theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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John Lamont:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels in Scotland are being used to accommodate asylum seekers. \p Dame Angela Eagle: I refer the Hon Member to the Answer I gave on 3 February to Question UIN 26316.
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Julia Lopez:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made any revision to the process of notifying hon. Members before asylum hotels are established within their constituency. \p Dame Angela Eagle: No new hotels have been commissioned to accommodate asylum seekers in the London Borough of Havering since 10 October 2024.

When a hotel has been identified for use as contingency accommodation, Home Office officials will write to the local authority Chief Executive and the constituency MP to inform them of plans to accommodate asylum seekers there.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the impact of her Department's policies on the number of convictions for (a) people smuggling and (b) related crimes since July 2024. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Backed by £150 million funding, the Border Security Command (BSC) has a strategic cross-government remit and convening authority over the border security system, with its early focus on delivering operational capacity and new powers to support agencies across the Border Security system to dismantle criminal gangs quickly and effectively.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) leads the law enforcement response to the organised criminality involved in the trafficking and smuggling of people to the UK; it investigates and brings organised immigration crime offenders to justice. The NCA assesses their activity is having an impact here and overseas –Their operational results are demonstrated in the form of arrests, prosecutions and seizures, and they have continued to disrupt a large number of networks involved in this type of criminality since July 2024.

From 4th July 2024 through 12th December 2024, 17 people were convicted and sentenced across 7 OIC operations thanks to NCA’s actions. 15 of those sentenced received a total of over 107 years in custody, with a further 2 people receiving suspended sentences for their OIC crimes.

The NCA has over 70 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime - several of these sit right at the top of the NCA’s priority list.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle safeguarding issues relating to (a) children at risk of being removed from the UK in contravention of a court ruling and (b) other children with a foreign national parent. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2023 is clear that, if at any time it is considered that a child may be in need or has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should be made immediately to a local authority’s children’s social care service. Child protection agencies and the police treat allegations of abuse very seriously; they will investigate and take appropriate action, including prosecution, where there is sufficient evidence of an offence having been committed.

A prohibited steps order (PSO) prevents a parent from carrying out actions in the exercise of their parental responsibility for a child without the court’s agreement. A PSO may prohibit a named person from removing a child from the United Kingdom.

The court can also make other orders to support such an order to prevent the removal of the child from the United Kingdom, such as an order to surrender a passport.

Breach of a PSO is a contempt of court, with penalties including a fine or imprisonment.

A Port Alert Order is designed to prevent a child, or a Vulnerable adult being removed from England and Wales on the instruction of a Judge of the Family Court on Behalf of the High Court, or directly from a High Court Judge. Police then watchlist the named individual to ensure any intention to travel is identified. If travel is identified, then an alert is sent to the relevant Port and Police Force. The Order instructs police at port to seize the travel documents of the person subject to the Order (for example their Passport, Identity Card or other Travel Document) to prevent the child or Vulnerable adult from leaving the country.
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Chris Philp:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will use sanctions including visa penalties on countries that do not cooperate with the removal of their nationals. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Where cooperation with countries on returns falls below the levels expected, and where appropriate, we stand ready to use all levers available to us to encourage cooperation, including the power to impose visa penalties.
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Chris Philp:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Italian Government decision to use naval ships to transport migrants to Albania. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Italian navy has competence for the transfer of migrants rescued in international waters to the centres in Albania run by the Italian government.

As part of this Government’s expansion of international cooperation in the fight against Organised Immigration Crime, we constantly monitor the impact of the methods, techniques and technology that other partner nations and agencies are employing in that fight.

The UK government is monitoring the Italian government implementation of their deal with Albania as an innovative approach to manage migration flows.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to help tackle financial fraud. \p Dan Jarvis: This Government is committed to working with law enforcement, industry and international partners to tackle financial fraud. This includes blocking fraud at its source, disrupting it before it reaches the public, and providing preventative advice and support such as our “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign.

Further industry action includes potential legislative action to ban “SIM farms”, technical devices that allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of people at the same time, and the Online Safety Act codes of practice which will come into effect in March.

