theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to review security measures for the 2028 European Championships in Birmingham. \p Stephanie Peacock: The government is committed to ensuring the EURO 2028 football tournament is a safe, secure and enjoyable event for all. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with the Home Office, policing partners, delivery bodies and a range of organisations to ensure comprehensive and proportionate security plans are in place at a national and local level.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-25)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87663, what assessment he has made of whether the proportion of recent higher education leavers entering priority occupations is sufficient to meet forecast labour market needs in 2030. \p Andrew Western: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are waiting for a decision on their Access to Work scheme claim. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As of October 2025, there are 62,000 applications outstanding. We recognise the importance of reducing waiting times, which is why we have increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% in the last financial year.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit starts in each of the last 5 years were (a) new benefit claimants and (b) claimants transitioning from legacy benefits through managed migration. \p Sir Stephen Timms: This information is not readily available however, as detailed in the DWP Statistical Work Programme and the Universal Credit statistics release strategy, the Department is developing a method to denote UC claimants given a migration notice from the Move to Universal Credit programme, and updates on this will be shared in the DWP Statistical Work Programme.
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Luke Akehurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Health Adjustment Passport in supporting disabled people to (a) enter and (b) remain in employment. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Health Adjustment Passports are voluntary and available to everyone with a health condition or disability.

The Health Adjustment Passport enables disabled people to move more easily into employment and between job roles and reduces the need to repeat personal information about their disability. The Passport supports transitions into employment by providing a tool to enable disabled people to have structured conversations with employers about disability. It acts as a transferable record of the adjustments needed, along with sign posts to available support including Access to Work (AtW).

If a user chooses to share the passport with their employer, it can help to raise the visibility of adjustments and highlight support available, including AtW. In the event the user applies for AtW support, the passport can aid an assessment by providing health and disability information beforehand, enabling support to be put in place more quickly.

Further information on the Health Adjustments Passport can be found on: Health Adjustment Passport - GOV.UK
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of people who have newly claimed Universal Credit in each of the last 5 years, broken down by (a) health-related reasons for claiming and (b) the searching-for-work conditionality group. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by conditionality regime and claim duration.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information and can refer to the Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
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Richard Foord:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the symptom lists used in disability and capability assessments for people with fibromyalgia; and whether his Department plans to update that guidance. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment and the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) are functional assessments. They do not evaluate claimants based on their medical diagnosis or health condition alone and claimants are not assessed against a set symptom list for a condition when attending an assessment. Instead, the assessment focuses on how a claimant’s condition affects their mobility and ability to carry out everyday activities.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to ensuring that individuals with Fibromyalgia and other health conditions receive high-quality, accurate assessments. All health professionals (HPs) undergo comprehensive training in disability analysis. Their focus is on understanding the functional impact of a claimant’s condition, rather than its clinical diagnosis.

To support this, DWP provides suppliers with core training and guidance materials on Fibromyalgia. These resources include detailed clinical and functional information relevant to the condition to assist HPs in delivering informed and accurate assessments.

Additionally, all training and guidance materials are currently undergoing a comprehensive review and update. A dedicated team is leading this work to ensure that all materials are aligned with national best practice standards. Independent clinical experts are being engaged to provide external quality assurance, helping to ensure the content remains accurate, relevant, and consistent.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to review the level of regulation of small quarrying and stone-processing firms. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has no current plans to review the level of regulation of small quarrying and stone-processing firms.

The Government is committed to reducing regulatory compliance costs for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and announced in March 2025 a commitment to reduce the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by the end of this Parliament - savings equivalent to £5.6 billion. HSE is committed to playing its part in reducing these administrative burdens whilst maintaining our proportionate regulatory approach to protect people and enable innovation and growth.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-25)

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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions has he had with organisations that deliver supported accommodation on work for young people living in supported housing. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) living in supported and temporary accommodation.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.

