation through online platforms; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that booking platforms are held accountable for standards, health and safety control, and complaint handling. \p Stephanie Peacock: Consumers who book short-term let accommodation through online platforms are currently protected through the consumer provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) 2024.

The DMCCA prohibits unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decisions. Traders who engage in commercial practices that are misleading omissions, or misleading actions may be committing a criminal offence. The DMCC Act 2024 also clarifies that online marketplaces must exercise professional diligence in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms.

The Government is also delivering a national mandatory registration scheme for short-term lets. This will help to raise standards of accommodation in the Visitor Economy in the UK, building consumer confidence and supporting fair competition. DCMS has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including booking platforms and consumers, to ensure a light-touch scheme that is fair, effective and robust.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason. \p Ian Murray: Civil Service sickness absence reports, which provide statistics for sickness absence by organisation and sickness reason, including Mental Ill-Health, are published on an annual basis. The publication of the 2025 report is currently planned for 18 December 2025.

These annual reports can be found by following the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the VAT-recovery cap on the number of listed places of worship that are proceeding with planned repair or reordering works. \p Ian Murray: DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impact on introducing an annual cap of £25,000 per place of worship for the 2025/26 financial year.

The changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support conservation projects in churches at risk. \p Ian Murray: The Department supports the conservation of historic places of worship, including those at risk, through several channels.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was extended for a further year in January 2025 to March 2026, with a £23 million budget. This scheme helps religious organisations reclaim the VAT costs of eligible repairs and renovations, which supports the conservation of these vital heritage and community assets.

In exceptional circumstances, listed places of worship may be eligible for Heritage at Risk funding provided by Historic England. In addition, the Department funded the £15 million Heritage At Risk Capital Fund in the 2025/26 financial year. Out of 37 projects awarded funding through this capital fund, 4 were places of worship, receiving a total of £1,387,842 for their conservation projects.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will meet with the National Churches Trust regarding support for the protection of historic places of worship. \p Ian Murray: DCMS recognises the value and expertise of the National Churches Trust in supporting the protection of historic places of worship.

Baroness Twycross, the Minister for Heritage, is open to meeting with the National Churches Trust. The Department has engaged in various meetings with representatives of the sector, including the National Churches Trust, throughout the year, and the Minister looks forward to continuing this important dialogue.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve the sustainability of local authority leisure centres. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June, we committed another £400 million to transform sports facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to review whistleblowing protections for individuals involved in the governance of charities. \p Stephanie Peacock: We recognise that whistleblowing can play an important role in holding charities to account. Charity workers have protections the same as a worker in any sector and are also able to make disclosures to the Charity Commission about their charity. While volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers, the Department considers the current protections for those who make whistleblowing disclosures, regardless of their status, to be appropriate. The Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers. The Department has no plans to review whistleblowing protections for volunteers or others involved in the governance of charities.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made in increasing the accessibility of major cultural institutions for people with disabilities. \p Ian Murray: The Equality Act 2010 sets out the core legal obligations for cultural venues in the UK regarding disability access. Under this Act, venues must implement "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. These adjustments cover both physical modifications, such as installing ramps and accessible toilets, and changes to services and policies. The latter includes provisions like permitting assistance dogs, offering information in formats that are accessible, and providing aids like sign language interpretation or audio description. DCMS-funded Capital funds, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund all fund renovations across major cultural institutions designed to repair and modernise buildings, including improvements to access and interpretation for visitors with disabilities.

The Creative Foundations Fund is a major government investment supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. The Creative Foundations Fund has a specific aim relating to access, supporting capital projects that address equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to: improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances, installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets and installing signage that meets best practice guidelines.

The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). DCMS is supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on (a) museums, (b) theatres, and (c) other cultural venues. \p Ian Murray: We recognise the challenges that museums, theatres and cultural venues face, including rising energy costs. The Government is committed to supporting these sectors, and that’s why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year which will commit over £270 million to support arts and cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, through the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund, and the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, theatres, museums, galleries and other arts and cultural venues can access grants to address urgent issues with their estates. This includes works to improve the energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of their buildings and equipment, ensuring their infrastructure is fit for future generations to benefit from.

The department regularly assesses pressures faced by sectors for which ministers are responsible. Recognising that our regional museums - many of which run multiple sites or large estates - are facing increased operating costs, the government has introduced a new, £20 million Museum Renewal Fund this year.

The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. Museums and Galleries Exhibition tax relief was also made permanent.

On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and culture through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to theatres, museums and cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes.

DCMS will continue to engage constructively across the arts and cultural sectors to monitor the impact of rising energy costs.
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Josh Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support cross-Departmental coordination of the implementation of the National Youth Strategy. \p Stephanie Peacock: Increasing support for young people to improve opportunities is a shared mission across Government. The National Youth Strategy led by DCMS and co-designed by young people and the youth sector, will set a cross-government direction for the next decade to provide young people with the skills, opportunities, and connections to enable them to thrive. It is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 20 years.

We have regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop this Strategy. The Strategy will be published later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of pausing the implementation of the new Clause 4 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill until comprehensive public consultation and impact assessments have been completed. \p Josh MacAlister: An assessment of the potential impact on parental rights and informed consent is included in the Bill ECHR impact assessment, available here: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/59867/documents/6253. Conditions for processing are a matter for local data controllers now, and that will remain the case under this new duty.