We are working closely with partners to develop a new expanded Strategy as set out in our manifesto. Further details on our approach will be set out in due course.
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Chris Philp:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to proscribe drug cartels as terrorist organisations. \p Dan Jarvis: The criteria for proscribing an organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, and the Governments approach to commenting on those decisions remain exactly the same as they were when the Rt Hon Member was a Home Office Minister.
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Dr Lauren Sullivan:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of visa applications. \p Seema Malhotra: Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason there was an increase in the number of settlement grants for workers from 2022-2023. \p Seema Malhotra: The increase in individuals reaching the five-year qualifying threshold in 2023 will tend to reflect the increase in work visas issued five years previously, in 2018 under the previous administration. My Hon friend, the Home Secretary, addressed reasons for the latter increase in her statement to the House of Commons on 2 December 2024.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has commissioned an impact assessment on proposals to increase fees associated with adult citizenship applications. \p Seema Malhotra: An Impact Assessment has been published alongside the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2025 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/9/pdfs/ukia_20250009_en.pdf) which sets out an estimate of the proposed fee changes, were they to increase to the level of the new fee maxima. A full impact assessment will be published alongside any increase to fee levels in the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018.

Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review. Any changes to fee levels can only be made through an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations with the approval of Parliament.

The Home Office publishes data on the number of fee waiver requests for child registration applications that have been submitted, accepted and rejected. The latest data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q3-2024.

The Home Office does not hold specific data on the amount of revenue received from child citizenship applications.
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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse final report, published in October 2022, which Department has lead responsibility for implementing the recommendations of that report. \p Jess Phillips: The Home Office has the lead responsibly across Government for tackling child sexual abuse. However, the final 20 recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse are wide-ranging and cut across multiple Government departments lead responsibilities. That is why a cross-Government ministerial group is continuing to consider and work through the remaining recommendations.

The Home Secretary has committed, in her statement to Parliament on the 16 January 2025, that the Government will lay out a clear timetable for taking forward the 20 recommendations of the final report before Easter.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with gambling (a) companies and (b) operators on (i) advertising to (A) children and (B) other vulnerable people and (ii) their compliance with advertising codes of conduct. \p Stephanie Peacock: As the Gambling Minister set out in her speech at the GambleAware conference in December 2024, the industry has now been set a clear task to further raise standards to ensure that gambling advertising is appropriate, responsible, and does not exacerbate harm, and this work will be monitored closely.

There are a range of robust rules in place to ensure that gambling adverts, wherever they appear, are socially responsible and do not target children. The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Board of Women's Sport (a) last met and (b) next plans to meet; and whether she plans to update the terms of reference of that board. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government fully endorses the recommendations of Karen Carney OBE’s Independent Review of Women’s Football, including the recommendation to form a Board of Women’s Sport.

The Minister for Sport held a meeting with all stakeholders responsible for implementing the Carney Review in November, and will shortly reconvene groups to focus on specific elements of the review in order to drive tangible progress.

The Board of Women’s Sport will be reconvened in spring 2025 to ensure adoption of best practice in key areas and to make sure the learnings of the review, alongside emerging issues, can be explored across the sector.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a ban on gambling advertisements in video games PEGI rated 18 and under. \p Stephanie Peacock: Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. These rules are required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and do take action. The ASA’s rulings on breaches of loot box advertising code requirements are available at: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html

DCMS officials regularly meet the Advertising Standards Authority to discuss a range of issues, including its view on whether ads for apps, video games and other online products that feature random-item purchasing mechanisms sufficiently disclose this fact in the content of the advertisement. Through ‘Guidance on Advertising In-game Purchases’ and ASA rulings, the ASA system sets and applies standards to mitigate the potential for ads to mislead consumers about the cost of in-game purchases, whether games contain them, and how they might affect gameplay. The ASA’s sister body, the Committee of Advertising Practice, is currently deliberating whether and, if so, on what basis, to take further action in this aspect of its regulation.
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John Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies has spent on external public relations since 5 July 2024; and which firms that funding went to. \p Stephanie Peacock: Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22681 on Broadcasting, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on the protection of children online of including podcasts in the broadcasting code. \p Stephanie Peacock: Ofcom, the independent regulator, is responsible for drafting and maintaining the Broadcasting Code, which outlines standards for television and radio broadcasting in the United Kingdom. The Government has no plans to make an assessment of the potential impact on the protection of children by including online podcasts in the Broadcasting Code.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government will provide support for departments and other Exchequer-funded public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments in the usual way, in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the BBC on (a) the introduction of advertising, (b) the creation of a specific tax for streaming services, (c) making BBC Radio listeners pay for the service and (d) other options for future funding. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government remains committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current Charter period.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have regular discussions with the BBC on a range of important issues including BBC Charter Review and funding. There are a range of ways the BBC could be funded and we are thinking creatively about options for the future, to ensure we future-proof our national broadcaster for many years to come. Funding the BBC through general taxation is not being considered.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the National Youth Strategy will help tackle barriers to opportunity for children and young people in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire. \p Stephanie Peacock: The National Youth Strategy will be co-produced with young people and the youth sector to ensure it meets the needs of young people right across the country. This Government is also committed to tackling barriers to opportunity for all young people through the Opportunity Mission.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to (a) ensure that organisations campaigning against free media are not publicly funded and (b) protect freedom of speech for media outlets. \p Stephanie Peacock: All funding decisions are carefully considered, and subject to DCMS spend controls and governance.