It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of linking Unique Property Reference Numbers to Universal Credit claims to help tackle fraud. \p Andrew Western: The Department is considering external data sources, including Unique Property Reference Numbers, that could be used to help address fraud and error that occurs in Universal Credit.
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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Living Allowance claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the East Midlands, (b) the West Midlands, and (c) the East of England in March of each of the last five years up to 2025. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the new Crisis and Resilience Fund will encourage local authorities to offer direct provision of furniture and white goods to those in need; and will the guidance explain the benefits of furniture provision in building up resilience for extremely low-income households. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The new Crisis and Resilience Fund will be introduced from 1 April 2026. This represents the first ever multi-year settlement for locally delivered crisis support. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis

We plan to publish guidance for the Crisis and Resilience Fund in January 2026.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much Universal Credit was paid to (a) foreign nationals and (b) households with refugee status in October 2025. \p Andrew Western: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's findings (HC 638) on 21 March 2024. \p Torsten Bell: The Department has made no such assessment.
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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of having Jobcentre staff in supported housing sites to support young people into employment. \p Sir Stephen Timms: It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

We are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities.

One of the Trailblazers in Central London is delivering targeted support to care leavers included those in supported accommodation to help them access suitable employment opportunities.

As part of our Youth Offer, we also have Youth Hubs which deliver a core offer of skills, training and employment-focused support. Alongside this, partner organisations deliver a range of services, based upon the needs of the local area that they service. This can include connecting young people to a wider range of services such as health, housing and wellbeing support, depending on local needs and partnerships.

To drive up quality in supported accommodation (including for young people), DWP is working alongside MHCLG to implement measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act in England, which include a proposed locally led licensing regime and new National Supported Housing Standards for providers. The proposed standards make it clear that residents should receive person-centred support including where appropriate being supported, encouraged, and enabled to take up learning, volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing the two-child benefit cap on incentives to work. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Child Poverty Strategy will set out the decisive action this Government is taking to tackle child poverty and make sure children are given the best start in life.

The commitments we’ve made at the 2025 spending review and beyond are just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our reduction in the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.
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Peter Lamb:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the announcement made on 16 October 2025 regarding the extension of funding to Trailblazer areas under the Get Britain Working programme, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Trailblazer schemes to date on a) employment outcomes b) levels of economic inactivity, and c) associated health and wellbeing indicators. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Department developed a Strategic Outline Business Case for the Get Britain Working Trailblazers in March 2025, which followed HM Treasury’s Green Book framework. Within this, an assessment was made of the potential impact of the programme upon employment and associated health outcomes, as well as increasing participation in education and training. An update to the Business Case is being conducted, which will take account of relevant information following the programme launch earlier this year.

The Department will be commissioning an evaluation, starting in December 2025, which is expected to build evidence on the effectiveness of the programme at achieving employment outcomes, reducing levels of economic inactivity, associated health and well-being indicators, increasing participation in education and training, and effectiveness of systems integration. We expect to publish interim findings during the next two years and will develop the value for money assessment once longer term impacts have developed.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of student maintenance grants in meeting students' living costs. \p Josh MacAlister: The previous government removed maintenance grants, and the real-terms value of loan support for students has reduced by more than 20% over the last five years. It is essential that our government improves this.

That is why we will reintroduce targeted means-tested maintenance grants before the end of this Parliament, funded by a levy on international student fees. The grants will support students from low-income households studying courses aligned with our missions and the Industrial Strategy, and we will set out further detail at the Autumn Budget.

Additionally, the government will increase maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. This will provide students with long-term financial certainty on the financial support they will receive while studying and ensure that students from the lowest income families receive the largest year-on-year cash increases in support.
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Jess Asato:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse. \p Olivia Bailey: The department has issued guidance for staff on domestic abuse. This guidance includes information for line managers on how to respond to staff experiencing domestic abuse alongside routes for further advice and support.
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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department investigated the conduct of social worker Anwar Meah. \p Josh MacAlister: Social Work England (SWE) is the independent regulator for the social work profession in England and, as such, is responsible for investigating concerns relating to social workers’ fitness to practise that are referred to them. While the department is unable to intervene in individual cases, officials contacted the regulator when concerns were highlighted.

SWE’s overarching objective is to protect the public. In meeting this objective they are obliged, as set out in legislation, to consider all concerns it receives to determine whether there is evidence that a social worker’s fitness to practise may be impaired.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the £2.61 meal rate paid to Oxfordshire schools for providing universal infant free school meals, taking into account rising (a) food, (b) energy and (c) staff costs. \p Olivia Bailey: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We spend around £600 million per year ensuring close to 1.3 million additional infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of the universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) policy in 2014.