To clarify, clause 4 introduces an information sharing duty and makes provision for a consistent identifier to be used across organisations that have safeguarding and welfare functions to support record linkage. Its use has therefore been limited to safeguarding and welfare. Safeguards have been built into this provision, and data protection principles still apply meaning information may only be shared where it is necessary and proportionate. In addition, both measures are clear that any benefits of sharing must outweigh any potential detriment to the child.

As required under Article 36(4) of the UK General Data Protection Regulations, the department has formally consulted the Information Commissioner’s Office. A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is not required by the department for the information sharing duty element of clause 4 because personal data will be processed locally. For the consistent identifier element of clause 4, it is currently the position that the department will not be a processor of personal data, so a DPIA is not required as it stands. We will keep this position under review and, should it ever be the case that the department will process personal data as part of either element of clause 4, we would conduct and publish a DPIA.

During the passage of the Bill, the department has committed to undertake public consultation, including with parents, and will comply with requirements for impact assessments.

Clause 4 will be commenced at a later date, rather than immediately upon Royal Assent, to allow for consultation on statutory guidance, further consideration of impact, as well as ongoing piloting and technical design of the consistent identifier. The department will only proceed when we are confident in the benefits, cost, security, and governance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_283

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school places would be created at the 44 free school applications that have been placed on hold since 22 October 2024, broken down by each individual project. \p Josh MacAlister: The department is reviewing 44 projects as part of the mainstream free school pipeline review, to ensure they continue to meet localised need for places, consider whether they provide a unique educational offer and are not to the detriment of the other schools locally. These projects would provide approximately 30,000 additional places at capacity.

The National Audit Office set out in 2017 that planned free schools would lead to an estimated 57,500 spare places, and that there is a cost both to the taxpayer and to other local schools via impact on pupil numbers at existing schools.

Since the review was launched, the department has paused development of the sites. Any funding has been in line with managing public money. The department will publicly communicate the outcomes of the review as soon as possible.

We have engaged with trusts, local authorities and other stakeholders in relation to individual projects in scope of the review, including reviewing the evidence they have provided.

As would be expected from a review of this scale, there have been a significant number of meetings, including meetings between ministers and MPs, where local MPs have requested them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_284

Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists and sonographers on (a) workforce recruitment and retention, (b) diagnostic capacity and (c) patient safety within NHS services. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is clear that the professions protected in law must be the right ones and that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public.

There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists or sonographers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_285

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the change has been in NHS waiting lists in Oldham since July 2024. \p Karin Smyth: We are clear that the extent of waits for treatment is unacceptable, and cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.

Waiting list data is not available by town. At the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Oldham, the waiting list size has fallen by over 3,000 since the Government took office in July 2024. Patients here are also facing shorter waiting times, with 53.6% of waits within 18 weeks as of September 2025, compared to 52.7% in July 2024.

We are committed to transforming elective services to ensure patients get timely access to the care they need. This includes investing £6 billion additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective, urgent, and emergency capacity in the NHS.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.

We promised change, and we have made good progress. As of the end of September 2025, 61.8% of pathways on the waiting list are within 18 weeks, an improvement of 3.3% since September 2024, and the number of waits over 18 weeks has reduced by almost 320,000 over the same period.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_286

Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October to Question 77605 on Health Professions: Regulation, on what date he will publish a consultation on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework which would enable them to consider fitness to practise concerns arising from allegations of sexual misconduct that are more than five years old. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to modernising the regulatory frameworks for all healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom.

We aim to consult on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework in early 2026 and to lay this legislation before Parliament in the same year. The Government will confirm a date for the public consultation in due course.

We also plan to update the governing legislation for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council within the current parliamentary period.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_287

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policy he has on match funding raised by charity fundraisers for capital projects that will exclusively benefit the the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is supportive of the National Health Service working with the charities sector to identify opportunities for philanthropic donations alongside match funding. We are aware of several successful examples of infrastructure projects either part or majority funded through such partnerships, including investment at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfield Eye Hospital.

Ultimately, it is for local NHS organisations and trusts to identify and agree these arrangements with charitable partners.

More broadly, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan we are implementing several national reforms to the capital regime that should ultimately support the NHS’ ability to work effectively with charitable partners, including on options for securing match funding for projects. These include providing multi-year capital allocations, extending to 10 years of funding certainty for NHS maintenance budgets, and expanding capital flexibilities and autonomy for high-performing providers and integrated care boards. These reforms should enable systems to better plan longer term pipelines of investment, better facilitating and enabling philanthropic and charitable contributions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_288

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2025 to question 88331 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the cost of treatment for people who came to Britain only for (a) health and (b) medical treatment in each of the last three years. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has had and continues to have regular discussions regarding overseas visitors with NHS England to ensure that the system works as effectively and fairly as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-04 conversation_289

Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Wait 45 policy for ambulance wait times, including on corridor care and patients being looked after in sub-optimal areas. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England continues to regularly monitor trust performance.

We are tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting the quicker release of ambulances, helping them get back on the road to treat patients. These delays should be recognised as a system wide responsibility and effective collaboration between ambulance services, acute trusts, integrated care boards, and other providers is required.

Nationally, we have seen average handover delays fall to 31 minutes 19 seconds in October compared to 40 minutes 20 seconds in October 2024. This reflects the improvements in Category 2 response times to 32 minutes 37 seconds from 42 minutes 15 seconds over the same time period.

We are also committed to ending corridor care. When Release to Rescue is implemented, ambulance trusts must put in place robust patient protection measures. Patients should only be cared for in temporary escalation spaces when all other options are exhausted, and this must not become standard practice.

Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan set out steps we are taking to improve accident and emergency waiting times, including the commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care. The data quality is currently being reviewed, and the information will be published shortly.