The Government is committed to protecting media freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. The UK has an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, while broadcast news is regulated by the independent regulator Ofcom through the Broadcasting Code. The Government cannot interfere with Ofcom's regulatory or operational decisions, including how Ofcom chooses to regulate content.

To help ensure journalists operating within the UK can do so free from physical, legal and online threats, abuse and violence, I chair the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, together with the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls. The Committee facilitates collaboration between government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and civil society in support of this aim. I will continue to work with members on this important issue, including by delivering the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support public libraries in Slough. \p Chris Bryant: Libraries are a vital public resource, helping to inspire, educate, support and entertain people of all ages and backgrounds. The range of outcomes they help to achieve is substantial and varied, and the government is therefore committed to ensuring that libraries continue to thrive.

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. They are responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.

The department, as part of its regular monitoring and review of changes to local authority library service provision, has engaged with Slough Council and the other Councils in Berkshire on a number of occasions to discuss issues related to their respective library service.

I understand that as at 31 December 2023 the statutory library provision delivered by Slough Council was four local authority-run static libraries and of the other five Councils in Berkshire (Bracknell Forest, Reading, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and Wokingham) there were 46 local authority-run static libraries.

The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024-25.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on the publication of declarations of political activity for public appointees. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the Rt Honorable Gentleman to the answer to PQ 25696, answered on 30th January 2025.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November to Question 6094 on Cabinet Office: Civil Servants, for what reason does the Government not publish details of appointments below SCS2 grade. \p Georgia Gould: Approval is required from the Civil Service Commission for any appointment by exception at SCS2 or above. A list of such appointments by exception (SCS2 and above) are published and updated regularly on the Commission’s website. Aggregated data is published on details of appointments by exception below SCS2 grade. There has been no change to these arrangements since the Rt Hon member was a minister in the department.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to procure British manufactured vehicles for use by the Government Car Service. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government Car Service (GCS) is committed to supporting British businesses wherever possible, and approximately half of the vehicles in the GCS fleet are manufactured in the United Kingdom. However, public sector procurement is governed by clear principles, including value for money, transparency, and fair competition, which guide GCS purchasing decisions.

This approach ensures that all vehicles are assessed based on objective criteria such as quality, cost-effectiveness, and suitability for purpose. Where British manufactured vehicles meet GCS requirements and offer the best overall value, they are prioritised in line with procurement regulations.
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Phil Brickell:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Session 2023–24, Lobbying and Influence: post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act 2014 and related matters, published on 2 May 2024, HC 203. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: I refer the Honorable Member to PQ UIN 20199.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18670 on DCMS: Official Visits and with reference to the guidance entitled Ministers’ gifts (given and received), travel, hospitality received and meetings with external organisations and individuals, published on 2 April 2024, for what reason data from 1 July to 30 September 2024 was not published by the end of December 2024. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Transparency data for Ministers, Special Advisers and Senior Officials, including for the period of 1 July to 30 September 2024, was published on GOV.UK on 30 January 2025.

This data was published alongside the new monthly Register of Ministers' gifts and hospitality, which can be found at the following address - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the value of investments in the UK that are held by the sovereign wealth funds of each state in the Gulf Cooperation Council. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd February is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 112.8KB)
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants in his Department have been disciplined for (a) plagiarism and (b) making false statements on a CV when applying for a job in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available. \p Georgia Gould: The Cabinet Office has no record of any civil servants in the Department being disciplined in the latest 12 month period for plagiarism or making false statements on a CV when applying for a job.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024, to Question 13759 on Business: Meetings, if he will take steps to publish supplementary guidance to the Ministerial Code on how Ministers should record meetings with business representatives who have paid money to the political party to which they belong to facilitate a meeting. \p Georgia Gould: Details of ministers' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of external individuals and organisations in attendance.