The department has not made a formal assessment of UIFSM funding for Oxfordshire schools, but we meet regularly with the sector, including school food caterers, and draw on these insights to inform our policy thinking.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of milk entitlement schemes among schools. \p Olivia Bailey: Milk is an excellent food for children’s growth and development. To help schools understand the milk entitlement schemes available to them, departmental advice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england/school-food-in-england. This includes links to the guidance on the school milk subsidy scheme and the nursery milk scheme.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of digital tablet use in schools on pupils’ attention spans in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Olivia Bailey: The department does not mandate the use of digital tablets in schools, and decisions about their adoption are made locally.

The department’s guidance emphasises that technology should supplement, not replace, high-quality teaching, and that effective use of digital devices can support engagement and learning outcomes. The department does not hold specific data for the Surrey Heath constituency.

Schools are encouraged to develop digital strategies that consider the needs of their pupils and to follow published standards for device use.

The department continues to invest in infrastructure and support, aiming for all schools to meet core digital standards by 2030, and to narrow the digital divide, while monitoring emerging evidence on the impact of technology on pupils, including through the EdTech Impact Testbed Programme which helps to build the evidence base on their impact.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78154 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what steps she has taken to ensure (a) adoptive and (b) kinship families receive appropriate help from local authority Family Help services. \p Josh MacAlister: The department is committed to rebalancing the children’s social care system, which is why we are rolling out the Families First Partnership programme. On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing the total funding provided for the programme to £2.4 billion over the next three years. This demonstrates our commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities, working in collaboration with partners, to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real, tangible difference to families.

We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the eligibility criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) in 2026-27; whether her Department will provide funding for the ASGSF after April 2027; and, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 September 2025, HCWS908, if she will set out details of the proposed public engagement process. \p Josh MacAlister: The government has confirmed the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will continue in 2026/27 and that applications running into 2026/27 can now be made. Details of the ASGSF from April 2026 will be made available once departmental business planning decisions are completed. We will share details of the public engagement process on longer-term decisions as soon as possible in the new year.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 67594 on Adoption Support Fund, whether the equalities impact assessment was drafted prior to the date of her Department's decisions to amend the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. \p Josh MacAlister: The equalities impact assessment (EIA) was drafted prior to the decisions to amend the adoption and special guardianship support fund. Following the announcement of the changes to the Fund, the EIA was prepared for publication and subsequently made available in the House Libraries.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assess the impact of the April 2025 changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, including (a) the reduction in the fair access limit and (b) reductions in funding for (i) assessments and (ii) match funding. \p Josh MacAlister: The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access support. So far this year, over 12,500 applications have been approved, including almost 1,000 applications for specialist assessments. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.
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Stuart Andrew:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the roll-out of evidence-based parenting programmes through the Start for Life offer to all local authorities. \p Olivia Bailey: The government has confirmed over £500 million of funding allocated for the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs, which includes funding for parenting programmes.

Through these Hubs, all local authorities will deliver parenting evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for families with 3 to 4-year-olds from April 2026. The department will be sharing a ‘menu’ of EBIs that has been developed in collaboration with expert partners and informed by sources such as the Foundations Guidebook and Nesta’s Call for Evidence. The ‘menu’ will preference EBIs that have undergone the most rigorous evaluation, to reflect our ambition to support local authorities to invest in programmes most likely to have the greatest impact. This will ensure that parenting support is rooted in robust evidence.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she intends to increase the level of free childcare funding for each child. \p Olivia Bailey: It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high quality early years provision going forward.

In financial year 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on the early years entitlements, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%.

Next year, in financial year 2026/27, funding for the early years entitlements is expected to increase to over £9 billion. This funding reflects a full year of eligible working parents being able to access 30 hours of childcare from 9 months until their children start school, and an expected increase in funding rates. Local authority hourly funding rates for 2026/27 will be confirmed in the usual way before the end of this year.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the reforms announced in her Department's press release entitled Schools to cut bills with Great British Energy solar panels, published on 17 November 2025, will schools be required to bear any maintenance costs for the solar panels. \p Josh MacAlister: The department has used a delivery model which sees schools supported throughout the scheme, so whilst schools will be required to bear any maintenance costs for solar photovoltaics installed on their roofs, this is expected to be affordable from savings generated.

