Written questions by Ribeiro-Addy.

How many Government contracts held by Serco have been subject to (a) formal performance review, (b) warning notices and (c) breach proceedings in the last five years.

The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts. In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers#:~:text=Managing%20risk&text=Strategic%20suppliers%20bring%20many%20benefits,government's%20contractual%20relationships%20with%20suppliers. The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests. Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond. Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results). The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of the Government’s proposed reforms to universal credit and personal independence payments on the number of care leavers in poverty.

The data are not available to make an assessment on this basis.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed restriction on the health element of universal credit to those aged 22 years and over on care leavers younger than 22.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on care leavers. However, we recognise the challenges care leavers may face in transitioning to independent living and navigating the welfare system, and we remain committed to supporting them, as with all vulnerable groups. The Department’s care leaver offer includes access to the higher one-bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate up to the age of 25, and tailored support through Jobcentre Plus. This support is kept under regular review. As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, we invited views on proposals to raise the age at which individuals can access the Universal Credit health element to 22. The consultation closed last Monday. We continue to engage with stakeholders and welcome views on how best to ensure care leavers are supported through future reforms to Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the potential impact of international trials of universal basic income on levels of (a) entrepreneurship and (b) innovation in (i) small businesses and (ii) start-ups.

Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessments are planned related to international trials.

How many sickle cell patients (a) with and (b) without the Ro subtype were unable to receive a matching transfusion due to low supplies in the last 12 months.

NHS Blood and Transplant is responsible for collection of blood donations and supply of blood and blood products to hospitals to meet patient need in England.Data is not held centrally on the purpose for which each blood product is requested and supplied.

How many and what proportion of blood donors have had their appointment deferred due to (a) low haemoglobin, (b) recent travel, (c) activities that increase risk of HIV infection, (d) anaemia, (e) hepatitis exposure, (f) hypertension, (g) medications, (h) pregnancy, (i) recent vaccination, (j) no viable vein and (k) any other reason for deferral by (i) ethnicity, (ii) gender, (iii) age and (iv) other identity markers in the last 12 months.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, in order to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, a total of 1,734,2851 appointments were attended. Of those, a total of 291,011, or 16.8%, were deferred.Codes are used to group together various reasons for deferral, particularly the “medical” deferral code. It is not possible to break down the reason for the deferrals further without accessing individual donor records. Anaemia is not distinguished from low haemoglobin during a session as a donor may be deferred when their haemoglobin is too low to donate, but is within “normal range” for other purposes. The following table shows the number and percentage of appointment deferrals, the deferral reason, and the percentage of attendances:Deferral reasonNumber deferredPercentage of attendances (%)Percentage of total deferrals (%)Administrative8,3920.52.9Blood Pressure1,9000.10.7Clinical8,9560.53.1Haemoglobin173,5741059.6Infection/Contact16,87615.8Medical53,7463.118.5Other1,7610.10.6Skin Piercing7,8770.52.7Surgery3,8470.21.3Travel4,4930.21.5Vaccination1,3690.10.5No Suitable Vein8,2200.52.8Total291,01116.8100.0Source: NHSBT’s centrally held administrative systems, extracted 27 June 2025Notes:administrative deferrals are non-clinical deferrals, for instance a donor who is unable to donate as insufficient time has elapsed between their previous donation and their current attendance; andthe data counts the unique number of appointments attended, not unique donors, and so a donor attending more than once in the period will be counted each time they attend. This data refers to whole blood donors only and does not include data on platelet and plasma donations. Tables showing further breakdowns by ethnicity, gender, age, and main blood group are attached, due to the size of the data.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the potential impact of international trials of universal basic income on (a) workplace productivity and (b) job satisfaction in different sectors.

Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessments are planned related to international trials.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the potential impact of international trials of universal basic income on (a) employment rates and (b) poverty levels.

Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.

How many and what proportion of blood donors with Ro blood type have had their donations deferred in the last 12 months; and what was the reason for those deferrals.

Between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025, the number of Ro blood type donor attendances was 59,655. Of those, 9,978, or 16.7%, were deferred. The following table show the number of Ro donor deferrals, the percentage of Ro donor attendances, and the percentage of total Ro deferrals, broken down by the reason for deferral:ReasonNumber of Ro donor deferralsPercentage of Ro donor attendancesPercentage of total Ro deferralsAdministrative2840.5%2.8%Blood Pressure530.1%0.5%Clinical890.1%0.9%Haemoglobin6,80611.4%68.2%Infection / contact5090.9%5.1%Medical1,3932.3%14.0%Other400.1%0.4%Skin piercing2390.4%2.4%Surgery1130.2%1.1%Travel1830.3%1.8%Vaccination460.1%0.5%No suitable vein2230.4%2.2%Total9,97816.7%100%Note: this data refers to whole blood donors only and does not include plasma or platelet donors.The codes that are given above are used to group together a range of more specific reasons for deferral, particularly the “medical” deferral code. It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown of this code without accessing individual donor records.

What discussions she has had with her Welsh counterpart on the universal basic income pilot scheme in that country.

The Chancellor regularly meets with the Welsh First Minister. During their last engagement, the issue of universal basic income was not discussed.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has commissioned research into the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) homelessness rates and (b) housing security.

The government has not commissioned research into the potential impact of universal basic income on homelessness rates and housing security. A universal basic income is not government policy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to question 57351 on Students: Loans; what assessment her Department has made on the reason for the gender difference in the number of borrowers whose loans have increased despite making regular payments.

The previous government considered gender differences in lifetime repayments, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments, when introducing Plan 5. The full equality impact assessment was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.Student loans are not like commercial loans and carry significant protections for borrowers. Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study only when earning over the relevant student loan repayment threshold.The system is designed to ensure that those who benefit financially from higher education contribute towards the cost of it. This is why repayments are linked to income and not the loan balance, with regular repayments increasing with borrower income. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing.Crucially, at the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. This subsidy is a conscious investment in the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of international trials of universal basic income.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025. Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of implementing a universal basic income on inflation.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025. Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) GDP growth and (b) economic activity.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025. Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) income distribution and (b) wealth inequality.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025. Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) consumer spending and (b) local economic growth.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025. Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.

What estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of Universal Basic Income on (a) absolute and (b) relative poverty in the UK.

Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Whether her Department has undertaken research into the potential impact of implementing a universal basic income on (a) employment rates and (b) workforce participation.

Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.

What steps she is taking to (a) review and (b) incorporate international best practices from Universal Basic Income trials into domestic policy considerations.

Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.