Updated guidance on ministers' meetings was published to GOV.UK on 30 January 2025 at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance.
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual budget is for the UK Integrated Security Fund in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25. Exact spend for the Fund will be published in the 2024/25 ISF Annual Report later in the year. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much and what proportion of its budget the UK Integrated Security Fund has allocated for (a) conflict (i) prevention and (ii) resolution and (b) peacebuilding in the (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26 financial years. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024-25.  The Fund prioritises spending on those geographies and thematic issues that pose the greatest direct threat to the UK. Activity focussed on conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding are embedded into programmes across the ISF. However, these are not tracked as individual or separate components. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23481 on Government Departments: Directors, what steps his Department is taking to avoid conflicts of interest in relation to consultant lobbyists serving as a non-executive director of a Department. \p Georgia Gould: The interests of non-executive board members and public appointments will continue to be updated and published bi-annually as part of an established process as set out in the Non-Executive Board Member declaration of interests process - GOV.UK.

All financial interests and all remunerated outside employment, work, memberships and appointments should be declared. Disclosure requirements and clear conflict of interest policies are detailed in the guidance to support the department in managing any conflicts of interest. These include recusal from relevant matters, limitations on any gifts, transparent lobbying practices and robust mechanisms for ethics enforcement within government.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 24650 on Special Advisers: Pay, what changes were made to special adviser pay policy since October 2024. \p Georgia Gould: The updated pay ranges for Special Advisers will be published in the next Annual Report on Special Advisers, which will include the changes referenced in answer to Question 24650.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list (a) each (i) scheme and (ii) programme for the Civil Service Fast Stream and (b) how many people were recruited to the civil service through each in 2024. \p Georgia Gould: There were 15 separate Fast Stream schemes in 2024. The information requested is publicly available within the Fast Stream Annual Report 2024 linked below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-fast-stream-recruitment-data-2024
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Ellie Chowns:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' policy paper entitled Environmental principles policy statement, published on 31 January 2023, whether his Department provides training further to section 19 of the Environment Act 2021 in the (a) statutory instrument capability programme, (b) parliamentary capability team training programme and (c) Policy Profession programme. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: A range of guidance is available to civil servants when preparing legislation, including on section 19 of the Environment Act 2021.

Ahead of the duty coming into force on 1 November 2023, guidance was issued to civil servants working on legislation. In January 2024, the Guide to Preparing Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) to Statutory Instruments was published and included information on this duty. The next update to The Guide to Making Legislation, which will be published shortly, will include guidance on the policy statement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question HL2719 on Legislation: Impact Assessments, if he will publish that letter. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: It is a long-established precedent that internal government correspondence is not normally shared publicly, therefore we will not publish the letter. However, we continue to press Departments on their responsibility on these matters.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many all-staff calls have been held in his Department since 4 July 2024; and how many staff attended each of those calls. \p Georgia Gould: There have been a total of 10 all-staff calls during this period.

The number of staff attending these calls were:

2552

2332

1926

2078

1885

1916

1702

3903

2725

3003
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated spending on Government (a) communications and (b) marketing is in 2024-25 (a) before and (b) after the Autumn Budget 2024. \p Georgia Gould: Historical data on communication and marketing spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.

The Government Communications Service is expecting to save £85 million in 2024-25 from reducing unnecessary communications spend.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the email address is for correspondence from hon. Members to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. \p Georgia Gould: As was the case when the Rt Hon member was a Minister in the department, correspondence from Members of Parliament addressed to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards can be submitted to the Cabinet Office using the contact details available in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities/list-of-ministerial-responsibilities-html
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the policy is of (a) his Department, (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity and (c) the Civil Service People Group on transgender people’s use of single sex facilities. \p Georgia Gould: The Government People Group’s policy and guidance in this area are currently being revised.

As a department, the Cabinet Office aligns with the Government People Group's model Civil Service policy. As such, the Cabinet Office policy will be revised in due course.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity is part of the Cabinet Office for operations and staffing purposes. As such, its policy is aligned with wider Cabinet Office policy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) administrative and (b) psychological impact of children not being on school registers on home schooling families of neurodivergent children. \p Stephen Morgan: There is currently no duty on parents to notify local authorities when they have elected to home educate their child. The ‘Children Not in School’ measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will help remedy this by placing a duty on local authorities to maintain compulsory registers of all children not in school in their areas, and accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers.

Information recorded on registers could include whether an eligible child has special educational needs. This would enable local authorities to provide tailored support to these children and their families, and for a more accurate assessment to be made of the impact on these children of not being on school registers. Statutory guidance will be produced to go alongside the measures, which will set out requirements for local authorities and parents.