Solar installs are already producing significant savings for schools with estimates suggesting that on average, a typical school could save up to £25,000 per year if they have solar panels with complementary technologies installed.

The programme is on track with new installations at additional schools and colleges each month. Some contracts are still in procurement and, owing to the commercial sensitivity of this, it would not be appropriate to disclose evolving spend to date at this stage.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated backlog of fire-safety-related repairs is across the school estate in (a) England, (b) Shropshire and (c) north Shropshire; and what proportion of that backlog relates to schools built before 1980. \p Josh MacAlister: Since the 2014/15 academic year, the risk protection arrangement (RPA) has received a total of 551 fire-related claims from members. 52 claims were from the West Midlands, 4 from Shropshire and 2 claims were specifically from North Shropshire.

Schools and their responsible bodies are not obliged to notify the department of fires at their premises and we therefore do not routinely collect or record this data more widely, nor information on fire-safety-related repairs.

The department provides guidance about fire safety to bodies responsible for schools, including in the ‘Good Estate Management for Schools’ guide, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety. It is the responsibility of those who run our schools to ensure that a fire risk assessment is undertaken and kept up to date, reflecting the specific characteristics of the building for which it was written.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of implementing the measures set out by The Joanna Simpson Foundation and Children Heard and Seen on support for children bereaved by domestic homicide. \p Josh MacAlister: This government recognises the dreadful impact of all domestic abuse-related deaths on children and families. This is why the Home Office funds Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse to support those bereaved by deaths in this way.

Every child deserves the right mental health support, particularly in times of grief, which is why we updated the statutory relationships and health education curriculum to give teachers clear guidance on how to best support pupils with bereavement. We are also expanding access to mental health support teams in all schools, ensuring that every pupil has access to early support services in their community.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage people to obtain early years qualifications. \p Olivia Bailey: Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high-quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. This includes introducing a faster assessment only route for experienced staff to achieve Level 3 recognition, similar to those in other education professions.

The department is also transforming apprenticeships into a new growth and skills offer, with shorter, more flexible training options. Recent reforms to the English and maths requirements will allow many thousands more apprentices to qualify each year.

We are also investing in opportunities to become an early years teacher, aiming to more than double the number of funded places on early years initial teacher training by 2028, providing financial support for employers delivering the new degree apprenticeship route, and offering financial incentives for early years teachers working in disadvantaged areas.

Finally, we continue to help more people discover rewarding early years careers through our ‘Do something BIG’ national recruitment campaign.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-British people received 15 hours of free childcare in the last financial year. \p Olivia Bailey: The requested information on nationality is not held by the department.

Information on children under 5 registered for government funded entitlements in England and on providers and staff delivering them, is published in the ‘Funded early education and childcare statistics’ publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of free childcare places in Bournemouth. \p Olivia Bailey: In 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. We have also provided further funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant.

At the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. We will also spend over £400 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.

The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue guidance encouraging schools to adopt evidence-based playtime improvement schemes. \p Olivia Bailey: Breaktimes can be an important part of a pupil’s school experience, providing opportunities to rest, play and connect with peers.

While the department has no plans to introduce dedicated guidance or measures on breaktime, we have committed to work with partners to draw up and publish a good practice framework to help schools increase pupil engagement. This will include support for schools to effectively measure the factors which contribute to children attending, achieving and thriving at school, to inform evidence-based support inside and outside of school.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-25)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the contribution of playtime to children’s a) social, b) emotional and c) cognitive development. \p Olivia Bailey: The early years foundation stage statutory framework is clear that play is essential for children’s wellbeing and development. Play builds confidence and enthusiasm for learning, and develops self-awareness, self-regulation and social skills. Early years practitioners should plan how to support children’s development through high quality play.

Schools are expected to organise the school day and school week in the best interests of their pupil cohort, to both provide them with a full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude and ability, and to incorporate time for play and other activities.

The department commissioned the Children of the 2020s study to improve our understanding of children’s progress throughout key phases of learning and education. We will assess the findings of the study for supporting children’s holistic development including through play and other approaches.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-25)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been identified as high fire risk in the latest Condition Data Collection by local authority area. \p Josh MacAlister: 237 schools and colleges in England had RAAC confirmed in areas of their buildings, none of which are in Shropshire. By the end of this Parliament, every school and college in England that isn't being fully or substantially rebuilt will be RAAC-free. All schools having RAAC permanently removed through the school rebuilding programme will be in delivery, with over half already underway.