The department has conducted an Equalities Impact Assessment on the ‘Children Not in School’ measures. As part of this assessment, we have considered the potential impact on children with special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are neurodivergent.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Natalie Fleet:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure all children who require a special school place are provided with one in Derbyshire. \p Stephen Morgan: In 2023, the department collected data from local authorities on available capacity in special schools, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) units and resourced provision for the first time. The capacity data tells us approximately how many places local authorities think were available on 1 May 2023. In Derbyshire, there were approximately 1150 special school places.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding.

We have now announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in the 2025/26 financial year. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.

The department understands that local authorities will want certainty about the allocation of the high needs provision capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year as soon as possible, in order to develop their approach to supporting children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision in their area. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of practitioners in the (a) early years and (b) childcare sectors that have received training on SEND identification. \p Stephen Morgan: The department knows that children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. We recognise the importance of the early identification of needs to ensure the right support is put in place as early as possible to ensure children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and developmental differences and delays can get the best start in life.

The department wants all early years educators to feel confident in identifying and supporting developmental differences and delays, including knowing how to access further support and advice when needed. To support this we have funded training for up to 7000 special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs), have published new resources, including a free online training module and SEND assessment guidance to help early educators to identify, assess and support children in their settings, and announced funding support for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme for this academic year for children needing extra support with their speech and language development.

When a child is between two and three-years-old, educators must review their progress and provide parents or carers with a brief written summary of their development in key areas. This summary highlights strengths, areas needing additional support, and strategies to address any concerns. Guidance is available to help educators accurately assess a child's development and work closely with parents and professionals to provide necessary support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the value of Scottish exports is to (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland. \p Kirsty McNeill: The latest official statistics, published on 29 January 2025, show that Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK was worth over £60.5 billion in 2023, and valued at over £47.7 billion during the first three quarters of 2024. The rest of the UK includes England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he (a) last met and (b) plans to next meet with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. \p Kirsty McNeill: Scotland Office Ministers meet with a variety of stakeholders on a regular basis, including from the environmental sector, as required.

The positive reset of relations with the Scottish Government and, as appropriate, its agencies, is a priority for this Government. While the majority of environmental policy is devolved, we work with the Scottish Government on matters that fall within the scope of both of our administrations. We also meet their Ministers regularly at the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where matters relating to the environment are often discussed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-10)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing staff salary pay scales so parliamentary advisors can be paid at the same level as hon. Members. \p Charlotte Nichols: The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) keeps MPs' staff pay under review and periodically assesses benchmarking data so that pay scales remain in line with the salaries of other similar roles within the public sector.

There are seven standard MPs' staff roles plus interns, each having different job descriptions, required skills and competencies, experience, and levels of responsibility. IPSA's benchmarking process insures that salary differentials reflect the market rates for different roles.

IPSA annually presents its recommendations to the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority as part of the committee's review of IPSA's main estimate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving homeland security. \p Luke Pollard: This Government continues to review the risk landscape, including threats to homeland security from overseas, which will feature in the Strategic Defence Review. We continue to work together to review and build a resilient Home Defence Programme to keep Britain safe. As part of this process, Defence Ministers are in regular communication with our Ministerial colleagues on matters that relate to homeland security.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April to Question 43148 on Ministry of Defence: Written Questions, whether artificial intelligence has been used to support (a) routine operations and (b) policy in relation to nuclear capability. \p Luke Pollard: The delivery of defence capabilities enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) will be ambitious, safe and responsible. Research to identify, understand, and mitigate against risks of applying AI for sensitive defence affairs is underway.

Routine nuclear deterrence operations continue to be conducted in accordance with the highest standards and controls. Regardless of any potential application of artificial intelligence in our strategic systems, we will ensure human political control of our nuclear weapons is maintained at all times. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will understand that I will not comment further on the details as to do so would prejudice the capability, security and effectiveness of the Armed Forces.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

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Patricia Ferguson:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service present at the nuclear test on Christmas Island are entitled to a pension of compensation. \p Maria Eagle: Members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are civilians and may receive pensions for their Service under the terms of any civilian pension scheme to which they belonged. The Ministry of Defence does have a scheme to provide compensation to members of the RFA who suffer war injuries or detention, but this scheme does not cover peacetime activities, such as the nuclear tests on Christmas Island. However, other options may be sought such as recourse to common law claims under the Workmen’s Compensation Act or the Industrial Injuries Scheme.