The department’s current Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme is visiting every government-funded school in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. CDC2 is a high-level, non-invasive, visual inspection of condition and not a structural survey. It does not collect structural risks, nor data on school compliance with all statutory and legislative responsibilities, including fire safety.

It is the responsibility of those who run our schools to ensure that fire risk assessments are undertaken regularly. The department provides guidance about fire safety to these responsible bodies, including in the ’Good estate management for schools’ guide, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety.
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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure early intervention for pupils with special educational needs. \p Georgia Gould: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Leeds South West and Morley, to the answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 86204.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her budget on the pubs and brewing sector. \p Kate Dearden: The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way. The government does not comment on speculation outside of fiscal events.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to tackle rogue traders and protect consumers. \p Kate Dearden: Consumer legislation sets out protections for consumers.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 strengthens consumer law enforcement by giving the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) new administrative powers, and the CMA and courts the ability to impose significant monetary penalties of up to 10% of turnover.

DBT provides additional funding through the National Trading Standards Board and Trading Standards Scotland to prioritise and coordinate national and regional consumer enforcement in England, Wales and Scotland respectively.

DBT also funds Citizens Advice to provide the consumer service which supports consumers to assert their rights. Citizens Advice also run an annual Scams Awareness campaign.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department holds a copy of the contract for the National Investigation Service to investigate COVID-19 Bounce Back Loan fraud nationwide of September 2020 that was signed by both the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and the National Investigation Service. \p Kate Dearden: I confirm that the Department holds a copy of the contract for the National Investigation Service to investigate COVID-19 Bounce Back Loan fraud nationwide of September 2020 that was signed by both the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and Thurrock Council (being the host of the National Investigation Service).
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support women in the hospitality sector. \p Kate Dearden: The Government is taking important steps through its Employment Rights Bill to protect workers from misconduct in the workplace, including women in the hospitality sector.

We are introducing measures that will restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of harassment and discrimination and strengthen protections for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ on sexual harassment.

The Bill will also require employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees and introduce an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.
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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Government response to the consultation on the resale of live events ticket of 19 November 2025, what is his target date for the introduction of legislation to implement the proposals set out in the response. \p Kate Dearden: The government has announced that it will introduce new measures to end the scourge of ticket touting and put fans back at the heart of live events, including a resale price cap.

Our consultation revealed widespread support for a price cap from fans, industry and consumer groups. After thorough consultation, we intend to draw on all the evidence we have gathered – including insights on international comparisons – to prepare legislation that is targeted and effective.

We will legislate when Parliamentary time allows, and an impact assessment, including an assessment of economic impacts, will be published when legislation is introduced to Parliament.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78382 on Members: Correspondence, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 June, 1 August and 15 September 2025 from the hon. Member for Tooting relating to case reference RA69084. \p Kate Dearden: The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days. The case from 24 June was transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to answer, who accepted in error. This case has now been passed back to DBT and I have asked my officials to investigate this. I apologise for the delay.
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Justin Madders:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to protect university workers' terms and conditions when they are transferred to a subsidiary company. \p Kate Dearden: When a business changes its owner, its employees may be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE). TUPE may also apply when a service transfers to a new provider. If TUPE applies, the employees’ jobs usually transfer over to the new company, and their employment terms and conditions transfer. The new employer cannot change an employee’s terms and conditions if the reason is the transfer itself.
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Justin Madders:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of the number of people employed in contracts without guaranteed hours who have been refused credit because of their employment. \p Kate Dearden: The Government has published its Impact Assessments for the Bill. Without guaranteed hours, workers are without certainty as to their earnings, making it difficult to apply for credit or a mortgage. The new right to guaranteed hours aims to ensure that all jobs provide a baseline of security and predictability - making it easier for qualifying workers to plan their lives and finances.

Consumer credit firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must follow the FCA’s detailed rules on affordability checks. FCA rules mean that firms should only lend to consumers who can afford repayments and this should be based on a careful assessment of their income, spending, and financial commitments. These rules aim to prevent over-indebtedness, promote responsible lending, and ensure fair treatment of customers.